Day After Day

The days fall into an easy rhythm, not much difference from day to day. And that is fine. We spend the first couple of hours in our outdoor living room, which has two long couches and lots of pillows. Then spend another hour or two in the afternoon after our time on the beach. Breakfast is either yogurt with bananas and granola, or croissants from the French bakery down the street. Then, usually, a couple of hours on the beach. We have plastic lounge chairs that we haul out from the garden every morning, and back in at night. Lunch is usually crackers or a baguette with cheese, sometimes with tomatoes and or cucumber if we can find them. Today, though, we had ice cream from the place a couple of doors down from us on the street. It's pretty good, but pretty pricey for here, on a par with at home. Twice I have taken home leftovers from our dinners. Once it was a pasta and shrimp dish, which I had for lunch the next day. Last night I had sopa de mariscos, seafood soup, which was delicious, perhaps the best meal I've had here so far. And more than I could eat. I planned to have the rest for lunch today, until Loring proposed the ice cream idea. So it will probably be tomorrow's lunch. It had all kinds of seafood including shrimp and squid, conch I think, and I believe also some fish. The broth was gently curried, and there were veggies in it too, carrots, and tayota, known elsewhere as chayote and by numerous other names in different places. In the afternoons, more time on the beach, reading, and playing in the water. The waves have been quite gentle, although on a couple of days strong enough to knock me over a couple of times. And the temperature of the water is perfect. Loring goes on a couple of long swims every day, and I go frolic in the water at least once, listening to music on my favorite toy, my mp3 player. Today, though, the voice on the player was saying something, over Joni Mitchell singing, that I couldn't decipher. Until the music stopped, and I realize she had been saying battery low. Oh well. In the late afternoon we have been usually playing cards while having our rhum drinks at home. First it was gin rummy, then cribbage, and last night played 500 rummy which I don't think we've played for years. It's a good game. We didn't make it to near 500 points, so will continue as soon as I finish writing. And then, out for a stroll down the beach, our biggest decision for the day being which restaurant to eat at. We have eaten only once at each place so far, still have at least a couple to try before we return to any of them. We have six nights left after tonite, so are half way through our sojourn here in Las Terrenas. Today is Sunday. We expected there to be more people on the beach yesterday and today, since probably half the people here seem to be local, or at least Dominican. But that didn't prove to be true. Oh, did I mention the elvers and the elver fishermen? I probably did. Well, I will mention them again. Elvers are tiny eels, about an inch long. They are fished here, in some other tropical places, and seemingly incongrously, in Maine. They are prized in Japan where they are eaten in sushi and perhaps other ways.To be an eel chef is separate than a sushi chef, requiring special training. They are caught and then grown to larger size before being shipped to Japan. They are so valuable, up to $2000 a pound. There was a whole book written about them being fished in Maine. The elver fishermen, with their green nets, head lamps or flashlights, and plastic bottles to catch the eels, create an eerie, almost mystical vision along the shore at night. They line up, fairly close to each other, and comb the waves with their nets. It seems only once in a while do they catch an elver. Last night we walked along the shore, close to our house, and one of them brought his net up to us to show us the one he had just captured. I often see eel on sushi menus at home. I wonder if it is the same species as these. I am guessing not. This requires more research. I will report back.