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At Tapioca Village Retreat

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Tapioca Village Retreat -Review by Wellesley

Looking for a peaceful, tranquil getaway in Jamaica? Consider Tapioca Village Retreat! A hidden gem in Devon Pen, St. Mary, Jamaica (East of St. Ann or North West of Kingston).

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And, if you ever need a trustworthy and knowledgeable local guide, consider booking a private tour with us!


Click Here to Contact Tapioca right now!

Update - June 2017: We were re-invited by Mr. Sinclair for The Evening of Tales & Cocktails at Tapioca, read my review here. Note also that we checked out the new Tapioca On The Beach!

You can watch the new video here now.

I was invited to stop by and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, It was great fun - especially since our (my family) visit coincided with the Jamaica50 special event they were having there - sponsored by the Lions Club of St. Mary.

Tapioca is not a resort, nor is it a posh hotel accommodation, it is as real and rustic Jamaican as you get! The authentic stuff in a safe and relaxing atmosphere.

Immediately upon entry we were greeted by the bubbling Errol Sinclair, proprietor. His warm and genuine personality set the tone for the rest of our stay.

tapioca retreat entrance
errorl sinclair and wellesley gayle at tapioca village retreat - 2002

By the way,they didn't have wireless internet for guests as yet, but he volunteered to loan me his USB modem - quite a man!

Right after settling down, Mr. Sinclair started what became an informal tour. He took us (we were joined by another family from Kingston) around, showing the many interesting aspects of this little gem in the rural town of Devon Pen, St. Mary.

Among the other demonstrations, was taking us up to the spring, that supplies the property with all their water needs. The water is pumped from that spring, treated and distributed throughout the property.

According to him, there is at least 30,000 gallons of water that sits below that surface at any point in time!

By the way, I recognized that there were a few groups of campers spending time Not only do they host several school and church groups on weekends, many local schools make it a part of their educational retreat as well. One of their camping dorms actually house up to 40 persons.

Outside of the general ambient setting, the spring and flora, I noted a host of Jamaican fruits. Among them were,

  • Noni
  • Guava
  • Cherry (Brazilian)
  • June Plum
  • Ribena
  • banana
  • mango
  • pear
  • breadfruit
  • lemon
  • Jackfruit
  • coconut,and of course...
  • Ackee!
Jamaican Noni Tree At Tapioca Village Retreat
Jamaican fever grass

Other amenities include a lazy pool, table tennis board, pool table, and a tuck shop -just in case you forget those essentials.

Table Tennis Board
tapioca jamaica pool
Pool at Tapioca Village, St. Mary Jamaica

So what impressed me most about Tapioca Village Retreat?

Just the general quaint and cozy feel, the ambiance, the history, and the friendly and supporting staff - including 'solgie' and the boss (Mr. Sinclair) himself.

It's truly the other side of Jamaica. If you adore nature, you'll love it here!

The Town Square

By the way, later in the evening we took a tour of the city square, 'Friendship Gap'. I was very impressed by the array of local food they had there.

Individual stalls had their own, but some of the dishes I noted were jerk pork, jerk chicken, corn soup, cow's skin soup, red peas and peanut soup, festivals and fried sprats (fish).

Jamaican Jerk Pork from Friendship Gap, St. Mary
Jamaican Corn and Cowskin Soup, St. Mary

Marsha (our baby sister) savored the jerk pork (above) while my wife and I had peanut soup and crispy fried sprats!

Day 2:
The Jamaica50 Celebration Event

Tapioca Jamaica50 event

I was awaken by all the buzz of the Jamaica 50 activities that were getting started. Before you know it we were in the pic of things!

Having a hearty Jamaican breakfast; mine was roasted breadfruit with salted mackerel 'run-dung', a traditional Jamaican favorite! Tea was hot Jamaican chocolate, the same original steaming Jamaican one - where the creamy oil settles on the top!

We had other traditional Jamaican delicacies as well, including duckuno (blue draws) and cornmeal pudding. I had a few jelly coconuts myself - quite a few :-) I even had a hand of dominoes and ludo!

So lot's of eating and fun while the DJ's entertained!

Jamaican Breakfast -at Tapioca Village Retreat
Jamaican ladies dancing at Tapioca Jamaica50 dancing competition
Jamaican ladies playing dominoes at Tapioca Village Retreat
Jamaican jelly man at Tapioca

Traditional Jamaican Items

There were lots of old time Jamaican items on display as well.

Traditional jamaican mortar and pestle
Traditional Jamaican Ice Shave
Jamaican Home Sweet Home Lamp and Shade
Jamaican lady baking Jamaican pudding
Jamaican Pudding Baking
Jamaican Roots Ingredients

How about A Video?

Sure! Here are some of the beautiful photos we managed to take, packaged into a video! Click on the 'play' symbol (below) to get it started.

Trip Well Spent

It was a trip well spent! The Jamaica50 event was just the icing on the cake, Tapioca is certainly a hidden gem, especially to the nature lovers and those who are looking for a break, some tranquility and connection with nature!

Tapioca Village Jamaica

Contact Information For Tapioca Village Retreat

You are welcome to use the form below to directly reach our to Mr. Sinclair and the family at Tapioca Village:

Contact Form

Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.
 

Alternately, you may also contact them via the phone numbers and email address below.

Telephone: 876-924-0091/ 876-371-2209/ 876-472-5255
Email: errolsinclair@ymail.com

Reviews Of Tapioca Village Jamaica

So what do you think of this place? Would you visit there?
Share your thoughts here .

And by the way, if you have you been to Tapioca before?
Please share your experience here.

Here too is what others have shared about the place

Originally Posted: Aug/2012
Updated: June/ 2014

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Pages Related To Tapioca Village Retreat

External Links: Saint Mary, Jamaica at Wikipedia

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