Tropical Christmas & New Years in JAMAICA
TRAVEL
Happy New Year ! To everyone reading & I hope you had an amazing Christmas.
Now lets get into this, I understand Christmas & New Years is a time used to show gratitude for what’s passed and hope for what’s coming, so I know it’s not a competition, but this year I have to say we outdid ourselves. (Especially after the rollercoaster called 2022)
To give you an understanding of where I’m coming from here’s a dash of context. Growing up Christmas was usually spent with immediate family, to be frank it’s like any other day with a little more food, OK, a lot more food, like a lot.
On the other hand, New Years was spent at church, which my kids will most definitely experience at least once especially since I was raised in a Christian & African household. Over time this lead me to romanticise the idea of spending the new year at a the wildest party imaginable, and this year it sort of went like this.
We arrived in Kingston on the 25th, unsurprisingly due to African timing & my fashionable lateness, at this point my punctuality is predetermined unless we are talking job interviews or food then I’m deya! In fact I will probably be early.
The 1st thing that hit was the heat & humidity but then the hunger struck, so we headed down to the party ‘Cherry Gardens’.
DEVON HOUSE BAKERY
Kingston was a vibe, fresh air blue skies even the rain had a little bit of spice to it. Early days was for soft life and relaxation I spent it eating and lazing away, with the occasional game of basketball or a quick swim.
Honestly I was getting acclimated, you know exploring/surveying the area for anything eye catching or exciting comparing rooms and bathrooms to see who got hit with the short straw ( P.S. it wasn’t me) and for the record it could never be me.
There was a really interesting spot we went for food and ice cream, you may have heard of ‘DEVON HOUSE BAKERY’. Me personally I’m not fan of sweet things or ice cream but I will still eat it, before you start screwing your face questioning why go to a bakery then, I need you to listen they had patties; fresh, hot, steaming Jamaican patties.
I can’t even explain the flavours to you, imagine an African meat-pie had a sexy older brother or a Cornish Pasty had a distant cousin twice removed that just happened to be a super model, that’s the flavour I was experiencing not to even mention the the ginger lemonade.
Black River Safari Tour
- The tour is a 1 hour boat ride down the tranquil black river, previously known as the longest river at 53.4 km until Rio Minho was measured at 92.8 km -
The distinct colour of the river is caused by the river bed, consisting of decomposed vegetation that grows alongside the bank. In the past the river was popular, because of trade access to the port & materials sourced from the river.
Red mangroves provided the mahogany dye used all over the British palace
Now a protected area the Black River is a buzzing ecosystem, home to wildlife ranging from herons to crocodiles.
One thing I was most grateful for was the visit to the reptile nursery, not because of the toothy up close and personal encounter with the crocs, but because of the level of detail and care that went into increasing awareness surrounding wildlife preservation.
Consensual understanding of the environmental & economic importance of the rivers’ ecosystems
Holywell Park Blue Mountain
Keeping in line with the natural theme, we paid a visit to the Holywell Park in the Blue Mountains of JA. The plan was to hike through the trail but the rain had other plans.
It’s almost like the rain cloud stalked us from London
So we found shelter, played some games while waiting for the rain to stop before heading back down the mountain where we stopped at Café Blue — Irish Town for some of the best hot chocolate & eggs bacon and pancakes.
Montego Bay
Of course we had to visit the bay it was an obligation, imagine coming to Jamaica and not visiting Montego.
While in Montego stayed at the Holiday Inn resort which in itself had a whole list of activities you could do from kayaking down to snorkelling & rafting.
You could also book a day bus for unsupervised adventures ;)
I spent many nights walking down the beach cocktail in one had grilled cheese in the other, and don’t ask me why I’m sure there was crack in the grilled cheese sandwiches, I had like 5 in a single night.
The highlight of Montego was the countdown to new years because although I had family around me I didn't expect the hospitality/ reception. Strangers, individuals I had never met before were ecstatic to celebrate the new year with anyone and everyone.
Before the countdown to new years we had a nice cute little dinner with everyone together you know just in case anyone fell off before 12am.
I’m going to drip feed you a little extra of what I got up to, there was a seaside bar that got a little more excited as the sun went down called Margaritaville, from the name alone you should know. You might be thinking what's so exciting about a seaside bar, well I’m easily impressed and yes, I know I shouldn’t be revealing my standards but there was a water slide.
Let me make it a little clearer (Shots + Cocktails) x Water Slide = Fatality
Name another place you can do shots then face plant into the open ocean, I didn’t think so.
Dunn’s River Fall & Park
I expect all ethnic families in London to have used Dunn's river seasoning or at least heard of it, but boy I never knew it was a riverfall, and if you didn’t well now you do.
The water was cold but worth it
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