Joan, my views: No place like home

"There’s no place like home" is probably the most overused cliché ever developed, but it’s used so much because it’s so true.

Beautiful Silver Sands beach

At least in my case, for there is nothing I look forward to more than my annual visits home, to Jamdung, Jamaica, whatever we lovingly call it.

Be it reconnecting with good friends, the dominoes, eating real food, the incomparable beaches, the cycling, the fishing, whatever, its simply wonderful.

This year it was a different type of fishing for me, although I had no success there.

Anyway, my brother Bernie had become so tired of hearing me grudgingly complain about how he caught a few large barracudas (pictures displayed on his wall no less) while I had never even had the opportunity, that he arranged for me to go with his dedicated fisherman Yusafta.

I don’t take chances however, for they had gone to Barracuda Alley the previous week and came back empty handed.

So since I couldn’t face the possibility of such an outcome, I told Yusafta that if we didn’t get a hit there within an hour, we should go to the regular spots where we were at guaranteed to catch butter fish, welchmen etc for breakfast!

Luckily I did, for we travelled miles out to sea to the appropriately named place where the water is around 300 feet but never even got a hit! I guess we should have been forewarned that they were not running since we saw no other fisher folk heading in that direction.

We did run into a fisherman who on pulling in his fish pot, saw that a huge conger eel inside eating out his catch, so he was in the process of killing it.

After an hour out there, I didn’t feel badly as the Yusafta never got hit either.

So we did as I suggested and at least got breakfast plus a conger eel which Yusafa said he would take for a lady who loved to eat them. I had tried the fried conger eel once but really never liked it, so happily donated it to her dinner.

Barracuda Alley faces a recently built Spanish hotel located in Coral Springs, between Duncans and Falmouth, (Trelawny). I must admit it is most unimpressive and unattractive looking from the sea as it looks like a huge prison with its solid blocks. I hope it’s more attractive from the land side!

The new Spanish hotel is unattractive from the sea

I love Silver Sands and was so happy to be there with my brother and sister in law Judy, at their home “Winedown.” Ran into Lisa at the beach there too. Then learnt that my former sister in law Betty, children and grandchildren were at a cottage almost behined us, so vistied them briefly.

During my stay, as usual the sea was flat and wonderful, only becoming rough on my last day there. I also enjoyed riding there, as it is nice and undulating although for the first two days, I could not conquer the hills. By day 3 I did though and even found a big bearing guinep tree at the top of one hill, where I could get refreshed.😋 You see I now reside in flat, boring Florida which does nothing for your riding muscles, so being back in the hills is always a treat.

Anyway I was spoilt by our riding group Fun and Thrills whose riding expeditions involve going out into the country parts, swimming in a cool clean refreshing river then eating the most wonderful Jamaican breakfast before driving or even sometimes riding home. (Check out some of the Fun and Thrills blogs right here. They were also the basis for the Gleaner series; "Enjoying the Jamaican outdoors.”) The people who I could ride with in Florida, ride, ride, ride for around 20 miles to some place, then ride ride ride back.

No fun or thrills on their rides!😕

Charles the 1st leads the troops, Charles11 behind.

So, when I arrived in Kingston, it was wonderful to get back with some friends from that wonderful club. We drove to Port Royal, parked, rode to the round about at the airport then returned to Port Royal where we lymed with cold beers, conch soup and guess what, jerked pork and fried bammy.

I was in my element as I had never had jerked pork in Port Royal as it has always been the fish capital of Jamaica. However, my friend Chuckie who is like me a porkist, had discovered the jerked pork there and surprised me. It tasted good too.

Yummy. that made my day.

Gathering round the jerk pork😋

At Port Royal I saw that the cruise ship pier had been completed (but I was not allowed inside.) Also, for the first time, compliments of Grace, I learnt that there was still standing, part of the structure of the Woman’s Jail there which had been built before the 1692 earthquake destroyed the Wickedest city in the world!

Outside the restored Women's jail

Yup as I said, there’s no place like home, for not only do I get to reconnect with some of my dearest friends, but also there is never a visit when I do not discover something new.

Sweet Memories of the return to Jamdung 2022