Tuesday 30 December 2008

We've Gone Fishin'

Yesterday we had a lovely day out, having been invited fishing with Bertie's brother Richard and his family. Fishing is definitely in their blood, as Papy was a keen fisherman with his own boat and would often go out for the night (after a day at work!) and bring home plenty of fish for Mamie to sell in a wheelbarrow to the neighbours. Apparently this paid for a couple of cars, the huge freezer downstairs (which has sadly just broken after many years' service) and the upstairs part of the house where we are living.

Bertie's brother Luciano inherited the boat and took us fishing on the sea during my first visit in 2000. It was a wonderful day out, I remember snorkelling on a tranquil island, catching one tiny fish, and getting burnt to smithereens by the hot sun! The boat has been in repair ever since, so no repeat of that trip...(nothing to do with us, I hasten to add!). The fishing gene has also passed on to Richard's son William, and so when Richard is back from his regular work trips to St Martin, they spend many Sundays with their rod in hand.

As the family were intending to fish around Port Louis, we decided to kill two birds with one stone (or make two shots with one throw, as they say in french!) and visit the baptist church in Port Louis. We have been before and remember it to be a very lively affair, as they have the reputation of having the most happening worship band on the island! We were not disappointed, as it included steel drums (the only time I have ever heard them here, and so lovely to listen to) and bongos. If you want to hear one of the songs we sang, have a look at youtube here. It lasted about as long too! The other nice thing about the church was that they were less bothered about kids running in and out and talking, something that is sadly lacking in our local one.

After the service we picked up some bokits from a stall on the beach at Port Louis. It was very funny to see Bertie queuing with all the beach tourists in their swimming trunks whilst he had on his full Sunday gear of black trousers, shiny black shoes (we are in the Caribbean after all!) and long-sleeved shirt! He got laughed at by his brother and SIL when we found them too! In fact, they had headed up to Anse-Bertrand and his nephew had already caught a fish. You can see the place here (it wouldn't let me put it on the blog) and the waves were just as big! They fished off these rocks whilst the girls had a fantastic time with their cousin Raisa clambering over them. I enjoyed chatting to my SIL and looking after Baby JoJo.

We then moved along the coast to where the sea came in to a sort of lagoon, which had been beautifully arranged with a grassy space and huts and benches. As ever, nobody was there but ourselves; it often seems that the outside is wasted on locals! Richard caught a few fish, including an eel, and Bertie finally caught one to his delight, but it was too small to keep. He let LissaLou have a go on the rod but no beginner's luck for her. That, and being allowed to come home with her cousin in their car was probably the highlight of the day for her!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I take it that it wasn't the yellow church in Porlwi. What colour was the the baptist church?
I like the little bits of history you put in here

Hevs said...

You would be right! Cant remember the colour for the life of me but it is on rue Nelson Mandela!