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Before we continue, let us introduce the other pages of this
sub-section of Shore Leave:
Links in UPPER CASE letters are to indicate further Guide Pages which
give more detail about what is contained in the sections, lower case links are
to pages which may, in some cases, function partly as Guide Pages but are mainly
devoted to features and editorial content, as is this page, for example.
A Feast Ashore is where you can share information about places to eat and
drink in style.
Favourite
Haunts is about places to be visited if the opportunity arises - sights
and sites not to be missed.
Entertainment
Galore is the page for shows, theatre, live concerts, museums, art
galleries, carnival, special events, cinemas, clubs, dance venues, you name it.
It is fascinating how varied the tastes and attitudes of the
human race are. The basic separation between those who eat to live and those
who live to eat is a starting point, but even within those two categories the
variations are endless. Within each of us, exists the potential for endless
variation, too, although most of us are creatures of habit.
Our captain misses certain things desperately when they are not to be had, although he
doesn't consume all that much of them when they are freely available. He can't stand
bland food, abhors fast food and raves about seafood.
Being allergic to seafood
prevents the mate joining him in that pleasure but it probably wouldn't appeal to
her tastes anyway.
As one of those who don't mind much what they eat, but prefer food which is not strongly flavoured and
love sweet things, the mate is easy to please, definitely the eat-to-live type.
Take her tea away, on the other hand and she would probably display symptoms of
something akin to rabies. Apart from that, you could call her a fruitivore, when there's any decent fruit
about, which is all too rare in this
homogenised age.
We were in the Caribbean twenty-two
months between 1998 and 2000 and, although the mangos were good there, better ones were grown in
Andalucia, along with all that other luscious produce of southern Spain.
The cherries, strawberries, nectarines, grapes and plums were missed most, all so
cheap, fresh and
wonderful almost all year round.
The cost of eating quite poorly in Chaguaramas, Trinidad, for example; which is less expensive than the rest of the
Caribbean, as far as we
know; is almost twice the cost of eating fabulously in the south of Spain.
When
the Caribbean was like a paradise, it was also less expensive in Trinidad than
most places one might visit, which was part of the attraction. Now, the concrete
jungle is swallowing all and it is fast becoming disproportionately expensive to
spend time in what is, essentially, a
permanently humid, all too frequently rain-sodden and increasingly unattractive
place.
As in so many other places, the desire to harvest visitors' dollars leads more and more of
the locals and immigrant residents into dubious practices. If you think that's
a bit strong, believe us when we tell you that what is not being revealed here is a lot
stronger, but
that's another story.
Suffice it to say that while we were in Chaguaramas, during the major part of
the
22 months, good food would have been a comfort but was sadly lacking
outside Port of Spain.
Even there, the only place that stood out in our
minds, in retrospect, as having served
good food consistently, was
Jenny's in St, James, which really was worth the effort and travel. The
menu included excellent Chinese dishes and the decor was fascinating, with
plenty to look at as one wandered around the house. A bar in the basement had a
convivial atmosphere and Jenny Sharma, for whom the place is named, has clearly
gone to some trouble to create an establishment worth visiting.
The prices are low enough there but more expensive than in many nicer places.
Other Caribbean islands are more attractive to those who like to eat out and
some of Bequia's cuisine, for example, is far more sophisticated, if you know where to
look... try A Feast Ashore,
for a start, and if what you're interested in is buying food to put aboard, you
may like to take a look at Provisions
Decisions in Fill Her Up!
Where have your
best regular eating stays been?
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