Jamaica - Our first days wrapped in this post

So we landed here in 6th of December and haven't been able to use wifi to write our blog since. We spent 5 weeks total in the USA and came to Jamaica for couple of reasons. First of all a friend of ours is studying in the University of the West Indies which is in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. So we wanted to come to see her on our world tour. Secondly we have always wanted to go to some Caribbean island and we found decent priced flights from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Kingston and back. Thirdly the history of Jamaica is really interesting and there are lots of places and attractions to visit. We also wanted to try snorkeling because neither of us have ever tried it and we have planned to get licenses to scuba dive during our trip so we wanted to see what's it like below the surface.
Lastly we didn't know many people who had been to Jamaica and for that reason we wanted to find out what is it like here.

This is what it looks in paradise. Frenchman's Cove, Jamaica

WEDNESDAY 7.12.

On our first day in Kingston we walked 18km around the city center and to the nearest shore to our Airbnb place. We were stunned how dirty, filthy and full of garbage the streets were. There were only a few trash cans which were either full, broken or missing its bottom. On our way to the shore we passed two prisons and most of the area we walked through was ghetto so we didn't get a fancy start for our Caribbean adventure.

View from our walk in Kingston, Jamaica

Just a picture of one piece of millions of trash we saw.

In the night we went to Jamexican restaurant Chilitos to see our friend Suvi. After we told her about our little walk she told us that we shouldn't walk at all in Kingston because it is dangerous and robberies happen daily even in campus where she is studying. So maybe it wasn't the best idea to just walk around without knowing better. Too bad Google Maps doesn't suggest safe areas to walk. People here use route taxis to get around which drive the biggest streets in Kingston non-stop and pick up people by the streets. The route taxis cost 100JMD per ride which is really cheap. 

THURSDAY 8.12.

On Thursday Suvi, couple of her student friends and us took a minibus to Port Antonio, Portland which is in North - East Jamaica. It was quite an experience when they put 30 persons in the bus which real capacity was 18 persons and the ride was like a roller coaster without safety belts. The whole trip took approximately 2,5 hours and cost 450JMD per person. After 2,5h of that can of humans ride we arrived to Port Antonio and made it to the Airbnb place which Suvi had booked for all of us. Our host was really nice and a real rastafari which was cool.

Henkka in front of our Airbnb place. Port Antonio, Jamaica

Henkka, our Airbnb host and Kyle from Trinidad.

FRIDAY 9.12.

In the morning we all went to eat breakfast after a night that only Emmi of the whole group slept well. The noise of frogs, birds, lizards, grasshoppers and roosters kept everyone else awake almost the whole night so it was quite a zoo out there by night.

Traditional Jamaican meal: saltfish & ackee

After breakfast we went to the Frenchman's Cove which is named after an old folklore tale about the canon battle between the French and the British near the cove. It is said the British defeated the French and wounded souldiers sought refuge in the cove, hence its historical name Frenchman's Cove. There is also the first all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean and possibly in the world since all-inclusive phenomenom has its roots in Jamaica.

Nowadays Frenchman's Cove has a private owner and the fee to get in is 1000JMD / per person. Totally worth it! See the proof below.

Rules for Frenchman's Cove

...and further information.

Henkka climbed to a tree at Frenchman's Cove, Jamaica

A shot from paradise

Swing if you like

#relax

#relax2

Making sure that the palmtree doesn't fall down.

After a nice day at Frenchman's Emmi went to ride horses with Suvi and another girl. They all got their own well-trained horses to ride in an old golf course and jungle for only 1500JMD / 50 minutes. The owner had such a great communication with the horses and they obeyed everything the owner told them to do. He told that he lets them free every night and they always come back in the morning. It was clear those animals meant everything to him and it was touching when the man told that he had got offers from three different persons to buy one of the horses for good money but he had declined the offers because the horse is his friend.

After the wonderful day we went to see the famous Blue Lagoon which is known from a movie. Suvi told us that the activities at Blue Lagoon aren't that special and you can do the same things anywhere else around here for less money. You can hire a boat ride to the Monkey Island which is near the Lagoon and swim there but if you have a lack of time on your trip you should rather go to for example  Frenchman's Cove.

NOTE: Countlessmilesandsmiles wont recommend Blue Lagoon if the movie isn't in your top 5 favorite movies of all time - list and want to savor the moments from the movie.

What a luring entrance. Blue Lagoon, Jamaica

Color of the water was cool though. Blue Lagoon, Jamaica

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

Memi & Henkka