Not Home for the Holidays

When we decided that it would not be wise to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families, it took us about two seconds to reach the executive decision to extend our El Salto trip through the holiday (which was about 1.99 seconds longer than it should have taken). As Hanna has written, it’s our home away from home, and the staff have become our second family.

Nevertheless, neither of us had ever spent turkey day outside of the U.S. We had no idea what to expect on the “Dia de Gracias.”

Would they have turkey?

How do you translate the word “stuffing?”

Would we still get to watch football during siesta time (there was no way we were going to miss any time on the water)?

The answers were everything we wanted and more, the best aspects of the comforts of home combined with the staff’s warm hospitality (and fishing).

On the Wednesday immediately preceding the holiday the last of the other gringos cleared out. A group of Mexican nationals arrived to fish, and they were friendly, but clearly the holiday meant little or nothing for them. Nevertheless, Anglers Inn spared no effort or effort or expense to make our holiday great.

The chef on duty, Giovani, prepared a perfectly-cooked, remarkably juicy turkey, and he paired it with the traditional sides of stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. I may have had seconds. Or thirds. Even though I’d been eating like a pig for the past 11 days. To top it off, he’s a trained pastry chef, and we finished the night with pumpkin pie.

Of course we missed our families. Of course we don’t like the fact that the ongoing pandemic was the cause of our joy. Still, it was hard not to smile at the end of the night. We had much to be thankful for.

Beyond the fact that you now know it’s safe and comfortable to visit Anglers Inn on Thanksgiving, I do believe that there’s a broader lesson to be learned from this – the holidays are in some cases an excellent time for a fishing trip. If you’re a vacation day hoarder like me, it likely means you’ll have to take less vacation time for the same trip. Furthermore, it’s a time when the whole family is often available (e.g., kids off from school) so it may be a uniquely good time for everyone to get together. Finally, because some locations may have trouble luring guests away from home on “special days,” some lodges or outfitters may even have special deals.

I’m not a “special day” guy in that I don’t need to do something meaningful just because it’s my birthday. I don’t need to be in my own country on Independence Day. The most special days of my calendar are the ones where I get to fish…followed by pie.