More Jamaica Experiences

Christmas in Jamaica came and passed, and it was quite a different affair as Vaniah said. While we were getting stories from back home of kids wanting to be pulled to their day-care and pre-schools on various kinds of snow-bound transportation, we were having quite a different experience. On Christmas day, apart from what Vaniah has already told you about we were sitting out the back sipping sorrel and trying to spot the hummingbirds. In the afternoon Bolvin (Vaniahs uncle) and I also went foraging for some Sugarcane to eat, to accompany all the other exotic fruit that the garden sprouts. So not all of it was hard labour, games and food...

After that, we deserved a little break and needed a little exercise, so in true Jamaican style we went climbing. Up a waterfall. Dunn's River falls has been voted best attraction in Jamaica a couple of years running now and its very easy to understand why. You walk down to a beautiful beach (try to go on a day when no cruise ships are around, its hard to spot the sand otherwise) where the sea is warm and there is plenty of watersports available. The main attraction though is a lot more fun and the water is a little cooler, although it is probably around 21-22 degrees Celsius, but nonetheless this is a good thing. The climb itself is not that hard and the first section is definitely the worst, but it is beautiful. Along the far side there are a few side streams that meander and it feels like you are a little further away from the throng of people, if you happen to go there on cruise ship day as we did. There are also quite a few tiny pools that have been carved out where you can soak for a while and just enjoy. I think both my Mother and Bosse enjoyed it, and Bosse looked like he was 10 years younger when he was bounding up the cliffs. Actually, make that 30.

On Monday, the Ledgister clan and a lot of friends of the family descended on our Jamaican reception. It was great to finally put real-live faces to all the names from the stories Vaniah have been telling me (all good, rest assured). And for Vaniah it was equally great to see the long-lost relatives and friends. It was great to be able to celebrate our marriage with all the people who could not make it over to the actual wedding. And the food was good this time as well!!

The next day we took out route-taxi rental car down to Treasure beach on the south coast where my Mother and Bosse were staying for a few nights at Jakes. But we made sure to stop by the Appleton rum factory before, since both our guests have a taste for that particular beverage. They also enjoyed the scenery along 'the less traveled roads' (that means bad bad roads in the bush through small villages and without any signs along it)!

We made it down to Jakes though, and since we like that place so much me and Vaniah had decided that we were going to stay there a night too and show them around. We installed ourselves in the two bedroom apartment and sat down on the patio and played some dominoes, drank Red Stripe and watched the sun set in the Caribbean. Just the kind of relaxing evening we needed after a few days of functions.

And now, after driving back up to Montego Bay, spending a night with the family and packing up we are in a very very quiet (deserted) Miami International Airport as the clock ticks toward midnight on new-years eve. Jamaica treated us well this time as well, its always such a treat and an experience and we're already planning the next trip back, with some friends. Any takers???

But our next stop Peru where flights 18 and 19 (if we've counted correctly) will take us to Iquitos.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and that you will have a fantastic 2010.

Christmas in the Caribbean

Christmas Day
The day started bright and early with a few chores that needed to get done. Johan got to paint the new fence while I got to go into town to pick up some bits and pieces that had been forgotten. Not many stores were open but we found a petrol station that sold ice (a necessity in Jamaica for functions) and some other things.

We had spent the last few days cleaning and baking the Christmas cake, planning the menu and divvying up the cooking tasks for the day. Today! Christmas 09....

The day was today and we were determined to ensure that Johan's mum and Bosse, who travelled from Sweden the day before, had a real Jamaican Christmas.

The menu today consisted of:

• the Christmas ham - the one thing that Jamaicans and Swedes have in common in their celebratory meal


• fricassed chicken (complements of my lovely aunt)


• smoked salmon and marinated herring - Swedish christmas food


• potato salad


• macaroni and cheese


• a green salad


• a tomato salad

After the customary stuffing ourselves silly - a custom I believe is traditional all over the world,
we indulged in another uniquely Jamain tradition - dominos.

Now, to all who haven't played this game, or have seen it but think that it is a child's game or has something to do with lining several of them in a row and then knocking them over, think again. In Jamaica, playing dominos has been elevated to an art form, and skilled players will be able to tell you what dominos you have in your hand, and what the best domino to play will be, before you even know it yourself.

Of course, we are not at this level but over a glass of sorrel and a piece of that Christmas cake, on my parents open varandah overlooking Montego Bay, we played a few hands and thought... "this has been a very good Christmas".

Merry christmas everybody!!

Laging behind on the posts again, but I am sure you alll have been sucked into this Christmas thing again, just like us. We arrived in Jamaica on Sunday and immediately got started with getting everything sorted for the festivities.

But that doesn't mean we haven't had time for adventures, and anyone who has ever felt ripped off by airlines in the past may just get a kick out of the story of how we left Houston, twice, to get to Jamaica.


The story starts on Saturday when we got up at the crack of dawn, actually dawn broke while we were driving to the airport, at 7 am to catch our 9.00 flight to Dallas, where we would change to a flight to Miami to then catch the 3rd flight of the day to Montego Bay.

We got to Dallas and were waiting for our flight when they announced that the flight was overbooked and they would need 6 people to give up thir seats, for a compensation of US$150. No takers, since a lot of people were traveling that day, there were actually another 46(!) people on standby. The offer rose to $200 and $250 and Still no takers. So we thought that if they could get us to Montego Bay some other way, we'll be happy to take them up on it, since we didnt really mind not going to Miami. They couldn't, and the offer duly went up to $300...

Thats when I had an epiphany.

Due to a miscommunication between me and my brothers they had given us two tickets to a basketball game in Houston as a wedding present... 12 hours after we left (well, I might have given them the wrong date, but never mind...). So, I asked them if they could get us back to Houston, in time for the game, and then to Jamaica on Sunday, but surely that would be a longshot.

But lo and behold -they could do it, though it took a fair while to cancel and rebook the tickets, and they had to put us in business class between Miami and Montego Bay. So we called Suzanna in Houston and told her we were on our way back, and quite happily boarded our flight.

So to summarise,

• we got American Airlines to fly us back to Houston so we could catch our basketball game
• We were upgraded to business class to Montego Bay
• And they gave us $600 for the inconvenience.

Got to love that deal!!
Once we got to Houston, we were picked up again by Neil and Suzanna, and headed back to their flat to get some dinner, play a little with young Matthew and rest a bit before the big game. Neil dropped us off and we managed to negotiate all the obstacles on the way to our seats (read the security guard that would not let me in because of my 'professional' camera) and sat down to watch the spectacle, and only half of it was played out on the court. It was almost as interesting watching the audience as the game it self, people were drinking enormous amount of beer and eating tons of corn-dogs, burgers and popcorn. And the few people who did not have a team jersey at the start of the game had one at the end. I am convinced the GDP of a small country was spent there that night, but it was a great night out.

The next morning we once again left Suzanna and Neil behind, promising we'd be back soon (but not today, we were quick to add) and now we're settling in for christmas, and we're sure you're doing the same.

So from us all to you all a very merry Christmas.