Middle Quarters

Middle Quarters sits where the road crosses the edge of the Black River morass, and the village has sold peppered shrimp at the roadside for generations: small freshwater shrimp caught in the swamp in bamboo pots, boiled with scotch bonnet and salt until they are bright red and fiercely hot, sold hot in paper bags by women who flag down passing cars. It is one of the fixed points of Jamaican road food.

What you actually see

• The peppered shrimp - small river shrimp boiled with scotch bonnet, sold hot by the bag.
• The roadside vendors - women selling from the verge, flagging down cars.
• The bamboo pots - the traps used to catch the shrimp in the morass.
• The morass edge - the swamp the shrimp come from, alongside the road.

When to go

Year round; vendors work through the day. Supply drops when the catch is poor, and shrimp are sometimes bought in from elsewhere. Weekends are busiest.

Honest expectations

The shrimp are extremely hot and not for everyone. Vendors crowd slowing cars and the approach can be aggressive. Prices are negotiable and quoted high to visitors.

Nearby

Black River is south, and Y S Falls is north.