The passion fruit is a round yellow (or purple) fruit with a very distinctive flavor. It is used in juices, ice cream, pastries and even syrup. The yellow passion fruit is quite common in Jamaica and is usually found growing on vines in backyard gardens.   I was at my uncle’s home a few years ago when he asked if I’d like something to eat. I figured he’d buy us...

I saw the starfish flower for the first time a few years ago in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. I didn’t know its name and everyone I showed the photo to, shook their heads. They didn’t know either. All I knew for sure was that the stems made me think it had to be from the cactus family. I also knew that I was intrigued by the shape and squiggly lines. A...

While waiting in the immigration line at the Donald Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay a few years ago, I heard the unmistakable sound of a mento band. They were playing a familiar tune, Take Her to Jamaica, and as I waited, I tapped my feet lightly and hummed along. The singing got louder as I exited immigration on my way to pick up my luggage from the carousel. By...

I never made it to St. Thomas, located on Jamaica’s southeastern coast, until I was in high school. As part of our graduation celebration, our teacher organized a day trip around the island that brought us not to Morant Bay, its historic capital, but to Prospect Pen to view the Jamintel Earth Station* that had opened some years earlier. I still have the grainy photo of us posing primly in...

Welcome to another #FoodieTuesday! You can join the #FoodieTuesday linkup by – Adding the link to your foodie post in the link tool at the bottom of this post Leaving a comment. As a courtesy, please include a link back to this post. Tweeting, G-plusing, Facebooking using the hashtag #FoodieTuesday   Today, Jamaica celebrates her 51st year of Independence. There have been many changes in the country since 1962, notably...

One of the best things about the tropics is the profusion of flowering plants. They spill out from gardens, line country roads and overhang private walkways, and paint my surroundings in vibrant red, yellow, purple, and white. During the past year, I’ve written several times about the tropical flowers I’ve been reacquainted with and those I’ve been introduced to, and I’m still finding more new (to me) flowers. Here are...

It wasn’t hard to miss this colorful object, called a dove harp, that was part of an exhibition on view at the National Museum of Jamaica (formerly the Institute of Jamaica). I thought I recognized the work as belonging to one of our local artists but I wasn’t sure. A quick look at the caption confirmed that the object was the creation of intuitive artist, Everald Brown, popularly called “Brother...