Jerk Pork at Last

Today is one of the best days of my life in Denver, Colorado. To begin with its a wonderful summer day at last so I decided to ride my bicycle downtown to visit the Art museum. But first I must go pay for my ticket at the Amtrak depot before they raise the price on me again. A few weeks ago I called to find out how much it was return from Denver to Salt Lake City, Utah, and was told $170. When I called to make my reservation today it was $217....a whole $47 more. Absolute highway robbery, but as they say you learn from experience and I did not know that trains set their prices like airlines in that the earlier you book the cheaper it is.

I am only paying the price for this experience because I have not been on a real train (not a subway please!) since I was a teenager and feel like a kid going on my first train ride. I am going to visit my friend Sharon whom I have not seen in probably 20 years and who is now a Mormon living in Salt Lake city. Boy don't I have a lot to learn when I get there. So under those circumstances I had to pay the huge fare increase and not bawl.


Anyway, when I was leaving the train station and going towards the Art museum, I heard music playing loudly and naturally headed in the direction only to run into the Denver Chalk Art fair on 14th Street. The streets were blocked off and people were drawing all sorts of things on the pavements and the road, all in chalk.There was really some good stuff there.

As I once again headed towards the Art Museum, I ran into the People Fair. This is an annual thing where streets around City centre are blocked off and food  and other products are on sale in booths. As I ambled through the crowd, by god, what did I see.....a sign saying Jamaican food. My withdrawal symptoms immediately escalated and I rushed over. Naturally I used my best yardie language and enquired what they had only to be met with a blank stare. So I started my usual tirade about foreigners exploiting Jamaica's good name and reputation only to be joined by a man who assured me in good Jamaican language that it was not so. He said the reason why the people in the booth did not understand me was because they were his family who were born in the USof A.

My first question to him of course was if he had jerk pork and and it was as if God decided to give me a special blessing for his reply was "Den no mus". Oh lord, what sweet words. My next question was about mannish water but drew a blank there. Anyway, I was totally happy to live with mannish waterless jerk pork. I decided to go to the museum first and come back for the jerk pork after, but boy from I got  the ticket I kept thinking of some pork skin and had to just go an get it and postpone the museum tour for a bit.

It turns out the guy's name is Glen and he lives in Colorado Springs. But guess what, he is from Rocky Point in Clarendon. He laughed when I told him Rocky Point people only know to cook fish not pork, but I was perfectly correct for it was not certainly up not up to any quality jerk pork that I know of. Anyway, it had skin and it was crispy so all was immediately forgiven. After all, I have not had a decent piece of pork  (ie.pork with skin!) for almost two months so anything goes at this point.
So I sat down in the park and listened to one of the many bands performing. They weren't too bad and there was a dance area which lots of people were using, so I simply enjoyed the ambiance and the food.

The art  museum is huge with eleven levels of displays ranging from American Indian art to the African experience. This is the second time I have been there and each time it is almost a totally different scenario. I don't think I will ever come back to Denver and not visit that museum.

Designs at the Chalk Art Fair

The artists get down on the pavement at chalk Art fair

So now, finally, I am looking forward to wonderful summer days for the rest of my stay here for although the Denver weather is miserable most of the time, when the summer days come, downtown always has some excellent surprises.