Jamaica! Where do I start?

Turquoise beaches,

Colorful homes,

Trees overbearing with tropical fruits,

Amazing food,

The music and the Rum Punches and Red Stripes

And best of all the lively, friendly, and welcoming Jamaicans!

Highlights of our trip –

Beach time!  

Negril’s 7-mile beach is one of the best with white sand, crystal clear water. The water was so clear we could see the fish (including a Stingray) just a few feet way from the beach. Relaxing under the coconut trees and listening to the soft waves crashing the sand gave me so much peace and I enjoyed every moment of it 🙂

SUP (Stand Up Paddle Boarding)

Yup, I did it and did pretty okay as well. By ‘okay’ I mean, fell in the water just once!

Jamaican Culture and Cuisine

Who doesn’t love Caribbean food? The jerk rubbed chicken is nothing like the ones I tasted in the US; spicy yet sweet and so flavorful. Enjoyed the tropical fruit platter of Mango, Papaya, Pineapple served for breakfast every morning and got to try traditional Jamaican dishes like Ackee with Salt Fish, Dumplings, Coco bread, Curried Lamb. There’s so much to Jamaican cuisine than just the jerk seasoning!

The Tropics and Thunderstorms

I love rain! It’s been a while since we had experienced any kind of rain in drought-struck California. So it was a nice (kinda scary) surprise to watch rain with lightning and thunderstorms hitting hard on the beach. Walking down the beach with rain falling over the head had been quite an experience.

And with that kind of rain, no wonder the trees are overbearing hundreds of juicy fruits just waiting to be plucked. Mangoes of all kinds – green, red, yellow and even purple! Each home has a backyard with Mango, Banana, Ackee, Bread fruit, Almond, Papaya, Coconut trees! It cannot be any more fresh and organic than picking produce from your backyard and cooking it.

The Pelican Bar

A mile out into the sea is a tiki bar built on a reef. Take a boat ride, go have a drink, walk down into the sea, snorkel/swim, tap to the music or just sit on the boardwalk and let it all sink in while watching fish swim right under your feet.   And the food – they catch fresh fish out of water, cook and serve it right there. Yes, we got to taste it and boy, was it amazing! This has to be the coolest bar on earth and definitely a highlight of our trip! And how about this Game of Thrones’esque capture below? 😛

and the Sunsets, of course!

One thing I learnt from Jamaicans – Being rich or poor does not matter. All that matters is being happy and living life on your terms. And the Jamaicans do that very well indeed!

Thank you Jamaica for all the memories, can’t wait to be back again! 🙂