Back from Jamaica

Why won't all the photos show?





The photos are back! I thought it was just my computer not showing them. There's a bee on the impatients! Carleen is at Hellshire Beach new Kingston, where I think only locals go. I'm at the hotel at Negril, and the food is my 1st meal that Carleen made: boiled green bananas, yams, and akcee and saltfish, the national dish.


I'm Back! Now I wish I was still in Jamaica - the beaches were great! Next time, I'm sticking to beaches and ecotours. I guess my visit to Kingston and Spanish Town was like someone coming to the US and only seeing inner city Detroit. And someone informed me of how much the blue mt. coffee is in the states, so $15/lb for fresh on the spot was a great price. The export 90% of it to Japan. There's the picture of the rasta guy and the coffee.

Breezy Jamaica

Hi - I put this on the lonely planet travel forum, the thorntree & accidently sent it to Cathy when I email my paretns! I walked all by myself to the vegan restaurant 2 blocks away! I'm having the sweaty skirt problems Lisa has. Yea! We have a rental car to go to the beach for the rest of the visit! We have it so good in the US it's amazing.

Hi - I'm in Jamaica! I went on the bird tour on Wed. It was great! We
drove up in the blue mts to the starlight chalet, taking our time and
stopping and walking on the road, then the guide would run back to the van
and bring up to where I was waiting. We got a bit of a late start, but he
came to SPanish Town to pick me up!!! And my host came with up and he
dropped her off at her office. It was $100, and I gave $10 extra for the
drive to and from Spanish Town. We stopped at a coffee plantation at
Section, I'm not quite sure what it was all about. A Rasta commune?
MikeyMike might be laughing at me for not knowing. But the guy there showed
me the different stages of the beans, and how they roast it, and I bought
some, $15/lb. ANd there was a hummingbird feeder so saw an orangequit and
got some hummer photos. I really enjoyed the trip. I'd prefer a trip of
just the mts and ocean, and wildlife places, but had no idea that it's so
hard to get around here, and my friend works. We're renting a car for the
rest of my stay here, to get away. ANother friend (didn't know he was here,
ran into him on Peace Corps van!) showed me around New Kingston yesterday,
saw emancipation park, the devon house and shops.

Robert at Sun Venture Tours was great! I recommend him!

Debbie

hi from JAMAICA MON!

Hi everyone! Here's an email I sent to some people...

I'm at Carleen's house in Spanish Town, she's at work (Peace Corps in Kingston the capital) Tell Geoff it does smell like burning tires! At least near the cities. It's horribly humid and hot and not a tropical paradise around here
The north coast is more pleasent, and the Blue mts. are really cool. Went birding there today, and saw a coffe planataion, seems like a rasta commune that makes there own, wasn't so sure what was going on. But it's the most fair trade coffee ever - $15/lb! Carleen will tell me I should hv argued for lower. They gave my tour guide a lb for free. sunventuretours.com. But they grow and roast it right there, so very fresh.

Jennifer - I saw Shane! Went to the trelawny yam fest with the PC van. SHane said he'd take me around wed or thurs, Bob Marley museum I hope & some place called devon house. He knows the bus system. I wouldn't want to travel here alone. Carleen is taking very good care of me. Made salt fish & ackee for my 1st meal - the nat'l dish. She has a tone of fruit trees - cherries, orange, lime, mango, spinach that grows like a vine. And it's a tiny house. Her grandma is here -has no teeth so hard to understand. Hard to understand everyone.

So I'll hang out with her til Carl.'s home. Maybe take photos of the little lizards, and the 2 stray dogs Carleen feeds. Momma dog with 4 pups (though I haven't seen them for 2 days) and another. Rusty-like dogs around her house.

Yes, they play loud raggae. the ratafarians seem nice, and the educated people. Others are questionable.

Debbie