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Re: Coming In From The Cold...an unremarkable trip report
The first order of business is meat for the party. Straddling the side of the Ocho Rios market is a small meat market. Slabs of beef hang from hooks beside pork and mutton. Mom is on a pork mission today and spends the better part of an hour negotiating with one particular youth about his cuts and prices.
Moms in serious negotiation pose
I spot this young lady leaning on her mom and think back to the days of hitting Spanish Town market with Mama and wondering wha mek dis always tek so long!
I don’t eat pork, so I take the opportunity to look around the market and snap a few pics. If you ever get to Ochi and you want to really experience Jamaica and its people – go visit the market. I forget its actual location, but it’s adjacent to the Rexo Supermarket, which is almost directly behind the Mother’s fast food restaurant off Main Street in the center of town. This isn’t your typical American market either. Think of it more as part farmer’s market, and part swap shop. Need some yam? Got you covered. Wan’ buy two pair a socks? Check around the corner. It’s somewhat dark in there, but it’s colorful nonetheless.
I ask one of the women for permission to snap a few pics of her goods and she agrees. We’re talking as I snap away and she and a young man tell me that life has been rough for them since Ivan. Perhaps hardest hit from Ivan’s glancing blow of the island are those who depend on agriculture for a living.
Life is no stroll on the beach for these folks and I can tell by the weariness on their faces that they are doing all they can just to survive. Yet amidst this pain and struggle, the colors of the fruits of Jamaica shine through. I tell her that we’re not leaving here before my Mom visits her stall, and I never break my word.
The first order of business is meat for the party. Straddling the side of the Ocho Rios market is a small meat market. Slabs of beef hang from hooks beside pork and mutton. Mom is on a pork mission today and spends the better part of an hour negotiating with one particular youth about his cuts and prices.
Moms in serious negotiation pose
I spot this young lady leaning on her mom and think back to the days of hitting Spanish Town market with Mama and wondering wha mek dis always tek so long!
I don’t eat pork, so I take the opportunity to look around the market and snap a few pics. If you ever get to Ochi and you want to really experience Jamaica and its people – go visit the market. I forget its actual location, but it’s adjacent to the Rexo Supermarket, which is almost directly behind the Mother’s fast food restaurant off Main Street in the center of town. This isn’t your typical American market either. Think of it more as part farmer’s market, and part swap shop. Need some yam? Got you covered. Wan’ buy two pair a socks? Check around the corner. It’s somewhat dark in there, but it’s colorful nonetheless.
I ask one of the women for permission to snap a few pics of her goods and she agrees. We’re talking as I snap away and she and a young man tell me that life has been rough for them since Ivan. Perhaps hardest hit from Ivan’s glancing blow of the island are those who depend on agriculture for a living.
Life is no stroll on the beach for these folks and I can tell by the weariness on their faces that they are doing all they can just to survive. Yet amidst this pain and struggle, the colors of the fruits of Jamaica shine through. I tell her that we’re not leaving here before my Mom visits her stall, and I never break my word.
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