JAMAICA
JAMAICA
The scenery, the vibe, the music…feelin’ good yet? This is Jamaica where the best-selling merchandises are sun, smiles, and love. Truly, this nation’s all about God, love, peace, and feeling good, as Bob Marley has exemplified so well. The Jamaican-born singer/songwriter is much an icon as its yellow, green, and black flag colours that we attribute anything with such colours as “Jamaican” or “Rasta”. But certainly, Jamaica has more than 3 hues. After all, this is one of the Caribbean’s most colourful nations.
Speaking of Rasta, no wonder Jamaicans come off as ever so optimistic. Rastafari vocabulary is basically the removal and alteration of words and syllables deemed negative to positive ones. Jamaica is one of the world’s greatest cultural legacies. With commercial tourism ads since the 80’s, it’s pretty obvious Jamaica welcomes the world. And there’s absolutely no reason to prolong a visit to Jamaica, land we love.
GEOGRAPHY
Jamaica (18 15 N, 77 30 W) is a (mostly) mountainous terrain in the Caribbean just the south of Cuba (a strategic location between the Jamaica Channel and Cayman Trench – the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal. The 3rd largest Caribbean island has an area of 10,991 km2 and while hilly, Jamaica also has discontinuous coastal plains that edge around it. The island nation of Jamaica has 1,022 km of coastline. The Blue Mountain Peak is the highest elevation in the island at a height of 2,256 m above sea level.
CLIMATE
Jamaica is a spring break destination for one reason (of many) – the tropical climate. In general, the island is hot and humid with a temperate higher inland climate. Some regions receive significantly more rainfall than elsewhere like in the east coast whereas the southern coast has relatively dry rain-shadow areas like the Pedro Plains and Liguanea Plain. The temperature year-round is nearly constant 26°C to 30°C and falls steadily with increasing altitude. The rainy season sets off in June until December and the hurricane season, from July towards November. As Jamaica lies in the hurricane belt of the Atlantic Ocean and with the relentless deforestation, the island suffers immensely from storm damage.
PEOPLE
To date, Jamaica’s population is estimated at 2,868,380 (2011 est.). The majority of Jamaicans are of African descent (an estimate of 75% – 91%), followed by a sizeable minority of mixed ethnic people, primarily Afro-European with chiefly Irish ancestry, as well as English, Scottish, Irish, German, Lebanese, and Syrian), followed by Jamaican-Indians and Jamaican-Chinese. Inhabitants of the island also include Caucasians (such as American, British, and Canadian), East Indians, Chinese, and others. It is quite a misfortune that Jamaica sits quite high at 33rd in the stats for world adult prevalence of HIV.
LANGUAGE
ENGLISH is the official language of Jamaica. However, JAMAICAN CREOLE (English-African) or Patois is the more widely spoken language with locals in Jamaica. Everyone in Jamaica can speak English, but English is used primarily in tourist areas. The English that is spoken here is a heavily dialectual version that tourists may still consider hard to understand due to the Jamaican phonetic slang.
RELIGION
Christianity is the largest religion adhered to in Jamaica, governed by Protestants by around 62.5% of Jamaica’s population. Protestants are further subdivided (in the order of decreasing members) into Seventh-Day Adventist, Pentecostal, Other Church of God, Baptist, New Testament Church of God, Church of God in Jamaica, Church of God of Prophecy, Anglican, and other minor Protestant subgroups. Besides Protestants, there is a growing affiliation to Roman Catholic, Rastafarian, Muslim, and Jewish faith.
ATTRACTIONS
Jamaica is virtually smack right in the heart of the Caribbean. But talk about Jamaica, and its “heart” is nowhere to be found midland. In Jamaica, the heart is at the coast. There is no need to venture that much further inland to discover who Jamaica is…just a short stroll along the coast would do. Ambience, vibe, cuisine, culture, and reggae are all alive along Jamaica’s more than 1,000 km of shore. For instance, Negril and Montego Bay, Jamaica’s main two resorts, will let you see a lot of great things about Jamaica. Negril and its 7miles of beach is all cool and relaxed while Montego is wild and crazy (the party town, it is said).
To doubt Kingston as a cultural centre though is sacrilege, for Kingston nurtures all that is essential to Jamaican history like the Bob Marley Museum. Surely, Bob Marley music videos would have images of the blue Caribbean Sea, but Kingston sure beats the island’s rhythm. The energy of Jamaicans is so infectious that the traveller just wants to be around them all the time. However, where there is peace and quiet, there is a higher level of appreciation for off-the-beaten-path places like Green Castle Estate in St. Mary, with orchids that grow forever, a 300-year old windmill, and a traditional plantation.
And, yes, Jamaica boasts of its sun, sea, and sand, but in the dazzling Blue Mountains, it is another world. Too many already know of Jamaica’s beach culture, while the country has so much to offer such as its lush green meadows and plantations brimming with coffee bushes, not to mention the beautiful people who love this other side of Jamaica. What’s also worth a visit is the Linstead Market located between Kingston and Ocho Rios that many locals go to shop. It is quite a distance just for buying bits and pieces, and travellers are typically discouraged to head out this far if the purpose is not shopping. Nevertheless, it’s a great place to see and besides merchandise, your standard wild Jamaican nightlife thrives as well.
FOOD
Jamaica has got the four B’s no less: the beach, the booze, the babes, and the boodle. Jamaican cuisine, like many aspects of its culture, is fresh and full of flavour. There’s fresh fish off the port in Fisherman’s Beach in Ocho Rios. Fish and seafood are caught fresh by fishermen. This is one of the many places for an authentic experience of Jamaican cuisine. Ackee and saltfish, as the national dish, is nothing short of authentic for obvious reasons and is a MUST-TRY for everybody.
Jerk chicken on the other hand is a significant Jamaican dish for no other reason but its delicious smoky taste, with meat marinated overnight in cayenne pepper, garlic, chilli, limejuice and all-spice, and wood-smoked. Jamaicans cook their food to well-done perfection so keep that in mind if you find your food dry and overcooked. Pepperpot soup contains is nothing dry as it contains salt pork and beef chunks, okra, and callaloo (Indian kale).
Just like other parts of the Caribbean, rice and peas (kidney beans and white rice with coconut milk, coconut oil, and scallions), are ubiquitous in Jamaica. Bammy that is a pancake made of cassava is another local (breakfast) food to try. There also are some that are not as “Jamaican” like curries and Chinese takeout. The international food fare becomes a treat when offered “ital” food by Rastafarians with their strict dietary guidelines who skip meat, salt, and oil entirely.
Josh Boorman
Editor-in-chief
Backpacking Addictz
Twitter: @backpackaddictz
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