Jamaica (...and VI). Black River

Our trip in Jamaica was coming to an end and we wanted to go for a river safari to see crocodiles. Therefore, we went to Black River, a town at the ending of the Black River, a river famous for wildlife and crocodiles. Once there, it was not difficult to find a boat to go on a safari. This is what the river looks like:



And these are its inhabitants! We could see around 5-10 big lizards... ;)




The safari guy called himself "Jamaican Crocodile Dundee" and he may be right! He grasped some crocodiles so some brave people, including Naoko, could touch them!!



Some locals fish in the river using traditional techniques...



This is the area where safaris start from. Many fishermen offer their boats for tourists if you do not want to go for a big boat safari.



Our next step that day was Appleton Estate Rum Brewery, the place where the most famous rum in Jamaica is distilled.



The production process was explained...



... we could also see the barrels where rum is aging currently...



... and, of course, we could try the final product, including 151 rum (63% alcohol)!



We came back to Kingston at night and flew back to LA in the morning. A nice trip in the Caribbean.

Jamaica (V). Negril

Negril is located in the western-most part of Jamaica. It is also one of the most touristic areas in the island and its 7 miles beach is worth of that!

One of the most famous spots in Negril is Rick's Cafe, supposedly one of the best sunset spots in the world! I do not know if that can even be measured... but anyway, it was a nice sunset.

People jump off the cliffs in Rick's Cafe to show how brave they are...



Many small boats come around these cliffs to see jumpers and the sunset.



The sunset here. Beautiful, right?!






And this is the beach! 7 miles of white sands and crystal clear water!! Unbelievable! You really have to pinch yourself to be sure you are not dreaming!!

Jamaica (IV). Montego Bay

After 5 days traveling in Jamaica and sleeping in not so nice hotels, we decided to go for a typical tourist all-inclusive resort in the most touristic area in Jamaica: Montego Bay. We went to a nice resort called Breezes, located in the most famous beach in Jamaica, Doctor's Cave Beach. It even appears in Jamaican Dollar Notes!

Nice isn't it??



It was time for some relaxing time, without getting worried about how to move from town to town in the cheapest possible way and finding some decent hotel for little money. This was our redemption for one day! Lots of cocktails, food and all included water sport activities!




However, we did not belong completely there, ;) so we went for a glimpse onto real Jamaican life to Montego Bay Downtown, out of the touristic area. The city looks like a chaotic big town with people everywhere. As in Kingston, dangerous situations may occur and the general atmosphere was too hectic and kind of dangerous. There were some nice places in the city:





Back to our resort hotel, everything was neat and peaceful. Tourism in Jamaica is quite a pity. Most tourists do not even go out of resorts and do not even meet real Jamaicans. They do not even care. People just go for the beaches and do not care where they are, call it Jamaica, Puerto Rico or whatever. There is such a gap between these luxurious resorts and the down-to-Earth situation of the country that it is almost grotesque.

Doctor's Cave Beach was superb. No words to describe it better than a few photos:






After some time in Montego Bay, it was time to continue moving West. Next stop, Negril.

Jamaica (III). Ocho Rios and Discovery Bay

In Ocho Rios, the main tourist attraction is Dunn River's Falls. Actually, it appears even in Jamaican money, in one of the largest notes.

This is Dunn River's Falls. Without any doubt, one of the highlights of our trip to Jamaica. It is a chain of waterfalls which end in the beach. You go there, rent some water shoes and start climbing from the beach. After one hour or a bit more, you get to the top. While you climb, there are many pools and it is nice to stop and relax there, with beautiful scenery around you. The only problem is the crowds!!

Me at one of the most beautiful spots:



This is the beach from where we started our climbing adventure.



After Dunn River's Falls, we came back to Ocho Rios and tried to visit Reggae Xplossion, the most important Jamaican music museum in the island. But it closed down forever!!! a pitty...



Then, we relaxed in a nearby beach, whose name I barely remember... maybe Turtle Beach...



Then, time for a craft market...



The next day, we continued traveling West, towards Montego Bay. However, we stopped at Discovery Bay, the place where Christopher Columbus (or Cristóbal Colón) arrived in Jamaica. He got to the island a couple of years after arriving for the first time at America (Bahamas). This bay was the place of the arrival.

Now, there is a small not so interesting park called Columbus Park. Some photos taken there:

Jamaica (II). Port Antonio

After almost 3 hours in that packed bus, we got to Port Antonio. The change with respect to Kingston was dramatic: a small little town with a lot of activity.

First thing, getting a room there. We ended up in a great victorian-style hotel with views to the Caribbean sea! Not bad!



That evening was a relaxed one: some cocktails by the sea...



... and first swims in the Jamaican Caribbean.



The next day, it was a really nice one! We went around Port Antonio, to the really famous places in that area, many of which have appeared in Hollywood movies: Blue Lagoon, Cocktail...

First stop, the Blue Lagoon. It is an amazing blue lagoon in a place where the sea gets in land. It is really deep, more than 50m!, and that together with some rivers putting fresh water into it create this amazing color!




After swimming a little bit there and trying to get really deep, we hired a boat and went around.



We went back into the Blue Lagoon, Monkey Island, Cocktail beach and Sunset beach. Wow, that was the Caribbean in its purest!! :)

This is Monkey Island:



And this, Sunset Beach:



Then, we moved to French Man's Cove, another amazing beach. That beach is really special! There is a river getting to a beautiful small beach surrounded by rocks. You can swim both in the river and in the sea!!




At night, we traveled by route taxi to Ocho Rios. A route taxi is a car that goes from the city of one city to the center of the next. If you want to travel for a while, you normally have to transfer several times. But that is easy... You say where your final destination is and everybody around will do all they can to put you in their friend's car! ;)

Jamaica (I). Kingston

My holidays this year were in Jamaica. I went with Naoko to Jamaica for 8/9 days. We planned to go to Cuba as well, but it was expensive and we decided to visit all the island we were at. These are the places we visited (the ones with pins). As you can see we traveled all the island and mixed with locals quite a lot, unlike most tourists to Jamaica!



We flew into Kingston, the capital city. Kingston is the only real city in the island and one of the only in the Caribbean. It has around one million inhabitants. According to the statistics, it is the most dangerous city in the world!! 2 people killed here every single day. This is due to the fact that there are some dangerous shanty towns where drug wars and mafias are strong. As a tourist you have to stay out of that areas!! We passed by riding a bus and I tell you it is not the greatest place on Earth! I did not even dare to take any photos...

Kingston does not have much for tourist to see actually. The main places to visit are Bob Marley House and Devon House.

Before getting down to those, two photos:

1. People riding bikes and wearing this kind of clothes and hats made us realize we were really in Jamaica, home of reggae!



2. Streets in Kingston look really rural, very appropriate for a tropical island in the Caribbean!



Well, now, Bob Marley House. This is the house where the music legend lived in Kingston. Here, he composed and even recorded some of the greatest hits in music history. The house is well preserved and some rooms were left as he left them. It really makes you feel it is a special place. No photos allowed. The gardens were painted or decorated with his paintings and photos.



And there was a nice statue of him at the entrance of the house.



The other tourist attraction is Devon House, a colonial house built by the first rich black man in Jamaica. Quite a nice house!!




Night life in Kingston is quite intense, but it was difficult to find old-school reggae in the sense of Bob Marley. Current Jamaican music has its roots in reggae but it is closer to club music, with more aggressive lyrics and way of singing.

After one day and a half, we moved to the North East, to Port Antonio, perhaps the last undeveloped beach area in Jamaican North Shore. The way to get there, a tightly packed local bus!! More than 20 people in such a minibus... challenging!! We would have to get used to get squeeze beyond imagination!!! I would have never thought a car can bring up to 10 adult passengers!!!! before Jamaica...