navy island Clean-up #4: Man taketh, nature giveth right back

Ships Ahoy for Portie

The parish of Portland figured prominently in the Saturday edition of the Gleaner, what with the upcoming Boston Jerk Festival and other events (see my upcoming post on "Super Sunday"). this one highlights potential opportunities for the Marina against the backdrop of initial signs of a thaw in strict US snactions against travel to Cuba.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120331/news/news1.html

Navy Island CleanUp #3: bonfire by the "8-Mile" marker

Week #3 of the Clean-up series found us (myself and an initially small group that grew with time heading to the  beach at the western point of the island. The shallow water is laid with a dark bed of seagrass which makes it prime habitat for both sea urchins (sea eggs) and conger eels, but the crystalline shore is still nice for relaxing.

Relaxation of course, was not on our minds, and the thick growth of various trees and shrubs (many almond trees, but other varieties as well) meant there was much to occupy our time and energy. The presence of a chainsaw made the going considerably easier, but there was still a considerable amount of  "elbow grease" required, not only in clearing leaves, limbs and other detritus, but in hauling stuff back to the main entry point for  final transport.

Gratitude to local fisherman/caretaker, the industrious Elvis Thomas, his cohorts, and several of the ladies in the group, for putting together a tasty rib-sticking lunch of seasoned rice (with pumpkin and saltfish bits), to the boat pilots and all the Marina hands who have assisted in the process thus far.

Oh yes, the title of this blog. Well, the Clean-up experience has turned up some intriguing and unusual discoveries (including a cannon) but you can imagine my amazement at encountering, about 30 yards from our actual clean up spot, a concrete mile post, deposited from God-knows-where, laying on its side, with the number 8 visible at the top. Wherever that original 8-mile spot is (the photo here is not the actual article), it must be quite a memorable spot for the person to choose to comemorate it on an island.

We retun to "8Mile" and the rest of Navy Island next week.  

Another Portie Success story

Another inspiring Portie-focussed story from the Gleaner, this time of educator Althea Loban Esty

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120324/life/life3.html

Poem-tree Culture: Dis Poem founder

We've previously mentioned the Dis Poem festival coming up, but in this Gleaner feature, Takura "spills the beans" about the motivation and formation of the event

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120325/arts/arts1.html

Italain Job: Uniting North & South in Portie

When Piedmont native Gianmaria Pedroli first set foot in Portland, he fell victim to a familiar malady - he was spellbound.

"Negril and Mobay nice," he declares, " but I never see anything like this place." The effect was so gripping that Pedroli decided to stay, and that meant he needed to support himself. So, what's a well-thinking, northern Italian man to do in such circumstances? - Open a pizza joint, "My sister in Italy has a bakery, so this is natural progression for me."

menu fold

Natural progression ,but some unnaturally hard work and effort to get the place up and running. but since October of last year, The Italian Job has been serving customers of all types from its location in downtown Portie. Though Portlanders are not strangers to pizza, Pedroli has helped ease the transition (and cover economic and stylistic bases), with an interesting "dual-style" approach. "By the slice, I sell the Neapolitan (or southern) style but I also do my traditional Tuscan style for whole pizzas".

A section of Downtown Pt Antonio

its working "Little by little" thus far, he says and adds that, at this point, his local traffic exceeds that of the overseas visitors. he further balances the menu with several budget items (cheesy dogs, etc) that start as low as J$100 to keep customers coming in and the cash register ringing.

Redroli works diligently with his staff of six to keep service high at the sit-down/take-out combo. "I mix in the Jamaican and Italian way of working," he says.

He is still revelling in the incidence of "first-time thrill”when people discover his food and enjoy it not having tried it before, and is now anticipating the introduction of delivery service. "I bought a small scooter; there is demand out there, especially among working people." he will also shortly introduce dessert. 

Italian Job is open Everday till 10 pm; 29 Harbour Street; call:291-4310

Navy Island Clean-Up II: Through the Vines to the Cliffs

The numbers were slightly reduced from the previous outing, but not the energy and communal spirits that pervaded the first Navy Island Clean-up over a week ago.

This time around, heavy overnight rains rendered some tasks unfeasible, but work nonetheless continued apace on bringing some semblance of order to the fabled resort island.

By the time the first wave of volunteers set foot on the shore, the sun was fully dominant, and only the sodden walls and floors of the main building provided any evidence of the previous downpour.

With leaves and debris collected and even some new planting in progress, a small band headed west to the beach, passing by the former hideaways of the rich and famous, now uniformly in ruins, and the massive concrete basin that awaits resuscitation as the swimming pool.

Machete, weed whacker and chainsaw-armed crews meanwhile set about removing excess branches and limbs adjacent tot he main resort house

this writer then took the opportunity to trek through the dense overgrowth to reach to the honeycomb cliffs at the island's northern end, a vantage that opened up the entire Folly area and the peninsula to the east.

Not unlike some dramatic scene in an  adventure movie, of the type Errol Flynn frequently starred in, with the crashing surf, providing the soundtrack.

Reverie ended, it was soon time to board the boat, say farewell to Navy Island and head back to the Errol Flynn Marina. but the separation is merely temporary. We'll be reunited on Saturday, March 24, when the next clean-up is scheduled. Why don't YOU join us?