Jamaica Hello

Today at BWI, waiting for my flight to Jamaica (2008)
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I once “visited” Jamaica for three years.

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, and lived in a little south coast fishing village called Belmont, a place I still much love. Traveling around my district, I visited preschools and trained teachers. Quite frankly, though, I got as much as I gave, and learned as much as I taught, which is one of Peace Corps’ goals.

After leaving the island to return to the US to live, I visited several times a year  until the mid-80's.  Since then, I have still managed to visit this island in the sun 4 or 5 times.  All in all, I have been to all the major areas of the island, and most of the major towns and tourist attractions.   The biggest draws for me are still the sun, the sea and the rum.

My first time in Jamaica: standing in front of my little cottage with housemate Joyce (1973)
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While most people will know that Jamaica is in the Caribbean, after that the distinction blurs quite a bit. But Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean, and most of the smaller Caribbean islands would actually fit inside it. Fifty times larger than Aruba, 25 times as large as Barbados, Jamaica comprises over 4000 square miles (10560 sq km) or an area half the size of Wales. Only Cuba and Hispaniola are larger than Jamaica, which sits about as far south of Cuba as Cuba is south of Miami.

At Jamaica's famous Dunn's River Falls with my brother and sister, who were visiting me (1974)
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Now I'm going back to Jamaica, but this visit will last only a week.  My son Colin and his fiancée Heather will join me at the Negril Treehouse, which promises traditional Jamaican breakfast every day.  My mouth has been watering for weeks now, thinking about my favorite Jamaican breakfast foods. Ackee and saltfish, callaloo, fried plantains, boiled green bananas, roast breadfruit, fried dumplings, fresh fruit juice, chocolate tea, and Blue Mountain coffee.

I hear you asking, “ackee? saltfish?” and making a little face as you think of salty fish for breakfast. But read on.

What is ackee?  It's a member of the soapberry family, called "Blighia sapida" after the famous Captain Bligh who brought it to England from Jamaica.  Indigenous to West Africa, people believe it may have come to Jamaica on a slave ship.  However it got there, it has certainly thrived.

Growing on tall trees, ackees look a bit like hard pears before they are ripe, first green, then yellow, then reddish-orange. But once ripe, they look like nothing else in the world. The red husk bursts open and three yellow pods appear, each tipped with a big black seed. The pods are removed from the husk, and the seeds discarded.  To make this Jamaican national dish, first parboil the pods, then sautée them with onions, seasonings and prepared salted cod, aka “saltfish.”

Hmmm, I can tell you are not sold yet. Fellow blogger Cynthia writes a column called Tastes Like Home, where she describes this delicious dish with photos of the finished product.

http://www.tasteslikehome.org/2008/02/ackee-saltfish.html

Now your mouth should be watering! Along with the ackee and saltfish, I'm hoping for some callaloo (sort of like spinach but heartier) and boiled green banana, something I can never get where I live in the States.  Even the greenest bananas for sale in my local grocer are too ripe.  A rule of thumb is, if you can peel it by hand, the banana is ripe.  It may not be ripe enough to eat, but it will be too ripe to boil. Real green bananas must have the peel cut away with a knife.  Boiled and mashed a little with salt and butter, the green banana is more vegetable than fruit. To round out my breakfast, I'd add a few slices of sweet fried plantains and a couple of fried dumplings.  And some good coffee from the Blue Mountains in the eastern part of the island.  If you've heard one song about Jamaica, it is probably "Jamaica Farewell," made famous by Harry Belafonte and others: Down the way where the nights are gay

And the sun shines daily on the mountain top

I took a trip on a sailing ship

And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop. But I'm sad to say, I'm on my way

Won't be back for many a day

My heart is down, my head is turning around

I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town. Down at the market you can hear

Ladies cry out while on their head they bear

Ackee rice and salt fish is nice

And the rum is good any time of year! I may well be sad to leave at the end of the week, but for now, let the fun begin!