It's finally here

Hello, my name is Annie and welcome to my travel blog.  It's been long awaiting but it's finally here.  In my blog, I hope to share with you my experiences obtained through my travels in the hope that you may find some useful information or simply for your reading pleasure.

Perhaps my passion for travel began early on in life when my parents took my older sister and me to Italy in '69.  Of course, I was just a very young and impressionable child at the time (did I mention I was young!) but it strikes me how much of that trip is stored in my memory.  The memories were obviously very fond and worthy of retaining.



However, let's fast forward a few years to 1982 when I first traveled on my own as an adult.  I visited the island of Jamaica.  Purely speculative, but I have a pretty good sense that the island has evolved since my visit.  You have to remember that one of Jamaica's biggest icons was Bob Marley whom the people of Jamaica loved and my visit to the island was only one year afer Bob Marley's passing in 1981.  It was as though he had just passed yesterday.  The people continued to mourn his death and this was displayed through all the paraphernalia for sale in the name of Bob Marley.  Everywhere you went, you would hear his music.  I purchased some Jamaican memorial postage stamps of Bob Marley as mementos. 

My memories of the island of Jamaica take me to a very lush and tropical place. You can smell it in the air. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Montego Bay now known as the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort Montego Bay.  Beautifully landscaped gardens and a well-maintained resort.  The food was excellent and of course my most memorable dish was the lobster thermidor.

My day trips consisted of a trip to the local Farmer's Market where you find a large selection of handmade crafts, clothing and jewelry as well as a trip to downtown Montego Bay where you will find a wide array of duty free shops; a stark contrast to the Farmer's Market.  Unfortunately and how this happened I will never  know, but I never did manage a trip to Dunn's River Falls which, if you're going to do anything, you must see and experience the Falls.  I have not yet returned to Jamaica, but if I do, I will be sure to visit and experience Dunn's River Falls.

I remember the people of Jamaica to be very friendly.  Jamaica, however, as a whole is an unbalanced island when it comes to the class of people.  The ratio of the poor class to the rich class is extremely high.  As a result, there is present a dissention of the classes creating visible conflict.  It would sadden me to see locals standing outside of my resort "compound" waiting for a glimpse of a hotel guest in an effort to sell some handmade craft, jewelry or healing concoction so they would have money for food.  Many would also resort to begging for clothes, shoes and toiletries, all of which I learned were extremely expensive for them to purchase on the island.  Therefore, on my day of departure, I was sure to hand over all of my remaining toiletries to the nearby locals for which they were extremely grateful.

Overall, my memories of Jamaica are fond even today, some 29 years later.

As you follow me on my travels, you will see how I gradually became a seasoned traveler; learning more about each destination, places to go and things to see.

For example, as an inexperienced traveler, I regret today not taking the opportunity when I could to see the many other sights of Jamaica such as the Old Tavern Estate where the best of the best blue mountain coffee is produced, the Appleton Rum Factory and a ride on the cable car up Mystic Mountain.

Be sure to check back with me soon.  Feel free to share your travel talk!

Annie