Sol de Noche

Well, it is 1:30 in the morning and Denise and I have just returned from night fishing on the beach, in front of the house. Here in Uruguay, it is common to go night fishing for little fingerling fish, some no bigger than an inch, getting up to 6 inches. They use little fish nets (like butterfly nets) and attract the fish with a bright light- typically a lantern, with aluminum foil on one side to direct the light at the water. They call that light the "sol de noche" (or sun of the night). The fish are usually floured and fried whole.

But how, you ask did we find ourselves on the beach that night, fishing and sharing a meal with a large family?

Earlier that day, our doorbell rang. When I answered it, the couple said "Hi!". I knew right then that "they were not from around here" (a phrase I heard many times in 1969, during my hippy phase, when I drove a pink thunderbird from Hollywood to Dallas texas- but that is another story). They introduced themselves and we invited George and Katherine inside. George is (and here is where it gets interesting) Russian, born in Argentina and living the last 22 years in New York. His wife, also Russian, speaks fluent Spanish. In fact almost all of the family speak perfect English, Russian and Spanish- children included. During his early years in Argentina, his family loved coming to Marindia and eventually, many years ago, bought several lots and over the course of the years, built and built and built and now they have a lovely little villa overlooking the beach, just a few blocks from our house. George had run across the blog, quite by accident and determined to look us up when they arrived here for a 10 day visit. We were thrilled to meet them.

He introduced us to Nicholas (his childhood friend from birth) and his wife and sister Xenya (spelling is probably wrong). They and their children planned a nighttime visit to the beach for fishing and having a good time and invited us to go.

So, we found ourselves waste deep, in water not too cold, searching for little fishes. Denise got 2 and I got 5. To be honest- the fish were so small, that you could miss them at the bottom of the net if you didn't look close. But they were fish and I did get 5. The night itself was almost too good. The temperature was just right. The Southern Cross was just at the horizon and the crashing waves had a bright blue phosphorescence that is rarely seen. It couldn't have been more perfect.

After some hot dogs and other refreshments by the fire, we parted company- happy to have been invited to share with them in their family outing.