The mundane seasons pass uneventfully as I’ve tried to steady the keel in unsteady climes. The inane work has been given begrudging priority over my wanderlust for untrodden territory. After being mostly stationary for 1.5 years, an eight day break into the Caribbean is a most welcomed change. And so it is, I set my sites on Jamaica; one of the few destinations worthwhile given the 8-9 day time constraint.
A three-leg flight through Miami landed me in Montego Bay, point of entry for most venturing to Jamaica. Though I’m aware that the city is more renown as a resort and cruise ship destination, somewhere I was holding out that there’d be enough off-the-beaten-path to amuse my interest. Alas, the welcoming scene proved disillusioning as quite a few flights landed simultaneously, pushing the immigration wait line to 3 hours. Standing there in the suffocating head with thousands of expectant tourists afforded plenty of time to survey the environs. I’m sorry to report that the serried throngs of obese tourist — all seeking some pre-packaged “dream” vacation — foretold that I would probably be hard-pressed to find unobstructed local culture removed from the tourist scene.
After 1 hour or so of negotiating with the taxi drivers for a fare market price, I was on my merry way. Although everyone is exceedingly friendly, it is always … taxing. By the time I reached the guesthouse, of course, the driving complained that it is farther than he had thought and demanded $2 more even though the drive was less than 10 minutes.
Upon arrival, a German woman about 30 of age greeted me. She runs the Bird’s Nest guesthouse and kitesurfing school. As I hadn’t eaten all day, and with the hour passing 9 pm, she offered to drop me off along the way to the “corner jerk chicken down the way”. Well, starving and disoriented in the dark of new surrounding is not the ideal condition to navigate. The jerk stand is no more than a shed off the main road, some 3.5 km or so from the guesthouse.
