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In the Caribbean, the locals called papayas "paw paws"—like this crazy big one Wayne ate in St. Lucia, where we first started cruising the tropics together. |
In the US, when I heard there was a fruit called a paw paw in West Virginia, and a town there called Paw Paw, I figured they were not the same as the Caribbean version. Indeed, they are not.
I hunted fruitlessly for one a grocery store in Paw Paw. Alas, the few businesses there, mostly gas stations, which didn't look like likely prospects to sell a rare fruit. I gave up.
C&O Canal Paw Paw Tunnel entrance. The trail is popular with cyclists, too.
We stopped to check out the Paw Paw tunnel at the now-defunct, but once vital Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) canal. The tunnel earned its name from the many wild paw paw trees growing along that stretch of river. Designed to bypass a tough stretch of the Potomac River, the tunnel runs about two-thirds of a mile (3,115 feet) and was considered an engineering marvel. It took over six million bricks to build the tunnel, which was completed in 1850.
There are no lights in the tunnel. Nonetheless, I stumbled my way through it without a flashlight, sure I would be rewarded by a vista on the other side.
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C&O Canal Paw Paw Tunnel entrance. Wayne, near the tunnel entrance, when it was still possible to see without a flashlight. |
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C&O Canal Paw Paw Tunnel entrance from inside, looking back. |
I asked Wayne what the paw paw tasted like. "Meh," he said—okay he didn't but that's what he said summed up to. The paw paw Wayne tried must not have been one of the tasty cultivars. US Paw Paw Image pilfered from https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/09/15/550985844/this-once-obscure-fruit-is-on-its-way-to-becoming-pawpaw-pawpular
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Backside of the C&O Paw Paw Tunnel. I snuck past the construction tape to take this photo. |
Someday I may try one of the US paw paws—if I can find a cultivated one.
Location Location
This post is written about our east coast fall foliage tour when we were weaving between Maryland and West Virginia, which took place in October. We are currently on another road trip, whose purpose, path, and destination I prefer to keep shrouded in mystery for now.
Thanks, Bertie.
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