Beez Neez now Chy Whella

Aquarium

Big Bear and Pepe Millard

Tue 31 Mar 2009 23:10

Visit to the local Aquarium

We had an hour to spare before the local post office opened, we had seen signs to the Aquarium and as it was only a ten minute walk, off we went. Whilst it was nothing compared to the beautiful one in Plymouth it had good variety and everything looked fit and healthy.

The second we entered there were crabs, this lightened my bad mood dreck-lee

A regional meeting of the crab kind, a couple of jelly-fish, nasty but pleasing to watch the other side of the glass, pretty Squirrel fish.

Queen Angel Fish rooting around Brain Coral

French Angel Fish, coral and a Lobster Royale.

These look like I feel - stonefish just dossing about

An urchin and spider shrimp, a baby octopus just hanging around and a blenny digging a hole.

A sea horse, piranha and an ugly chap

My favourite picture is of this little French boy blowing kisses to a huge porcupine fish. The turtle laying at the back of the shot remained motionless for some time until he suddenly got the hump with the nurse shark laying doing nothing beside him. He upped, turned and nosed her in the side, she went, he returned to his exact same place.

This moray eel up close shows a nasty row of teeth running down the centre of its top palate

Bear dashing up and down this tank for me to get him in shot with a doctor fish. An anemone hanging around looking like I feel. Bear and a huge sea snail

These six foot tarpons made me think how much I respect deep sea divers who go down at night with just a torch strapped on their foreheads. I think they must also be quite nuts - imagine a coming upon one of these in a foul mood, or a conger eel who has just had a row with his wife, or a giant octopus or squid trying to give you a hug. I'll stick to shallow water with pretty little fish, thank you.

After moseying around the aquarium it was off for a rhum punch in Coco Cafe opposite. A happy bar full of chattering Bananaquits and Bullfinches.

Rhum in Guadeloupe.

From 10th to 5th Centuries B.C. Sakkarin, the reed that crunches in your teeth is grown by the Persians.

End of 15th Century. Christopher Columbus introduces sugar to the Caribbean.

1516. The first cargo of sugar leaves Hispaniola (Haiti and Santo Domingo) for Spain.

17th Century. Around 1640, the first stories of a sugar cane brandy in the Caribbean are heard. This alcohol is then called "Guildive" - "Kill Devil" or Tafia a word with African or Amerindian origin. In 1667, Father Tertre invents an apparatus to distill the golden syrup, called then the "froth and big syrups". In 1694, the famous Father Labat invents the still.

19th Century. Production is high, still is replaced with still columns, which permit non-stop distilling. This "industrial" rhum is obtained from molasses. Before the turn of the 19th century, market prices drop dramatically and many sugar cane producers went bankrupt. the small plantations started to produce "agricultural rhum" or "inhabitants rhum" obtained from pure fermented sugar cane juice.

Today. After a number of crises throughout the 20th century, Guadeloupe has thirteen brands of rhum and punches. The biggest extraction unit is Gardel at le Moule. The 13,000 hectares of cane produce 80,000 tons os sugar. Rhum production is mainly exported as local consumption is weakening.

Brands. Bielle, Bologne, Callard, Damoiseau, Darboussier, Domaine de Bellevue, Longueteau, Madras, Montebello, Pere Labat, Reimonencq, Rhum Coeur de Chauffe and Severin. Bear immediately states he wants to have a go at the one called Madras and a stiff one with Rhum de Coeur de Chauffe. The rhum Bologne we had in Coco Cafe was served neat, with a spoon full os sugar, ice and a a slice of lime. Slid down very nicely.