Colony Food: Raw Like Us

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We gingerly hugged Agnes and Tom and then promptly set out for the first activity.

"This should be fun," Mal said as he took my hand.

"Where are we going? What are we going to do?"

"We are going to catch lizards!"

"Catch lizards!"

"Yes, you see, they are a delicacy here. Served raw."

"Raw?" I felt a bit off about this.

We came to a fenced off area that had tables and chairs set around the perimeter. In the dirt, really, it was dirt, there was no other way to put it, hundreds of lizards squirmed, ran and chased after nothing. Or rather sought escape.

Imagine: about 35 naked people chasing after lizards!

The lizards were the exact color of the dirt, and they were heinously fast, which made it rather difficult to catch them, but Mal managed.

"Ah, there you are!" He picked it up by its tail and bit its head off. Striding over the closest table, he set his lizard on a plate. "Now you try it."

"Must I?" I asked weakly.

"Look, there's Agnes biting the head off of one now."

I watched her chew and swallow. She appeared to be enjoying it. So much for help from one's friends!

"And, there, look, Tom's got one!" He too appeared to enjoy eating raw live lizard.

"Tom, Agnes, come, sit with us," Mal said to them.

"Thank you, " Tom said as he deposited his lizard onto a plate.

"Yes, wonderful to run into you here," Agnes said. "Perhaps we could have some MLK action later?" She peered hopefully at me.

"Oh. Lord in heaven." I rolled my eyes. "Of course we'll switch, we always do, darling. But this lizard thing."

"Oh. That," Agnes giggled. "They really are delicious, try it, Hildy."

"Well, all right." I squatted down in the dirt and waited for a lizard to run past.

"You've got to run and catch one!" Mal said.

"I am not doing any running without my super industrial strength bra," I told him firmly.

"The Freya (TM)?"

"You remember!" I  beamed at him.

"Lizard, Hilda. Lizard."

"Oh, very well," I reached down and snatched a lizard and bit its head off. It was crunchy, of course and the body wiggled about as I bit the head off, but overall, not bad. Kind of like a large hazelnut. I deposited my headless lizard on a plate.

"Oh goody! Now we can dine!" Agnes exclaimed.

We all sat and ate the rest of our lizards. A bit dry, to be sure, but overall, not bad tasting.

Next, we adjourned to the hotel bar where we all got snockered on mojitos.

Then we had a foursome.

La!

I remain,

Hilda Stinson