All language subtitles for Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure 1 Blue Mountains - HDclump. com

Before I was born, my mum and dad moved
from the Caribbean to Britain. We had

exactly the same place in Bolton.

I loved our family holidays here. This
is how I remember my mum doing it.

But this trip is much more.

This would have been a party room.

I'm off to discover how these magical
islands of creative cultures, loved by

people all over the world.

I'll be welcomed into island life. Come
early and stay late.

Leave all the bad vibes at the gate.

Pushed out of my comfort zone.

My back's gone.

On goes the hat.

To unearth some major surprises.

Annalise, hi. There's a pig in the
kitchen.

And share what I find with the folks
back home. It feels big. This is a real

Caribbean treasure.

As I uncover the energy.

Creativity. It looks like a
Tyrannosaurus Rex. If you can, you do

Go! Here they come, here they come.

Of the closest place to paradise on
Earth.

Look at that view.

What a wonderful day it's been.

Join me on my Caribbean adventure.

Jamaica is known throughout the world
for the speed of its sprinters, its

-wateringly spicy food and the sweet
sounds of reggae music.

It's no coincidence that this island is
the number one Caribbean destination for

British travellers and it was home to my
parents, Lynn and Norris, before they

emigrated to Britain in the early 1960s.

600 miles south of Miami, the island, or
the rock as Jamaicans call it, is

nestled in the middle of the Caribbean
Sea.

The first leg of my adventure is taking
me to the spectacular Blue Mountains,

which tower behind the city of Kingston
and expand for over 30 miles.

I first came to Jamaica as a little boy
with my family, and I've had some

amazing holidays here with my wife,
Catherine.

But there are so many parts of this
beautiful island that I haven't seen.

I'll be meeting descendants of rebel
mountain communities who battled the

British.

And I'll be getting high.

Well, about three feet higher. Don't
look down.

I'll be spending a night a hundred feet
above the Caribbean Sea.

Wow, amazing.

And later, I'll be discovering what it
takes to make a Caribbean classic love

the world over.

But first, I'm heading to what some
people consider the home of the world's

finest coffee.

The parish of Portland is in the
northeast, and right in the heart of the

mountain range is Devon's Coffee Farm.

Unfortunately, coffee doesn't agree with
me, so I'm meeting up with someone

whose opinion I trust 100%. My big
sister,

Judith.

She recently moved from the UK with her
husband Carlton to this stunning part of

rural Jamaica.

Is that my big sis?

Little bro!

Nice to see you.

How are you?

Oh, still on tiptoe. You look well.

Yes, so do you. You're looking good, and
you've got the coffee brewed already. I

have the coffee.

I'm just wondering, to paraphrase Mrs
Merton, what is it about the lush beauty

of Portland that made you want to leave
Bolton?

Bolton?

Bolton? Oh, it's coming home. I mean,
look at it.

The fresh air, the fresh food, the
sunshine.

Yeah. Everything.

The people. Fantastic. The people are
amazing.

Yeah.

Now, Bolton is a place we're both very
fond of, but Judith was born in Jamaica,

and when Mum followed Dad to England in
1962 as part of the Windrush generation,

she stayed behind with my grandparents.

But some weird statistic, I think,
like...

A few hundred of the children of
Windrush Generation parents made the

Hundreds of thousands were left behind.
That's right.

And I'm talking to mum.

A lot of that's because they all thought
they were coming back. They were just

going to go there for four or five
years, make a bit of money. Five -year

Yeah. Yeah, most emigrants, that was the
plan. Make some

money and then come back.

And obviously a lot of them got stuck.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, what made my mum stuck
and dad stuck was me.

You, yeah.

I came upon the scene.

That's right.

With my parents' new life firmly
established and no sign of returning to

Jamaica, a seven -year -old Judith was
brought to England, where I met her for

the first time.

What was it like for you leaving Jamaica
and Grandma?

To start again in Britain. It was
traumatic on many levels.

The climate, the new family.

School was horrendous. And the food!

Yeah.

I'm sorry. Wow.

Did you think, I want to go home?

Yes. But then a part of me could see
that mum

also suffered.

But I didn't know.

I didn't know you were pining. I didn't
know all that. No, well, you wouldn't.

You're two years younger than me.

And, of course, you have to then, you
know, get back on the horse, as it were,

and make the best of the opportunity
that mum and dad had obviously

That they wanted and they worked for.

Exactly, and it worked, yeah. So we made
the best of it. I think we all did.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we all did.

This farm is run by another family team.

Father and son, Conrad and Howard
Thomas.

They've been in the business for over 30
years now. Their daily grind is all

about a commitment to sustainability and
community and, of course, producing

great coffee.

So, Conrad, your coffee, I'm reliably
informed, is amazing.

It is amazing. I've had a cup. So what
makes coffee?

From the Blue Mountains. So special.

Coffee from the Blue Mountains is always
special because of the altitude and the

soil and the way you take care of your
coffee. It's just like a baby.

You get to take care of it. You get to
prune it. The soil is very much

because the kind of plant coffee, you
will have to taste the soil.

The climate is very much important.

Not too hot and not too cold. You don't
want to get too much of one weather.

So you get a lot of rain and you get a
lot of sun.

Conrad's going to show us how they
create that perfect blend.

And it all starts with the coffee plant.

These are called the coffee berries.

So where's the bean then?

The bean is in the berry.

So the bean is inside that?

Yes. You just squeeze it, right?

There it is. Crushed it.

That's a coffee bean.

This is a coffee bean.

I had no idea it grew in a little pod
like that. So you could taste one.

I could eat this now? You could just pop
it open and just taste it.

Clive, it's sweet.

It's sweet?

It's sweet.

Too sweet.

This is as close as you can get to
coffee. Yeah, because I don't drink it.

don't really drink it.

The beans are washed and left to dry in
the mountain air for at least three

weeks before they're ready for roasting.

The coffee is going to show you like...

Two different kinds of roast.

One of them is going to be brown, one of
them is going to be dark.

How long do you roast it for?

About half an hour. Half an hour.

And it goes brown.

And it goes brown. It looks like. All
the grains are looking the same.

That is really powerful.

Roasting complete.

It's time for the grind.

There you go.

That's good.

Just imagine we're making this for Dad.

And he's sitting there. Yeah. And he's
scowling.

He's scowling because he hasn't got his
coffee yet. Yeah. Remember?

Yeah.

He's watching. He's watching. He's
watching.

Because he wants to know that you do it
the right way. Yeah.

That is beautiful.

Dad, it's coming.

Yeah. It's coming.

Yeah. Oh, it takes me back.

Yeah. Yeah. There it is.

The aroma is astonishing.

With the hard work done, Judith is going
to taste the fruits of our labour.

Oh, yeah. That's lovely.

I won't put that in just yet.

A bit of condensed milk, buried
Jamaican.

Mmm. Yeah? That's delicious.

Yeah, yeah. It's strong but not bitter.

Right. Yeah?

So, look. That is lovely. It's been
great seeing you. Yeah, you too, little

So, I've just arrived.

What am I going to do in Jamaica? While
you're here. What should I be doing?

What have I got to eat? What have I got
to do?

You have to eat authentic jerk chicken
pork.

You have to also do something cultural.

Okay. Learn about the history of
Jamaica. Yeah, okay. You must do that.

you must just chill.

All right? And enjoy Jamaica. Which is
why you're back.

That's it.

That's it. I'm back for my health.

Yeah. It's just amazing. Yeah, I can
totally get that. And you know what? Mum

will kill me if I don't get a picture of
her favourite son with one of her other

kids. Yeah, her favourite son.

He's so rude.

Mum? There you go. He's your favourite
son.

Mum will love that.

For once, I'm taking my big sister's
advice.

I'm heading back down the mountain to
learn more of Jamaica's history.

This landscape isn't just famous for
growing coffee. It was once the stomping

ground of the Maroons, African slaves
who escaped from plantations here and

lived in groups in the elevated forests.

The Africans that were forcibly taken to
Jamaica brought their traditions and

culture with them.

and a community of their descendants
still live together today at the foot of

the Blue Mountains.

Charlestown is one of four official
villages of the Jamaican Maroons, and

meeting their leader, Colonel Marcia
Douglas.

You must be Marcia.

Akwaba. Akwaba.

I'm assuming that means... The former
great -uncle of the Maroons. So good

morning, good afternoon, good evening.
Akwaba.

So tell me about the maroons because
they hold a special place in the history

Jamaica. They were living in the
wilderness and was dangerous to

They were herders who tended cattle. The
origin of that word maroon was formed

from the Spanish word simaroon, meaning
wild and unruly or untamed.

So they were slaves under the Spanish.

The Spanish then set them free.

The British took over. The British
wanted to keep them as slaves because

had a motion to produce as much sugar
and sugar products as possible. And so

Moroni said, listen, enough is enough.

But it must have been really difficult
living up here in the mountains,

a huge national army like the British.

The Maroons utilize what they have
around them. So living in the mountains

wasn't a real problem for them. That was
an advantage.

They were very good fighters, very
smart, using different techniques and

tactics. The most famous leader of this
rebellion was a fearless woman dubbed

Nanny of the Maroons.

She's a national hero in Jamaica and
features on the $500 bill.

Her outstanding leadership and the
military training she gave her people

largely credited with the success of the
first Maroon War in 1739.

And eventually, the Maroons, they signed
a treaty.

Yes, they did. With the British.

But Nani did not. But Nani didn't? No.

But that treaty meant that the Maroons
kept their freedom.

Yes, and the Maroons were free to live
in their own community. OK, well, what a

history.

Man, it is long and tall.

Beautiful history.

Yeah. That's a lovely way of putting it.

I'm keen to find out more about Maroon
culture, and when the Colonel talked

about the history being long and tall, I
didn't think she meant literally.

It's a picture.

Simone Harris is a fearless, out -and
-proud queer performance artist in a

country that still criminalises the
LGBTQ plus community.

She's actually a seventh -generation
descendant of Nanny of the Maroons, and

her own way, she's following in her
ancestors' footsteps.

Hi. Hi.

You must be Simone.

Hey, yeah. I'm Clive. Hi, Clive. Good to
see you. Nice to meet you.

Welcome to Walking Tall, J .A.

Amazing. Tell me about the history of
all this.

Well, we started this in 2019.

I received some funding from the British
Council to run an arts program for the

queer community. I decided to do stilt
walking because I was interested in how

the elevation could help you to build
confidence, but also connect me to a

history of stilt walking. That is
Maroon, a lost part of our culture here

Jamaica.

The skill of Moko Jambi can be traced
back to West Africa.

Once in danger of dying out completely,
it's part of a performance that can be

seen in carnival celebrations all over
the Caribbean.

This is a way for us to honor the
history that is truly ours.

Okay. We're going for a walk. Yeah,
let's go for a walk. All right.

I'm trusting you. I'm trusting you. I've
got you.

Thank you. Oh, dear.

Yeah. It looks really difficult.

In life, falling is, you know, failing,
and we fail forward. You use the lessons

from falling to move forward.

And literally getting people in the
queer community to walk.

Tall. Absolutely.

You know, who may feel, because of the
wider society that Jamaica is, you know,

they may feel that they can't be proud
of who they are. Exactly. They can't

out. I understand that I am a descendant
from Nani of the Maroons, and she

would claim safe space for her people. I
continue that tradition today with

Walking Tall. We're creating a safe
space for the LGBTQ community and its

allies, right?

That's what we're doing, and we do it
together, right? We're building a safe

space together.

So I'm going to take these off, but
you're going to get onto your silk.

You're going to walk to us today.
Adrian, you ready?

I thought this was a safe space.

Well, after a quick briefing from Adrian
and getting fitted with my new legwear,

it's time to attempt standing up.

Adrian. All right. Okay.

So three.

Up, up, up.

Good. Breathe. Don't breathe back.

Right. Okay.

All right.

So what we're going to do is just
breathe.

You're going to lift one leg, put it
down.

Lift the other leg, put it down. Okay.

All right.

Good job.

Nice work.

Mm -hmm.

All right. All right.

Yes? Yeah?

I feel like a baby giraffe trying to
walk for the first time.

Okay.

I'm here.

The next one.

Just match it.

Go ahead.

Don't look down.

I'm coming down. I'm coming down.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Safely back down to earth.

I'll be honest.

That was pretty scary.

You did great. And thank you for trying.
And thank you for trusting us as much

as you could. It's been a pleasure.

Stay grounded.

Thank you. I will. Thank you.

After that, I think I'm ready for some R
&R.

So I'm heading to the coast.

Boston Bay is easy to miss from the
roads, but it's a hidden gem worth

out.

It's the birthplace of jerk cuisine, and
some say the best surfing spot in

Jamaica.

It also offers something a bit different
to the shiny, five -star, all

-inclusive hotels that dominate the
island.

Great Huts is an eco -tourism resort
perched on the cliffs overlooking the

and it's where I'll be staying tonight.

To find out more about the place, I'm
meeting one of the co -founders.

Hi, you must be Paul H.

Yes, I am.

Welcome to Great Lakes. Thank you so
much. Yeah, man.

This is amazing.

It is fantastic.

Yeah, a bit like your shirt. Oh,
actually, I made it. You made it? Yes,

There are so many things I do. You're a
man of many talents. I can't wait for a

full tour, man. And you're going to
knock yourself out by what you see.

Okay, let's do it.

There are 21 individual rustic huts and
lodges scattered across this stunning

clifftop. It was the vision of an
American doctor, Paul Rhodes, who bought

land 20 years ago.

It was a beautiful place, yet it was a
garbage dump.

It was a rubbish dump. Rubbish dump for
the community, literally.

And it had this vision of creating this
Afrocentric, eco -friendly place.

Right in the heart of the forest.

The bosom of nature. We are using mostly
natural trees, bamboo,

board. We have the jungle. Look at the
beautiful Queen of Sheena house.

I can see why she would live there with
the vines hanging down.

It's amazing.

It's amazing. And so you'll see the
stories of our African ancestry embedded

all over. Yeah, on the pots there, the
seats.

There's a lion there.

And what is more African than the lion?

So we're talking about the story, the
history, the heritage of Africa.

And we're also talking about preserving
the natural environment.

But at the same time, you can relax,
unwind, and chill.

And as we make our way through this
natural jungle to the top of the cliffs,

can see exactly what he means.

Oh. Right here. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. It's
the essence of paradise

on the edge of the Caribbean Sea. My
Lord.

The waves are thunderous. The waves are
crashing against the cliff, the jagged

cliff. That's incredible.

And on this cliff, we were once looking
out to sea across

the Atlantic.

Longing. Longing, perhaps, to go back.

This view just captures everything.

Don't you want to jump into the sea?

I do want to jump into the sea. But not
from this height.

Well, we have a place down there where
you can actually jump. Yeah, I think

give that a minute.

But I am looking forward to spending a
night in my beautifully appointed hut

overlooking the sea.

With nothing but the sound of the waves
lulling me to sleep.

But before bed, I can't resist a dip on
top of the cliff.

The sound of those waves, it's just so
relaxing.

And this view.

Just so stunning.

It's Jamaica.

After a refreshing night's sleep above
the ocean waves, I've woken up with only

one thing on my mind.

Food.

Jerk cooking originated right here in
Boston Bay. The word jerk is said to

from the Spanish charqui, meaning dried
meat.

This jerk stop is run by Tika Thompson
and her partner Rome, and I'm here to

find out what it takes to make a really
good jerk.

Hey. Hi.

Tika. Hi, it's good to see you.
Surrounded by a lot of wood.

That's what we use in jerk. It's the
main ingredient.

An amazing smoky flavor.

Our wood here is from pimento and sweet
wood. And then that moves on to the

meat. We'll use maybe this one. That
one? I'm not sure if you can manage that

one. Oh, Lord. That's a chunky one.

And we can put it right on the fire
here.

Oh, it's hot. It's very hot.

You can feel the heat.

Fantastic. Right.

Okay.

While the wood is smoking outside, Tika
is going to show me how to make their

marinade. And she's... Very modest about
it.

You know I'm going to be biased and say
always is the best.

But of course it's the best.

Well, tell me about the ingredients
then.

Especially hot bonnet, hot pepper.
Spicy.

Very spicy. I love it. We're going to
use some fresh thyme. This is the

berry. Okay.

We're using the pimento wood outside.
Wood outside, yeah. This is the berry

grows on the tree.

And then there's a bit of nutmeg. It
gives it a little aroma. And then we

the garlic. And most important, the
scallion. Spring onion, we would know it

back in the UK. Yes, here we call it
scallion. Scallions, yeah.

You know, jerk is really popular in the
UK. It's all original from Boston.

It started with the maroons.

They originally run away. They lived in
the mountains. And they had to preserve

their food.

Because you catch a big boar, you catch
a guinea pig, you're not going to eat it

all today.

But they learn about the spice.

They learn about how to cook it so it
can be preserved.

Where did you get this recipe from?

My partner's grandma and granddad. They
were Gurley and Aston. That's where the

name of the restaurant came from.

But how do you make yours? Just a little
bit different from the...

Place next door.

We have a secret ingredient. Of course.

We know I can't tell you. You can't tell
me. No.

All the ingredients, including the
secret ones, are blended together and

for a couple of days.

Oh, yes.

Before being added to the meat.

Today, master jerk Orville is showing me
how to marinate pork.

All right.

Which is the original cut of meat used
for this cuisine.

So you're slowly dripping it in to the
folds of the meat.

Okay.

Oh, this is going to be amazing. You
don't want to move too fast because if

flies in your eye, you know. Oh, my
Lord.

Looking very good. Looking good,
Orville? What do you think? Looking

Looking good.

What?

Next, we transfer our marinated pork to
the cooking pit.

There we go.

Boards made from the pimento tree are
used to cover.

And the wood we chucked on the fire
earlier has now created the hot charcoal

need to slowly cook up the meat.

OK. Got it. And then you go right ahead.

Just like that.

Prep is underway for the lunchtime rush.

And the kitchen is in full swing.

The restaurant is filling up with hungry
customers.

And having been left for three hours,
our jerk pork is ready.

That looks fantastic.

Yeah, yeah, and you've got some sausages
there as well. Right.

Incredible.

Let's do it.

Now, let's see what the customers think
of my jerk pork.

Here you go.

Enjoy.

Served with fried sweet plantain and red
fruit.

So good.

I think it's a hit.

Finally. Right.

I get a chance to sit down and taste it
for myself.

There it is.

Doesn't it look amazing? It looks
incredible.

Yeah. You should try it and tell me how
it tastes.

It's absolutely delicious.

Yeah. I think I did a pretty good job.

Yes, you did.

No, it's wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

What do you think of my cooking?

You're cooking!

Really good.

Mmm.

This is so tasty.

Ah, the authentic taste of Jamaica.

Maybe I'm on my way to becoming a master
jerk myself in the best possible way.

I knew this Jamaican adventure would
take me to places beyond the...

usual family holidays I've experienced
here.

And it's been a revelation, the deep
dive into maroon culture, for instance,

the focus on my own family history.

And you know what?

There's plenty more to come.

If you enjoyed that, you can press the
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Caribbean Adventures, only on BBC
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