A Hashing We Will Go!

I sooo miss hashing. We discovered this running/hiking group in Antigua, hashed like crazy in Grenada, and then met lots and lots of people while hashing in St. Kitts. The thing is, it seems the Caribbean style of hashing isn't quite the same as the US or some other countries. In the Caribbean, they're more family style. A little raunchy, lots of drinking, but still set with kids and dogs in mind most of the time. I first realized that this wasn't the way it was everywhere when we debated moving to Puerto Rico. The first thing I did was look to see if they had a Hash House Harrier chapter. Yes, but their website was for those over age 18. ?! When we got to Key West, we were pleased to discover they had a hash group too, but then realized that it wasn't for the prudish. I hadn't considered myself in the prude category, but I was still shocked at the really raunchy rugby-type songs, the amount of personal body parts exhibited, and the focus on drinking before, during, and after. Where was the hiking? The views? The hikers of all ages? Everyone was friendly, but it just wasn't the same. This style of hashing is not unique to Key West, but what is Key West specific is that the group is trying to make the best out of the fact that they're on a flat island that's 4 by 2 miles. How to do that? Make it themed every time, dress up, and drink a lot (to be fair, the HHH motto is that it's "a drinking club with a running problem"). I hash for the exercise, the view, the challenge, to experience new places (going to locations I might not have felt safe going to by myself) and to meet a variety of people. Some of this is just not physically possible in Key West, so I don't go (it's not them; it's me). In St. Kitts, which is about 25 by 5 miles, locals are still discovering places on the island they've never been to before (and that's after 20 years of hashes; one every three weeks). And Saturday was no different.

We had a crowd of just under 100 people,

Easing In

Fantasy Fest eases in with the Goombay Festival. It's supposed to celebrate the Bahamian influence on Key West and took place, conveniently, in the Bahama Village. Now, we've been down here before, saw the hat store on the corner (playing country music, bleck) and moved on. We hadn't realized that this is more a neighborhood than a "place," and that there were more restaurants and stores down the street that we were missing.