Last week, I was home sick with the flu, sipping on chicken soup and watching daytime television. Suddenly an ad showing the splendors of Jamaica splashed in vivid colours on the screen.
The white sand beaches, turquoise waters seemingly touching clear blue skies on the horizon. Beautiful waterfalls, evergreen flora and the warm smiles of Jamaicans filled the screen with One Love anthem. It finished with Come to Jamaica and feel alright. I sighed at the beauty and warmth of my island home. I felt weird being home during the week and it hits me that a vacation was way overdue.
I have always liked to explore and it is my aim to explore every parish and see what wonderful sites to get to know and enjoy. So far I have zip lined at YS Falls, rode on the Black River safari tour and enjoyed scrumptious meals at Lover’s Leap and Little Ochi. I have toured and enjoyed most but not all of Jamaica’s treasured spots. It dawned on me that many Jamaicans don’t consider a vacation a true vacation if spent at home and not spent overseas, mainly the United States or Europe.
However, before you cry shame or “foreign minded” there are simple reasons why we never seek these things. Local tourism is not really embraced. Often the ads about all inclusive resorts and the offerings are made available on overseas channels, geared towards North Americans and European tourists. I believe there is great potential but a lot of Jamaicans are not aware of tours and places of interest as the marketing is geared to the overseas clientele.
Jamaica cultural symbol
It is amazing how human nature is fickle. Our daily environment and surroundings are taken for granted. It takes fresh or a novel perspective to make us realize the wonderful places we have under our very noses. This fresh outlook is often provided by tourists or even friends visiting from another parish. One of my oldest friends was visiting from Kingston and wanted to hit the scenes in Montego Bay where I relocated for over a couple years now (with the intention of returning to Kingston).
Her marvel at the beaches, various restaurants and the downtown areas we went to made me appreciate all these things once more. On our way to Negril on a beautiful Sunday morning, I sat in the car, wind blowing my hair, sunglasses and a big grin on my face. The sceneries were beautiful passing through the areas of Hopewell, Sandy bay and then Lucea.
Montego Bay Great House
Passing greenery, blue sunny skies with dabs of white clouds along on the road passing Green Island and Orange Bay, I sighed, feeling contented. They say the best things in life are free and I was thoroughly enjoying this. I breathe in deeply the fresh air, crisp and cool in the early morning. This is my island in the sun. Get out there and enjoy it. Next stop, Glistening Waters in Trelawney and I can’t wait!
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