During my initial call, I told Glen that I heard that the Jerk style of cooking originated in the parish of Portland. I really wanted to try some jerk cooking from the source, where it all started. The next stop on our itinerary was at one of the jerk centres here in Portland.
Once we reached Boston Bay, Glen pulled over. We got out of the van and we walked up to a place called Little Boston Bay Jerk Centre. Click the link to see my review of Little Boston Bay Jerk Centre. The review also has the account of what happened here, including another faux pax on my part.
Where is ‘here’?
Now that we were fueled up, we got back on the road to continue the tour. Soon we left the parish of Portland and crossed over into St. Thomas Parish. A few minutes later, we stopped at one the historic markers on the side of the road. For whatever reason it was that I still cannot comprehend, I did not photograph it nor commit the name of the site to memory. My guess is that it was a plaque honoring Paul Bogle and the Morant Bay Rebellion but I am not sure. All I remember now is that we stopped ‘here’. But where is ‘here’? What was the significance of the marker we stopped at? It really bothers me that now that my quest to visit every parish in Jamaica is complete, I don’t have anything solid to mark the occasion.
I do know we drove by Morant Bay and over to Bull Bay. From there, on into Kingston. In Kingston we drove through the industrial south.
Somewhere during our tour I told Glen about the hummingbirds at the Hummingbird Garden at Mystic Mountain. He told me that there is a place where there are lots of hummingbirds that you can actually feed while they perch on your finger. I think it is called Rockland’s Bird Sanctuary. He also told me about a place called Fire Water Pond where the water there actually catches fire. It is in the Windsor Mineral Spring in St. Ann’s Bay.
Though there is a lot of history here in Kingston, we had no plans to visit anyplace in particular. But Glen did pull up alongside the Red Stripe brewery and stopped. It was surrounded by fencing. I got out but didn’t take any photos. I took a second or two to appreciate standing outside the complex where the iconic beer is brewed – or used to be brewed. Apparently during the time I was here, production of Red Stripe had been moved to Pennsylvania in the United States. Following a legal brouhaha (see what I did there?), production of Red Stripe beer has since come back home to Jamaica.
Return to Spanish Town
Turning off Highway A4, we turned onto Highway A1 and over to Spanish Town. This marked my third time visiting Spanish Town. The first time was in 2005 with Lancelot, the driver I met my first time in Jamaica. Interestingly, that visit took place during an island-wide power outage. I seem to remember more activity here then and more buildings being open.
To me, ‘downtown’ Spanish Town seems more like a historical site, although the rest of Spanish Town has a growing population of over 160,000 residents. It used to be the capitol of Jamaica until 1872 when it was moved down the road to Kingston. Now many buildings are empty and boarded up. There are many memorials and plaques describing important events that took place here, such as Emancipation Square and the Old King’s House where then-Governor of Jamaica, Sir Lionel Smith G.C.B., read the proclamation abolishing slavery in Jamaica and other British territories on August 1, 1838.
A lot of famous people were born here. Among these would be Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard the pirate, singer/actress Grace Jones, sprinters Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake, cricket star Jermaine Lawson, and mixed martial artist Uriah Hall, to name a few.
We headed back north across the island. On the way back we passed through many towns, large and small. Some of the names were familiar: Linstead, Ewarton, Moneague.
Just past one of the bridges, we pulled over again. There is a rock formation there that resembles a part of the female anatomy. If you decide to pull over here, you probably will not be the only one doing so.
Another town we passed by was Walker’s Wood. Walker’s Wood is the home of Walkerswood Caribbean Foods. When I make jerk chicken at home, Walkerswood’s Jerk Seasoning is what I use. Fortunately Walkerswood products are widely available at the Caribbean markets I visit. You can also purchase them online. I don’t know if they still offer tours. Glen probably would have stopped here if I had asked but I’m quite sure they were closed by the time we drove by.
All too soon we were back in Ocho Rios and back at the hotel. I hated to have the tour end because I had such a great time hanging out with Glen. I know I’ve made another friend on the island.
Later, Glen dropped off an envelope for me at the hotel. Inside was a CD of Tarrus Riley, a singer whom I had heard on satellite radio in the States and has become one of my favorite Jamaican singers; a pocket map of the island on which he had traced our route; and a note on which he had provided some additional information about the CD, plus some details about the movie Casino Royale which was filmed in and around Port Antonio, one of our stops today. Aside from the great conversation, information, and everything else Glen provided on the tour, this was over and above what I expected. Mi haffi big up Glen fi everything him duh fi mi.
On the Tarrus Riley CD is a track called “Paradise”. That song has become the theme song for this trip.
(Move mouse over the map to see where each parish is located.)
Jamaica
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