Jamaica
Jamaica is an very odd mixture. I had to spend a few days there working on a the establishment of a filling plant in Kingston - the capital. The local company put me a hotel right in central Kingston, but warned me that the town was extremely dangerous with crime and crime gangs operating unchecked and I was told to NOT go out on the streets. One evening we went to another central hotel for a meal (roasted goat and it was fabulous!) and as we were parking a parking attendant approached . . . . I wouldn`t park there . . . he said - might not be there when you get back to it but if you go to such and such a street over there there`s secure parking - have a nice day! A really nice guy - not like the equivalent in the UK who seem to enjoy being unpleasant!. But on the other side of Jamaica there are fantastic beaches and holiday resorts like Montego Bay and Ocho Rios where the tourists enjoy glorious safe holidays free from care . The cruise ships dock there rather than Kingston! Indeed the view of Kingston as you drive in fromt the airport is the rather splendid cement works featured in one of my pictures.
When Jamaica gained independence in 1962, the murder rate was 3.9 per 100K population, one of the lowest in the world. By 2009, the rate was 62 per 100K population, one of the highest in the world. It has since improved with major policing effort but that`s hardly difficult. The Rastafarian movement has about 30,000 followers and they seem to run the MJ drugs business unchallenged. Historically the country was largely populated by slaves from West Africa brought there by the colonial British to work on the sugar cane estates . More recently Jamaica has successfully established coffee as a major crop and also mined the rich Bauxite deposits which yield aluminium - a metal in great demand all round the world. Foodwise one of the staples is breadfruit which the Brits brought to the island and their own speciality - jerk chicken! And BOY is it hot!!! Ian Fleming lived in Jamaica and often set his stories there or nearby - featuring in Dr No, Live and Let Die and Octopussy, amongst others. He got the name James Bond from the author of the definitive field guide Birds of the West Indies. As well as West African slaves the British also shipped some of their own `less desirables` and it came as a surprise when checking in to hear a blond haired, blue eyed girl talking with the full Jamaican patois - until she explained that her predecessors had been shipped out `indentured` - never to return. Usually wayward girls.
Being the fourth biggest island in the Caribbean Jamaica has very plentiful wildlife plus of course turtles, dophins and even West Indian manatee in the coastal waters. Coatal species of fish are very abundant with in excess of 260 species and then there are the big fellows like the barracuda, tuna, boniro and eagle rays. There are also land animals like mongoose and crocodiles and even seven snake species and iguanas. Expect to see many frogs including tree frogs and also one of the largest centipedes - the Amazonian giant centipede. Butterflies are very profuse with about 135 species of butterflies and moths and Jamaica boasts the Western Hemisphere`s largest butterfly - the Homerus Swallowtail. And I haven`t got round to the bird life ! Ian Fleming was a keen birdwarcher so it`s not surprising that he chose the name Bond for his hero. And don`t forget - as if you could - Bob Marley features everywhere!
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