Negril is located on the western tip of Jamaica. It got its name from the Spanish word, Negrillo, which either refers to the black cliffs south of this small community or the black eels that used to be found along its coast.
Whenever I go to this world famous spot, I always think of my first visit. I was 10 or 11 years old at the time. All Negril was then was a main road, the beach, a couple places to stay and a few houses. I wish I had photos.
Thirty-plus years later, Negril is a busy resort area that plays host annually to more visitors than the estimated 3,000 people who live there year round. It is this year’s Spring Break destination. Its well known white-sand beach is lined with all inclusive hotels, guest houses and cottages, and its main road — the only way in — now a boulevard that bears a famous name: Norman Manley, national hero and leader.
There might be no nude bathing allowed but I did see a few nude sunbathers.
Negril - Starfish
This starfish was washed ashore just as I walked by.
Negril - Beach sceneNegril - Riu HotelNegril - Waiting for the sunset, Rick's Cafe
Rick’s Cafe has been a fixture in Negril for about 30 years. Crowds gather to watch the sunset with the same enthusiasm as they do in Times Square to watch the ball drop on New Years Eve, except there are fewer people.
Negril sunset
This is my submission to this week’s Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday series. Be sure to check out other photo and story entries on their website.
Ask anyone about Negril and the first thing they’ll mention is its beach. Nearly 5 miles long (though everyone claims it to be 7 miles) of unobstructed beach, it’s the place to go if you’re looking for the best white-sand beach and spectacular sunsets.
Negril straddles two of Jamaica’s western parishes – Westmoreland and Hanover – and hugs the coast from Bloody Bay (Hanover) to the lighthouse, in Westmoreland, which was built in 1894.
Lighthouse, built in 1894
Along the rugged cliffs of the southwestern stretch in Westmoreland, the so-called West End, there are several underwater caves, restaurants and cottages and exclusive guest houses.
Boats
Cabanas
The northern end is home to the larger hotels and all-inclusives such as Couples, Riu, Hedonism II, Sandals by Beaches, etc.
The first time I visited Negril, I wasn’t yet in high school. The youth group I belonged to had our first camping trip there. Back then, Negril was a quiet place with a few houses, even fewer hotels, lots of land and sea crabs and its now famous beach.
Small sand crab
Today, Negril still has the best stretch of beach in Jamaica. However, in the space of thirty years, it has been transformed from a tiny village to a bustling resort town with a mix of accommodation, an assortment of places to eat and an active night life. Negril however attracts couples, singles and families – some come year after year to this beautiful spot.
Sunset
Beside the beach and the clear blue water of the Caribbean Sea, Negril is also known for its spectacular sunsets. As evening draws to a close, legions of visitors and locals alike flock to Rick’s Café, or one of the resorts on the water side, to watch the sun turn crimson and orange and purple before it disappears from view.
Getting to Negril:
Negril is about an hour and half’s drive from the Donald Sangster Airport in Montego Bay. You can also fly there from either the Montego Bay or Kingston airport.
Accommodation:
With more than 90 places, from luxury retreats at $500 or more to rooms for $50 a night, you are sure to find the perfect place to spend a night, or two, in Negril.
Reggae icon, Bob Marley would have been 67 years old today. It’s interesting to see how many people Bob touched with the message of his music.
When I was planning my trip to South Africa, I happened upon a link to an Earth Festival that was being put on by the Knysna Rasta Village. I called the village right away and made arrangements to visit. I looked forward to the tour and to meet these South African Rastas. When we got to Cape Town, however, we had so many things scheduled, we had to postpone the trip which was about a day’s drive away.
Bob Marley, photo from the Jamaica Gleaner
If Bob’s music had reached this community in South Africa, imagine my surprise when I saw the documentary, He Koha Ma Bob Marley. It followed the Maori musician, Ruia Aperahama, as he traveled to Bob Marley’s former home in Trench Town, Jamaica and presented a gift to the Marley family. According to Aperahama, Bob came along “when it wasn’t cool to be Maori, it wasn’t cool to speak our language, it wasn’t cool to be ourselves.” His music gave them hope and helped them see themselves. Talk about reach and impact.
Here in Jamaica, a week of activities are planned to mark the singer’s birthday. Meanwhile, more voices here have been added to the list of people calling for the Jamaican government to make the Rastaman a national hero and to designate his birthplace and final resting place in Nine Mile, St. Ann, an official tourist attraction.
A new biopic, Marley, which was created in collaboration with the family, will hold its World Premiere this month at the 62nd Berlin Film Festival. It will have its North American premiere at South by Southwest film festival in March and open in theaters on April 20th.
Without a doubt, Bob Marley is more popular now than when he was alive. From the Jamaica Observer, here are a list of awards and honors he has received:
* March, 1994 — Bob Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In his tribute, British singer Robert Palmer said, “No one in rock and roll has left a musical legacy that matters more or one that matters in such fundamental ways.”
* Exodus, the ninth studio album for Bob Marley and the Wailers, was recognised as Time magazine’s Album of the Century in 1999. The album contains the tracks Waiting In Vain, Three Little Birds and One Love.
* On February 6, 2001, Bob Marley was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It would have been his 56th birthday.
* February 2001, Marley received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Rebel Music, the documentary on his life, was also nominated for Best Long Form Music Video at the Grammys.
* In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Marley number 11 on its list of 100 Greatest Artistes of All Time. In the Rolling Stone article, rapper Wyclef Jean said, “Marley brought the idea that through music, empowerment and words, you can really come up with world peace”.
* One Love, the song Marley and the Wailers first recorded at Studio One in the 1960s, was named Song of the Millennium by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
* Marley was voted one of the greatest lyricists of all time by a BBC poll in 2004.
* 2006: A blue plaque was unveiled at his first British residence in Ridgemount Gardens, London. It was dedicated by the Nubian Jack Community Trust and supported by Her Majesty’s Foreign Office.
* In 2008, a statue of Marley was unveiled in Serbia during a rock festival as a token of peace. Musicians from Croatia and Serbia were joined by fans for the midnight ceremony
* In 2010, the classic 1973 album, Catch a Fire, was among 25 inductees into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Other Marley productions previously inducted include Get Up, Stand Up, No Woman No Cry, Exodus and One Love.
I saw Etana in concert a few years ago in Jamaica. About a year or so before I did, I had heard about a young singer who had given up a recording contract in the States to return to Jamaica to devote herself to the music she wanted to sing and to do it her own way. I was impressed and when I heard she was to perform at the 2009 literary festival in St. Elizabeth, I knew where I had to be.
Etana, photo from the Internet
Born Shauna McKenzie in 1983 in Kingston, Etana migrated to Florida in 1992. She intended to become a nurse but the musical talent that had been discovered when she was six took hold. She left Broward Community College in 2000.
She joined Grit, a female girl group. In 2005, Etana became a backup singer for another reggae musician, Ritchie Spice, and performed with him in Europe and North America.
Etana’s single, Wrong Address, hit the number one spot in Jamaica in 2006. She recorded her first album, The Strong One, in 2008.
Give a listen to another song from the same album, I Am Not Afraid.
As I looked for photos for today’s Travel Photo Thursday, I was surprised by all the photos I’ve taken of food. But I shouldn’t have been.
I love looking at food, the way it’s presented, the interplay of colors and textures, even the shape of the plate it’s presented on. As I look at these photos, I recall something Solange, my almost-mother-in-law, used to say, “La nourriture doit plaire a l’oeil avant de plaire a l’estomac (Food must please the eyes before it pleases the stomach).”
So dig in and enjoy!
Ackee and Salt fish Breakfast (New Jersey/Jamaica)
I took this photo of a brunch I had at Max, a little Jamaican restaurant in Hackensack, NJ. That’s ackee and salt fish, Jamaica’s national dish. It’s also been listed on the Top 10 National Dishes by National Geographic. Here it’s accompanied by fried breadfruit, avocado, and dumplings.
Crab Salad (New York)Pulled Pork Sandwich (New York)Tapas (London)Fish and Chips (London)
British comfort food – Fish and Chips.
Steak and Fries (France)
I never would have expected to have steak and fries in Paris but my friend Karen said the restaurant had been highly recommended. I’m not big on steak so I was a little hesitant but this did not disappoint.
Steak & Ale Pie (Lacock, UK)
I’m always up for trying something new and this Steak & Ale pie sounded interesting. It was delicious. I’m glad I tried it.
Mexican Paella (New York)
Mexico puts its own spin on the paella.
Dessert (New York)
My favorite dessert: sorbet and fresh fruit.
Mango Sorbet (New York)Fresh Fruit
This is my submission to this week’s Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday series. Be sure to check out other photo and story entries on their website!
I used to feel a little envious when my aunt would talk about the island hopping she and her friends did when they were at the University of the West Indies. Back then, the best way to travel among the islands was by boat. The trip she talks about often took place the year she graduated. She and some of her class mates decided to accompany those from different islands who were returning home. Whenever they reached the island home of a member of their group, they disembarked and did that until they arrived at their last stop, Port of Spain in Trinidad & Tobago.
My aunt never revealed what they did while they were on board or after they disembarked, but from the smile on her face when she tells the story now, I know they had a blast.
Unfortunately, that service ceased operating in the 70s.
Now, a new service, announced by Trinidad & Tobago’s Transport Minister Devant Maharaj is set to launch later this year and will be based in Port of Spain. It will be operated by a Barbadian consortium, Fast Ferry Ltd.
The first phase would connect the islands of Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados. Ferries would leave Port of Spain, at 6:00 a.m. and arrive in Bridgetown, Barbados, its last stop, at 6:00 p.m.
The proposed average price of tickets for Trinidadian citizens would be between US$25 and US$35, however, 100,000 seats, priced at $10, would be available annually.
The company has announced that additional routes will be added when they achieve commercial viability.
Photo from the Internet
The service will join already established ferry services that make travel within the US and British Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas possible. There is no ferry service connecting the larger islands – Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Marcia Griffiths was born in Kingston in 1949. She started singing professionally in 1964 but became an international sensation in 1989 when a deejay in Washington, DC began playing a little song she recorded seven years earlier. The Electric Boogie, with its infectious, feel-good rhythms, spawned a new line dance, the Electric Slide, which still draws young and old to dance floors at weddings, family reunions and parties. It was featured in movies, The Best Man (1999), and on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Marcia Griffiths, photo from the Internet
Griffiths was also part of the I-Threes, the trio of accomplished women, Judy Mowatt and Rita Marley, who provided back-up vocals for Bob Marley from 1974 until the singer’s death in 1981.
Griffiths has sang with the legendary band, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires and had a long collaboration with another gifted Jamaican artist, Bob Andy, with whom she recorded, Young, Gifted and Black.
In recognition of her contribution to reggae music, the Jamaican Government awarded Griffiths an Order of Distinction in 2002.
Griffiths, who has 14 albums to her credit, continues to perform. She recently performed on opening night at this year’s Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival.
One of the things I look forward to each week is watching the cruise ships as they pull into Montego Freeport. On Wednesdays, its usually a ship from Carnival’s fleet. On Thursdays, it’s one from another fleet, like Royal Caribbean or MSC Cruises.
To my surprise today, two Carnival ships, the Conquest, and the Magic – the newest Carnival ship to stop in Montego Bay – have come in. The Magic can accommodate 6,000 – 4,500 passengers and 1,400 crew; the Conquest 2,974 passengers and 1,150 crew.
Carnival Magic and Conquest, Montego Freeport
One of four cruise ship ports on Jamaica’s north coast, Montego Freeport was built in the 1960s on what was known then as the Bogue Islands. It has berths for 2 cruise ships. Ocho Rios, Port Antonio and Falmouth, which opened in 2011, are the other three ports.
Carnival Magic and Conquest, Montego FreeportCarnival Magic and Conquest, Montego FreeportCarnival Magic and Conquest, Montego Freeport
This is my submission to this week’s Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday series. Be sure to check out other photo and story entries on their website!
This week, all roads will lead to the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival which is set to start tomorrow, January 26th and run until January 28th at Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny.
Headliner Celine Dion, who’s performing for the first time in the Caribbean, The Voice’s Cee Lo Green, Earl Klugh, The Temptations Review, featuring Dennis Edwards, Heads of State (Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant), Shaggy, Etana, Marcia Griffiths, John Holt, Yellow Man, Destra and Damian Marley are among those who are scheduled to perform
In tribute to the celebration of Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence, general admission tickets on opening night will be $50 for a single event. On Friday, $100; $80 on Saturday. Weekend passes are $175. The $250 season pass ticket gets you in for all events.
Getting There:
Greenfield Stadium is located about an hour’s drive from Montego Bay. Jazz Shuttle & Taxi Service is available from most hotels.
The Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival, Greenfield Stadium, January 26-28, 2012.
I don’t have a green thumb but I love flowers, especially orchids. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to love me. Each time I buy one, I think it will be different, it will last more than a few months. Each time, I’ve been wrong.
Now that I’m in Jamaica, where orchids are plenty and grow wild, I’m tempted but I’m gun shy. So for now, I’m satisfied to take photos of the ones I see.
Jamaican orchid
Over 30,000 species of orchids can be found worldwide. Approximately 230 are found in Jamaica. Of that number, about 70 are endemic to the island.
The main threat to Jamaican orchids is from the destruction of their habitats caused by land clearing for housing, hotel and agricultural development, bauxite and/or limestone mining, harvesting of forest products for timber, fuel wood, fish pots, yam sticks and fence posts.
Jamaican OrchidJamaican Orchid
The second greatest threat to the species is believed to be collection by orchid enthusiasts for local and international trade. The government has enacted legislation to protect their habitats and regulate the orchid trade. Sanctuaries have also been established to relocate orchids that are found in areas under threat.
These orchids are from the gardens of friends and family.
This one is known locally as Poor Man’s Orchid. It sure looks like it could be.
Poor Man's Orchid
This is my submission to this week’s Budget Travelers Sandbox Travel Photo Thursday series. Be sure to check out other photo and story entries on their website!
