Food, glorious food

This is a postcard that depicts George, who makes conch salad right outside the gate of Harbour View Marina in Marsh Harbour. We had our first Sho'Bo' (that's his nickname) conch salad when we brought Raconteur here in March, and when we arrived back yesterday [after heading straight for the local supermarket, PriceRight, en route from the airport to do our two week provisioning] JP made a beeline to pick up a container. We headed to lunch at Mango's, which is between Harbour view and the Sunsail/Moorings marina, saving the conch salad for an apero later. On the way back, we stopped again, and George was making a huge mound of the salad for some folks who were apparently off on an excursion (by plane, no less) and who had sent someone to pick up about 8 or so containers. Anyway, we were all exhausted so the conch salad, along with gin&tonics and Destrooper's Almond Thins, became dinner. If anyone will be in Saint Augustine on the weekend of May 16-17, you can meet George and his wife (who runs the kitchen at Wally's, a more upscale restaurant across the road from Harbour View) and, I hope, taste this fantastic dish, as they will be participating in a Junkanoo Festival there (ahead of the real thing, which happens here in June).
I started thinking about the extent to which we travel on our stomachs - all three of us now that JP and I have got hold of Susan - and what pleasure there is in these local foods. George fishes the conch himself, prepares it (it's very labor intense, because you have to pound the hell out of it to make it tender enough to eat), chops the vegetables (tomatos, onions, green pepper) and makes a hot sauce (optional) to add to it at the end for those who want a little kick in their conch. I don't think it is possible to find a better or fresher version of this Bahamian classic anywhere.
Here's to George, and all those like him in the world, who give us such experiences.
Relaxing at the marina today, off toward the south tomorrow. Still really nice here, not yet hot, quite windy...