10 April 2007

4 days into the French connection stay and Jamaica is beginning to win the battle for hearts and minds. A sojourn in Portland is enough to begin to convince the most resolute begrudger that Jamaica does indeed have much to offer.

Frenchman’s Cove, always a winner with any visitor, gets elevated to another level when kids are around. The river and lagoon provide hours of safe, shaded play and the kids seem impervious to the cold of the water flowing down from the mountains. An uncorroborated sighting of a Barracuda in the sea, gave a thrill when swimming, though I was sensible enough to take off my wedding ring first.

A short boat trip around the coast and a swim in the Blue Lagoon were the highlights of an action packed 4 days, with the usual sites visited including Mickey’s Jerk hut.

Portland really is a family favourite and we have become largely immune to the mosquitoes. It is a fact that is all too easy to forget and the French Connection paid dearly for our omission of packing repellent. Easter weekend meant that few shops were open and middle sis and the kids got eaten alive over the holiday. Bites numbered in the hundreds and we felt like awful hosts, though in truth, it did not seem to lessen the enthusiasm too much. The beau-frère’s personal thick fur coat protected him from the worst excesses of the mosquitoes

We also witnessed a miracle for Easter weekend; the miracle of the two tiny spatch-cocked chickens. 10 of us got fed by two birds of about 3 pounds each, and there was some to spare!