Wed, April 24, 2013
This time we’re heading east! I figure we should have some nice views of the ocean driving along the south coast and then up towards the north coast. Our destination: Port Antonio!
See the route (in red) along the coastline

Sure enough, the views were spectacular!

Youtube video
China viewers
如果你是在中国，点击此处查看视频

and then a little inland while still in St Thomas…

Then, back along the coast through Portland.

On the way there, we saw a sign.

“Hey, look! Reach Falls is that way!” Ron exclaimed.

“Cool! Let’s go!” Walt replied.

And that’s how we ended up at Reach Falls.

Ron likes immersion

I prefer just sitting in the sun

After Reach Falls, we continued north through (5)PORTLAND, took a quick look at the famous Blue Lagoon, and eventually reached Port Antonio, where we checked out the Errol Flynn Marina

Then, we hit (6) ST MARY, Headed further along Buff Bay and Annoto Bay,

…then south back into St. Andrew by nightfall

Nightfall in St. Andrew

Ron got some Jerk Chicken while we were in Port Antonio. Meanwhile, by the time we got back to Kingston, it was too late for me to eat, so I picked up a bag of banana chips at a supermarket, and called it a night. No worries. I’ll definitely eat a meal tomorrow.

You know what? Maybe tomorrow I’ll visit the Bob Marley Museum….hmmmm..

JAMAICA

This is Jamaica.

It’s 90 miles south of Cuba, which is 90 miles south of Florida. It takes 3 hours and 20 minutes to fly from JFK airport to Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport.

Here’s a closer look.

And even closer….
I am here:

….in Kingston. Jamaica has 14 parishes. The 14 parishes are Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James, Trelawny, St. Ann, St. Mary, Portland, St Thomas and as often happens, I’ve only visited about three of the 14 parishes while growing up here.

THE PLAN

So, here’s the plan. The goal on this long-overdue trip is to visit all of Jamaica’s 14 parishes during the 18 days we’re here! For that, we’ll need a car of our own!

DAY 1 RECAP: Tuesday, April 23, 2013

On the first day, after much careful cogitation, we decided our plan would be to “head west!” So, we gassed up the car with $1,000 of unleaded. Gas in JA is currently about $120J per litre.

…and we drove from (1)ST. ANDREW, into (2)ST. CATHERINE (where we passed through Spanish Town, Old Harbor, May pen), and then, as we passed into (3)CLARENDON, we saw a sign.

“Hey, look! That sign says ‘Milk River Hotel & Spa’ is that way!” Ron exclaimed.

“Cool! Let’s go!” Walt replied.

And that’s the story of how we ended up at the world famous Milk River Hotel & Spa!

(Well, there’s also the part of the story where we almost run out of gas in the middle of nowhere with not a gas station within immediate sight or recent memory, and having school guard, Sherlene Campbell, help us out, but, um, I’ll leave that part out for another episode!)

Milk River is a hot spring over which a spa has been built. The spring’s water is captured and flows unfiltere and untreated continuously into tile baths. It’s reputed to have tremendous therapeutic effects. We opted to get our own separate rooms to enjoy a 15 minute immersion in the healing waters. ($400J)

The water from the spring flows continuously through these bath houses.

After the bath, the security guard showed us where the spring flows out from the spa into the river

and was nice enough to take us to another open spring nearby. Local residents catch the water for home use, including drinking. (But drink too much and it will “operate” you! In other words, you’ll be running to the bathroom for a bit!)

Click to view on Youtube
China viewers: Click here

We left Milk River at exactly 4pm, headed back to Kingston on Jamaica’s new highway, and made the 145km trip back in an hour and a half.

Ron got a pattie while we were gassing up the car in Milk River. However, by the time we got back home, it was too late in the day for me to eat. No worries. I’ll just grab a meal tomorrow.

After my coconut water respite, it’s time to resume the arduous task of finding specific fruits and vegetables I haven’t had since 1997 and before. Actually, one of the things that endeared Saipan to me is that fact that I discovered sweetsop, soursop, nesberry, breafruit and practically all the fruits I knew and loved from my childhood in Jamaica. However, there are certain fruits I haven’t found in my travels through, specifically ackee and June plums.

There’s also something magically restorative, rejuvenative and, perhaps even vital about eating the food grown in the soil and sun from whence this physical form was formed, fashioned and first fed. With that in min, next stop: MegaMart to pick up some nesberries, June plums and mangos!

Now, normally, I would get my fruits from street vendors and open markets. However, it’s Sunday in Jamaica, and vendors are not out on the streets. Many stores are closed, and the few that have opened will close by about 4 or 5pm. (For your information, just a generation ago, by cultural consensus, one simply could not purchase–and wouldn’t even dare to ask for–certain items in the stores that chose to serve the public on Sundays. If you wanted kerosine oil for your lamp, for instance, you simply had to wait for a business day to make such a purchase–so my mother tells me.)

DAY 2: Monday, April 22, 2013
The next day, we went exploring through Kingston to run some errands and to locate some health food spots I found on HappyCow.net. So, it’s off to the wild and wonderful streets of Kingston!

Now, at the risk of dating myself, the last time I drove a right-hand drive car in Jamaica–where we drive on the left side of the street, by the way–The Right Honorable Edward Seaga was Prime Minister (JaminChina JA to US political reference translator: “Ronald Reagan was President!”)

Every payment to the government gets done here. Driver licenses, tax payments, you name it.

While driving, Ron spotted a “Natural Health” sign, and we made note to check it out. It was the perfect first stop on my continuing global quest for vegan-friendly destinations!
There were no health food stores like this last time I was in JA! Supplements, apple cider vinegar, health bars, wheat-free snacks and much more!

Natural Health has two locations in Kingston. One at 134 Constant Spring Road and another in Orchid Village Plaza.

As mentioned, we just chanced upon it while driving, since it wasn’t featured on HappyCow.net, so I told store owner, Marie Chen, about HappyCow, and she promised to get the store listed (it’s free, and I’m sure it will be good for business from other health-conscious tourists and nomads!)

Next stop was a raw food spot Marie told us about. It’s called “Mi Hungry.” Got some fresh tamarind juice and, since it was early in the day, I’ll have to return another time to sample the menu!

Here is an article about the store in the Jamaica Observer

Mi Hungry is located in The Marketplace at 67 Constant Spring Road. There are also many other restaurants for carnivores as well! So, while Mi Hungry boasts “No water, no fire,” another nearby restaurant boasts “caressed in smoke, wrapped in fire” or words to that effect.

Next, was Earl’s Juice Garden on Haining Road in New Kingston. I was actually looking for Livity, which I’m told (and saw for myself) is closed down. Got some cucumber and callaloo juice! Good stuff for $300J or $3US. (The US-JA exchange rate is just under $100J for each $1US)

Next, was a trip down memory lane to visit where I grew up. It’s called Hughenden Housing Scheme. The roads in this neighborhood, built during the late 1950s, have an Olympic game theme.

There’s Relay Road, Bronze road, Silver, Gold Road, and I grew up here…

in this house on Marathon Drive….The roads looked much wider when I was younger!

Then, wrapped up the day with a view of Kingston from the hills in Cherry Gardens!

The blog comments option may be available for a while, so feel free to make any special requests if there’s any place you’d like to take a vicarious adventure!
go here to post comments: http://www.jamaicaninchina.com/?p=2402

Being a nomadpreneur is very complicated.

In order to function most efficiently across several time zones and cultures, it is necessary to have a working knowledge and appreciation of a myriad of concepts, a plethora of facts and figures and a bevy of statistics and strategies in order to optimize one’s existence. Omitting just one of any of these minor details can have a dramatic and devastating and even catastrophic effect on one’s entire stay in a particular destination.

As you can imagine, there are issues with transitioning from different weather patterns and geography, verifying the compatibility of certain equipment with the local power supplies, learning new languages, securing accommodations, I mean the list is practically endless! It can be practically intimidating and overwhelming. It is not for the faint of heart.

So, from the very moment the plane landed at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, I referred to my extensive list of “must dos” and “must haves.” There are certain things that no travel book will tell you; certain things that no expat website will reveal. However, as a well-seasoned traveler and highly-experienced nomadpreneur, I, Walt Goodridge, feel obligated to share with you, in critical sequential order, the single most important logistical item I have prioritized on my vast and comprehensive list of mandatory new destination actions.

These items were important enough that even days before my travel buddy, Ron, and I made the arrangements to meet at the airport, I prepared him by explaining in no uncertain terms how vitally important this detail was to the success of my nomadpreneur excursion in Jamaica. He would arrive a day early in Kingston, and when he met me, his job was to meet me at the airport with a very short list of items he was to secure prior to my arrival. I even emailed him a reminder the day before our scheduled meeting to make sure things would proceed smoothly.

Therefore, while driving along Palisadoes Strip, I was insistent. We stopped not more than a mile after exiting the airport to take care of the first, and arguably most important item on the list. Forget this item, my fellow future travelers to Jamaica, and I cannot guarantee that the rest of your trip will proceed to your satisfaction.

So. First. Things. First.

Keep watching this space.