Fisherman

Today my cook brought in a man from whom he says we can buy the freshest fish at the lowest price. I asked the man if the fish was from the Congo river. "Oui madame!" The pride in his face was authentic. "De notre fleuve!" Does he catch it himself? Oui again. They go out on pirogues, with nets they make themselves. Can I go with him one day? Certainly! I'll have to row hard, though. He vigorously rows the air to make sure I understand (in fact his French is good). I tell him I don't see a lot of fishing going on on the river. No, there are few of us, he says. You have to have a license, a boat, equipment, and then you still have to pay off the police even though you have a license. It's a fact that the fish is rather expensive, 8000 FC's a kilo. That's about $8.00/lb. Pretty high considering the average income here. I ask him if there's a lot of fish. "Non, madame!" Sometimes he's out for two, three days, looking for a good spot to throw his nets (I mentally reconsider his invitation). "And there's rheumatism, malaria, too." Right. I'm not ready to step into the shoes of this brave fisherman. He hasn't even mentioned the crocodiles.