How to Be Happy #26: Le Poisson Grignoter
We have a favorite coffee shop/restaurant here in Key West called La Grignote (French for “nibble”). They bill themselves as an “Artisan French Bakery — Cafe — Bistro,” and they are all of that and more. One of the things that make us happy, be it ever so fleeting, is to sit on the La Grignote porch, sip lattes, nibble on croissants or muffins, and watch the “tourons” go by on Duval Street.
We recently discovered, however, that there is a different type of nibble that also imparts bliss if, again, ever so fleeting. This is, as the title reveals, “le poisson grignoter” (French for “the fish nibble”). The true term for this experience is “fish pedicure,” and it can be found, among other places, at the Marathon Wild Bird Center on Crane Point Hammock in, naturally (pun!), Marathon. Here’s more on the center:
Nestled in a chain of over 10,000 islands, the middle Florida Keys lie beneath a major migratory flyway for over 100 avian species. The Marathon Wild Bird Center’s sole purpose is to rescue, rehabilitate, and release both migratory and resident wild birds when they become injured, sick, or orphaned.
The MWBC does all of that and kudos to them for their efforts. They also offer walking trails that take you around Crane Point Hammock to various places with beautacular [spectacularly beautiful] vistas of the surrounding waters and islands. The best part, though, is the “fish pedicure,” a stop on one of the trails where you can dangle your feet in the water for a quick cleaning by tiny fish (in the featured photo, you can see the little guys around my foot, mostly on the right side). For some people, the fish nibbling tickles, which of course produces instant joy and laughter. For me, who is inticklesensate [not ticklish], not so much. But it still feels weirdly good and produces the sought-after happiness.
Pondering this experience post-pedicure, I wondered why, indeed, do fish nibble on feet? As you might have guessed, someone has answered my query. In this case, it’s Jessica MacDonald in her TripSavvy article “Everything You Need to Know About Fish Pedicures.” The first thing you need to know is that the most common “nibble fish” is the Garra rufa, “tiny toothless carp that nibble the dead skin from your feet.”
The second thing to know about them is that they are also called “doctor fish” and that their pedicuring comes from “a survival tactic that enables them to thrive on dead scales and skin whenever their preferred food is scarce.” As MacDonald tells it, the fish “are attracted by the vibration of your feet entering the water and will immediately congregate around any patches of hard or dead skin to feed.”
So, the lesson here is twofold. First, like it or not, you have dead skin on your feet. Second and more important, to enjoy a few moments of pisceanamous [fish induced] beatitude, simply visit the MWBC or any other free-range fish pedicure site (avoid the commercial spa versions), dip your terminal lower appendages into the water, feel the nibble, and say, “ahhhhhh.”
Given that the MWBC is an hour away, I have tried to create a home-based substitute for the nibble fish: nibble kittens. For some reason, though, I can’t convince our cats to lick the bottoms of my feet, this despite enticements such as dipping them, my feet that is, in milk, spraying them with catnip oil, or disguising them as other cats that need mutual grooming. I’m guessing they refuse because their food dish is never (okay, rarely) empty and their survival instincts tell them that the last thing they want to do is put their tongues anywhere near my soles. This is one of those rare moments when I wish we had dogs instead of cats because, well, you know dogs.
(Published originally on RatBlurt™ on April 24, 2021.)
(And now this…that RatBlurt’s Ridictionary is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online booksellers. Also, stay tuned for another “How to Be Happy” blog based on a Marge Piercy poem. Warning: cats will be involved.)
