Cruising on the freeway from Norman Manley Airport after arriving in Kingston (Jamaica’s capital), the first thing that hit me was the smell. It was pungent and made me wonder who thought it was a brilliant idea to put a landfill close to an airport. Like Georgia to Ray Charles, food was on my mind and the landfill smell was soon replaced with a welcoming aroma from a local restaurant. Soon I was wolfing down some succulent jerk chicken to the bones. Shamelessly devouring the items on my plate, it dawned on me that having jerk chicken in Jamaica trumped every other past iteration, with the exception of East Flatbush in Brooklyn.
We left the restaurant and entered a Kingston weeknight of shops, fast food restaurants and mildly lit billboard ads of Tastee, Juici & Mother's paddies (apparently there’s a big national argument about which one is better 😂 ). We drove on a steep ride up the hill to an area called Red Hills which at the top gives you a lovely view of Kingston. Legend has it that the name comes from the red dirt that makes the hill look red when you view it from the bottom. This actually common in Jamaica and noticed through my trip that a lot of soil is generally a reddish brown color.




Red Hills was nothing compared Holywell (pronounced Hollywell) which we set off for the next day. Situated 3,000 ft above sea level in the tropical forests of Blue Mountain (Jamaica’s highest peak), the coolness of Holywell is a nice contrast to Kingston’s heat. The fresh mountain air, super high trees with lush greenery and flapping leaves give a vivid sensory appeal.




We set off hiking the next morning through a forest of trails lined with trees, thorny woods and a makeshift path that eventually led us into this beautiful creek. The water was cold and it took a while of toe dipping. Eventually, I gave in to the cold plunge and let nature overcome me. It was one of the places you could spend all day in and even though we were only there for a few hours, it felt much longer. During our drive down the mountain, we picked up a hitchiker who was a hairdresser in town from Canada visiting her grandmother. It made for lovely conversation and apparently people hitch hike all the time to get to the bottom of mountain. We continued on our journey and I was so ready to leave the hills and get into some water!



Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") or Ochi as the locals call it was originally settled by the Taíno’s in approximately 1,000 BCE. They called the land Xamayca, which translates to land of wood and water. After the colonizer Christopher Columbus landed in 1494 and wrongfully claimed the island for Spain, Ocho Rios was renamed Las Chorreras (rapid rivers).
As with many civilizations who came in contact with Columbus, the Taínos were obliterated by disease, slavery, and war. Some committed suicide, to escape their depraved conditions as slaves. ‘In 1655, British also colonizers, took the island from the Spanish. The English misinterpreted, and mispronounced the Spanish name Chorreras and called the town Ocho Rios’. (1) Ochi is a very big tourist town with lots of tourist attractions. We were only there for a day so we opted for the waterfalls which comes with a mud bath.




Overall, Jamaica was a very short, sweet and enjoyable trip. I got to see a lot in a brief time but there was still more to do and I can’t wait to go back. There are many interesting things I learned during my time in Jamaica and while I can’t share it all, I will leave you with my top 5:
I noticed in Ochi like many parts of Jamaica, the beach land like Houdini is disappearing. Erosion is affecting many island countries like Jamaica in the Caribbean due to rising sea levels and dangerous storms from climate change. Even though Jamaica and many Caribbean islands contribute very little to global emission levels, they are baring a large brunt of it.
Jamaica’s country motto is: “out of many, one people”.
The motto is so on brand because from the initial native settlers, slaves from Africa, Spanish and English colonizers to Chinese indentured laborers, Jamaica is a truly a land of diverse people.
I had no idea but Jamaica produces some of the best coffee in the world from the Blue Mountain area I was telling you about earlier during my trip to Holywell. I saw many of these coffee beans on evergreen trees on our drive up the mountain.
Jamaicans have a way of sourcing out if you are really from Jamaica or grew up there. For example if you say you are from Kingston, but add specifically that you are from St. Andrews parish, that will boost your authenticity points by a thousand.
Now I would like to hear from you in the comments, have you have ever been to Jamaica and what did you like about it? Or Where was your last foreign trip and what is one thing you will always remember about it. Please share, you never know you might inspire one of our readers next trip or even mine.
I love Kingston! Hope you enjoyed all the local foods, but you have to try the KFC there. Yes I said KFC, thank me later 😉
Jamaica is home for me. It’s a never ending experience of what contentment truly is. Even if you’re poor and struggling. There’s always food. There’s always shelter. My Love comes from days of old as a child growing up free and happy. The scent of morning breakfast being made. The chirping of birds and the staggering sounds of insects at night. It is truly a visionary. I’m feeling all warm and buttery inside thinking of how simple yet wildly extravagant life is. You get to experience Gods rich blessings front and center. It doesn’t take much. I am happy you got to experience this much from the island.