I love Jamaica and you will too!
I love everything from the music, to the food, to the way we talk, to the climate, and the sunsets. I love everything about Jamaica, from the Disney movie “Cool Runnings,” to the present-day runner and Olympic hero, Usain Bolt. Jamaica is my homeland.
Naturally, my ears perk up and I get excited every time I hear someone say they have visited the island. A twinge of pride runs through me when I think of a person experiencing all the sights, sounds, tastes and aromas that my beloved Jamaica has to offer. Then come the words that I dread so much;
“We got a great deal on an all-inclusive package!”
An all-inclusive package means you got picked up at the airport and were spirited to an enclosed hotel compound that says ‘Jamaica’ as much as a French beret says ‘Texas.’ Your servers have the classic Jamaican accents, and you are drinking foofy tropical drinks with umbrellas. Yes, you are technically in Jamaica, but you could just as well be laying on the beach in Tampa/St. Pete.
Years ago, there was a report on American television that made it seem that being mugged and robbed was all but a certainty if you visited the island. Anywhere in the world offers a “bad part of town” that is dangerous to anybody. But, this report had an effect on tourism and, like any bad rumor, the tinge of it stayed in people’s memories. That’s why the all-inclusive packages literally plunk you down in a tropical gulag.
Visiting a country means getting the true flavor of it, don’t you think? You see the most interesting sites when you get off the beaten path, and you have the best interactions when you meet a real native islander and not some smiling waiter angling to be tipped well. You get the best vacation advice from someone who loves the island and wants you to fall in love with it too, not from some travel agent looking for a commission check, right?
Who better to let you know where all the good places are than a real Jamaican? How about someone who knows where to find a great Jerk Chicken dinner for two at a great seaside restaurant with a stunning view of the setting sun? Or where to find a great Reggae band to dance to? Or where to find a great beach that isn’t overflowing with visitors who have been herded onto a “safe” beach?
I was born in Jamaica, I was raised in Jamaica. I not only know the best places to visit and the best sights to see, I know the best villas for you and your loved ones to stay when you visit and fall in love with the island of Jamaica.