Sunset Cove and Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Here's our Jamaica Crew minus 1, who I assure you wasn't passed out on rum or anything—he's simply 10 years old, and opted out of our Olan Mills shots.

We're a pretty sophisticated and stuffy lot.

We stayed at the Grand Palladium Resort in Jamaica, which offers both a pool on sight, and a short shuttle ride to a fantastic beach called Sunset Cove. Our team was split between those that preferred pool and beach; for the most part, we all did our own thing, and met up at both places every day.

My vote, if you haven't guessed, was for beach. Give me sand and salt water!

 

It wasn't much busier than this on any day. Lounge chairs for 12 were easy to scrounge up, and once we scrounged them, our work was pretty much done. Sun. Shade. Sand. Water. Sometimes we scattered, and others we came together. Here, for instance, is a photo of the women Detoxing on the last day of the trip:

After a salt-water rinse, we opted for the same lunch we had every day: Jerk chicken.

Irie! The jerk chicken!

Every morning this guy bellied up to a wok and a smoker, and we were there on some days early enough to watch it happen from the start. We watched him drop in peppers and mussels and shrimp early enough that the flavors permeated the rice by a noon opening.

 

Resting on the beach, we knew that lunch was ready when the sound of this cleaver hitting the cutting board echoed through the cove.

Photo credit: This photo ripped off from Jen Carr's Jamaica 2013 Album.

Hot sauce or mild?

HOT! Everyday hot, and the upset tum-tum 3 days in to the trip was well worth it.

 

Jerk chicken, jerk chicken, every day jerk chicken, that's the whole story.

Here's a crab for you.