First, I finally went to the Saturday market here in Montego Bay. My apologies for the lack of photos, but think farmer's market, then crowd everyone closer together and add tropical fruit. That is more or less the atmosphere. There were three of us, and one of us could claim to be local, so we got lots of good fruits and vegetables, including pineapple, scotch bonnet peppers, eggs, tomatoes, onions, etc. We also got mangoes from a woman who was sitting on the tailgate of a sedan car, and the ENTIRE back of the car was filled with mangoes! I'm talking no second seat, just a mountain of mangoes. I'm even learning the names of the different kinds of mangoes - Julies are the little ones and Bombays are the big ones, also called East Indian mangoes.
Another fun item we found in the market was 'Stinking toe'. It looks kind of like a big toe, but even worse, it smells like a stinky foot! We took it home and opened it up. Apparently you can make a drink from it, but we couldn't get over the smell. Fun times with fruit!
On another note, about a week home, I was driving home with friends and the car suddenly seized up. We pulled off to the side of the road, and within a couple of minutes, a truck had pulled up beside us and a couple of guys go out and gave us a hand. It turns out that the radiator wasn't doing its job, so we decided to park the car in a nearby secure parking lot and a taxi driver who had also stopped to see if we needed help agreed to give us a ride home. There were 5 of us squished into this taxi, and one of us asked the taxi driver if he could sing. So this is what he came up with...
Of course, we all knew the words and sang along with the driver. It was a memorable evening, to say the least.
Finally, I've just finished The Lunatic by Anthony Winkler. It was a great read and I'd highly recommend it, especially if you've had a chance to spend some time in Jamaica. The main character, Aloysius, is a madman, who has conversations with trees and bushes and rocks. He is seduced by a German tourist, and the novel is a biting satire set in Jamaica. In the end, you're not really sure who is mad and who is sane. It's written with the main characters speaking patois, which adds to the authenticity of the story.
Tomorrow I'm off to Canada for a visit. It's supposed to be nice in Vancouver, but 15 degrees Celsius is a far cry from 30 degrees...
