The May Grantourismo Travel Blogging Competition was a tough one to judge: we were all salivating as we read the many mouth-watering food and travel themed entries. (Drum roll). The winners are: FIRST PRIZE, a stay at a HomeAway Holiday-Rentals property anywhere in the world valued at UK£500/US$750, a Viator tour voucher worth £100/US$150 and an Olympus FE-4040 compact camera worth £125/US$190 goes to Corinne of Gourmantic for the very evocative Tasting the Mediterranean (photo above and post below); our SECOND PRIZE, a Context tour voucher worth US$100 and a private half-day tour with a local guide in a destination anywhere in the world from Our Explorer goes to Jessie of Wandering Educators for (gulp!) her brave tale of Eating Anemones and Saving Face in Japan; while our THIRD PRIZE, an annual subscription to AFAR magazine, goes to Ashley, the other half of Smash and Sniff, for A Memorable Meal: Yangtze River Harmony, that is indeed hard to forget; we can still hear the slurping! Thank you to everyone who entered – this one was a real delight to judge! – and thanks to all of our sponsors, HomeAway Holiday-Rentals, Viator, Context, Our Explorer, and AFAR magazine. You can find links to the May entries in the Trackbacks and Comments at the end of the May Grantourismo Competition post. Details for the June competition coming next. Enjoy our winning post…
TASTING THE MEDITERRANEAN
BY Corinne of Gourmantic
I could be anywhere along the shores of Nice, Tangiers or Agrigento. The unmistakable blue of the Mediterranean always calls to me. Here, at Dar sur Mer, the view from the white-washed balcony of our holiday home puts me in a trance. The open sea shimmers under the midday sun with pin points of silver dancing over the water’s surface.
The small town of Safra is merely eight kilometres from the bay of Jounieh, north of the Lebanese capital. I amble along a narrow road that hugs the coast, looking for memories. To my left, glimpses of the sea drown the incessant claxon of impatient motorists. I cross into the adjacent village, Bouar, and I stop in front of a street vendor. A hand-written sign, Toutia, stands above a colourful array of freshly-caught sea urchins.
And it takes me back…
To another Mediterranean summer long ago. To long hot days spent on a pebbled beach. To an adolescent boy named Hagop, his dark brown eyes peering at me from behind a yellow mask and a blue snorkel.
Knife in hand, he plunges towards the rocks below while I paddle around in tepid waters. His right hand submerges first, clutching a spiky creature. Like a prized jewel, he shows me his harvest, a black sea urchin with sharp spikes wiggling against his gloved palm.
With unexpected dexterity, he slides his knife across the black mass and cuts it in perfect halves. Using the tip of the knife, he discards the innards and presents me with a perfectly clean sea urchin, its bright orange lobes glistening under the sun.
“Please… eat,” he says in a thick Armenian accent that an impressionable young girl finds charming.
With the curiosity and revulsion of a thirteen year old, I stare at the offering as we both tread in shallow waters. What am I do with it?
Hagop dips the tip of his finger into the sea and drips sea water over the urchin. “A little salt,” he says before scooping out a roe and eating it.
I copy his technique and put one in my mouth. The flavour is rich and creamy. The texture is smooth and spreads on my tongue like butter with a lingering sweetness of the sea. I taste the Mediterranean.
Hagop’s face lights up with a smile.
“More?” he asks from behind his mask.
And he disappears below the surface…
I look up from the trays of freshly-opened Toutia and meet the street vendor’s eyes.
“Addesh?” I ask him the price for a box of culinary memories.
Back on the balcony of our holiday apartment, we set the table for an uncomplicated local meal. Two plates, two teaspoons, a couple of chilled Almaza beers and a box of Toutia overlook the sea.
I hold one in my hand, reach for a spoon and pause in reminiscence. I leave the utensil on the table and scoop the sea urchin roe with my finger.
I taste the Mediterranean, once more.
11 comments
1 ping
Jen Laceda says:
June 5, 2010 at 3:58 am (UTC 10 )
I read the essay on her blog after she submitted to you! Great post! So well-deserving of the win!
Lara Dunston says:
June 6, 2010 at 8:20 am (UTC 10 )
It was a very evocative piece, wasn’t it? Just beautiful.
Thanks for dropping by, Jen!
Gourmantic says:
June 5, 2010 at 10:03 pm (UTC 10 )
Thank you very much, Lara and Terry! I feel very honoured to see my winning entry here. Many thanks to HomeAway Holiday-Rentals for the generous prizes.
Congratulations to the other winners, Jessie of Wandering Educators and Ashley of Smash and Sniff.
Lara Dunston says:
June 6, 2010 at 8:20 am (UTC 10 )
Congratulations, Corinne! It was a very inspiring piece of writing!
Ashley Hooker says:
June 8, 2010 at 1:09 pm (UTC 10 )
Congrats Corinne! I knew as soon as I read yours, it would take first. Great post!! And thank you so much for 3rd place. This months competition was really tough!! I loved reading everyone’s entries!
Lola says:
June 6, 2010 at 1:39 am (UTC 10 )
Congrats to all the winners. Well done guys!
Lara Dunston says:
June 6, 2010 at 8:22 am (UTC 10 )
Lola – the judges all loved your post too. It scored very highly. If only we had more prizes to give away!
Katja says:
June 6, 2010 at 1:22 pm (UTC 10 )
Congratulations everyone! A great set of winners this month.
Leverne says:
June 7, 2010 at 8:53 am (UTC 10 )
Sea urchin roe never sounded so sexy before! Well done.
jessiev says:
June 9, 2010 at 12:24 pm (UTC 10 )
thank you so much! and congrats to the winners. off to finish reading!!
Heather Carreiro says:
June 11, 2010 at 11:46 am (UTC 10 )
Congrats everyone!
Winning the May Grantourismo Travel Blogging Competition | Gourmantic says:
June 6, 2010 at 5:54 pm (UTC 10 )
[...] And I won. [...]