Hellshire Beach. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

Ahh ... the beach. Who doesn't like the beach? I mean you have the sun, the sea, half-naked women, what more could a man ask for?

Well, if you happen to be on the very popular Hellshire Beach in St Catherine you wouldn't be pushing your luck too much by asking for some good, peppery fried fish and festival.

If you haven't been to Hellshire Beach, you may be wondering just how appealing a beach near Portmore could be. Well, for Lakesha Plummer, a fiesty 30-something-year-old hairdresser from Linstead, it's apparently very appealing.

"Mi haffi come ah Hellshire wid mi likkle daughter at least two time every month!" she shouted, even though I was standing right next to her.

"Repression or no repression! Mi haffi find some money fi come ah Hellshire," Lakesha said.

Relaxing

I noticed the woman's daughter standing nearby with another woman.

"Is me and mi best friend come here. Wi just buy some fish and try figet bout all ah wi problem. Life too hard yuh know. You haffi come ah di beach and relax," she said.

I asked the woman why she had opted for Hellshire Beach when she was from Linstead, which was not very far from St Ann and the many beaches that parish has to offer.

"Di whole ah di beach dem deh behind di hotel dem. Is pure tourist use dem beach deh. Hellshire ah fi di Jamaican people dem," she said, looking across at her daughter.

"Beyoncé! Teck yuh finga outa yuh nose!" she yelled. The girl complied, then turned her back to her mother.

I could see that Lakesha had more pressing matters to attend to, so I told her goodbye and let her go.

Fun lovers enjoying Hellshire Beach. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

I took a walk down the beach. A man signalled to me from a jet ski on the water.

"Yuh want a run pan di ski, mi boss?" he yelled. I told him no and he was off.

I looked around and noticed several wooden stalls where people were gathered waiting of the famous fried fish and other tasty treats that have become popular staples on the beach.

A dreadlocked man walked up to me. He wasn't wearing a shirt or shoes and his shorts seemed like they had seen better decades.

"Boss, yuh ah buy any fish?" he asked. I told him I wasn't, but asked if he was one of the chefs.

"Yeah, well mi help out sometime," he said.

Di seasoning and di expertise

I asked him what he thought had made the fish and festival at Hellshire Beach so popular.

"Well ah just di seasoning and di expertise. Di people dem seh dem like di vibe pon di beach. Is just a nice vibe," he said.

"Sometime people want a change up from di regular beach dem ah Ochi or dem place deh, so yuh find even some tourist start come ah Hellshire fi get a different vibe," he said.

I asked him if it was a safe option.

"Yeah man! Hellshire is all about good vibes, man. Nobody nuh trouble yuh 'round here. Everybody who come here is family, and we nuh trouble family," he said.

robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com

A woman taking a ride with the help of one of the many guides at Hellshire Beach in St Catherine. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer