As proof, they have served as the backdrop for many film shoots:"Cocktail", "Night &Day", "The Blue Lagoon", "GoldenEye" (named after a local beach bought by Ian Flemming himself), "Vivre and let die"... Small downside:the most beautiful ones I've been able to discover are often private, so chargeable, unless you eat at the adjoining restaurant/bar. But for a few dollars, you can enjoy the fine sand of the Caribbean and the turquoise water in Robinson. And, if you want, you can even sleep with your feet in the water in a comfortable cabin, like at Half Moon Beach (www.halfmoonbeachjamaica.com). And whether you're on a private or public beach (like in Negril), in the evening we party under the stars...
The violence mainly concerns Kingston, the capital (especially downtown), so avoid it if you are traveling as a backpacker. As part of an organized stay, no worries since tour operators avoid visiting Kingston! Jamaica is even one of the favorite destinations of American, Canadian or British tourists who come to spend their honeymoon or spring break there. Personally, I was rather very well received by the population, delighted to meet a Frenchie.
Ever since actor Errol Flynn launched the rafting trend on the Rio Grande in the 1950s, people have never stopped descending the island's many rivers on bamboo rafts, or ascending them on foot like at Dunn's River Falls! It can be reached by road or by sea (with plastic shoes to avoid slipping!). Then, we form a human chain to launch an assault on the waterfalls. The ascent alternates over 200 m swimming pools:natural, rock slide, passage under tunnel. You can also descend the chain of Blue Mountains by bike between the various plantations, play Rastarocket in a bobsleigh in the middle of the tropical forest, paddle on the Black River between fields of sugar cane, mangroves and crocodiles...
It was in the poor neighborhoods of Kingston that reggae and its stars were born:Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff... Bob Marley's hits are mainly played in tourist places:beach bars, like Rick's Café in Negril, in the sublime Strawberry Hill hotel (www.islandoutpost.com) which belongs to its producer or in his birthplace in Nine Mile, transformed into a museum and mausoleum, whose live concert alone is worth the trip. If reggae remains unbeatable (every summer, the Reggae Sumfest festival in Montego Bay breaks attendance records), today we listen to dancehall, a kind of electro reggae, and we dance daggering (very jerky). Another atmosphere, on weekends, we go to church to sing and dance gospel.
Now I'm not talking about marijuana! According to the law, it is also totally illegal to consume, buy or sell it, under penalty of imprisonment. Many posters remind us:we don't laugh with drugs in Jamaica. But ganja is sniffed everywhere:in the markets, on the beach, in the Bob Marley museum where the guide literally sweated the grass... The only ones authorized to smoke all they want are the real "rastas" claim the spliff as an integral part of their religion. I enjoyed other culinary specialities, such as jerk, chicken marinated in spices, goat curry or grilled lobster…
With Passions des Iles, from €1,908/pers. 8 days / 7 nights at Secrets St James Montego Bay 5* all-inclusive in a Junior Suite Ocean View departing from Paris, instead of €2,158 thanks to the "Book early Winter" offer (booking before 15/ 12/14 for a stay between 1/01 and 30/04/15). Information and reservations:www.passiondesîles.com – 04 72 77 31 98. See also Look Voyages, www.look-voyages.fr.
