Robinson Crusoe: if not he, whom?

Australians have an expression: "You're not Robinson Crusoe" -- meaning, "You're not the only one". This Pandanus tectorius which I photographed with Baz le Tuff's camera on this morning's flaneur, is not Robinson Crusoe, because there's another in the background, and plenty more around Sandy Beach.

Indeed, the humble Pandanus is a common feature of coasts all throughout the warmer regions of Oceania. But common or not, they have a special charm, don't they?

Not trees, not even palms, and not exactly shrubs in the gardener's lingo (though they may be to the botanist), they lend a Robinson Crusoe ambience to almost any beach, though some might say a Martian one.

And certainly Robinson would have found the Pandanus highly useful, particularly for the strong fibres in the long, swordlike leaves. Had he not sewn his clothes and umbrella from goatskin, he might have found Pandanus quite serviceable, and he might have made a fine Panama hat, for that famous item of apparel is made from leaves of Carludovica, a cousin of Pandanus in the Pandanales family.

He certainly would have found, like people of many nations, that he had something with which to weave baskets, and it sounds like he could have used the diversion as there was no TV on his island way out there off the coast of Chile, not even with a dish. And if he had thought about it, the fibrous, almost hollow trunks of Pandanus float so well (they're often found washed up around here), he could have made a raft from them.

Defoe doesn't tell us precisely what Crusoe thatched his hut with, but it might have been Pandanus and it would have done quite well. All we are told is:

... I raised a kind of wall up against it of turfs, about two feet thick on the outside; and after some time (I think it was a year and a half) I raised rafters from it, leaning to the rock, and thatched or covered it with boughs of trees, and such things as I could get, to keep out the rain; which I found at some times of the year very violent.

If he hadn't been so dim-witted (after all, it took him 18 months just to put a basic roof over his head) he might have used Pandanus leaves as a fragrant spice in his goat curries, or as the traditional wrapping for Thai Pandanus chicken, gai hor bai toey. I love a good curry, but I really don't get time to cook. Don't be hard on me: I'm not Robinson Crusoe.

Notice: So Stuart Buchanan isn't Robinson Crusoe either, not when it comes to blogging about cuisine, although his Rosemary Lane, our sister blog, is the place for you to go this week, where my Isle of Wight buddy is talking rabbit pie and elderberry wine. Here in Sandy just now, the weather suits something a bit lighter, something troppo to go with the Pandanus. Maybe a goat salad.

Perhaps we should make an historical (or fictional) correction: Robinson Crusoe wasn't Robinson Crusoe. Man Friday used to visit. But Friday always came alone, so he was Robinson Crusoe. But it should be noted that Friday rarely showed up more than once a week.