First full day on the island of Little Corn I wanted to walk all over and get a feel for the place. The island is maybe 3 miles long by 1/2 to 1 mile wide depending on which part you are at, so it is not big, by any means. There is one sidewalk along the hotter west facing side and a few paths that connect to the eastern facing side which has a beach, but no real paths along its' length. The west side has a picturesque bay that is a perfect setting for sunsets but does not get the steady breeze that the east side gets. Most locals like the west side better due to the sidewalk and cluster of shops and services, but I prefer the east side with the cooling winds and coral reef that is 500 yards off shore. The north part of the island has a few small hotels but is mostly undeveloped. I ran into a pack of 5-8 year olds who accosted me for change, 'give me 5 Cordoba or I stomp you!' said one kid. I'm a big believer of not giving money to kids because I feel it reinforces the thought that they can use tourists by begging rather than providing some service, but that's a longer discussion not meant for this forum. Regardless, I received a hail of mangos that were being thrown at me due to my refusal of donation. None hit me, but the kids were ruthless and I could not help but think of the movie 'City of God', where kids smaller than these were running the slums of Rio de Janeiro with iron fists. Being a good 1/2 mile from the nearest house, i'm not ashamed to say I ran away from them for fear of being, not stoned, but mangoed to death. I felt like telling the kids I was a fortune teller and I saw incarceration in their future but I decided to keep quiet should they try to lie in ambush on my return to the center of the island. The north side has a few deserted beaches and the best snorkleing on the island just offshore but it is a good 15-20 minute hike to get food or water, so it's not really my cup of tea. So I made my way back through the forest and luckily the little hellians were gone but that did not alleviate my paranoia of being bombarded a second time. Closer to the center of town I saw the kids sitting on their front porch where they, once again, said something about 5 Cordobas and stomping but I felt a little braver since there were neighbors around so I just ignored them. Next day I went snorkleing and saw a sea turtle and a few nurse sharks plus tons of very pretty coral. A few days later I went fishing with a few locals and caught some Parrot Fish, tons of Yellowtail, Trigger Fish, plus a species Felipe called 'de debil feesh' due to its' large spiney fins and red color. Felipe is the father in law to the Captain, Jather (sounds like father). Jather is about 30 years old and named his boat after his son, Moises, which I thought was super cool. The boat is called 'Captain Moses". Felipe is one of 9 native islanders left. I'm guessing he is about 55 years old, has lived a rough life, has light brown skin, green eyes, is about 6' tall and weighs 135. He has a very Carribean accent and likes to say 'Yeah, maaan!' when there is any lull in the conversation. He claims to have 10 kids by 5 moms spread all over the Carribean. He is quite simply... a character.... and I love characters! In fact he holds a kinship to Morgan Freeman in 'Shawshank Redemption' because he describes himself as a man that can 'get whatever you want'. All in all we caught about 30-40 fish on our 2 1/2 hour trip just beyond the reef. The getup was extremely simple: a thick clear line on a spool with a small piece of pipe on the end (as a weight) and a hook 6 inches above that. Put a small piece of bait on the hook, let the line sink to the bottom and hold the line with both hands. When you feel a little nibble on the line try to set the hook and pull up the catch. The biggest fish we caught was about 1 foot long, so the fish were similar to a trout you'd find in Colorado rivers, not huge but fun to catch and good eating! We also had a rod/reel set up to try to catch Kingfish but they werent biting that day, oh well. Felipe was very patient and helped me pull out the hooks in my hand a few times, and was very happy for me when I would catch a fish. To be honest, I caught more fish than Jather, but I attribute this to beginners luck. After we cleaned the fish, gave some away to locals and washed our hands we made our way to Jathers' moms restaurant to make Ron Don. Ron Don is a local fish stew made with root vegetables and coconut along with whatever fish that is fresh. You start with fresh grated coconut and a bit of water to create a coconut 'milk', put it on a fire, add chicken base, boil for a while, then add local veggies such as potatoes, onion, malanga (a sort of yucca root), a small turnip looking cousin of the coconut (forgot the name, sorry) and boil til the veggies are soft and the liquid is reduced, then add whole black pepper and the cleaned fish, cover with banana leaves, cook for another 10-15 minutes and adjust seasoning. Diagnosis: deeeelicious! Felipe told me that I would have to go out on the town tonight because the Ron Don has an effect on the ladies. In fact he had already spied out an English chick that was travelling alone who had arrived earlier in the day, staying at the same hotel I was. I'm not sure how the ol' dog had found this out because she arrived on the panga while we were out fishing. Apparently he thought she would be perfect for me. He said, 'Usually you be chasin the woman... but after the Ron Don, the woman be chasin you! Best be careful, you may have a little native one runnin around the island in a few months after the woman be done with you! Yeah maaaan!'. I asked if the Ron Don was the reason he had so many kids running around the Carribean and he replied, 'I don't usually eat the Ron Don because I have such a difficult time fightin off the lady as it is! Yeah, maaaan!'. Hilarious, I truely can not make this stuff up. So naturally your next question is did the Ron Don work, correct? Well, I laid down for a nap around 6pm and woke up at 3am, whoops. The funniest part was, I actually met the English girl the next day, who turned out to be a very lovely person I might add, and we went to a BBQ Grill Out with a few people the next evening. As we were walking to the hosts' house she and I passed Felipe sitting on his steps along the sidewalk. He saw the two of us walking and talking and with a big ol' grin he said, 'Yeah, maaan!', as he nodded his approval at me. The next day Felipe and I ran into each other and he greeted me with, 'So you like the Ron Don, no?!'. I exploded in laughter! I mean I could not have set that up more perfectly if I had 100 opportunities. Needless to say, Jather, Felipe and myself are planning on going fishing again tomorrow, if the weather holds. We got along so well (and my fishing was not to shabby, mind you) that we agreed to split the cost of bait and gas without further cost to me. That is a killer deal for me, meaning that I am gonna pay just a few bucks for, what I can only assume, will be a few more good stories with Felipe. I can't hardly wait!
Note: The weather was too windy to go fishing today so we postponed, which is a good thing, because when Felipe came to tell me the news this morning he said he needed some sleep because he met a beautiful Australian lady at the bar last night. Felipe! You ol' dog, you!
