We went plant hunting on Saturday.....visiting our many plant friends who had babies to share and lots of cuttings to get rid of.
I did not drive Beast, but instead was picked up by my girlfriend at the appointed meet-up time, and off we went.
Of course we had to pay a visit to Caribbean Plants as well, where I became the proud owner (thanks to Patrick) of a triangle leaf ficus, a plant I had wanted to add to my collection for some time now.
It was a hot steamy day (what else is new with the weather these days), very HOTT for October, we were drained.
Traveling on the west coast back towards the city, we spotted a welcome sight....a wayside coconut vendor. Pulling over, we climbed out like thirsty tourists and asked the price of the coconuts.
"Two dollars and fifty cents," came the reply.
"What??? We live here, is that the local price????"
"Yes, that is the price, this is the west coast," came back the friendly reply.
Now my coconut vendor charges two dollars per coconut, but as this friendly guy explained, these coconuts were big and sweet.
We could not find any more ideas to barter the price down, so we bought three BIGG lovely tasting coconuts from John.
His stand and surroundings were clean - see the container of water with the spigot? He used it to wash his hands off between handling the coconuts.
Overlook the mess of discarded shells, he cleans it all up when he is finished selling for the day.
John the friendly coconut vendor
Not everyone can be a coconut vendor...it demands very skilful handling of the machete to "top off" the coconuts.
Have to give the ladies a straw
When we were finished drinking, he obliged us by cutting the empty coconut in half with the machete, so that we could eat the jelly (flesh) inside.
See you next time John.
I may have said this before but although I eat almost anything I'm not a great fan of coconuts. I do use coconut milk and cream in cooking quite a lot though. Perhaps if I tasted one fresh as yours it would be different.
ReplyDeleteI think you would enjoy a fresh tasty coconut, nicely chilled.
DeleteSome of the mixologists on the island even use the water as a chaser with some of the exotic cocktails that they create.
Coconut milk and cream I only use for specialised recipes, when I'm doing gourmet cooking.
Don't ever drink the so-called tinned coconut water, it is no good, and is nowhere tasty like the fresh coconut.
A trip to Barbados is in order.
He obviously does good business with the number of coconut shells.
ReplyDeleteWhat we would refer to as a "fantabulous trade."...yes very lucrative indeed.
DeleteOn Sundays in particular, the truck sometimes makes two trips, one for the morning trade, and one for the afternoon.
The vendors go around and buy the coconuts from householders with trees. They then climb the trees and pick the coconuts, and sell them on the highways and byways.
Hopefully I'll get to do a post on the picking of the coconuts the next time the guys stop by to pick my neighbours' coconuts.
They sell them at our local markets too - so tasty and the water is supposed to be very good for you.
ReplyDeleteThe coconut water is very GOOD for your system. Helps to flush the kidneys and generally a great tonic for the body.
ReplyDelete