Episode 58: The Best of Jamaica with Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon

Angie Orth:

Wouldn't it be nice right about now to dig your toes into soft, warm sand? Would you give anything to smell the salty sea air as you kick back in a comfy beach chair with a good book and a cold rum punch? If beach time, nature excursions, cool cocktails, and the soft sounds of reggae could be your version of paradise, then I've got good news, we are jet-setting to Jamaica today with Jetsetter-in-Chief Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon. If you've never been to this incredible Caribbean island, you are in for a treat. From stunning beaches to rich culture, and an even richer culinary heritage, Jamaica really does have it all.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the show. I am so excited to introduce you to my friend Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, who is an expert in all the travel things, but particularly, the Caribbean, so we are excited to talk to you today about Jamaica.

Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon:

I am so happy to be here, Angie. I love to share the Caribbean with people, particularly Jamaica, which in my opinion, is the best island. So, let's talk about it.

Angie:

You are originally from the UK, is that right?

Sarah:

Yes, I was actually born in England, but my father is from Jamaica and he moved there when he was a teenager, and my mother is from Barbados and she moved to England in her early twenties to study nursing. That's where they met. That's where I was born.

Angie:

So, you spent a lot of time in Jamaica growing up?

Sarah:

I did, I went to school there. I basically lived there until I went to university in England, then I actually moved back to Jamaica, and then I moved here to the States.

Angie:

Tell us what makes Jamaica such a special place to visit.

Sarah:

Jamaica is the largest English-speaking Caribbean island. It's got a population of about 2 million people. When you think about it, it's very small in comparison to the rest of the world, but think of the impact that Jamaica has had on the world—through reggae, rum, culture, and fashion—it really punches above its weight. So, I really think Jamaica is the whole package. Jamaica has it all, we've got history, culture, rivers, mountains, beaches, rum, reggae, great athletes. We have it all.

Angie:

Before we dig into some of the things visitors should see, are there any safety precautions people need to keep in mind? I know there's an advisory that's been issued pretty recently and that's got some people worried. What can you tell us?

Sarah:

Jamaica has been a Level 3 country for a long time. The State Department update says because of increased crime and a lack of medical services. First of all, Jamaica's a developing country and like many developing countries, we could have better healthcare. What the State Department is saying is good advice I would give to anyone, make sure that you have good health, travel insurance, and make sure that you also have medivac insurance just in case.

Jamaica's always been at this level, as are many other Caribbean countries. I think when you don't put the information in context, when you're not familiar with the island, and all of a sudden, an alert is updated, it immediately makes people who are not familiar think, “Oh my goodness, should I really go?” Use your common sense. What they're saying in the advisories is information and advice that I would give you. Don't go wandering off at night. Don't wander off by yourself. Be very aware of your surroundings, that kind of stuff. That's good information for whether you're going to Jamaica, or you're going to Germany, or you're going to Japan.

Angie:

Like you said, get travel insurance, get evacuation insurance. You should have that anywhere you go. That's just smart traveling.

Let's talk about 3 main hotspots for visitors in Jamaica. Tell us about Negril, Montego Bay, and Ocho Rios.

Sarah:

Jamaica's tourist areas are on the north coast of the island. From the furthest west, you have Negril. It's very famous for its sunsets. There are 2 separate areas in Negril, you can either choose to stay on the cliffs, which is where Rick's Cafe is, where they do all the cliff diving. There are a lot of smaller boutique hotels on the cliffs. And then there's what we call “The Strip,” which is basically the Seven Mile Beach, and that's where all the large resorts are.

Going further east, you've got Montego Bay. Montego Bay is actually Jamaica City, the first being the capital of Kingston. Just like any city, it's bustling, it's busy, and it's where you will probably arrive—into Sangster International Airport. Montego Bay has all the big resorts, a lot of all-inclusive hotels, great restaurants, great nightlife.

There's an area called Gloucester Avenue, but it's known as “Hip Strip” and that's where all the shops and the restaurants are; Margaritaville is there. That's a place you want to be if you are in Montego Bay Town.

Moving further east is Ocho Rios. Ocho Rios is famous because that's the town where Dunn's River Falls is, the 600-foot-high waterfall that you climb up. You are led by a guide up these falls. You start at the beach and you walk up to the top. It is amazing. Ocho Rios also gets lots of cruise ships, there are lots of shops and restaurants, it gets quite busy, too. Anywhere you go in Jamaica, there's tons to do, great food to eat, and a beautiful beach to lay on.

Angie:

What are some of the most magical spots to visit in Negril?

Sarah:

After you finish walking along Seven Mile Beach, the thing that I most associate with Negril is Rick's Cafe. It's on the cliffside of Negril. Droves of people arrive at Rick's in time for the sunset, but also to watch these guys jumping off the cliff into the water below for money. Tourists do it, too and there are big signs that say do it at your own risk. They're so acrobatic. Everyone's got their different style and personality. Some of them are somersaulting in, but they dive off these limestone cliffs into water that is so translucent and blue, sort of like the color of a blue raspberry Jolly Rancher. It's really something thrilling to watch. Of course, there's a whole legend of the green flash, which we have all throughout the Caribbean, which says that if you see a green flash as the sun touches the horizon, it means that you will always come back.

Angie:

Let's go to Montego Bay. Tell us about Doctor's Cave Beach.

Sarah:

The formal name is Doctor's Cave Bathing Club because way back, there was a doctor who was convinced that there was a confluence of underwater springs that fed into the beach right here and therefore the waters had healing powers. It's technically a private club, and so you're paying for a 1-day membership. Beautiful white sand beach, I've spent many, many a Sunday there. There are great food outlets right on the sand, so once you get to the beach, you really don't ever have to leave, to be honest.

Angie:

What are the natural features of Ocho Rios? You already said Dunn's River Falls, which sounds 600 feet tall? That's amazing. And you climb to the top?

Sarah:

When you drive up and park your car, you get your water shoes. You either wear your water shoes and your swimsuit—you're not going to wear any clothing, it's just swimwear and shoes—or you can rent them at the top and then you walk down the steps to the beach where you meet your guide. And literally hand-in-hand, he will slowly lead you step by step up the cascades. He'll show you where the good photo spots are, so you can stand back against the water and it all comes out like a crystal umbrella over you. It's something that I would recommend everybody do. It's Jamaica's iconic and most popular attraction.

The other thing that they will do is a thing called the Mystic Mountain, and they have a rollercoaster shaped like a bobsled because as you may know, Jamaica actually sent a bobsled team to the Olympics years ago. It was all in the movie Cool Runnings.

You can go from here to the Martha Brae to do river rafting, which is an incredible thing I think we only do in Jamaica, no other Caribbean island does it. Back in the ‘50s when Jamaica exported a lot of bananas to England, they had to find a way to get the bananas from the plantations to the port where they were loaded onto the ships. Because Jamaica has so many rivers—Jamaica's name means land of wood and water—they would use these bamboo rafts to bring all the bananas to the port. When Errol Flynn, the actor from the ‘40s or ‘50s, lived in Port Antonio for a while, he popularized rafting as something to do for pleasure. Now, it's something that tourists and Jamaicans do for pleasure, too.

You can do the Blue Mountain downhill bicycle tour. The Blue Mountains are 7,000 feet high, so you don't want to be biking up them, or you can actually do some hiking. You basically stay at the bottom of Blue Mountain and then you hike all the way up, and time it so that when you get to the peak, it's sunrise. It is an amazing view of Kingston. It's gorgeous.

Angie:

Is there another must-see part of the island that you recommend? Maybe something people skip by accident because they don't know.

Sarah:

I love Port Antonio. Jamaicans call it “Portie.” It is now easier than ever to get to because there is now an international airport there called the Ken Jones Airport. Jamaicans lovingly say it's for newlyweds or nearly deads. That's not because it's boring, it's because it's very tranquil. It's an area of the island that gets a lot of rain, so it's very lush.

There is a great place there called the Blue Lagoon, some people call it blue hole. One of my favorite beaches is also in Port Antonio. It's called Frenchman's Cove. It's this beautiful scallop of white sand and the property that leads up to the sand has a river that empties into it. There's a beautiful tire swing. It's right by the water. If you find yourself on Frenchman's Cove in the middle of the week, there's nobody else there. It's fabulous. You can feel like it's all yours.

Angie:

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Sarah, you've given us the scoop on all the best beaches, so now let's talk about fuel. Rum is pretty synonymous with Jamaica. How did it become the Jamaican spirit of choice?

Sarah:

Rum is a byproduct of sugar, and as you know, there were many sugar plantations all across Jamaica and most of the Caribbean, so we have a heritage of rum and drinking it. We have gold rum and we have white rum. You might just have a basic Appleton rum that you'd have with a rum and Coke—a rum that you mix or you would use to make a rum punch. But then you might have a sipping rum like some of the aged rums that are really, really expensive that you either have neat or just over ice. It's more of a special occasion rum. Then we have what we call overproof rum, a white rum, which you can use sparingly in a rum punch, but white rum in Jamaica is used not just to drink, but I'll tell you, it's got many other uses. My Jamaican grandmother had arthritis in her knee and she would mix a jar of white rum and some fresh limes, and then she would rub it on her knee and she swore that it made her knee stop hurting.

Angie:

Can you break down the recipe for a rum punch? If I can't get to Jamaica right this minute, how can I make one of these at home?

Sarah:

Back in the 1700s or the 1600s when they invented rum punch, there was a little rhyme: 1 of sour, 2 of sweet, 3 of strong, 4 of weak. So, 1 of sour would be like something citrus, 2 of sweet is sugar or simple syrup, 3 of strong is the actual rum, and then 4 of weak would be a fruit juice.

Angie:

After all the rum, we're going to need some late-night snacks to soak it up. What can you tell us about the Jamaican beef patty?

Sarah:

This is one of my favorite topics. The Jamaican beef patty is similar, but not the same as what they call a Cornish pasty in England. We believe this is the origin of the patty, similar to a modern empanada, but not the same. The empanada crust is a lot thicker, the Jamaican patty crust is yellow because it's colored with food coloring and it's very, very flaky. We would have competitions at school where if you could eat a patty without licking the flakes off your mouth, you would win.

Angie:

Sign me up for that contest. This is basically Jamaica's signature fast food, right?

Sarah:

A patty in Jamaica is like what a burger is to an American. It is the quintessential fast food, it's affordable. And now, you don't just get a beef patty, you can get lobster patties, shrimp patties, callaloo patties—callaloo is like a local spinach, you can get a tofu patty, you can get ackee and saltfish patties. You get it hot and fresh. It's served in a paper bag, and you have to have the patty so hot that the filling might burn you. You kind of open it a bit, then all the steam rises, and then you eat it.

But it's …oh my God, patties are one of my favorite subjects. A patty is a quintessential Jamaican snack food and fast food snack. If you're really, really hungry, you have it sandwiched in between something we call coco bread, which is this very soft, half-moon piece of bread that you open. It's soft and doughy, slightly sweet. You put the half-moon-shaped piece of patty inside, you close it back up, and then you eat it all together like a sandwich. It's carb city and I'm sure it's not particularly good for you, but does it taste good? Absolutely.

Angie:

So, breakfast. We've stayed out late, we've had our punch, we've had our patties. What are we having for breakfast?

Sarah:

You are having Jamaica's national dish, which is ackee and saltfish. It looks very much like scrambled egg, like a sort of jazzed up, fancy scrambled egg, kind of scrambled egg with accessories. So, the ackee is actually a fruit. It grows on a tree. The pods are pink, the ackee inside is yellow, and the pods naturally open and then you see the yellow lobes of ackee inside. However, caution, because if the ackee has not opened and ripened naturally, it's actually poisonous. No one is going to serve you any poisonous ackee, but I'm just letting you know as background. Anyway, you take these yellow things out, you take the black seed out, then you sauté the ackee in onions and spices, and when it comes out, it looks like scrambled egg, but fancy because it's got pieces of onion and scallion in it. Jamaica has this thing called saltfish, which is salted cod. You sit the cod in water overnight so most of the salt comes out of the fish, but it's still salty. You flake it and when you're sauteing the ackee in the pan, you sauté it with these pieces of saltfish.

Angie:

This sounds like the perfect hangover food. Do you eat it with anything else?

Sarah:

You might eat it with bammy, which is a fried bread made from cassava flour, which I love, love, love. It's a round piece of fried bread and then you cut it into pie-shaped pieces, and it's delicious. So, none of these Jamaican foods are particularly healthy. They're very filling and heavy, and a lot of it is because of the heritage of our food, which comes from the days of slavery when people had 1 meal to eat and it needed to be something that was going to sustain them through a hard day's work in the field. So traditionally, Caribbean and Jamaican food is actually quite stodgy and heavy, but it's also quite delicious.

Angie:

Probably pretty good for fueling your hikes in the Blue Mountains, and up to the falls, and all these long walks on the Seven Mile Beach. You need the nutrition, you need the calories.

Sarah:

You got it! I like the way you think, Angie. Absolutely.

Angie:

I'm fitting in already. Last but not least in the food department, Jamaica is world-renowned for jerk, which is actually a method of preparing the meat, right? Tell us about that.

Sarah:

The heritage of jerk is that there were some runaway slaves known as the Maroons. They would catch animals and the way that they would prepare their meat is they would dig a hole, put the seasoned meat into the hole, and then cover it with leaves. Now, they use corrugated iron sheets, so essentially it's smoking and it's a slow way of cooking. We basically do jerk chicken or jerk pork. There's a jerk pit anywhere you go in Jamaica. They say it's called jerk because it makes you jerk your head back when you taste the spice. There'll always be a container with specific jerk sauce on the side. If you're not someone who's into spicy, just leave the jerk sauce alone, take the chicken or the pork as it is, which already has a seasoning on it. It's not a dry rub, it's a wet rub. It's really delicious, it's very flavorful. You also get that smoky taste that just makes it so special.

Angie:

Tell me what kind of tasty carbs we're soaking up all of this jerk juice with.

Sarah:

You can get what we call hardo bread which is slightly sweet, so it counteracts the pepper a bit, which is great. Then you have this amazing, sweet, flat, fried flour thing called festival. It's like a big, fat finger-shaped donut. They're deep fried and as I said, they go well with the jerk because they are slightly sweet and that counteracts the heat. So, you've got your jerk chicken, your jerk pork, your festival, and your hardo bread. That is like the Jamaican food pyramid.

Angie:

Before we wrap up, you have a Jamaican fast-food tip that you are very passionate about, right?

Sarah:

I would be remiss if I did not tell you that when you go to Jamaica, you absolutely must go to Jamaican KFC. It does not compare to KFC you've had in America or anywhere else. It has a lot to do with the fact that they use local chickens. The KFC in Jamaica tastes so good because at first, when the franchise holders got the franchise in the ‘70s, Jamaicans weren't too into it. The franchise holders got permission from the colonel to tweak the 21 herbs and spices and add a little bit more salt because apparently, Jamaicans have a taste for salt. I'm telling you, you must try just 1 piece of Jamaican KFC. Got to try it.

Angie:

This is invaluable information, Sarah. I can't wait to try it. Aside from this very special KFC experience, why should listeners start planning a trip to Jamaica?

Sarah:

I often say Jamaica's a bit like a tempestuous woman that you have an affair with, and some moments you love her, there might be moments when she drives you crazy, but she's absolutely unforgettable.

Angie:

Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, thank you for joining us, and thank you to our listeners for being with us.

If you're planning a trip, be sure to connect with a AAA Travel Advisor, check out AAA.com/travel, or visit your local branch.

This podcast is a production of Auto Club Enterprises. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe and leave us a review. I'm Angie Orth, thank you for traveling with AAA.