Gone Fishin'

The Blue Bomber

We were up-and-at-‘em quickly by our standards. We still probably didn’t get out of town as early as Wito would have liked, but it wasn’t too bad. Probably around 8.

For the first time, I didn’t drive. Miranda appreciated the offer of me driving her car, but she knew Sophia wouldn’t leave her alone unless she was driving. I know the drill. Cristina used to experience the same thing. So I rode in Wito’s backseat. I had the laptop and worked on my journal until the road got too bumpy.

We got to the fish camp in San Gerardo around 11. It’s a good two to three hours away from Pavas, not quite all the way to San Isidro, but not far from it. Which meant we went over our good friend, Cerro de la Muerte. That overturned truck was still there!

We wasted no time in catching some trout from the stocked pond as soon as we were there. Alex caught a few, Sofia caught at least one, and Bella wasn’t interested. As each fish was taken off the hook, someone (usually Fabian) would tear it’s head almost clear off. It kills the fish instantly so they don’t flop around and die a slow, painful death of asphyxiation. Regardless, it was a little off-putting for Bella and contributed to her lack of interest in catching any fish.

Twenty of us made the trip: my family (5), Wito and Maritza (2), Ricardo’s family (6), Carmen’s family (4), and Fernando’s family (3). It’s the first time we’ve had the entire group together. It took four cars to get us all there. Considering twenty people were going to be eating fish, I think we caught at least twenty fish. Well, the kids caught at least twenty fish.

Three years ago when we came here, we caught the fish and then the owner-guy cleaned them and cooked them for us and we ate them in the restaurant. This time, though, we brought charcoal and cooking gear. We’d be cooking our own fish.

After the fish were cleaned and bagged up for us, we drove/walked to the camping area and set up at a small covered area that had a grill and electricity. And speaking of electricity, a small trout pond adjacent to our grilling area was surrounded by electrified wire to keep the raccoons from stealing the trout. Poor Ricardito got a little too close and got zapped and kind of fell in the water to boot. Cristina did a little JSJ on him while his mom comforted him. He was back to normal in no time.

Fabian quickly got started on the fish. He pan-fried some and grilled others in aluminum foil. Our kids aren’t used to eating whole fish…they’ve been raised mostly on salmon fillets and various frozen fillets from Trader Joe’s. So their enthusiasm for eating fresh trout was mild. Alex did a good job of eating a whole fish. Sofia reluctantly picked her way through half of one. And Bella wanted nothing to do with it. I think Cristina did finally get a few bites into her. The fish tasted great. It’s just a bone issue when it comes to the kids. And, I must confess, I’m not a big fan of eating whole fish either. But the experience of it all was fun and I’m glad we did it. It’s not too often that you get to eat a fish that was swimming around a mere 30 minutes previously. Doesn’t get much fresher than that. Unless you just take it off the hook and bite into it while it’s still thrashing around.

After eating, some explored the river and others hung out and talked. Wito napped a little. The kids came back from the river wet. Alex was almost completely soaked. Gee, I would have never expected that.

See the cows in back?

Everyone presented me with a surprise birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday. It was only natural that we do a little something for my birthday when the whole group was together, even if it is a day early. Maritza made a watermelon Bundt cake, made with real watermelon that she’d bought at the farmer’s market the day before. She baked it while we were at the park looking at the horses. It was moist and excellent. I had two pieces. But Wito beat me. He had three.

It was heading towards 4 pm, and the rain was starting to fall. On the way back, I drove the Blue Bomber and Miranda rode with Wito and Maritza. During the drive back, we got pulled over by the police. They were checking everybody, so it was nothing we had done in particular. If you remember, this is the same way I got a ticket in 2006, also when we were going to the San Gerardo fish camp. In 2006, the Blue Bomber belonged to Ricardo and did not have up-to-date registration. So I got a ticket for that, as well as not having my passport with me. I knew the Blue Bomber’s paperwork was now up-to-date, and I knew I had a copy of my passport tucked conveniently into my wallet. So when the officer asked for my license, I wasn’t worried at all. I showed him my license and passport copy and he waved us on. Ricardo wasn’t so lucky. His registration had expired, and he got a ticket. I’m sorry for Ricardo, but I’m glad it wasn’t me this time.

We stopped for coffee and snacks. I got Bella some rice and beans. Sofia and Alex got chicken and meat empanadas respectively. I wasn’t hungry, but I tried a bite of each of theirs and then bought one for myself. Cristina had a part of a big handmade tortilla that someone (I think in Ricardo’s family) had bought but barely eaten. We hadn’t intended on eating at this coffee break, but it kind of turned into a small meal.

Group hug at the greasy spoon

We got to Pavas around 7, said goodbye to Miranda and family (and car), and showered and bedded Alex and Bella. I worked on my blog, had some Coffee Flakes cereal (I think I’m addicted), and then watched some TV with Cristina. Tomorrow, I’ll wake up a year older. 37. Man, that sounds old.