No More Crabs

Well, this sorry sight, a tiny bowl of crab legs, is the last legacy of our latest road trip, to the village of Atiav; Atiavi is a small fishing villages in the Volta Region, and about a 2 hour drive from my home in Tema. Our good friend, Herbie, is from Atiavi, but he is an old-timer from NYC, as well, with a love of fish and fowl of all kind.

Years ago, when we lived in the Washington, DC suburb of Hyattsville, Maryland, our summer was never really over until Herbie came for a visit from the Big Apple, and we went down to the Potomac fishmerman's wharf and bought a bushel of blue claw crabs.

In Ghana, we've enjoyed all sorts of gifts that the ocean or rivers have deigned to share with us: tilapia, cassava fish, red fish, river perch, ocean perch, octopus, you name it. But one thing missing, has been the crabs we came to love in the States.

Then, an amazing thing happened: One day, Herbie happened to mention that in his village, it was the time when crabs were most abundant. Apparently, the seasons alternate, either the crabs thrive (eating baby tilapia) or the tilapia thrive (eating baby crabs). He told Sly and me that we were in the middle of the crab season! well, how could I possibly pass up even the remote chance to enjoy these luscious crustaceans? Herbie immediately picked up his handy dandy cell phone (thank God, Alexander Graham Bell and Nokia for this wonderful little invention!) and we were assured that on the day of our choice, we'd have two baskets of luscious crabs. I am so ready!

So... Road Trip! Tuesday morning, we pick up Herbie, since he's the middle man. We've got two plastic laundry baskets in the back, a couple of Hefty-like trash bags and a set of cooking tongs in my pocketbook. We are ready!

The road for most of the trip is great, as it's been fixed up and has now very few potholes. We make a single pit stop just a bit east of Sogakope, to eat at a local chop bar. Herbie has the usual: light soup, fish and fufu. The kids and I snack on fried fish and kenkey. (Oh, have I mentioned that is about 9:00 am?) Naturally, I attract some attention... I can imagine the conversation among the children who came to watch us eat, "Look! There's an obroni eating kenkey and shitor!"

Food finished, destination Atiavi. At about 10:30 we reach the village. After a short wait, a fish monger comes with our basket of crabs and brings them to the outside porch. Beautiful angry crabs, all with their claws up and in defensive posture. Usually, the claws are removed as soon as they're caught... too much of a pain (literally and figuratively) to deal with. Fortunately, though, Herbie mentioned this to me, and I requested they not be amputated. I can see from where I'm sitting in the other room that they're huge! They start transferring them to our laundry basket and I send Alex out with the tongs. I am so excited! Price = 100,000 cedis or about $11.00.

Another fish monger comes with her crabs, claws removed, since she wasn't "aware" as they like to say. Okay, she's seen me. Crap. Obroni tax. Price has just been jacked up. This basket full, sans claws, is 110,000 cedis or about $12.25.

We're ready to hit the road while the crabs are still alive. Last, but not least: Sly and I bring out a large bag of Alexandra's clothes and shoes that she has outgrown. One of Herbie's good friends was killed in a car accident two years ago, leaving behind a young wife and a baby girl. Alex's hand-me-downs help keep her in clothes, and most likely can be found worn on most of the little girls in the village. In the old days, I'd have sold these on e-Bay and fetched a pretty penny for them. This is worth so much more.

When we get back to Tema, as we drop Herbie off to go back to his farm, we hand him out a dozen crabs. Once home, we start the process of sorting and cooking the crabs. Sly likes the female, I like the males, the kids like the claws. Once we've finished sorting and counting, the final tally is 120 crabs.

Since that day about 3 weeks ago, Sly has made several large pots of crab soup, I've made about 3 dozen crab cakes, and 2 great big bowls of crab salad, and the kids have picked through about 100 claws. It's been fun, but we're down to the dregs now, and no one is that anxious to suck out the tiny bit of meat left in these little legs, so our watchdog, Memphis, will enjoy what's left, in that bowl in the picture.

Cost: about $23 for crabs, $22 for gas, $5 for food and drinks enroute, a mere total of $50. A bushel of crabs from Maryland is about $185. And we came away from Atiavi with much much more than just crabs.

What a trip.