What most signify a Jamaican experience to a foreigner but eating jerk chicken…at the beach. I mean, just the mere mention of jerk chicken will signal minds to the Jamaican culture and of course beaches are like the additional bonus. To Jamaicans, this is no big deal instead, what constitutes to a big deal is having fried, roasted, steamed or brown stew fish at the beach with festival or bammy.

This friday night I was invited to have jerk chicken. We drove to a plaza where men brought their innovative grills made from metal drums to grill chicken on the street. We bought ours with a beverage and as there was no place to eat it, the choice of going by the beach was brought up.

Sitting on those reclining beach chairs made from wood I enjoyed my jerk chicken; the ambiance filled with waves splashing along the beach- and the tunes of music in the air. It certainly was a different way to spend an evening and I thoroughly enjoyed the new experience. There were times my conversation paused, so that I could watch a stray dog roam. One dog walked over and started to eat whatever bones were spat out on the sand. Another dog found my foil paper of leftovers and ran away with it. Other times, I paused in thought to watch crabs walk under the chairs we were sitting on and making headway towards the water on their claws. I ended up walking towards the beach expecting to see them, but whether it was the darkness of the night that hid them or they were already in the water, I don’t know. Partially happy I did not see any I took a step in the water and felt the waves splash on my feet. The water was warm.

When the strong tides washed seaweed and other junk, like nets, towards my feet, I shrieked and decided this was as good a time as any to make it back to the car. Jamaica is quiet at night like most places, but the thought of the sea or the sound of the sea or maybe even the scent of the sea brings a totally different sensation. It’s a feeling of bliss. Jamaica, I think, is seductive and loves to seduce people to its delights. And so many there are. Can anyone say they have had enough of Jamaica, and truly mean it without a thought of the good times- and can I add, when comparing the experience they’ve had with other parts of the world?