24 June 2007

I managed to convince work to give me a couple of days off and have been practising at keeping the Blackberry turned off. (Could do better.) Biker boy and family appear to have quite enjoyed Kingston so far, so I’m pretty confident that Portland will blow them away.

We have the routine down pat now, and although we have had to travel in two borrowed cars, everything else is as it always in; lunch in Norma’s at the Marina, Goblin Hill, Longbay, Mickey’s Jerk Hut, Frenchman’s Cove, cards in the evenings, Rum punch party with strange German lady.

Biker boy was shocked at the state of the roads, which are worsening. There is an effort to upgrade the road fro Annotto Bay to Port Antonio which entail strengthening the storm drains running underneath. This work has been ongoing for more than a year and part of the problem is that they are trying to upgrade the whole stretch at one. That is a 30 kilometre stretch where there is literally no road, just potholed road stone and diversions around deep ravines. The fact that I have got so used to all this and actually laugh at my friend for being so first world is beginning to worry me.

Everything ran like clockwork, with the staff in Goblin so used to us by now. Even the hawkers on the beaches know our names at this stage. We are also the luckiest people in Jamaica when visiting Portland. The wettest part of the country, it has only ever rained at night when we are there.

I had forewarned Biker boy about the Rum Punch Party. A raggle-aggle group of musicians belt out calypso versions of Jamaican folk and reggae. Wee Lad was in his element, dancing for the band, striking rock star poses. A small attendance meant that we were dutifully waited upon. Biker boy lapped up the atmosphere and enthused all the more when her realised that the drinks had been free all evening!

Biker boy had on one or two occasions, mentioned that he thought I was working to hard. After sitting on Frenchmans for a few hours, with Biker baby and Wee Lad playing happily in the shade, he asked me how often I got up here, and finally agreed that you can put up with a lot of crap during the month for long weekends like this.