RETURN TO JAMAICA
Many people don’t believe me when I tell them that I have been to Jamaica over 30 times. It is true - all you have to do is look at my passport. What is even more astounding is that all my trips to JA took place over a 16-year interval, from 1980-1995 and since Spring 1995, I have not been back. I know what you may be thinking – No, I am not Jamaican, although I’ve been told even with my fair complexion, I could pass. Jamaican girlfriend??? No, I never had a romantic liaison with a lady in Jamaica, although there have been a number of gals that I took a fancy to. Still the question remains - Why did I make so many trips to Jamaica? What is the real story?
All my many trips to Jamaica took place from 1980-1995 for a reason - as a travel agent and tour operator, JAMAICA used to be my bread and butter (my primary destination), and I had a steady flow of clients who traveled to Jamaica for vacation (both tourists and Jamaicans). It was during these years, that I escorted large tour groups every year for the famous Summer Musical festival in Montego Bay known as REGGAE SUNSPLASH. Coincidentally, Reggae Sunsplash sort of fizzled out in the mid 1990s to be replaced by Reggae Sumfest at the same time I disappeared from the Jamaica scene.
Will I return to Jamaica? You betcha – After an absence of nearly 14 years, I am planning to Return to Jamaica, some day soon. It will be a homecoming of sorts for me, as in many circles I am considered an honorary Jamaican. I have some absolutely wonderful memories and experiences in “the land of wood and water” - for a small island, there is so much natural beauty packed into her physical boundaries. I know that there will have been many changes and much new development will have taken place, but that it is to be expected. One thing I know that will not have changed and that is the exuberant, spirited nature of the Jamaican People. To be continued…
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Tags: Jamaica, Reggae Sunsplash, travel
