Jamaica: Middle Quarters, Black River, White Hall

In the southwest of Jamaica lies the sleepy little town of Black River. The crumbling confectionery-style houses only allow one to speculate on the original splendor of these structures. The town used to be an important center for the lumber industry. Today it attracts tourists with a special attraction. Black River is home to Jamaican crocodiles. About 300 specimens of the dangerous reptiles live in Jamaica's humid climate today. During a water safari in the Black River, an experienced guide will show you where the crocodiles live. The place owes its name (Black River) to the black, algae-covered river bottom. The search for crocodiles leads along the coast and on through the mangroves. You don't have to be afraid to drive through the green thickets. The boat captains know all the nooks where crocodiles prefer to hide. For the most part, crocodiles will surface as soon as a boat approaches with their daily food - pieces of chicken. These reptiles need daily sunbathing to maintain their complex metabolic processes. The heat stimulates their digestive processes.

Jamaica offers a safe attraction at White Hall in the Coastal District. Tourists are offered an original way to travel to the privately owned and bush-hidden waterfalls. White Hall has seven rapids and is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Jamaica. The most popular attraction here is the bungee cord. Swinging on it, you land directly in the life-giving water. Those who prefer a quiet swim can cool off by walking a little higher.

From here, the road leading to the coast runs along Bamboo Avenue. The century-old bamboo bushes growing along the edges of the road are a favorite subject for photography. Shrimp, shrimp, shrimp, shrimp. That's what Middle Quarters, for which Jamaica is also famous, is known for. Caught in a nearby body of water, shrimp seasoned with spicy sauce can be sampled in small huts along the road. The most popular side dish with shrimp is bami, a type of potato fritter made from cassava roots. Since the tubers contain poisonous juice, they must first be grated on a coarse grater. The resulting flakes are squeezed with a handkerchief, dried, and finally they are ground in a mortar. The dried flour is put into pots without adding fat. And a miracle is performed. Within a few minutes, a tortilla appears in the pan, unlike any ordinary tortilla. Delicious, slightly unleavened bami served with fish or shrimp are a gourmet treat.

A hearty lunch is a good reason to visit the rum factory of which the island of Jamaica is proud. The road goes past fields planted with sugar cane. In the factory courtyard you will learn how rum is made from sugar cane stalks. In the past, the juice was pressed with a donkey-driven press. Today it looks a little more modern. Complex fermentation and distillation processes result in raw rum. The next important part of the production process is the storage of the rum in oak barrels. In a large warehouse, with a capacity of about 8,500 barrels, particularly noble and older types of rum mature. The barrels containing rum are books of sorts. Different kinds of rum and cocktails can be tasted. The rum on sale is a mixture of varieties with varying degrees of aging. The twenty-one-year-old rum on offer in recent years has been brewed so that it could mature for at least 21 years. This rum is the youngest rum available. After 21 years of aging, the rum is removed from the barrels and blended at a ratio of 80 to 20. That is, most of the rum is 21 years old and the rest is even older rum. The strength of such rum is 43 degrees.