Saturday, February 4, 2012

Sweet Tooth

It was about time to do some provisioning. Provisioning; stocking up food on a boat for a longer period of time. We do large provisioning every 4-6 weeks on Earthling. Last time we provision was in St. Croix, 7 weeks ago. Many items like Mayo and vegetable oil lasted until a few days ago. The fridge and the pantry were almost empty. We came here for this purpose. St. John is the capital of Antigua and most trades happen here. There are many small shops and street vendors. Cruise lines come in and out of this port everyday. Tourists are swarming the streets of St. John during the day and after sunset there are pretty much only locals.

The closest anchorage is right by the Cruise line dock. We pushed it a little further and came inside the bay right near the city in 8-10 ft of water. It can’t be more protected than this, the water is as flat as glass even though it’s blowing 15 mph.
We bought groceries from 2 super markets here in St. John. Bargain center is walking distance from town and First Choice is about $1US ($2.25 Eastern Caribbean) bus ride and 10 min away. Prices on both of the stores are similar, but there is more selection at First Choice, like cheese and lunch meat. In the middle of town, there is also a Fish and Meat Market, but make sure you get there early in the morning for the freshest meat and fish.


Local Vegetable Market
Most vegetables aboard are purchased at the local farmer’s market. Almost all the vegetables are grown locally and many of them I’ve never cooked with before. I’m getting creative making dishes with these island grown vegetables, such as Eddoes, Yams, and Christophines.  Check out the Earthling Menu to see what we cook aboard!        

Furthermore, I was not expecting to see a Middle Eastern Rasta mon. In St. John many store fronts and businesses are owned by Syrians and Palestinians and many of them are run/operated by the second generation. We met a few of them and they were so excited to have us visiting their Island. They were all very helpful and even gave us deals on some items purchased from their stores. A few of them have brought to our attention that we have nothing to worry about here in St. John. If there is anything we need help with, we should not hesitate to ask them. Who knew there would be a Middle Eastern spirit here in Antigua.


The Caribbean Islands have been known for their sugar cane production. You see sugar mill ruins in almost every Island. There is no sugar cane mass production and export any more. However, you still see people sucking on and chewing sugar cane. If you have a sweet tooth, like me, this is the best natural snack you can have. A few days ago in Hermitage Bay, we were walking on a muddy road and a pick-up truck stopped and offered us ride. We didn’t take advantage of the offer since we were not going that far. The following day we came across the same pick up truck in St. John. The gentleman was shaving sugar cane skins and selling them on the road side. We were excited to see him and bought some of the sweet sticks. The sugar cane has a fiber in them that you can’t eat but you can chew and suck out the sweet juice, then spit out the fibers. Since we’ve had this sweet snack aboard, we have been sucking more than ever and I have cured some of my sugar fix!
         
Love from Sweet Tooth

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