My Current Location
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Chicago
Arrived on
24th May 2013 |
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13°c
thick clouds.
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Blog updated: 16th May 2013
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Random Photo
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Australia Again!!
Fiji for 2 hrs & Quick Trips
Australia
Bali
Miami and Shop Shop Shopping
Sunny Australia
San Francisco Again
Summer is Permanent in Aruba
Back to Work Again in US
Australia for the Birthdays...
Briefly Back in USA
Caribbean - Soft Sand Blue Sea
After a Wonderful Aussie Break
I Still Call Australia Home
USA - Again
I Still Call Australia Home
Reality Again
Paradise Again -Turks & Caicos
Back in the USofA again
Jamaica, Man, Oh So Beautiful
U S of A
Australia
San Francisco Again
Australia
Back to Reality
Caribbean - Turks & Caicos
USA
Australia for Jen
Back to the U S of A!!!
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5th Apr 2011 - Jamaica, Man, Oh So Beautiful
Jamaica, Man!!!
An early breakfast meeting at AACR and then a mad dash for the airport to catch my last minute flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica. I decided that as I was so close to the Caribbean, and the fares were only $99, with nothing really to take me back to SF, why not!!?? So, 2 hours later, leaving a very rainy, thundery Orlando, I arrived in sunny Jamaica, Man. I was a bit worried as I came through immigration as I realised that I only had a one-way ticket, however, they did not ask about this and so, I find myself in Jamaica, with no plans at all, no return date, and I am taking it all as it comes, which is the Jamaican way, don't you know!! The first day, I simply soaked up the wonderful white beach, turquoise warm, warm water of my hotel just outside of Montego Bay. I must say that I am having some difficulty in relaxing - I can't seem to sit still - lots of work required there, sadly. In the afternoon, I took myself off to the local strip mall, Blue Diamond, and stocked up on provisions for the stay - happy to find Ginger Beer, and Jamaican Rum, of course. In the evening, decided to go into Montego Bay town/city for dinner at Native, a local Jamaican restaurant on the waterfront on the Hip Strip. the hotel had a driver take me there and arrange to pick me up at the end of my meal. I could not decide what to have, so had Boonoonoos, which is really a mixed platter of Jamaican traditional dishes - goat curry (very bony),Ackee and Saltfish (the Jamaican National Meal), Escovich Fish (very delicious), jerk chicken, served with rice and beans, and washed down with a rum punch, of course. After dinner, as I had half an hour until the driver came back, I decided to wander down Hip Strip. It was a little late, and I was definitely the only white woman on the street. All the other tourists seem to stick to their all-inclusive luxury hotels, and with the low voltage lighting everywhere, it is quite dark, so I felt a little uncomfortable. Probably needlessly so. The sight of Tourist Police every 30 metres or so did not really generate a feeling of great safety as I wandered along the Strip. As I had time to kill I decided to drop into the Twisted Kilt for a quick Rum Punch on the waterfront - again the entrance guarded by a Security Guard, something I am getting used to (slowly). Once inside, I had my first experience that it is going to be challenging to be a single white woman anywhere really - it is not that there are no other white people around - my singleness is more of a burden here - no sooner had I sat down than a young man at a nearby table started to make me uncomfortable - they say that there are no wild animals in Jamaica - only wild weather and wild men - I guess I realised this on my first day. It is rather strange to me not to be altogether anonymous on the streets - all the hotels are behind guarded gates, you have to negotiate security guards at the entrance to most restaurants and bars - the element of spontaneity is definitely not there. And wherever you go, people honk horns and I am still trying to work out whether people are hassling me or being friendly. A lot of the staff at the hotel comment and tell me to expect the honking and the hassle. I returned to where I agreed to meet the driver, and one of the security of a nearby restaurant immediately approached me to tell me that the driver had missed me - I guess he recognized me as the only while woman in sight. I was pleased to get back to the safety of the hotel - and so, my Jamaican experience has started. A beautiful, beautiful county, wonderfully open people, but an undercurrent of unease and a feeling that you have to keep your wits about you - what a dichotomy.
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Diary Photos
| 5th Apr 2011 Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 5th Apr 2011 Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 5th Apr 2011 Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 5th Apr 2011 Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 5th Apr 2011 Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 5th Apr 2011 Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 5th Apr 2011 Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 5th Apr 2011 Ladies - Jamiaca Style |
| 5th Apr 2011 The Men's - Jamaica Style |
| 5th Apr 2011 Boonoonoos |
| A Jamaican Platter - Goat Curry, Ackee and Saltfish (the Jamaican National Meal), Escovich Fish, jerk chicken, served with rice and beans and a rum punch |
| 5th Apr 2011 Native Restaurant, Hip Strip, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 5th Apr 2011 Rehab Bar, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
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