Lazy days in Jamaica   Leave a comment

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Jamaica is both nothing like we expected and everything you’d think it would be. People are friendly (sometimes a little too friendly). Mountains cloaked in tropical jungles serve as a backdrop for clear, blue bays and sandy beaches. There is plenty of Red Stripe and there would be plenty of bananas if, according to one local, hurricane Sandy hadn’t decimated the crop.
The town of Port Antonio is what surprised us the most. Walking out of the marina compound brings us to a crowded, busy, chaos of cars and people going every which way.  No one walks on the treacherous sidewalks (I stubbed my toe on a piece of rebar sticking out of one). Everyone is in the street. In the afternoon and evening school children of all ages take to the streets in their clean and proper uniforms. It is impossible for Lee and me not to stand out in the crowd. We are instantly accosted by people offering to sell us something or take us somewhere.
This afternoon a man attached himself to us as we entered the produce market. He ended up telling me how to make a special Jamaican dish and picking out all the ingredients for me in the market. I don’t know if he expected a tip but we didn’t give him one. We will see if I can turn salt cod and a very odd looking fruit into something edible tonight!
This afternoon Lee and I took the dinghy over to Navy island, a small island in the bay at Port Antonio. Lee rowed us around in the shelter of the reef and we clamored around the island’s rocky shore to our own, private beach. Lee even braved the edge of the jungle ashore to retrieve some low-hanging coconuts from a tree. Of course, I brought my camera but forgot the card, so no pictures. We will have to go back with an anchor for the dinghy so we can swim around in the deeper parts of the bank.
Jamaica is somewhat bewitching. We’re not sure if we really like it but we’re giving it a few more days. I’m down to my last week on Pirat, though, so we need to cover some more distance too!

Posted April 11, 2013 by Rachel in Uncategorized

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