Alligator Pond

Alligator Pond is a working fishing village on the south coast where the beach is grey sand and the boats are pulled up in front of the eating places, which is the entire point: the seafood comes off the boats a few metres away. The style here is different from the north coast's fried fish, leaning to steamed fish in a broth with okra and crackers, curried lobster and conch, and shrimp cooked in coconut. It is a long way from anywhere and most of the customers are Jamaican, driving down from Mandeville and Kingston for lunch. The Canoe Valley manatee sanctuary is a short way along the same coast.

Background

Alligator Pond is a fishing village on the south-west coast of Jamaica in the parish of Manchester, where fishermen launch their boats and women run the wholesale trade in the catch, and weathered cookshops and bars along the sand serve curried goat and Red Stripe. It lies at the foot of the Don Figueroa Mountains, some 35 km from Mandeville, and locals say the name comes from the range, whose bumps look from the beach like an alligator's back. The Alligator Pond River, a bathing spot, is about three kilometres west on the road to Port Kaiser, and the Little Ochie, a fish restaurant in beach huts, some made from boat hulls with thatched roofs, now seats several hundred.

Source: Wikipedia, "Alligator Pond"

What to look for

• The landing beach - boats pulled up in front of the eating places.
• Steamed fish - in broth with okra and crackers, the south coast style.
• Curried lobster and conch - the dishes the village is known for.
• The grey sand coast - a different shoreline from the north.

When to go

December to April is drier and calmest. Lunch is when it happens, and weekends are busiest with Jamaican visitors. Lobster is closed season from April to June and should not be on menus then.

Practical notes

Lobster is subject to a closed season from April to June, and anywhere serving it in those months is breaking the rules; do not order it. The village is a long drive on rough roads from anywhere. The beach is grey sand and not a swimming destination. Prices for lobster are high and portions are weighed, so agree before ordering.

Nearby

Canoe Valley manatee sanctuary is twenty minutes; Treasure Beach is an hour west.