Tag: Jamaica

Old Hits Party Night at the Ultimate Jerk Center

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Last Saturday night, I went to what’s been called Old Hits Party night at the Ultimate Jerk Center & Rest Stop on Main Street in Discovery Bay, St. Ann, just opposite the Green Grotto Caves.

When we arrived around 12:30 a.m., several hundred cars had already filled the large empty space that serves as parking lot and the attendant pointed us to an empty space where he said we could create a new row.

As we exited the car, a wall of music blasted from several massive speakers that had been placed in designated areas around the Jerk Center.

The Ultimate Jerk Center
The Ultimate Jerk Center

People were everywhere. Some clustered in groups of three or four, couples young and old held each other close as they moved to the music, young people danced by themselves – everyone, it seemed was there.

We moved through the crowd in search of the owner who my friend thought I should meet. We finally found him near the DJ and chatted with him and his wife a bit before moving on get something to eat.

Naturally, since I was at the Ultimate Jerk Center, I ordered jerk pork and festival and we sat under a tree as we ate.

I left my seat several times to dance. The music – a mix of R&B, reggae and calypso never stopped.

After telling my friend that I only wanted to spend an hour, I was surprised to see that it was near 3:30 when we left. Many people were on the dance floor and the parking lot was still quite full.

The Ultimate Jerk Center is the place to be on New Year’s Eve Night but it’s wall-to-wall people. Many people end the night here after attending balls and events at other places.

Old Hits night is held on the last Saturday every month at the Ultimate Jerk Center. No cover.

The Ultimate Jerk Center & Rest Stop is open Sunday -Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and until 12:00 midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. 876-973-2054.

 

Travel Photo Thursday: Flowers

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

I’m constantly surprised at the variety of flowers that grow, some wild or without much coaxing, here in Jamaica. These I took in the garden at my cousin’s house.

Unknown plant
Onion Plant
Onion Plant
Unknown flower
Unknown flower
Bell Flower
Bell Flower
Rose of Sharon
Rose of Sharon
Orchid
Orchid
Shrimp Flower
Shrimp Flower

This is my submission to this week’s Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday series. Be sure to check out other photo and story entries on their website!

Jamaica, The Land of Wood and (No) Water

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Jamaica has long been known as The Land of Wood and Water. We’re surrounded by water. In addition, more than 60 rivers and tributaries crisscross the land.

But after waking up two mornings in a row, with no water coming from the taps, I’ve been forced to ask, Where’s the water?

Dunn's River Falls
Dunn's River Falls, photo from the Internet

Luckily for me, we also have a tank so we were able to switch it on and get water. But this is not a rural area – I’m less than a 15 minute drive outside of Montego Bay, which is known as Jamaica’s Second City. From where we are, I can hear the roar of the Montego River, several yards away.

Interestingly enough, it is also the rainy season. Almost every afternoon, torrential rains pelt the island, turning rivers into streams. Where does this water go? Why isn’t it being caught in reservoirs and catchment areas or harnessed by dams for use in shoring up the water supply? I am baffled.

In many rural areas, people depend on tanks and well water for their needs but in town, rows of locally produced and imported bottled water line supermarket shelves.

The situation in Kingston is probably even worse. For years now, the capital has been plagued with scheduled and unscheduled water lock-offs. Although the city continues to expand, no new reservoirs have been built since the Mona Reservoir began operating in 1959 neither has the storage capacity of the 80-some year old Hermitage Dam been increased from its 400-million gallon size.

Milk River
Milk River, photo from the Internet

Jamaica needs potable water for agriculture, tourism, development and daily living. As we approach our 50th year of Independence, it is important that we re-think our attitude towards water and put measures in place so that we can truly claim that we are the Land of Wood and Water.

Jamaica: Still Searching for the Real Jerk

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Getting real jerk pork is one of the things I look forward to when I’m in Jamaica.

What’s Jerk?

Jerk is a style of cooking that originated on the island back in the late 1950-60s. Traditionally, spices such as garlic, mace (the outer shell of the nutmeg), thyme, cinnamon, scallion and Scotch Bonnet pepper were mixed together and rubbed into pork that was then slow-cooked in a pit fire of pimento wood. The pimento gave it its signature flavor.

Jerk pork was very popular when I was a child. As I wrote in an earlier post, I remember the Jerk Man going door to door on his bicycle selling jerk pork – it was only pork then.

Perhaps because of the influence of the Rastafarians and the fact that cooking this way is a complicated and time-consuming process, it almost disappeared.

When it returned in the late 1970s, enterprising chefs had figured out how to approximate the flavor that is derived from the pimento wood. As a result, jerk went international. It also became widely and wildly interpreted. (I’ve even seen it served with ketchup!)

Since my arrival roughly three weeks ago, I’m been on a hunt for real jerk. So far, I’ve visited several establishments, each proudly advertising mostly pork and chicken, but only once have I not left disappointed. My biggest dissatisfaction was with Border Jerk, a little spot on the border of Westmoreland and Hanover, my favorite spot – their rendition is now severely compromised.

By far the worst I’ve had was at the Jerk Center in Ocho Rios – the pork didn’t even look cooked.

To their credit, all these places offer bottled pepper for people, like me, who want it hotter but even the pepper has been watered down.

When I complain, my friends tell me to get away from the North Coast and the places where visitors frequent. They are probably right.

I’m pleased to report that I did get some real jerk on Saturday night in a little joint near Runaway Bay in St. Ann. But by the time I found it, near 11 p.m., I was so hungry I forgot to take a photo of it.

In the meantime, my search for real jerk continues. I just hope they don’t start watering down my rum and coke!

 

 

Soulful Sundays: Gregory Isaacs

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Another of the musicians I grew up listening to is singer/songwriter, Gregory Isaacs, also called the “Cool Ruler” for his soulful, heartfelt music. Isaacs’ hit single, My Only Lover, is credited as being the first song recorded in the lovers rock sub-genre of reggae.

He recorded with many of the top Jamaican producers of the 1970s including King Tubby, Freddy McGregor, and Lee “Scratch” Perry who also produced Bob Marley & the Wailers, and was one of the biggest reggae performers in the world, touring the UK and US.

Gregory Isaacs
Gregory Isaacs, photo from the Internet

Also in the 1970s, Isaacs signed first with Virgin Records then with Island Records and recorded Night Nurse, the album and single that saw him break through to a larger audience. In a prolific career, spanning 40 years, Isaacs released an estimated 500 albums and was nominated for four Grammy Awards, including for Brand New Me in 2010. In 2011, his album Isaacs Meets Isaac, which he recorded with Zimbabwean reggae singer, King Isaac, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Reggae Album.

Isaacs, who was born in Kingston, died a year ago on October 25th at his home in London after losing his battle with lung cancer. He was 59 years old.

Give a listen to Night Nurse and Hard Drugs.

 

Jamaica’s Newest Prime Minister, Andrew Holness

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Jamaica’s ninth and youngest leader, 39 year old Andrew Holness, was sworn in as prime minister

Andrew Holness, Jamaica's new prime minister
Andrew Holness, Jamaica's new prime minister

yesterday afternoon in an elegant and sober ceremony on the lawns of King’s House, the residence of the Queen’s representative, the Governor-General His Excellency the Most Honorable Sir Patrick Allen.

Prime Minister Holness takes over from Bruce Golding, who was forced to demit office following his handling last year of the extradition of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, a local drug lord.  Coke was wanted in the U.S. on charges of drug and weapons smuggling. He was eventually extradited but not before violence broke out in Tivoli Gardens, the area in Kingston that he controlled and more than 70 people lost their lives.  The Coke affair strained relations between Washington and Kingston.

In August this year, Coke pleaded guilty in New York to racketeering and conspiracy. He will be sentenced in December to 23 years in prison.

Golding’s decision to leave office a year before his 5-year term would have ended, has been hailed by many as the right thing to do as the country had lost confidence in him. In addition, with him at the helm, the ruling Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) would have surely lost the election to the opposition People’s National Party (PNP).

Much is expected from the new prime minister who was born in 1972 ten years after Jamaica won her independence from Britain.

In a wide-ranging speech following his swearing in, Holness said he was taking responsibility for the running of the country. Referring to the country’s massive debt burden, he said Jamaica could not continue on the path of borrowing more than it produces. The new prime minister urged fellow politicians to transcend petty, mean spirited, “tear down politics.”

Prime Minister Holness ended his hour-long speech with Mother Theresa’s version of the Paradoxical Commandments, which, he said he tries to live by.

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

Can I Leave the Person I’ve Become Behind?

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

One of my uncles in Florida always reminds us whenever we travel to Jamaica that we must leave the US behind. By that he means that we have to remember that many of the things that we’ve become used to – service and its efficient delivery, the availability of certain items, etc., will be irritably slow or sometimes non-existent.

But is it really possible to leave the person I’ve become behind?

We are the sum of our experiences. When I left Jamaica for Canada in the early 70s, I took with me all that I was then. I saw and experienced Canada through the prism of that person and it, in turn, shaped and prepared me for my pretty near seamless transition to life in the U.S.

Travel has also provided indelible experiences that I’ve added to my reservoir of knowledge. These too inform and dictate how I view the everyday, and the world.

The person who’s now returned to Jamaica is the same and different. I fall back on my Jamaican-ness but my foreign-ness sees the glaring contrasts, sees what’s missing or what can be done better, faster, more efficiently.

From the garden
Flowers from the garden

Like the day I went to get my phone. As soon as I walked into the store, an agent, who was on the phone sorting out an issue for a customer in line, mouthed that she’d be with me in a few minutes. I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t expecting this level of attention. Clearly, she took her training in customer service to heart.

However, when I wanted to add minutes, or “top up” – pre-paid phones are very common in Jamaica – I was surprised by the antiquated method that was used. The agent pulled out a clipboard with a sheet of paper, asked me for the number, wrote it in one column, then the amount of minutes I was buying in another. (Sometimes, the customer is asked to write the number instead.)

When I handed her the money, it was just put in a drawer, the change returned to me. My number and amount of minutes I purchased were then keyed into a machine that looked like a small cash register. Immediately after, I received a text acknowledging the top up.

There must be a more efficient way to do this, I thought, as right away, I spotted several different ways in which mistakes could be made.

A few days later, I discovered how easily. I had purchased an international plan (1,000 minutes for about $15 – a steal!), and approximately $5 worth of local minutes. I was surprised, when during a local call, I got a message that I had only a minute left.

Where did my $5 go? I called the store but got nowhere so I went in person to sort it out. When I saw the clipboard for that day, my phone number and money were recorded but the confirmation number they would have received after the amount was keyed in was not there.

I’m glad I got the money credited but I shouldn’t have to spend my time chasing $5. I could have used it to do something else.

In the end, none of us can totally leave who we are behind. My hope is that a little of me will rub off, that my being here will be of benefit.

Staying Connected While on the Road

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

One of the issues we face as we travel from developed to developing world is matching the ‘always on’ level of connection we’ve come to expect and enjoy. It becomes particularly critical if you plan to be away for longer than a week and you’ve committed to post everyday.

Prior to leaving the US, I researched connectivity options available through the major providers in Jamaica – Digicel, Lime and Claro – and felt confident that the only difficulty I’d have is deciding which company to use.

Last Monday, I set out to get a new phone and SIM – I had misplaced my Jamaica SIM and the professional I paid in London to unlock my Nokia phone damaged it instead.  Getting the phone was the easy part.

When I told the sales person that I wanted to purchase a wireless modem, she asked where I lived. She might have seen the look on my face and quickly added that she had to check to see what service was like in my area. I was surprised. According to Digicel, their 4G service was available everywhere.

She tried the modem on their laptop and it fired up instantly. I’d learned from previous experience that getting anything done with a Mac in Jamaica was problematic so I had her try it on my laptop.

Just as I thought, the modem failed. She recommended another, which at about $100, was almost twice the one I wanted to buy.  I was ready to buy but they had none at her location.

We drove to the store she said would have it. When I got there, I decided to check with computer technician at a computer store what modem he’d recommend for the Mac. It wasn’t Digicel’s, the one I was trying to find, but Claro’s, the Mexican company that is reportedly eyeing Digicel for purchase.

Luckily for me, Claro was on the floor below but their Mac expert was out and the modem resupply had not yet arrived. It’d be here in about an hour, I was told.

View of the Caribbean Sea from the Montego Bay Convention Center
View of the Caribbean Sea from the Montego Bay Convention Center

Since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was getting closer to 2 p.m., I decided lunch was my priority. After lunch, I called – the modem and technician were both there. But he was doubtful their modem would work properly in my location. The signal would most likely fade or drop entirely, he said, so he advised me not to buy.

I thanked him and made my way to the Digicel store. The modem was in stock. The sales person (and Mac expert) to whom I was directed was there. Again, the modem that was supposed to work with a Mac, didn’t. She tried three different devices and called their technicians to assist but no joy. I left the store near 5 p.m. — no modem and no way to get connected.

When I told my cousin, she said I should use her DSL service. I was able to hook my laptop up but the connection is so slow, it drops every few minutes.

So, unfortunately, I haven’t been able to be online long enough to keep up with all your posts. I do hope to get this sorted out soon as I do miss my ‘always on’ connection.

I guess the best part is that I’ve been reading more and getting to bed earlier!