Sha'nah Morrison : KJA Multimedia Director
I LOVE Jamaica mon! If you’ve never been, I whole heartedly recommend it. I do have to put a disclaimer in though… it’s not for everyone. The disparity between the have and have-nots is heart wrenching. However, traveling and spending on the island contributes to their economy and tourism is rapidly becoming the primary backbone. So bring a lot of ones and fives and be prepared to haggle a bit (the locals can be a “lickle” pushy). As an artist myself, I also encourage buying local Jamaican craftwork.
My recent trip down to JA was so jam packed with fun. I actually had to recover from my vacation because although we couldn’t see and do it all…we sure tried. I LOVE to sail. A guided day sail along the coast, with stops for swimming and snorkeling, was a great way to see the island from the sea. Also, little Hobie Cats were readily available for guests at the RIU and they were included in the room rate, along with paddle boats, kayaks, and the like! Snorkeling on the coral reefs was beautiful! I was amazed to find myself in what seemed like footage from a Discovery channel special, just off the coast.
Some of my favorite visits inland were historical landmarks, one of which was Rose Hall c1760, or as the locals call it “The Great House”. It was the home of Annie Palmer, a wicked woman who harshly ruled her vast sugarcane plantation. I came back with a book “White Witch of Rosehall” which should be a fascinating read. I’m not sure what is fact or fiction but legend has it that Annie murdered all three of her husbands, practiced dark voodoo and had “relations” with some of her slaves. Interesting stuff! The house does give you a glimpse into Jamaica’s past and is a good segueway into another spot of interest we visited – an old Episcopal church and burned out homes around “Butt Mountain” (yes, it really looks like a butt). The church was once converted to a slave hospital prior to 1830 and during slave uprisings at that time, was overtaken and sparred. You can still see the burned out, vine overgrown structures that were the homes of the English planters within a few miles radius. Also in the area is a nice rainforest to hike. Coffee was growing, cocoa plants, lush vegetation, tropical flowers and amazing water falls. If you go, just bring insect repellent. The mosquitoes are vicious.
Ocho Rios and Dunn’s River Falls was a nice day trip from Montego Bay. Ocho Rios, or “Ochi” as the locals call it, had great food and really affordable shopping. The falls there at Dunn’s River are so impressive…over 600 feet with small lagoons forming before the next cascade. The falls end by meeting the sea and running onto white sand and into turquoise blue/green waters. It’s a great place to enjoy nature’s spa complete with pulsing water back massages and Jacuzzi lagoons.
We also enjoyed rafting down the Martha Brae River. We rode down the river on a 30 foot raft the Captain constructed himself, from bamboo in the forest. The water was a beautiful milky light bluish green and the vegetation and flowers along the shore were gorgeous. This was so relaxing and it was also interesting to see how the locals live along the river. The most intriguing to me was a Rastafarian’s hut with a vegetable garden and many medicinal herbs and plants growing right outside the door. (No, not ganga – that I could see, lol.) I was fascinated when talking to Captain Dan and others on the island about the medicinal herbs and plants used there for centuries. There was a striking similarity with home and the practices of the women in my family. I even spotted some herbs and plants that, although we had different names for them, were used for the same purpose in Louisiana.
The luminous lagoon at Falmouth was extraordinary. The brackish water in the bay is full of bioluminescent organisms. After sunset the fish jumping in the water looked more like glow-sticks bouncing around. When you splashed the water it made the surface flash brilliantly as each drop of water hit. The wake from the boat was glowing neon turquoise and green and when you cupped the water in your hands, it looked like thousands of glistening stars… WAY COOL!
And the final but most breathtaking highlight for me… on the beach, after a day of sailing at sunset,
my boyfriend proposed to me…
and I said yes.
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You can see more photos at http://www.flickr.com/shanah
Shanah is KJA’s Multimedia Director and is now happily engaged to Ken Sanders of Farmington, NM. Ken is an Associate Professor of Economics at LSU Alexandria.
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