We went to Gros Islet again last night.   We joined Pat and Peter from the boat Aku Tiki for the evening. Peter is German and Pat is Jamaican and they live in Toronto except for the 4 or so months that they live on their boat. They’ve been cruising these waters for years. At any rate, they came by the boat at 8:30. It was already dark, of course and probably past our normal bedtime. Our visit to Gros Islet the other day revealed a quiet fishing village. All that changes on Friday night for the “Jump Up.”
Streets are blocked off, restaurants and bars, closed the rest of the week, spill out onto the pavement, makeshift bars are set up on card tables like lemonade stands.   Grills come out to prepare street food, chicken, fish, conch, food on a stick The festivities had begun by the time we arrived, but we left long before they terminated in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The streets were crowded with tourists and locals from all over the island. On every corner, music blared from speakers as big as Claudia’s RAV4.