Kingston, Jamaica

We thought we were well prepared for our exit from Port of Spain by checking on the location of the buses to the airport. Unfortunately the bus driver neglected to tell us that the buses do not run on the weekends, so we had to bargain with a private vehicle posing as a taxi to take us to the airport. Taxis have either a taxi sign or an H on their number plate but anyone with a car scouts for fares.

Our Caribbean Airways flight was delayed as it had to wait for a connecting flight. We had booked an apartment online as the hostels and budget hotels had dreadful reviews. The owner of our Kingston apartment offered to pick us up and she had to wait quite a while for us. While we packed the car, John had to get money from an ATM but it had run out.

On the way to the apartment Donette told us that she had 'upgraded' us at no extra cost to a different apartment. The people who were in our chosen apartment decided to stay on. This was a bummer because we had chosen the apartment for its convenient location to the places we wanted to visit by walking and now we had no idea where we were going and had no choice but to take the apartment.

The apartment turned out to be pretty big with a great internet connection on which we were able to watch our new grand daughter gurgling and stretching. There was also a huge TV that John could watch the Olympic sports on. When Donette left we realised we did not know the address of the apartment so had to ask the guard at the gate. We did however, have a huge 24 hour Mega Mart across the road so were able to get supplies in for our stay.

The apartment building

After some googling we were able to work out where we were and plan the things we wanted to do. The next day we headed off to visit Devon House but being a Sunday everything was closed. We were able to get a pasty from the Devon bakery and sit under the enormous trees to cool off from the 33 DegC heat and high humidity. Back at the apartment John was able to book our buses for our trip in Cuba and I was able to organise some accommodation at private houses called casa particulares. Both websites were difficult to use so it took a lot of patience and trial and error.

We relished being able to have a breakfast of muesli, yoghurt, and fresh fruit. A welcome change from salted fish, canned tuna and chicken sausages in Port of Spain. Once filled we headed back to Devon House about 20 minutes from us. It is a National Heritage place and was built by Trinidad's first black millionaire. He had made his money from gold mining in Venezuela.

The furniture is not original but are pieces from that era. The chandeliers were all original. There was even an attic for gambling that had a set of concealed stairs,being an illegal activity then.

Devon House Ball Room

The second site we wanted to visit was the Bob Marley museum. It was a further 30 minutes walk and we joined a couple of Germans and were shown around by a guide, Bus loads of tourists arrived and it was a bit cramped and rushed at times to get through the small rooms in Bob's original house. 

The recording studio is still there and is used by Bob and Rita's sons. The bullet holes are in the walls where Bob was shot at and a video of his concert in Auckland was screened in the theatre. Bob died aged 36 of melanoma. By the end of the tour I still did not understand his non violent beliefs and how it fitted with his song 'I Shot The Sheriff'' His lifestyle of fresh vegetarian food and smoking marijuana seemed at odds to me. His catchy tunes I do get and our guide did his best to sing as many of them as he got the opportunity to.

We could not take photos inside the house, only of stuff in the garden.

So, the two things we wanted to do we had done in one day! Kingston has no 'heart'. It has an 'Uptown' where we were. The Governor General's residence and embassies and large houses are in Uptown. The 'Downtown' is crowded and where all the others live. Like Trinidad, any car can be a taxi and when ever they see anyone walking, they stop and toot looking for customers, This habit causes a lot of driver frustration and near misses on the busy roads.

We had to be sure to pack an umbrella and coat as it rains every so often. It is easy to tell when it will come as the wind picks up and the grey clouds close in and the temperature drops.

After visiting Devon house we learnt about the 1692 earthquake that destroyed a lot of Port Royal, near the airport. We managed to google the local bus numbers and decided the place was worth a visit even though it is not publicised in any of the tourist information we had. The first bus had a radio blaring a hell, fire and brimstone religious leaders sermon while the second had religious music that the passengers joined in singing to. There are churches all over.

Known as the 'Giddy House' from sinking in an earthquake

Port Royal was founded in 1518 and was once the largest city in the Caribbean as a centre for shipping and and commerce.It was a notorious home port for English and Dutch privateers. In the late 16th century, governments withdrew their support for the privateers and it became a home for pirates. Henry Morgan was one of the better known ones. The 1692 earthquake dumped a lot of the port into the sea and it was rebuilt and destroyed several times after this date. Fort Charles is now a museum with many relics of that time. Some of the locals see the earthquakes as acts of God for the immoral lives the pirates lived there.

Having taken the public bus to the port past the airport we felt confident to use them to leave for our flight to Montego Bay rather than use Donette and her over priced ride. There is a bus between Kingston and Montego Bay but it was fully booked because of the school holidays so we were lucky to get a flight.