10:30am and we still hadn't boarded our boat. They made an announcement to say that they were, of course, waiting for the cruise ship passengers who were having a hard time making it over by lifeboat due to the large surf.
When we were finally able to board at 11am, we had to wait even longer. The boat had to pull out of the harbor to let other boats in. A few of the cruise passengers who had made it over sat down next to us. At this point, there were about 20 people on board our boat, with 80 more yet to board.
"Are you two on the cruise?" asked a boisterous and slightly obnoxious older man. We answered no. "Oh!" He exclaimed, "You're textilists!"
Excuse us?
"Textilists! Y'know, you wear clothes!"
Turns out, it was a nudist cruise. A gigantic cruise ship filled with 1000 nudists.
We were baffled. And now two hours late in leaving, due to 80 nudists (thankfully clothed on our boat) but seemingly planning to disrobe once we donned snorkel masks.
At that point, our boat headed back into the harbor to pick up the other 80. My Sister and I had had it. The nudists had taken over our sweet little deck table, "You don't mind if we share this table with you, do you?" Errr...sort of? We jumped ship and got a refund as soon as we were back in the harbor. So much for our dolphin snorkeling experience.
It's not that I have a problem with nudists. Hey, if that's what floats your boat (so to speak) I'm all for it. Maybe not my personal choice (being a textilist and all) but whatever. It was more the fact that they were so pushy, loud, made us 2 hours late, and oh, the sheer number of them: 1000!!!!
I kept thinking about the David Sedaris essay where he stays at a nudist colony for 2 weeks to see what it's like. Being a germaphobe, he has a difficult time of it, as he can't sit down anywhere without bringing a clean towel along.
We did see dolphins later that day, just off the beach where we'd decided to spread out. Our textilist beach. And as we told each other that day, it makes for a good story, doesn't it?
And then, there's something about being next to the ocean. It makes you crave fresh seafood.
Does that seem wrong, somehow? Kind of morbid? Shall we just ignore the fact that I'm eating those friendly fish I was just snorkeling with?
Cool breezes, warm air, outdoor dinning: these things all screams for fresh and local, light and tangy, healthy and delicious with little preparation and mess.
The following was a collaborative meal. My Mother wanted Mahi Mahi, I wanted a citrus marinade. So I took care of that, and she did the rest.
Citrus Marinated Mahi Mahi
For the Marinade:
4 tbsp fresh orange juice (I used clementines, tangerines or any other citrus would work well)
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh lime jice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 Mahi Mahi steaks (about 1-inch thick)
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
lime slices, for garnish
Preheat the broiler to high. Whisk marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
Place the fish steaks in a shallow baking dish. Pour about half of the marinade over them (reserve the rest of the marinade). Let the fish sit in the marinade for 10 minutes at room temperature.
Transfer the fish steaks to a broiler pan and broil, turning them once with a spatula, until the steaks are golden on the outside and done to taste inside, about 4-6 minutes per side. Drizzle with the reserved marinade, garnish with the chopped cilantro, limes and serve.
If your steaks are thinner than 1-inch, reduce the cooking time slightly. If they are thicker, increase the cooking time.
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