Wanderers to the perpetual hunt for our place in the sun

excellent artwork can be found at SIMIYA

This page is dedicated to my younger daughter, that I might instill within her a love of her lineage and the special growth and joy that can only come from traveling outside of the familiar safe walls of your own culture. Tank you baby fadda fe dis precious gift.  She's de bes ting you ever give me!

The food is so great at Half Moon Bay, some diners eat like a horse

What are you seeking in your wanderings?

Rest and Relaxation? Adventure and Challenge? Cross-Cultural Exchange? Sex, drugs, and rock and roll? World Peace?

Although I was once a wild child, I am not going to devote space to the fourth option.  I figure it's all been said and anyway, if you can't find these on your own you probably can't read either.  If you can read, please read the Surgeon General's warnings - times have changed people and a needle in the backside is not the worst that can happen.  I recently was informed that the reggae artist I once lived with is terminal.  It CAN happen to you. But enough with the public service announcement . . .

Rest and Relaxation

Rafting on the Rio Grande or the Martha Brae is one of the most relaxing activities you can ever indulge in. Take it from the canoe queen of Florida waterways, gliding lazily down a quiet tropical stream and just turning off your mouth and turning on your ears and eyes to the flora and fauna can be better than a steambath and hot oil massage.

When your Inner Child tells you to find your Happy Place after your boss informs you at 4:55 that you need to stay at work until eight, and on top of that it's the night for your favorite tv show...you'll always find yourself back at that special spot on the Martha Brae or Rio Grande where, just for a short moment in time, you found bliss. Imagine the overhanging branches, the birdsong, so exotic, like nothing you've heard before.  The wide mellow water carries you along, gentle breezes flowing over you and tree frogs chirping their constant serenade.  The sun is warm on your shoulders and you're in the company of someone you enjoy.  The best day in your cubicle could never compare to a bad day on the Martha Brae.  But is it possible to have a bad day on the Martha Brae? TIP: Don't be intimidated about telling your raft man what you hope for along the way.  If there is a type of fish or flower you are interested in seeing, if you want a history lesson, Anansi stories, or Encyclopedia Botanica, let him know, and he will oblige.  Entertaining you is part of what you pay him for.  Otherwise, you'd be a load of bananas on his raft (they once used these rafts for that purpose).  By the same token, if you desire the ultimately peaceful, QUIET excursion, tell him, he won't be offended, it's your nickel.  Feel free to tip generously at the end of your trip.  He most likely has a family to support.

What could be more relaxing than paddling around a coral reef, counting the amazing hues and shades of orange, green, lavender, and yellow neon coral and the awe-inspiring array of fish, some comical, some glamorous, some day-glo, that inhabit those undersea apartment houses?

scanned from Caribbean Travel Planner, order at Away.com

To snorkel the best spots and relax on the nicest beaches, away from crowds and motor boat traffic, renting transportation (car/motorcycle/scooter) is your best bet.  You'll do this for a lot less money than hiring a car and driver, and you will have the control.  Scheduled boat trips are expensive, and if you are staying longer than three or four days, the freedom of mobility and control over your time and destination is well worth the $25 to $45 a day for scooters, bikes, or cars.  Remember to "higgle" whenever possible, this practice is carried through all business in Jamaica, except the larger foreign-owned resort hotels.  I never pay first price for anything.

For those who only use their rooms to dress and sleep (well, duh) get a less expensive room to budget in for a car or bike.  You can see places and do things not listed in most travel guides or websites, such as the falls in this picture (don't ask me where it is, I'll never tell...well, okay maybe it's in Hanover, taking the road up into the hills just west of Green Island).

For experienced riders, go with a motorbike, but be alert at all times for animals, pushcarts, pedestrians, anything that can and will unexpectedly jump out into the road in front of you. FYI, a humorous story about one of my bike accidents (yes, one of...I tend to feel the need for speed) in Sav La Mar will be on this site at a later date.  But all in all, there is no feeling in this world like the breeze in your face as you ride along a narrow road through a cane field, or up into the hills where you stop to look down at the amazing view all the way to the sea.  And if you're lucky, one of your adventures will carry you along some back country road where you find your own waterfall to splash around in.  For suggestions though, feel free to email me for locations of miraculous beauty off the beaten path.

Marble, Half Moon Bay, Hanover

Here's a freebie:  Near Newcastle the Jamaican Government runs a few cabins high up in the Blue Mountains with mists in the mornings and a view all the way to Kingston Harbour on clear days.  These have bedrooms and baths and living rooms, dining rooms and come fully equipped-you just bring your clothes and food.  There are no employees or hustlers to bother you there.  It's a great spot for new love.  Bring a coat, yes, a coat, for the nights.

Photography can be a relaxing and creative hobby and there is no better place for it than Jamaica, as you can see. I captured all this flora in Hanover, Westmoreland, and Saint Elizabeth.  But don't take my word for it, go see for yourself!

Lastly but not least, relaxing on . . . the Beach

There are two types of beaches in this world; Well-occupied advertised hotspots for babe watching and selecting; bustling party meccas Places of solitude and awesome beauty to commune with nature and your own spirit

A sure way to be disappointed during your sojourn is to be unclear as to what you want and where to find it

Adventure and Challenge

You probably won't be surprised to hear I like some extreme sports, living in Colorado and all.  In reality though, the biggest reason I am relocating back to Florida is...Me caaan tek de coal!  Here it is cold and dry but, some like it hot, and wet.  Hey, get your brain outta the gutter there . . . lol If rock climbing is your bag, then you truly would love Moab, but if, like Marble, you are into parasailing, hang gliding, windsurfing, cliff diving and scuba, Jamdown is the place for you.  Swinging right round the island from Port Antonio in the Northeast to Negril in the Southwest, all along the coastline you'll find operators to show you a good time. TIP: If you plan to spend much time sporting, it can get pricy.  Stick with the smaller operators and go in the summer if you can.  Negotiate prices beforehand and, need I say it again?  Higgle Higgle Higgle.  Some all-inclusives offer unlimited usage (subject to availability) of the gear and equipment to keep the Sportos sated.

My first time

My first time

My first time

Come to think of it, I had a lot of first times in Negril . . . but not THE first time

Some suggestions for adventurers-

Several firms rent Jeeps on the island.  You can rent one in MoBay and make the trip across Jamaica through the Cockpit mountains where you'll see a lot more than a beach.  One stop could be a tour of the Appleton estate and distillery.  On the trip you can visit villages that haven't changed much in a hundred years, and get a true sense of history in the islands if you tour any plantation ruins. Get a guide for this one- take a trip to Accompong or Maroon Town.  I won't get into the history of the Maroons, your local library or an internet search can provide the details.  I can tell you that if your heart is open as well as your mind, you can meet some fascinating people who will take you into their homes, feed you, drink with you, and give you stories in the oral history tradition, that you will never forget. Drive to Kingston and spend a couple days touring Devon House, the Hope Botanical Gardens, Hellshire, Mona, and definitely, the Craft Market downtown. This building is the size of two football fields and you will want to take money.  There are so many wonderful things there, hand-crafted, none of them plastic or stamped Taiwan.  Why is this an adventure, you ask?  Driving in Kingston is an adventure, trust me.  And do pretrip checks each morning.  You don't want to break down in Kingston 12 if you should take a wrong turn. In general, if you look for adventure in Jamaica, it will find you. Most any Yardies you meet know a spring, a trail, a rum shop, waterfall, or local sound system set they can show you, where you'll be the only tourist around and you'll have an experience to remember.  If you have the mind for it, you are free to ask and most will be glad to spend some time with you.  Remember to be generous, because YOU are the gross national product.

Cross Cultural Exchange

Now we've come to my favorite topic. All serious Jamaicaphiles know why they keep returning to their special place in the sun.  There are about a half million incredibly beautiful beaches in this world.  There are mountains and valleys and rivers to boggle the mind and capture the heart forever.  Chances are you can think of one within 50 miles as you read this. Somehow just the right recipe of culture and society came together on this little Caribbean island to create a nation of some of the most endearing souls on Earth.  The openness, hospitality, sincerity, sensuality, and spiritual nature of Jamaicans is recognized by all who arrive with an open mind.  If you can handle Jamaica time, which I found to be the biggest challenge, you can love the place forever. Though criminals, users and abusers, con artists, and morons exist everywhere, Jamaica included, here you'll find many people you'll want in your life way past the day your vacation is over.  You'll have some of the deepest discussions and hear the most interesting and intelligent opinions from the least expected sources.  Through the hardships inherent in living in Jamaica, a people emerge triumphant, always persistent and determined, never defeated by the struggles and difficulties they encounter.  If you take a Jamaican out on the street with nothing but the clothes on his back, give him a pack of cigarettes, he'll sell them on the street corner at a profit until he can buy a carton and if you check him a year later, cd's and watches, and a year after that, he's got himself a likkle board house.  In America there are those that get a check from the government every month, free housing and free schooling, and ten years later they still don't WORK for a living.  Oops...getting political...sorry. Over the coming months many of my short stories will be directly related to my experiences with Jamaican culture.  This is not a "Jamaica" website and my stories will be about the Air Force, Las Vegas, Miami, and other subjects, but of all my experiences to date, the Jamaican ones are most heart-wrenching, most comical, most ironic, most amusing.  You will probably agree. Some jamdown culture topics will include:

A stay at the Rastafarian camp near Yallahs then run by Prince Emmanuel Associations with the media crowd, particularly JBC news Sound system dances in Kingston during the National Emergency period Kingston's late 70's Tribal Wars, counting shots drifting off to sleep each night Mingling with "power people" in Town who think so differently than other Yardies Twelve Tribes meetings and instruction Life in "the Trade" and friendships with Jamaican "farmers" Stealing a house from my husband, yes a whole house, from our old homestead the Going to Market ritual, especially Constant Spring, a lively event every time Soca Party Night at Winsome Charleton's in Mandeville and Tino's "interesting"        driving - ever had four simultaneous flats? A two-day Binghi in the bush in Clarendon Marble's Unicorn Lawn sound system clashes in Orange Bay A variety of families I had the privilege to spend time with in Pear Tree Saint         Thomas, Stony Hill, Mandeville, and Gordon Town and also, a very amusing and ironic evening in Kingston with some well-known         reggae artists (names shall be changed to protect the guilty)

Now I suppose that I must confess that I have observed a change in many of the people of Jamaica over the last twenty-plus years, and not all to the good either.  The advent of South American product, media saturation with vcr's and movies from the States, foreign magazines, and increased television programming, most of it the culturally-deficient tripe we have here, have all taken their toll on the spirit and soul of Jamaica.  This is happening all over the world.  It's a nation in transition now, but I have faith it will find itself again and settle into its place in the world, while retaining its heart and culture.  I hope that place is a more prosperous and self-sufficient location.  Legalize it. It is my belief that the Rastafarian movement will play a key role in the saving of Jamaica's culture, and keeping it from turning into another Honolulu, Bangkok, Acapulco, or Telluride.  That is my prayer and hope, at any rate.  MTV Spring Break get thee behind me. Some of you old-timers and surely many Newbies may benefit from the following suggestions on "finding" the heart of the Jamaican people during your visit:

Get outta town - spend some time away from the resorts and the tourism areas and, for instance, take a trip to Sav La Mar and dine and drink in a "locals" establishment, go to some local dancehalls and get to know some people who don't work at a hotel.  Friends you make will take you places you'd not normally be invited that aren't on the tour.  As you would in Rome, Paris, or L.A., use common sense and your gut instincts as to where, when, and with who. Show interest and curiousity - Jamaicans have a lot to be proud of and they will usually be eager to tell you and show you why. Be spontaneous - One of the best days I ever experienced was when I was driving out into the countryside in Trelawney, where we (likkle Freddie was with) saw a ten year old boy walking down the road from the river, carrying a fish taller than himself.  I stopped and offered to buy the amazing fish, but he said his Mama would skin im backside when she found out and she always found out everything.  It seems the fish was to be the family dinner, and he would raise his esteem within the family by being the one who caught it.  Do not ask me how he did so with a hook and some string, no pole.  I have no clue. We made a deal.  I'd buy the fish and we'd all go to his house, cook it and eat together.  To add some juice to the offer, we stopped at a market and bought fresh thyme, scallion, and scotch bonnet, neseberry, coco for water, rice, custard apples, and the biggest otoheiti apples I've ever seen.  The backseat was full!  Well, Mama was very surprised when likkle Derrick pulled up into the yard in a car with a tourist gal and a dreadlocks, and enough food to feed an army (for about the price of a family of four to the Attack of the Clones).  She laugh and her big belly bounce, then she grabbed my hand and took me into her yard, shouting for the pickney to unload the car. She put me to work and taught me to make gizzada.  Then the army showed up, fe tru.  As the sun set and the night sounds kicked in, cousins, nephews, aunts and uncles materialized from the bush on all sides.

After dark, well, you've never seen such blackness.  There was no electricity within five or ten miles.  The night sky was filled with stars and I was awestruck when I gazed up at the brightness of them.  The forty pound fish eat off and the fifteen pounds of rice and peas, and most of the fruit. After an hour of them watching me and listening to me to see if I was an ugly American, they opened up and of the thirty people present, there wasn't one without a joke or story or song.  There was no pretense about it, no expectations, just a true Cross Cultural Exchange.  When midnight rolled around I knew I'd never forget these people.

I was amazed when I found this pic at SIMIYA, it is exactly like the house and yard, except it was white with blue trim. Wholesale blueprinting?

But then Mama decided it was bedtime and NOONE argued.  She stood, stretched, and said, "Well, me a go een nuh.  Late late an me wuk so hod today."  (Yes Jamaican mothers know the uses of guilt too). Within five minutes the fire was out, the revelers vanished, and there was no sound but the chirping of tree frogs and a barking dog in the distance.  This woman commanded respect, but no part of me said it was through shouting, threatening or beating, like some. Mama took out her best white linen nightie and told me I must spend the night there, too late to go back a Town.  She made me iron it with an IRON iron with a little compartment for coals from the fire to make it hot.  So that's why they call it an iron!  After I clumsily accomplished this task, much to the merriment of the four year olds who were already expert cooks and ironers, she commanded I take the nightie and some soap and go wash by the river (no plumbing there).  She talked to me just like a mother and I sheepishly did what I was told.  I slept in the bed next to her that night, with three children on a mattress on the floor in the corner, in the front room of this picture, had it been the actual house.  I could see the stars through the rounded front room windows until I drifted into sleep, but not until Mama had gotten what she wanted from me. A different tone came into her voice, a little sad, wistful maybe, as she told me to tell her about life in America.  For about an hour I told her all the worst things I could think of, with a few good parts thrown in to make it believable.  She seemed a little less wistful when I finished.  I wanted her to believe her hard but simple life held so much more pleasure, satisfaction, and love than she could ever find in America.  It was what I believed, and I think, still do.

Nyabinghi - If the opportunity arises, ask about this and perhaps you may be invited to one on one of your trips.  They are not quite as exclusive as they were some years back.  If you should be so lucky, plan to "partake" profusely and not drive for awhile.  Expect to eat a lot of food; vegetarian, healthy organic stuff with tastes you never experienced before, not like chicken. Plan to be on your feet alot, wear comfortable shoes.  If you don't know how to dance rhythmically, you will when you return.  In general, it is best to remain fairly quiet and listen a lot, not displaying too much ignorance as it is possible to say the wrong thing and offend someone, particularly in a spiritual setting.  Plan to stay many hours at a minimum to avoid being offensive.  Also, you would not find your way back most likely, these "meetings" are not exactly held at Llandilo, you know.  If the Blair Witch Project was even slightly scary to you, pass on this one. Do the Theater - In MoBay, Ochi, or particularly Kingston, attend plays and comedies by Jamaicans for Jamaicans.  The Ward Theater is a good place to start.  Jamaican humor is raucous and intelligent, earthy and raw.  If you understand patois, a night at the theater for a live production is definitely worth a trip to Town.  Remember that for a small island, Jamaica has turned out an unusual amount of talented and successful actors and comediens, including Delroy Lindo, Alfre Woodard, Oliver Samuels, Madge Sinclair rip, Carl Bradshaw, Louise Bennett, Leonie Forbes, and Grace Jones. Jamaican dramas and comedies are top rate by any standards. Do your homework before your trip - If you can get ahold of them, rent some Jamaican movies like Children of Babylon, Lunatic, Countryman (a personal favorite for obvious reasons), Smile Orange, Rockers, The Harder They Come, Third World Cop, or the funniest movie ever made, Robin Williams' Club Paradise (not truly Ja culture but what the hell).  I also like The Mighty Quinn but hey, if it has Mel Gibson or Denzel Washington in it, I like it automatically.  If you are a veteran Jamaicaphile and you are sure you really want to know the "other Jamaica" watch "Life and Debt."  But there I go again getting political . . .

Some books have been published which may lend a little insight.  Here are those I have either read or had reliably recommended:

Rule of the Bone, by Russell Banks, not for the squeemish, not all Irie Ites, but genuine The Book of Jamaica, by Russell Banks, milder, more palatable, rich in culture One People, by Guy Kennaway, apparently very controversial Babylon on a Thin Wire, by Adrian Boot, very visual, very graphic, very moving Madam Fate, by Marcia Douglas, lyrical and prosaic, touching, sentimental A Trip to the Beach, by Melinda Blanchard, one woman's perspective Banana Shout, I haven't read it but I hear it is straight up, from the perspective of the writer          (this one can be purchased through Beingee's site, or through Walmart.com) The True History of Paradise by Margaret Cezair-Thompson Born Fi Dead, by Laurie Gunst

I would like more references to books by Jamaican authors, please email me if you have additions.

Over the last twenty-four years Jamaicans have influenced my view of the world and made me reassess my beliefs and priorities on a regular basis.  Part of who I am is linked to the influence of Jamaicans I have known and loved.  If you visit Jamaica and are blessed to make close friends as I was, you will understand my gratitude for a people who have been an integral and essential part of my life.

Respect Due -

Hubert, Westmoreland

Clarence, Westmoreland

Lloyd, Saint Andrew

Everyone knows Bongo Ray!

Peter and Paul, Westmoreland photo kind courtesy of Ricky Shaw

Rose, Hanover

Lorrie, "Stumpy" of Saint Andrew, not the Orange Bay Lorrie

Patricia, Hanover

in laws and Laura, Hanover

Derek, Stony Hill

Clive, Saint Andrew

Manley of Ne Gusta Negest, Saint Andrew photo courtesy the reggae source

Michael, Calypso, Cynthia, Saint Andrew

Lance, Saint Andrew

Michael & Anthony, Saint Andrew

Pela in Hanover

Gerald, Hubert, Pela, Poom in Westmoreland

Basil, Saint Andrew

Sandra, Saint James

OKAY I have to stop now or this page will take twenty minutes to load . . . These are the faces of the people of Jamaica, not the models in the mags or the Posers on MTV Spring Break . . . these are the heart and soul of Jamaica