Travel

Every Last Version of Green and Blue: Lost and Found on The North Coast of Jamaica

Globetrotters February Writing Prompt / Challenge — Terrains of the World

There were a number of reasons why I was excited to see the Writing Prompt for February on Globetrotters.

It’s one that is devised so as to encourage us to draw our attention to the topography of an area that we are in, whether passing through as tourists, spending time as travelers or living in as…well, whatever label we are applying to ourselves these days.

Maybe we see within it similarities with somewhere we’ve been before. Maybe it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen. Maybe we notice how it changes as we travel through it. Maybe it just floods all our senses at once. Maybe it blows our minds long after we’ve left.

Another reason is that it may lead to a further question about “What impact does geography and its natural processes in a place have on the culture that exists there?”

But for me, it’s a bit less philosophical and a bit more immediate and represents an opportunity to again write a bit about a place I lived for a relatively short time, but miss very much.

I am talking about Jamaica. And specifically, the north coast of that delicious island in the Caribbean.

There are two international airports in that country: one is in the capital city, Kingston, on the southeastern coast, that most tourists will never use, and the other is in Montego Bay on the northwest coast that the vast majority will come through. In fact, it exists mostly to serve them and their holiday plans.

There are also cruise ship terminals at Montego Bay, Falmouth and Ocho Rios. Again, masses of tourists, arriving each day, for the day, and taking whatever is presented to them, as evidence that they’ve been to Jamaica. Additionally, most of the all-inclusive resorts are also on the north coast.

In short, the area is well-trodden, certainly more so than the much wilder and less easily accessed south coast. But I wonder if most of the people who arrive on the island ever really see much of it before they leave a week later. The beauty of Jamaica is in getting away from all of those palaces of package tourism. I get why people are willing to pay for that, but it isn’t real. That isn’t the real Jamaica.

For me, it’s where endlessly different shades of green of the mountains tumble down toward the coast, hit the ribbon of highway that hugs it and meet a strip of golden sand in front of the vivid turquoises and blues of the sea.

The drive from Negril on the westernmost tip to Portland Parish in the northeast, goes through countless and vibrant bustling small towns like Lucea, Oracabessa, Port Maria and Port Antonio, with their makeshift rum shops and jerk chicken grilling in converted oil drums on the side of the road. The Caribbean is on your left, the land rises up on the right.

Right turns onto less well-maintained roads into it are better recommended with a vehicle with a reliable four wheel drive. Upwards, into the mist, the cool air. Trees, forests, jungles, everything wet. A relief. Deep gulps of refreshing, cleaner, cooler air. And then following the winding road back down, sounding your horn around every hairpin curve, descending into the heavy tropical air, smelling salt water, mango and nutmeg and tasting it on your tongue at the same time.

You’re not on a tour bus, so you might get lost. It’s just a cost of doing business to get to the real heart of it. You needn’t worry though, someone will always be glad to help you find your way.

A couple of articles have stood out to me on this topic lately:

Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages shows us a wide array of very different places in the world that have impacted her

CosmicDancer takes us to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands for a scenery that certainly left its mark.

One more: I alluded to getting lost in Jamaica and being just fine with it. Here’s one from a few months ago with one of my experiences with that.

I really do hope that you like what you have just read. If you want unlimited access to thousands of writers, consider a subscription to Medium. It will set you back $5 a month and if you use the link below, then I get a slice of that. There’s a big world out there.