It has only been a couple of years since I have really started to appreciate eating from the sea. Back in the days I would always say the words 'I don't eat from the sea', but the good thing from growing older is that you also get wiser and are open to more things.
With the broadening of the food pallet, it also means there is a lot more choice. But not every choice is the best one, and not living next to the sea also can mean it is also the expensive one.
When we reached th boarder of Greece and Albania there was this lovely little fishing town, which had absolutely nothing else than a tiny harbor and some places from where the fishes were distributed.
Only a mile out of this town were the natural shrimp fishing ground and this is even a preserved nature area. In other words, stuff is damn fresh over here! And that is also what you could see back on the fish market which also had the option to make the food right in the spot for you.
In other countries this would cost you a leg. Here this was more than afforable.
What I have learned about spotting the freshest fish is to check out how clear their eyes are. The more clear, the fresher they are. In some snaps you can really see the difference between these guys and if they were from yesterday or just that morning.
Another way to catch the freshness is the smell. If something smells 'fishy', this is because it is fishy, it means they are a bit older. That wasn't the case on all of these guys, they all were straight out of the sea.
So when the topic **Market Friday** hosted by @dswigle is popping by, and the topic of the week is about getting your market stuff for under the $10 bucks, that is when these meals come popping up from the local fishing place.
In other countries it would be impossible to get a fish meal prepared and with side dishes for under the $10, here it was. Snappers, sardines, squid, shrimps and other bad boys were all of a sudden afforable here.
And even just an island further down, which didn't have these fishing grounds and distribution points (this was mainland Greece, from here on the fishes are brought in further into the country), there it was already a lot more expensive. I saw prices of $85 dollars per kilo fish in other islands, and that is just a big bridge too far for an easy meal. No way dude.
But here....yes, this was seafood heaven straight out of the sea