My Year of Travelling Jamaica, Part I

Categories: Jamaica, Postaday2011, Travel, Travel Photo ThursdayAuthor: Marcia Mayne

As 2012 draws to a close, I’m eagerly anticipating another year of travel and discovery. But before I start the New Year, I wanted to look back at my year of travelling Jamaica.

Since January, I have logged hundreds of miles around the island. Sometimes I traveled solo, sometimes I was with friends who were visiting. Each trip though, brought me face to face with intriguing individuals, or took me on explorations of interesting and historic places, or opened my eyes to things I’d missed or just hadn’t paid attention to before.

The best times during the year though, were the simple ones. At those times, my camera felt intrusive. I didn’t want to break the flow of conversation or make notes. I only wanted to savor the moment that I was no longer observing and reporting, the moment I felt a part of the story.

Here’s some of what I experienced.

Sunrise, Negril

At dawn one morning in February, friends and I walked the beach in Negril from our hotel near the center of town to well past the Hanover border. It was the first time I’d done that and I loved the near emptiness of the beach and the pinkish color the sun had painted the sky as it climbed above the horizon to start the new day.

Herb vendor, Negril

The first person we saw was this guy who was walking the beach selling various herbs. After chatting with him, I bought a bag of ground bissy or kola nut. Bissy came to Jamaica from West Africa and is used to help digestion, and fight fatigue and hunger. It’s also good for the heart.

Tall ship, Montego Bay

Two, sometimes three times a week, ships dock at Freeport in Montego Bay. Usually, it’s a ship from the Carnival fleet but early in 2012, I spotted this tall ship. It looked impressive even from a distance and I watched it almost all day.

Blue Mountains

In March, I fell short by a few hours in my attempt to hike to the top of the Blue Mountains, Jamaica’s tallest, to greet the new day. I was very disappointed but on the hike back, I was able to see what I had missed in the 2:00 a.m. walk up. These views almost made up for the sunrise I didn’t get to see.

Coffee Beans, Blue Mountains

Clouds on the Blue Mountains

One day, I visited King’s House, the official residence of the Governor General who is the Queen’s representative in Jamaica. A few days later, I was at the former home of Bob Marley, the King of Reggae.

King’s House, Jamaica

Bob Marley’s former home, now the Bob Marley Museum

Two places of worship caught my attention during my travels: Holy Trinity in Kingston and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in St. Ann.

Holy Trinity, Kingston

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St. Ann

In July, I discovered Fay who still practices the (almost) lost art of making peppermint candy by hand. I also found out that it was a skill my paternal grandmother had.

Fay, the Peppermint Candy Lady, and her family

Peppermint candy mixture

It was fascinating to watch Fay’s mixture turn from brown to white then, as she added coloring, to red and white. (More about Fay in an upcoming post.)

Hope you’ll check back for Part II of highlights from my year of travelling Jamaica.

This is my submission to this week’s Travel Photo Thursday series, which is organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. Hope you’ll head over and check out more photos from locations around the world.

About Marcia Mayne

Marcia Mayne travels a world full of books, music, art, fun people and great food. She raves about them constantly. Currently, she is journeying through Jamaica, her home country, to discover the places she missed.

20 Dec2012 32 Comments

New York City at Christmas

Categories: New York City, Postaday, Travel, Travel Photo ThursdayTags: #BTB, Christmas, NYC, postaday, TravelAuthor: Marcia Mayne

Christmas decorations start going up on stores, office buildings and private homes in New York City right after Thanksgiving. The decorations are sometimes simple, sometimes elaborate. No matter, they put a smile on my face and help me get into the spirit of the season. I’m sure they do the same for others, which is why there are usually scores of people milling around.

All Dressed Up for Christmas

Each Christmas, this building on 6th Avenue near 50th Street decorates with these large red balls but every year when I see them, it feels like the first time (at least to me). A little Christmas magic, perhaps?

All Dressed Up for Christmas

All Dressed Up for Christmas

All Dressed Up for Christmas – Radio City Music Hall

About Marcia Mayne

18 Dec2012 12 Comments

How Not to Get Sucked in by Times Square Electronic Stores

Categories: New York City, Postaday, Travel, Travel TipsTags: #BTB, NYC, postaday, Travel TipsAuthor: Marcia Mayne

Up to 70% off all cameras, the sign screamed, its bright red letters unmistakable against the white background. It could have been there for months but on that day late last year, it drew me in.

I’d heard about them before I even moved to New York – these stores around Times Square that pull you in with the promise of good deals on electronic items. For years, I never even looked their way. Then, on an impulse, and thinking I was immune to the hard sell, I walked in.

Yes, young lady. What can I help you with today?

Just looking, I said, in my best I’m-not-interested voice.

You looking for a phone? camera? We’ve got the iPhone, iPad and all the cameras, all on sale. Seventy percent off. You looking for a camera?

At this point, I thought, what the heck?

Yes, I’m looking for a camera, I replied nonchalantly.

What kind of camera?

Canon, I told him.

Well, the Canon’s a good camera, but you’ve got to try this one.

About Marcia Mayne

13 Dec2012 36 Comments

Pigeon Peas

Categories: Food, Jamaica, Postaday, Travel, Travel Photo ThursdayTags: #BTB, #TPThursday, food, gandules, gungo peas, pigeon peas, postadayAuthor: Marcia Mayne

One of the sure signs that Christmas is around the corner is the flowering of the pigeon peas. Also known as gandules, they are called gungo or pigeon peas here in Jamaica and are the essential ingredient in the rice and peas dish most families prepare on special occasions and, in particular, on Christmas Day.

Pigeon pea plant

The pigeon pea originated in eastern India and was brought to east and west Africa, and eventually to the Americas by African slaves probably around the 17th century. It has been cultivated for at least 3,500 years.

Small in size and light green or white in color, the pigeon pea takes on a light brown hue when it’s been dried. Besides its use in rice and peas, pigeon peas can also be used in soups.

Pigeon pea plant

Pigeon peas are rich in protein, fiber and essential amino acids.

What fascinates me about the pigeon pea is the plant. The leaves look velvety and the ‘flowers’ are so colorful, they look as if they could be cut and put in a vase. These ‘blooms’ will last about a week then will be replaced by pods that are long and have individual pockets that hold one pea. Each pod can hold up to 8 peas, and grow in bunches of 5 to 7.

The green pigeon peas can be frozen for later use. When cooked, they have a slightly different taste from the dried ones.

Have you tried pigeon peas?

This is my submission to Travel Photo Thursday, which is organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. Be sure to head over and check out more photos from locations around the world.

About Marcia Mayne

06 Dec2012 32 Comments

Boats

Categories: Jamaica, Postaday, Travel, Travel Photo ThursdayTags: #TPThursday, boats, Jamaica, postaday, TravelAuthor: Marcia Mayne

I was so taken by this boat – its color and design, and the way it contrasted with the blue of the water – that I had to take a photo.

Mobay boat

It also gave me the idea for today’s Travel Photo Thursday post. Here are a few other ‘boat’ photos I found in my archives.

Treasure Beach boats

Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need: a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing. – Jerome K. Jerome

White boats, Falmouth

Any damn fool can circumnavigate the world sober. It takes a really good sailor to do it drunk. – Sir Francis Chichester.

Red boats, Falmouth

Only the guy who isn’t rowing has the time to rock the boat. – Jean Paul Sartre

Little Ochie Boats

We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. – Martin Luther King

Sunset boats, Negril

I still remember my first time on a boat. I was nervous as we sailed away from shore, and overwhelmed by the vast expanse of water around me, and the smell of it. I tried to imagine what it must have been like for the early navigators and explorers who set off in search of lands they thought were there; how endless days at sea could easily discombobulate and disorient.

I’ve been on many boats since then, though I’m not confident that I could navigate one, even with a compass. There are no reference points on water!

What do you think of when you see a boat?

This is my submission to Travel Photo Thursday, which is organized by Nancie at Budget Travelers Sandbox. Be sure to head over and check out more photos from locations around the world.

About Marcia Mayne

04 Dec2012 22 Comments

Eating Lionfish

Categories: Caribbean, Food, Jamaica, PostadayTags: #BTB, Jamaica, Lionfish, postaday, TravelAuthor: Marcia Mayne

I love fish, especially red snapper and salmon but I’ve found a new love lately: the lionfish. I’d been hearing about the lionfish since I arrived here last year but I was nervous to try it.

From news reports, I learned that the colorful spiky fins of the lionfish are full of venom and that makes them deadly to other fish and potentially dangerous to fishermen and swimmers. If stung, the venom can cause a variety of illnesses from numbness, pain, nausea, headaches, redness, dizziness, difficulty breathing, fever, and vomiting to, in rare cases, heart failure and death.

No, there was no way I wanted to endanger my health by eating lionfish.

But I kept hearing more and more from people who’d eaten lionfish, without ill effects, and my curiosity began slowly to overcome my initial apprehension. A few weekends ago, I decided to give it a try.