Tales from Here and There

When Jamaica wasn’t as popular as it is today, it was paradise on Earth.

The food, even commercially made was still homemade in a shack’s kitchen, with the cooks dancing Calypso or ska music, the precursors of reggae.

The flavors and taste were out of this world with so many choices to enjoy. Jamaica was the preferred location for adventurers of low income, namely, the hippies from the 70s.

The gorgeous scenery was a sight to behold and if you weren’t in love already, it wouldn’t be long before your heart was captured by one of the locals. Almost guaranteed, the chances of success were at a high 90%. The other ten were scientists and researchers on a mission.

This enchanting land has attracted visitors and migrants from all over the world.

As Bob Marley succinctly puts it: “Some people feel the rain; others jut get wet.”

It’s worth noting that Arawak people known as Tainos were the first people to inhabit Jamaica.

They called it Xaymaca (land of wood and water) and had already produced a complex culture 7000 years ago in 5000 BC.

Jamaica is one of the world’s most significant creators of culture, with followers of its traditions living in every corner of the planet. Across the globe, people know and love Jamaican music, food, art, dancing and spiritual practices.

It’s easy to fall in love with the place as it grows inside of you and you become part of it soon enough. One of the reasons so many people decide to make it their home.

I went to Jamaica for two weeks and ended up staying two months. And the only reason I went back to the city is because I ran out of money.

The second time around, I thought I made better plans, but renting a motorcycle to go around the island turned out to be more expensive than I previously thought.

Having to leave that portion of Paradise is not easy, especially when the locals treat you like you’re one on them, and on a first name basis.

From an Ocho Rios’ waterfall to NYC’ snowy streets is an abrupt change, but I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything in the world, especially with the knowledge I gained during those trips across the island. You’d be surprised to learn how much you don’t know about simple people living in nature and from what mother Earth provides organically.

I left with a promise of returning. Like I always do.

Sometimes, I did manage to fulfill that promise; others, life took me in a completely different direction.

This quote from Bob Marley summons it up perfectly:

“Beginnings are usually scary, and endings are usually sad, but its everything in between that makes it all worth living.” – Bob Marley