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JAMAICA

I have two, distinct impressions of Jamaica. The Jamaica my wife and I found as we started our married lives together on our honeymoon in Montego Bay in November of 1971 and the impression that has been conveyed to me by friends who have been there in recent years. And the two impressions are VASTLY different!

I’ll always be proud of planning that first big trip for us. I was makin’ a whopping $90 a week at radio station WIFE in Indianapolis, my first radio gig. I slaved and slaved and bought Cindy a nice wedding ring and managed to squirrel away $700 for the trip. Back then that $700 covered the complete airfare plus hotel (Rose Hall Holiday Inn in Mo Bay) and it even included MAP meals at the hotel (Modified American Plan which means breakfast and dinner is included each night)! We took a whopping $200 in spending money. So our entire honeymoon-----room, eats, entertainment and gifts-----cost a mere 900 bucks! Wow, things have sure changed since then!!!!!  But the hotel's still there and known now as the Holiday Inn Sun Spree Resort.

The people of Jamaica were just wonderful on that trip. After checking into our hotel we were sitting on the balcony of our room enjoying the view of the Blue Mountains off in the distance when a porter walked by and whistled. I thought he was being rude at first but he was just being friendly!

The next day when we cashed some US money in for Jamaican currency I asked the teller at the Scotia Bank (located right in the hotel) if the island had a radio station. She replied: “Oh..well yes....but it’s broken now!” I also asked her about the candles we found in several drawers in our room. She replied: “Oh dat is for when de power go out.” I asked it if happened very often and she said: “Oh no....maybe tree, four times a day!” And she was right!

I asked one Jamaican gent if they had monkeys on the island and he replied: “Well yes, we do. We have several.” I asked him where they could be sighted and he said with childhood sincerity: “Well, dey in the museum. You know, stuffed!” Back then Mo Bay residents were proud and even excited because they had just gotten their first traffic light! We visited some “grocery stores” and back then the offerings were extremely sparse. A room about the size of a single garage with nothing but soda, beer, rum and dried stuff like rice, dried fish and dried beans.

Our MAP meal plan was quite good at the hotel but they only offered Lobster (spiny lobster from the Caribbean) one night and Cindy and I had the itch for some more. So I asked if there were any seafood stores on the island that might sell us some lobster so we could have the hotel prepare it. We got a good chuckle from the locals--"What, a seafood "store?!" But we did get some good advice on securing some lobsters. Somebody told me to go down to the end of the beach around 4 in the afternoon and look for an old man with a boat. I was told that he was “the fisherman” and that he would be able to fix us up.

I strolled down the beach at 4 and sure enough, there he was dragging his little boat up on shore. I introduced myself and asked if he might be able to get us some lobsters. His reply: “Well yes, of course, but you’ll have to pay.” I said no problem and asked the price. His response: “Well...one dollar U.S. per lobster.” He asked how many I wanted and I told him 8 (they’re not nearly as big and meaty as the lobster you’re familiar with--the Maine lobster). We agreed that I would meet him at the same spot on the beach the next afternoon at 1. I showed up with my 8 bucks and sure enough, he had 8 live lobsters.

I took ‘em back to the room in a cardboard box but wasn’t thinking. What could we do with them until it was time for dinner? We tossed ‘em in the bathtub and went swimming!

At dinner I made a deal with the waiter. We’d tip him extra if he would con the chef into cooking our lobsters in lieu of the MAP meal that night and he agreed. They served our lobsters in “waves” and other diners asked us: “Ah excuse me, I didn’t see that all-you-can-eat lobster item on the menu, is it a special tonight?!!!” We explained what we had done!

One thing that seemed strange to us was the butter. Instead of coming from the U.S. it came from Australia and New Zealand (it was served in little foil type packets with the name of the host country on it). It was extremely good butter, much richer than anything we had tasted in the states.

So that’s the Jamaica I know for sure--but it was back in 1971.

Fast forward to now and I’ve heard some pretty awful stories about Jamaica from well trusted travel associates who have been there. I hear two basic stories from just about everybody. A) I hated it, the people were unfriendly and I’ll never go back again. (One good friend told me that after renting a car and going out into the countryside some villagers actually chased his car with knives!) The other story I hear is: B) We went to an all-inclusive resort and just loved it.

From what I’ve heard my advice would be as follows. Be careful and stick to your hotel compound and don’t go out onto the beach at night. I could be wrong about the safety issue but I’ve just heard too many stories from trusted and well traveled friends about the potential risk. (One dear friend was in a horrific car crash and went to a hospital in Mo Bay. A doctor gave someone else a shot and was coming at my friend to give her another shot with the same needle but fortunately she saw what had happened and refused it!).

Jamaica is without doubt one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. It has beautiful beaches, wonderful snorkeling and majestic mountains. And when we were there in 1971, some of the most friendly and hospitable people you’d ever want to meet. IF IT HAS CHANGED for the worse, let’s hope it changes back for the better because it was one special place for us and got our married lives off to a wonderful start.

Currency is the Jamaican Dollar. Driving is on the left and WILD. (On the way to the airport to come home our drunken driver actually cut through an open field rather than stop for a traffic back-up. Scared the “u-kno-what” out of us!!!!)

IMPORTANT:  All Americans visiting Jamaica now need a valid passport.
 

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