One of the Caribbean's largest islands famously has its problems, but also plenty of rewards, from the cliffs of Negril to the waterfalls near Ocho Rios and Port Antonio. and of course vibrant - and underrated - capital Kingston.
Cover photo: Peter
Sandals Royal Plantation One of seven Jamaican Sandals properties, this even more intimate resort in Ocho Rios is a romantic favorite because although it offers fewer amenities - just one pool and five (!) restaurants, along with a fitness center, Red Lane Spa, and a Champagne-and-caviar bar unique in Jamaica, for example - its luxurious "boutique inn" feel appeals to couples, with just 74 oceanview suites (all with private butler service) on ten peaceful acres, adding up to what we found to…
Read more…Grahampurse Served by its own very nearby airport (the Caribbean's biggest and busiest), the third largest city in Jamaica (as well as the English-speaking Caribbean, with a population of around 110,000), MoBay has since the 1960s been an anchor of Jamaica's tourism industry, and one of the island's most visited spots, as well as a very popular cruise port of call. Located in the island's northwest, the city's main draw remains the gorgeous, white-sand beaches with tranquil, aquamarine…
Read more…Palm Island Resort These tropical isles usually rank high on the list of V-Day getaways, and offer an embarassment of riches when it comes to hotels and resorts. So this year a writer for USA Today put together a list of nine for couples to consider for a romantic Valentine's weekend. You may not agree with all of them - and, indeed, I find the list skews too much toward bigger resorts and largely ignores charming smaller inns, but I can attest to one, Palm Island (above) in the Grenadines…
Read more…In the market for a nice place to call your own on a warm-weather vacation getaway this winter, for example in the Caribbean? Instead of the usual resort, give a thought to renting your very own luxury Caribbean villa, which can be as or more affordable while providing unparalleled privacy and comfort. Here are examples on five islands, marketed through Caribbean Escape, that you'll surely fall in love with! read post
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I too and managing a Group Trip to Hedonism II in Negril from June 18-26, 2011 (or any days in-between).
This will be our 5th Annual Group Trip & Reunion-Rendezvous at the Caribbean's wildest all-inclusive and beachfront resort. I also have trip reports and photos from previous adventures at Hedonism III in Runaway Bay (now re-worked into a family resort leaving Hedo II the lone Jamaican adult-fun resort),
My Groups are open to all those that love sun, fun, and costumed dress-up time at open-minded resorts and venues like Hedo.
More details available via my sites.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KrewedeKrazyLifers4Hedonism
Ann, TS
email: TheTravelSlut@yahoo.com
I LOVE JAMAICA!
My husband & I own a travel agency and handle Lifestyle Group Travel.
Be watching for a link to FB page EXOTIC PLEASURE SEEKERS.....We're going to be booking Group travel to HEDO 2 – for AUGUST 2011 travel. I own a travel agency in Naples, FL.
I you would like to be added to our email/mail list forward us your phone and address information to email: exoticpleasureseekers@ytcnaples.com
Also, our website will be updated with the current group information
http://tinyurl.com/HEDO-2-DEALS
or www.YTCNaples.com
Our Best,
Michelle Thurston & Pryce Baldwin, Facilitators for Fun ~ FFF
exoticpleasureseekers@ytcnaples.com
239-682-5070-Michelle
239-682-7070-Pryce
Call anytime/24 hours a day
Mind, Body, Spirit, Soul…Close your eyes – dream a little!
Indulging in life’s sensual pleasures…
Homophobia in Jamaica
Diane Abbot - JamaicaObserver.com - Sunday, August 02, 2009
Jamaican society's stance on homosexuality continues to get bad press abroad. Most recently the New York Times ran an article on Jamaica entitled "Gays Live and Die in Fear in Jamaica". It featured a victim of violence called Sherman. The article said, "Even now, about three years after a near-fatal gay bashing, Sherman gets jittery at dusk. On bad days, his blood quickens, his eyes dart and he seeks refuge indoors.
"A group of men kicked him and slashed him with knives for being a 'batty boy' - a slang term for gay men - after he left a party before dawn in October 2006. They sliced his throat, torso and back, hissed anti-gay epithets, and left him for dead on a Kingston corner."
The article went on: "Sherman, meanwhile, is simply trying to move on with his life. But he said he will always remember how, after his attack, patrolmen roughly lifted his bloodied body out of their squad car when a man admonished them for aiding a 'batty boy'. A woman shamed them into driving him to a hospital; they stuffed him in the car's trunk."
The article also quotes Jamaican poet Staceyann Chinn - now living openly as a lesbian in Brooklyn, New York - who described how she was raped in Jamaica because of her sexual preference. The article quoted Yvonne McCalla Sobers as wellwho said, ''My thought is there are far more men having sex with men in this country than you would ever think is happening.'' There was the obligatory discussion of the homophobic lyrics of Jamaican popular music. And Dr Trevor Tulloch of St Andrew's Hospital ascribed the soaring level of prostate cancer in Jamaica to men being scared of the digital rectal examinations needed to diagnose it, he is quoted as saying, "because it is a homophobic society, there's such a fear of the sexual implications of having the exam that men won't seek out help''.
Because attitudes to homosexuality in Jamaica are so hostile, it is not sufficiently understood how damaging its stand on the issue is outside the country. Just a few months ago a boycott of Jamaican tourism and products like rum and Red Stripe beer was launched in a gay bar in New York. The organisers said, "Most people view Jamaica as a laid-back tourist destination. This easy-going image is betrayed by the immense brutality against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) individuals. Indeed, public officials, media, entertainers, and much of the population seem to celebrate homophobia, as if it is a national pastime. The anti-gay sentiments have become a frightening national psychosis that urgently needs to be addressed and treated. A boycott is an unfortunate measure that must be taken to influence Jamaican officials, so they will stop allowing murder and violence against GLBT people."
The boycott has so far been unsuccessful. But a country dependent on tourism cannot afford to ignore the fact that attitudes to homosexuality in other countries have moved on. There are probably as many people in Britain who are privately judgemental about homosexuals and lesbians as there are in Jamaica. But the British take the view that what people do in the bedroom is their affair. So gay marriage is legal and leading politicians in both the government and opposition parties have publicly acknowledged their sexual orientation and married their partners. It is difficult to imagine such a state of affairs coming about in Jamaica any time soon.
But Jamaica could do more to stress that despite the blood-curdling lyrics of much of its popular music, it is a more tolerant society than people think. And violence against gay people should be universally condemned.
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