Tag: jamaica

Place & People – Jamaica/The People

On By TimelessladyIn People, Place3 Comments

Jamaica is amazingly beautiful, but I think her best resource is her people. Noel, our favorite taxicab driver was a real blessing to us during our stay. He drove us to local beaches and neighborhoods and showed us the real Jamaica. He played beautiful gospel music in the cab as he drove.

Talia and Tanish, creative entrepreneurs, we bought some custom t-shirts, bags, hats and jewelry from their shop. Sweet ladies.

Lorna, hair-braider and shop owner extraordinaire, smiling her gorgeous smile.

Roy, another shop owner, “Yea Mon!”

Another of my very favorite local people, Bruce, talented seashell and starfish hunter. His finds are gorgeous and to me priceless. Joe and I loved spending time talking to Bruce and listening to his stories of how he spends his days.

Marcy, a local lady, who set up shop right on the beach. She found for me the perfect island dress in her big bags of product. She had an amazing smile and was so gracious to us as we searched for the perfect garment.

The resort is all-inclusive. The bartenders are always on call whether you want to indulge in island rum and pineapple, Joe’s favorite treat, or a Paw-Paw Daiquiri, non-alcoholic and very frosty, a bit like a snowcone in a glass, my favorite drink.

We went to almost every show they put on in the evening. The activities crew at the Royal Decameron is top notch. Thank you Jamaica for your hospitality and the perfect week of vacation.

Place and Perspective – Jamaica/The Flight Down & Back

On By TimelessladyIn Perspective, PlaceLeave a comment

My husband and I have just returned from a week-long stay in Jamaica. I’ll be posting pictures and observations about our stay throughout this coming week.

The flight down and back was uneventful and serene. Taking off and flying are a piece of cake after the long lines and aggravations of getting through the check in and the multitude of screenings and humiliations everyone must go through in order to fly in this age of constant tension and threat. I am in my fifties, and my boarding pass was marked with a code, and out of the party of four people I was flying with, I was the one chosen to have my carry-on, shoes, and person searched and patted down before I could begin my journey home. The screeners were professional, but the entire process still felt like an assault, and though my husband says I managed to keep a smile upon my face and remain polite, I DID NOT LIKE BEING PATTED DOWN WHILE OTHER PASSENGERS OBSERVED THE PROCESS AS THEY ENTERED THE PLANE’S BOARDING LANE.  Anyway, no harm done, and at least the pat down was on the return trip and not the flight down.

The trip in itself was amazing and perfect, but the process to arrive and depart is a nightmare. I am old enough to remember when flying meant being pampered. Now the airlines act as if they are doing you a favor to let you aboard their aircraft. When my son asked the attendant what kind of beverages they had, her reply to him was, “The same things we had on your flight down.” And there I will rest my case.