My Jamaica

Departure from Malpensa to Montego Bay; the Neos flight left about an hour late; a stopover at Varadero was planned, but in theory we weren't even supposed to get off the plane; instead, having arrived at Varadero around 2 am, we only set off again for Montego Bay at 8 pm the following day, after spending a good 7 hours at the airport without understanding why..........

if we really want to find the upside of it.....it's that in the morning we were transferred to the Arenas Doradas (a 4- or 5-star all-inclusive, very nice) and had the chance to spend a whole day, certainly unexpected, on the dazzling white beach of Varadero! In the evening we finally reached Jamaica: I liked it more and more every day; as time passes you manage to grasp more and more of the spirit of this fantastic island; the sea is wonderful, but Jamaica isn't only about the sea, you have to live it, see the thousand facets that make it up, the untouched nature, its waterfalls set in the green, the way its inhabitants live; a week is absolutely not enough to do all of that, and the ideal would be to rent a car and explore it independently.

Let me say up front that I'm not a fan of all-inclusive, but I'd like to say a word in favour of Point Village, in Negril, a very informal resort between Seven Mile Beach and Bloody Bay, made up of little apartments scattered through a lovely garden; the aspect I definitely appreciated most about this all-inclusive was the chance to have fruit juices and cocktails of every kind at any hour of the day, which in that heat are “vital”!!! It has two private beaches, one of which is next to the nudist beach of the neighbouring hotel, Hedonism, and a small more rocky bay with a cave, where snorkelling is really lovely (even if there aren't exactly that many fish); what's more, opposite there's a little island, really charming, where local fishermen take you to eat lobsters freshly caught and grilled (for the lazier ones, like us, ordering it in the morning means they even bring it to you on the

beach still hot: 4 lobsters for $10!!); having an aperitif before lunch with lobster and local fruit juices (the piña colada is to die for!!!) under the Caribbean sun is just the best!!! And then there's always Bob Marley's music accompanying you everywhere, along with the smell of ganja; as the days go by you realise that you too are starting to pick up the rhythm of the Jamaicans and you start thinking “no problem” yourself!!!! Then if you go walking along Seven Mile Beach, especially where there are no hotels, you find some truly spectacular stretches of sea.

As for things to see, there are so many and there's never enough time; we stayed in Negril, saw the lighthouse and had an aperitif at Rick's Café (the height of our social life!); we watched the Jamaican boys who, for $1, dive from impressive heights among the rocks — they're mad!!!! Everyone talks about the famous sunsets at Rick's Café; in my opinion Jamaica offers spectacular sunsets from wherever you are!! We also went to Dunn's River Falls; they may be the most touristy, but I loved them a lot, it's great fun to climb back up them on foot and take a natural whirlpool bath in the various pools formed among the rocks, and you're immersed in untouched nature, where it's easy to see parrots and even the double-tailed hummingbird, a protected species found only there; we saw the splendid coral reef of Ocho Rios and had a brief taste of Montego Bay, a city that didn't particularly enthuse

me. We also went rafting on one of this stunning island's rivers; well, more than rafting it's a ride on a bamboo raft, but you find yourself immersed in nature, surrounded by palms, banana trees, colourful flowers, lianas and bamboo plants; along the way many little men were lying in wait, each wanting to sell something, some necklaces, some a foot massage, some coconut milk to drink (delicious!!); the most “thrilling” encounter was with a man of about seventy, a rasta, standing in the middle of the river up to his waist, a joint in his mouth and necklaces held up along both arms, completely stoned, he looked like a vision, legendary!!! Good Jamaica to everyone!!! YEHMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!