After visiting the Blue Mountains, I decided that Port Antonio would be a good place to spend a few days. When I booked my hotel, I hadn’t realized it was near Boston Beach — almost half an hour by car from Port Antonio. Fortunately, both are along the coastal highway, one of the main taxi routes. The hotel was another homestay, owned by an Italian man who had married a Jamaican woman. They were both very welcoming.

The man who drove me from the mountains to Port Antonio claimed to be a Maroon — and made an even bolder claim: that he could command the voodoo of the coconut. It was never clear what kind of powers were supposedly hidden inside the coconut.

He wasn’t so lucky when we stopped for a quick Red Stripe and he joined a card game. Within minutes, he lost a few thousand Jamaican dollars and blamed it on the “different rules” they played by in the mountains.

When we finally reached Port Antonio, he overcharged me, but by then I’d already decided that the photo I took of him playing cards was worth the extra money. I told him he’d better watch out for the power of the coconut.

Port Antonio

The capital of Portland predates British rule in Jamaica. The Spanish called the port Puerto Anton. In the early 18th century, Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland, decided the town would become a naval stronghold. A fort was built to protect settlers from Spanish attacks from the sea and Maroon raids from the mountains. It wasn’t until the 1880s, however, that the town truly began to boom, when banana boats started bringing in wealthy American tourists.

Fish N Rundung

I first had to find breakfast in Port Antonio. After walking around for a while, I came across a small spot with Fish ‘n’ Rundung on the menu for 1,000 dollars (about 6 euros). Rundung is Jamaican for any food cooked down (“run down”) in coconut milk, so fish ‘n’ rundung is simply fish simmered in coconut milk. I’m pretty sure the fish I had was fried before the simmering process. It was served with cooked banana, stewed vegetables, a fried dumpling, and a few fritters.

By the time I finished my breakfast they wiped Fish n Rundung from the menu. Apparently I had the last Fish n Rundung of the day.

Port Antonio has a population of just 13,000. It takes only about an hour to walk through the town, and there isn’t much to see. There’s a small harbour for yachts, but the only building there is off-limits to the general public — you need to own an expensive yacht just to have a coffee inside.

In Port Antonio, I found refuge in a small Ital restaurant with a view of the sea, offering a peaceful escape from the busy road. I ordered a natural juice, and the owner picked a bunch of guava fruits straight from a tree. Ten minutes later, he returned with a glass of freshly made guava juice.

The blessings of travelling off-season. I was the only customer in the Survival restaurant.

I’m not 100% convinced this is guave, but is is what I remember.

It was too early for lunch so walked for a couple of hours along the coastal highway to return in the late afternoon.

Kidney breakfast

The next day, I went back to the same breakfast place. They only had “kidney” on the menu. I wasn’t sure if they meant kidney beans or actual kidney — it turned out to be the latter, and it was incredibly tasty. The kidney was served with fried dumpling, cooked cassava, banana, and pumpkin. Jamaican food may be simple, but when cooked well, it’s packed with flavour. I’d never had such a delicious kidney gravy before. I asked to see the cook so I could thank her in person — and I did.

Next up Nanny of the Maroons