Jamaica, Jamaica!!



Just came back from ten days in my favourite tropical Isle and I thoroughly enjoyed each day from the moment I woke up until I went to bed. It was great!! It was fun, exhausting, it was hot weather wise, it was hot otherwise (wink) and it was wonderful seeing old friends and acquaintances and visiting old haunts as well as discovering new places.

As soon as we exited the airport we went to a little unassuming place called “Gloria’s” over in Port Royal. There was nothing unassuming about the food, it was amazingly delicious and fresh, as in the day’s catch. No frozen and defrosted and then cooked food, no, no!! Fresh, as in just caught from the ocean that very same day. I’m tasting it all over again mmm. First, we got fish ‘tea’ (for all you non- Jamaicans, it’s a light kind of broth, fish being the main ingredient ) and it was just yellow (from the pumpkin I assume) and looked very unappetizing. I looked at my sister, looked at the soup and we made a face, that is, until we tasted it!! My mouth experienced a burst of delicious and utterly satisfying flavours that was amazing. It was as if there were fireworks in my mouth from all the intense flavour of the soup. It was delicious!!!

I had spicy shrimp in a light delicious and savoury sauce with golden fried bammy and cole slaw. My sister and our friend had steamed fish, also with golden fried bammies and cole slaw. It was absolutely amazing! No joke!

Mandeville is home for me and it was wonderful just being there. The place is more vibrant, busy and more colourful than I remembered and yes, the drivers still let you across the street (give you a bligh) with and without the pedestrian crossing. I really get a kick out of thatJ.

I ate mangoes like I was a child again with the yellow juice running from my wrist to my elbowJ. My favourite mangoes are the East Indian variety and I had a lot. They were very juicy and sweet. I had a couple of ohtaheti apples as well. Hadn’t had those in awhile. Had some of my favourite foods, oxtails, curried goat, cow feet, and ackee with salted- fish as well as just cooked up salted fish and ground provisions. Some how it was sweeter eating all that stuff at ‘home’.

I spent a day with my very best girlfriend Faith. She took me to her mani/pedi girl and while I was getting ‘done’ we chatted and got caught up and laughed and basically bad talked men and laughed some more and then we went to lunch and then shopping. We had a blast!! It was an amazing day!

Last Saturday, we went to Port Antonio by way of leaving Mandeville and traveling through Clarendon, St. Catherine, Kingston, and St. Andrew, St. Mary and hitting Portland. We stopped by Boston for some of their famous jerk pork, sausages and roasted fish which we consumed with roasted breadfruit and roasted sweet potatoes and iced coconut water! Hmm… delicious and quite satisfying. Also took a dip in the ocean and saw a dread (Rasta man) surfing! That was an unusual sight for me. He was good at it too! We hit St. Thomas (and Bath fountain) on our way home. It was a long and satisfying day.

My cousin Donna was with us for a couple of days and I’ve never laughed so much or so hard in a long while. She is hilarious and fierce and we are eternally grateful to her for handling our monies so well in our day to day transactions (we were really confused about the different monetary denominations) and we greatly admired her bargaining skills!! She is really a funny character in all her 5ft diminutive glory. We love you girl and thank you much!! So glad we are related, wouldn’t want to be on the other side of your sharp witted and sarcastic barbs….She is a genuine roots girl and I love her dearly. Nuff love to you ‘Shorty’!!

Really enjoyed my visit home and hopefully we’ll be able to go again next year so we can give our late mom the fitting tribute she so deserved as well as taking care of business and balancing all that out with a little recreation. Can’t wait!