Having spent ten weeks out of urban civilisation, with little evidence that fresh fruit and vegetables exist on the planet, we now find ourselves accepting mangos from everyone we've met since stepping ashore two days ago. Ten weeks cruising remote islands and bays have seen us develop an enormous appetite for fresh produce. Its been a bumper season in Carnarvon, it seems, and everywhere we go we are intercepted by locals proffering large bags of mangos and begging us to take some off their hands. Within 24hrs we have 28 mangos onboard, falling out of the fridge and spilling over into the saloon. Our once sad and depressing fruit hammock, strung between portholes across the galley, is now overflowing with the fabulous local fresh produce produced in this richly fertile horticultural region, on the mid west coast of Western Australia.
Well what can we do? It's only mid afternoon, but today we may well set a new record for the number of mangos consumed in one day. Twelve have been knocked off since breakfast this morning, and we're still counting. We knew we were in trouble this morning at the pre-race breakfast at the Carnarvon Yacht Club when Murray leaned across his plate piled high with bacon and eggs and said "I hope you're not paying for your mangos" as he slipped another one across the table.
Mango madness is without doubt a sickness, curable only by removing oneself from the source. We're like addicts hanging for the next fix, eyes darting surreptitiously at the worryingly decreasing pile of lush fruit on the dining table. I just have to duck outside to the cockpit and my partner in crime John, has sliced open another one and sucked it dry before I'm at the top of the companionway steps. No matter how much he tries to deny his problem, the evidence is as clear as the sweet sticky juice running down his chin and through his chest hairs. Chunky hunks of flesh drool from his lips as he hungrily slurps at the dangerously addictive flesh. This is an illness that has no limitations, it knows no bounds. It has no age or gender discrimination. We have both succumbed heavily to the madness, and on close inspection of our teeth, both can be seen with the telltale stringy orange fibres hanging from our gums.
Soon the aft deck becomes a mushy sea of orange pulp and discarded skins as we develop our own marine version of the mosh pit. The deck-wash cannot keep up with the fast flowing stream of sticky juices. During our mango induced creative haze, in a startlingly clear hallucination, we decide to rename our yacht Nilubon to the Naked Mango.
What is the cure? Find a diversion, something to occupy the mind, the experts say.
The word on the street is that the nectarines are ripening……….
|
| Mango Season |
Summer is the time for mangos. They usually start appearing in the shops around November each year. Try freezing them (skin on) to make mango smoothies outside the season. |
| Where to Get Your Fix |
Drop into the Carnarvon Yacht Club and get to know the locals. Some members run their own plantations on the edge of the Gascoyne River. The best place to eat a mango is in the bathtub - just let the juice run down your arms and into your armpits! |
| Best Variety |
Kensington Pride and Bowen Mangos are the sweetest and juciest mangos grown in Australia. | |