Jamaican Me Crazy!
February 23, 2009
In my latest stationary exploration, the journey this time is to the third largest Caribbean island, Jamaica. As one of the few destinations I have actually been to, I can corroborate my Senior Product Manager’s story. Jamaica really does look like the postcards. As she’s gearing up for a vacation there next week and thus has “Jamaican Fever”, I figured now would be the perfect time to pick her brain. But as soon as I heard she was going away, I said, “Wait, wait, wait… this just sunk in. You’re going on vacation to Jamaica? But you go there like a few times a year for work already. Why would you want to go back on your own time? Aren’t you burnt out?” To which she replied, “Jamaica is the perfect destination. If you get burnt out, you’re not doing it right. There’s so much to do there, I’ll never have the ability to do it all.” It was in that moment that I realized she was completely right. Jamaica is one of those islands you could visit 20 times and still have a ton of stuff on your to-do list for next time.
She regaled me with some of her most memorable trip stories, each one making me increasingly jealous of her getting out of the cold weather for a sun-soaked vacay with me stuck here in the windowless office. I swear, if she calls me from a beach chair with a Piña Colada in hand to say “Wat gwan” (Jamaican for ‘What’s up?’), I’m going to be pretty furious. But I digress… There really are an endless amount of activities to keep you occupied in Jamaica, but if all you want is to sit under the sun and relax, Jamaica is perfect for that too.
If exploring ecological marvels is your bag, limestone cave labyrinths and gushing waterfalls abound. If you’d like to view vibrant folk art displays or visit a few historic plantations, that’s easily accessible too. Why not walk through a Jamaican craft market after a lunch of beef patties and coco bread or hop on an ATV for a winding roadside tour of the island? You could also spend an afternoon snorkelling around a coral reef or visiting Bob Marley’s famous music studio. What about ziplining through a jungle canopy or treking to the peaks of the Blue Mountains?
My Senior Product Manager’s description of the jerk chicken at Scotchie’s in Montego Bay sounded even better than I remembered but when I went, I really enjoyed nights spent on the hip strip at Margaritaville. The thing that I found most interesting was the diverse group of people I met in town. I thought there would have been more tourists, but I really felt immersed in the local culture in Jamaica and I liked that. Plus, with more Rum Bars per square mile than any nation in the world, a variety of tasty, tropical cocktails are never hard to find. I like that too.
There are so many flavors here that spending time in Negril might feel entirely different from a vacation in Ocho Rios. From Montego Bay to the South Coast to Port Antonio, the best-kept secret vacation spot of Hollywood’s rich and famous, Jamaica really is a traveler’s paradise. Ranging from ritzy to roadside, it’s just a matter of finding the hotel that best meets your needs. This is an easy task considering the variety available island wide and because there are so many lodging options, value is also easy to find. Plus, with the influx of airline sales this winter, airfare is cheaper than ever. For my next vacation, I think I’d like to make a romantic escape to one of Jamaica’s secluded boutique hotels or spend some time on an eco-friendly resort. But the one activity I simply have to do next time is a trip to the YS Falls. When I sat down to chat up my boss about her impending trip, she went on and on about the beauty of these Falls, with the best feature being NO TOURISTS. So the only question left is when am I going back?
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