Jimbaran Fish Market
Starting with a few updates from home here in Bali….the duck lives and is well.
I posted a video the other day of a dog we stopped to help on the side of the road, who was being eaten alive by maggots. He was severely dehydrated and lethargic. Between my friend, Moon, my mom and I, we gave him lots of water, called a vet, who gave him a shot that made all his ticks fall off and the maggots come crawling out of him by the hundreds. We have all checked on him often since then – making sure his owner is feeding him well and giving him his meds and water, and now after a little surgery at the vet and lots of antibiotics, he is happily walking around wagging his tail.
Cheers to Chico the dog!
Our sweet friends, Ana and Thierry, had a beautiful 9.6oz baby boy and have named him Pierre. He is so big and so dang cute. We had a fun gathering with them and many other friends at our villa and feasted a couple days before she went into labor.
Speaking of babies, our beautiful little grand daughter, Zailyn, is growing beautifully! She will be 1 on January 27th, so we will be flying the US to celebrate her big day with her and her Mummy and Daddy. I can’t wait to kiss that sweet little face!
A couple nights ago, some friends of ours invited us to join them at the Jimbaran Fish Market for dinner. We hadn’t been there yet, and immediately agreed to join them. We all met at our house and in one big scooter gang, drove an hour to Jimbaran. Mycah and her passenger were jolly stylish in their watermelon helmets! We call them Mellonheads.
As we parked our scooters the stench of fish hit me square in the face. It was getting dark outside, so as we entered the tented fish market with lights shining brightly, it took a second for my eyes to adjust…long enough for me to not see the deep puddle of stinky fish juices that I stepped right in to! I’m always either barefoot, or, when I have to I wear shoes, I wear flip flops. In this lovely puddle I was standing in flip flops. The first couple steps I took out of it shot fish cocktail up all over my back and every step after that was deliciously sticky. Yummy!
Spread out in front of us were rows and rows of tables, all covered in containers of every kind of fishy thing you can imagine.
Rather than breathing in and smelling the fish potpourri, I found myself breathing only through my nose and talking like I had a cold. As we passed by tubs of shrimp,
crayfish…
octopus, squid and fish, I couldn’t help but think of the many times I’d been in the ocean swimming along side these gorgeous creatures as they swam freely.
I felt especially bad as we passed by some cute little sharks who were lying wide eyed and limp.
For about 600,000 IDR ($45), we bought 10 kg of fish, shrimp, squid and clams, and took our stash across the street to a restaurant where they take your goods, weigh them, and cook them up for you.
All our food was cleaned and laid out on a giant BBQ, while we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves in conversation and cold drinks.
My mom enjoyed her favorite – a delicious, fresh coconut.
Before long, our table looked like a Las Vegas Seafood buffet, with deliciously seasoned shrimp, BBQ clams, savory fish and the most amazing calamari.
I thought to myself several times that I wished Danny was with us and I couldn’t wait to bring him here.
What a feast!!!
By the time we were done, we were so full, and my flip flops were permanently glued to my feet. As we climbed aboard our scooters and drove the hour home – cool air in my…helmet, I just knew at some point the smell of fish would stay behind. When walking into my room that night, still smelling like a dead fish, I pulled off my dress and smelled the back of it where my shoes had flipped up fish smoothie, and about puked. I jumped into the shower, scrubbed thoroughly and washed my hair, them burned my dress out on the sidewalk. (Ok just kidding, but I thought about burning it!)
Adventures of a Tribe 