St. Croix's Mango Melee

Yum, yum...Mangoes are my favorite fruit but i'm allergic to them. i discovered this when i first moved to St. Croix and was standing under a mango tree helping to harvest. Within a few hours of all that collecting and eating i was a horrible mess. Unbeknownst to me the poison ivy like symptoms were caused by the mangoes and their sap. i discovered that unfortunately i was one of those people that couldn't indulge to excess during season.

Never one to let a little allergy control my life i subsequently discovered that if i didn't touch them and just popped chunks into my mouth the suffering was limited to superficial scratching and small bumps in my mouth. This i can handle for about a week every year during mango season.....and this is why Mango Melee is such a great event to go to for i can taste loads of mangoes at the tasting table and only suffer a little. Hope you enjoy the pics.

The display tables had so many mangoes of different varieties it was like going to the states after a long absence and having to walk out of the stores because you were too overwhelmed by all the choices. i couldn't quite file all the many types into my brain and figured i'd look at all the pics more closely at a later time. It really does boggle the mind....all that variety, size, color and taste and all so delicious.

 Outside the hall the vendors were doing a brisk business.

And the food smells were heavenly.

One stand had other fruit besides mangoes.

and another stand had mangoes, coconut, and breadfruit.

Outside its always nice to walk around the Botanical grounds and check out what is growing.

 Limin

and waiting to be rung.

Chantal is on the way and i thought we may not have power for a while so i'm putting this on early. My phone already has a hum so bad you can't hear anything...if we get more rain it will surely be toast.
See ya soon.