My boyfriend showed up with a packet of barracuda this morning and left me with the bloody task of gutting them. I think he had heard that Seychellois men bring fish to their womenfolk and, ever keen to impress, took note of my last night's waxing lyrical about the tastiness of bekin. Very sweet of him. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to know of the time-honoured Seychellois tradition that it's guys who clean fish here.
There is a reason for this. Gutting fish is a blood and gore thing. Slicing open a fish belly with a sharp knife and pulling out the bloody blackened guts with your bare hands is best left to the hunters, not the gatherers. Whilst I am a liberated and free woman who can do anything I set my mind to, I don't really want to clean fish. Let the men indulge in their atavistic urges to wallow in the bloody insides of fresh kill. I am perfectly willing to look on in admiration and make the appropriate murmurs of appreciation.
No chance of that today. I'm off to fill my sink with guts and scales ...
Bazar Labrin Cancelled Again
I got a phone call from STB (Seychelles Tourism Board) yesterday advising me that Bazar Labrin is cancelled this week. Yet again. When I asked why, I was told that it was because it was the Easter week. Excuse me? STB takes every little thing as an excuse to cancel the only weekly event at Beauvallon.
Do the tourists give a toss that it's Ash Wednesday? Do the locals? Is it a desecration of Christianity? I don't think so. The STB guys are supposed to show up themselves every Wednesday after their ordinary working hours to "supervise" the bazaar from 4.30 to 8.30. Methinks, cancelling is just another excuse for them not to put in the overtime.
For those not in the know: Bazar Labrin is held every Wednesday on the promenade at Beauvallon and is a meeting point for locals and tourists. There are food and craft vendors (including me) and a couple of guys playing the moutia. It's a fun place to be on a Wednesday evening.
I dare say I won't get a link back from the STB website. Do I give a toss? No. Just come and say hi to me next Wednesday. Unless it's cancelled because it's post-Easter week.
Do the tourists give a toss that it's Ash Wednesday? Do the locals? Is it a desecration of Christianity? I don't think so. The STB guys are supposed to show up themselves every Wednesday after their ordinary working hours to "supervise" the bazaar from 4.30 to 8.30. Methinks, cancelling is just another excuse for them not to put in the overtime.
For those not in the know: Bazar Labrin is held every Wednesday on the promenade at Beauvallon and is a meeting point for locals and tourists. There are food and craft vendors (including me) and a couple of guys playing the moutia. It's a fun place to be on a Wednesday evening.
I dare say I won't get a link back from the STB website. Do I give a toss? No. Just come and say hi to me next Wednesday. Unless it's cancelled because it's post-Easter week.
Seychelles Food Sensations
Yesterday, I found a blog that features recipes from the Seychelles: Seychelles Food Sensations. Mouthwatering stuff. Delectable. Tempting to the palate. And all the ingredients needed are available in Seychelles.
Enlightening Books for Enlightened Seychellois
I am currently reading Paolo Coelho's book "The Valkyries", which was passed on to me by a friend of my daughter (oh, enlightened youth!). Like so many books in Seychelles, it looks like it's been read by a hundred different people at least. It smells musty and "lizard-eggy" and is full of comments. At least they are in pencil, so I'm managing to ignore them. Now I'm hoping that the book doesn't fall apart on me; please let it last for some more poor souls who are starving for reading material.
Our one and only book shop on Mahé, Antigone, actually has a small but interesting selection of books. Aside from the coffee-table books on Seychelles, latest crime novels and bestsellers, the buyers at Antigone seem to be committed to raising the spiritual awareness of the Seychellois. There are always new shipments of personal development and spiritual growth books of the non-Catholic variety. These books are usually sold out within days, so I never get to buy them. I'm not really too bothered, as it's all old hat to me; I read them all before they got written. (More fool me for not writing them and making the big bucks!) Whilst I'm not too bothered about missing out on yet another book about the Law of Attraction, I would like to read more of the spiritual novels of the Paolo Coelho variety.
Being a resourceful human being (living in Seychelles has taught me a lot about looking for creative solutions to daily problems), I looked to the internet. And lo and behold! Paolo Coelho himself encourages pirating his books and actually has a site online. On my other blog, I've posted a few links where you can read or download his books in their entirety. Most are quick pdf downloads, so downloading from a slow Seychelles connection shouldn't be a problem.
Meanwhile, where are all the enlightened Seychelles residents who have been reading these books? If you're out there, please get in touch. And please don't tell me you're all sitting in meditation on a beach on La Digue...
Our one and only book shop on Mahé, Antigone, actually has a small but interesting selection of books. Aside from the coffee-table books on Seychelles, latest crime novels and bestsellers, the buyers at Antigone seem to be committed to raising the spiritual awareness of the Seychellois. There are always new shipments of personal development and spiritual growth books of the non-Catholic variety. These books are usually sold out within days, so I never get to buy them. I'm not really too bothered, as it's all old hat to me; I read them all before they got written. (More fool me for not writing them and making the big bucks!) Whilst I'm not too bothered about missing out on yet another book about the Law of Attraction, I would like to read more of the spiritual novels of the Paolo Coelho variety.
Being a resourceful human being (living in Seychelles has taught me a lot about looking for creative solutions to daily problems), I looked to the internet. And lo and behold! Paolo Coelho himself encourages pirating his books and actually has a site online. On my other blog, I've posted a few links where you can read or download his books in their entirety. Most are quick pdf downloads, so downloading from a slow Seychelles connection shouldn't be a problem.
Meanwhile, where are all the enlightened Seychelles residents who have been reading these books? If you're out there, please get in touch. And please don't tell me you're all sitting in meditation on a beach on La Digue...
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