Last night we went to a floating restaurant called The Houseboat for dinner.

It’s moored a little off shore in a marine sanctuary. Rather than extend to dock to the boat or use a long gangplank, you get out there by raft.

You sit on the benches and the attendant casts off, gives the raft a good hard shove, and jumps aboard. The raft glides across to a soft landing on the houseboat. We sat on the roof so we could watch the egrets and frigate birds flying up the bay to roost on one of the islands. The food was really good and there was complimentary Cutters to keep the worst of the midges at bay.

Provisioning is a fancy way of saying we got off the boat to go grocery shopping. Jamaica is a big enough country to have its own local brands.

Ram Flavour for enhancing your curry goat experience. Just as in the Bahamas, mutton can mean goat meat as well as sheep. The price may look high, but the Jamaican dollar is worth about four fifths of a US cent.

Interesting to see a hot sauce featuring “Jonkanoo”. Jonkanoo (sometimes anglicized as John Canoe) in Jamaica and Junkanoo in the Bahamas come from the same African roots, but they have evolved in different directions. The Jamaican version, which is dying out, featured masked characters in outrageous costumes dancing and chasing ‘victims’ on Christmas Eve. There are still a few groups that come out and perform but it is nothing like as important a cultural celebration as it is in the Bahamas, where there is a huge parade of rival groups who have spent all year building their costumes and rehearsing their music and dance moves. I say building, because the costumes are often architectural rather than fibrous.

Jabba is former bank employee called Jonathan Simpson who is now burning out tastebuds from Kingston to Montego Bay with his highly seasoned shrimp and highly popular shrimp.

I picked up some Jamaican Jerk Seasoning for dinner. I may add a little chicken to season it.