to read - Jaltemba Bay Life

MEXICAN SNAKE STORIESAt sunset my father, Raphael, and I went tothe beach at Guayabitos for a cool beer. Westarted talking to the owner of a restaurant thereand found out that he made belts fromsnakeskin. Apparently, he captured and bred avariety of snakes. Raphael said that throughouthis world travels he had learned that therattlesnake was the purest meat known to man; italso had medicinal powers. The restaurant ownersaid he had a boa constrictor he was going tomake into a belt and offered to sell Raphael thereptile’s meat. Raphael agreed and so wediscussed how to cook it and decided thatHungarian style would be the way to go: pancooked in oil and mixed with onions, redpeppers, garlic, and a liberal sprinkling ofpaprika. We later started walking back to townalong the beach, with Raphael taking off hisshoes. As a wave swept onto the beach I sawRaphael jump high, then again. I looked aroundand saw a water snake twisting aroundRaphael’s jumping feet. As our friend leaped outof harm’s way we all bent down to look at the