Our Backpack Travel to Jamaica

Travel to Jamaica

When my son, whom I raised alone, was 12 years old, I traveled to Jamaica with him. A "backpack" Trip! I wanted him to see the real Jamaica and its people. It was a success. Here is the story of our journey.

Our trip consisted of 3 destinations:

• Négril, tourist beach
• Treasure Beach, a small fishing village
• Montego Bay, "Hotel" in an unsavory area
  Being on a budget all the rooms we got were very affordable

We arrived around 6pm at the airport. I had not booked transportation to our hotel which was about 1h30 drive, because I read online that there were a lot of drivers on site waiting for the tourists. What they did not say, however, was that they would rush at us to offer us their services. Hahaha! I had to pick and negotiate and then we left on a mini bus.

Negril

We were nicely greeted when we arrived at our first "cheap"motel. The room was very basic and perfect for us.

The next morning we went on the Seven mile beach. We were in the low season, so there were not many tourists. Holala ... first trip from the hotel to the beach: 1 seller approached us and was very insistent, a little girl wanted to make me braids and a request in marriage with a guy who pulled his hand out of the car to try to catch mine !! Hahaha! On that day we went to the Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville. The food was excellent and Samuel had fun on the trampoline on the water, he even made friends.

In the evening we went to Rick's Cafe. It is located on the edge of very high cliffs. There is a very high diving show, it's really impressive.

Treasure Beach

Our 2nd destination was Treasure Beach where we drove by car/taxi. The trip itself was exotic, especially for Samuel. It was long and chaotic. Along the way we stopped in a small general store / grocery store and bought some supplies. The store itself was exotic. All these different brands made it difficult to locate the thkngs I wanted.

When we arrived I was delighted to see the little house we were going to occupy. It consisted of a room with 2 beds and a bathroom. A small kitchenette was accessible from the outside and there was a staircase to climb onto the roof / terrace. It was perfect for us and the couple who welcomed us was friendly and charming. They had 2 children, one of them, of the age of Samuel.

We quickly packed our bags to the beach guided by Samuel's new friend. Luckily he was there, he made us pass through the ground of a house where he took care to introduce us to the inhabitants so that they would let us pass there for the duration of our stay. In this way, people began talking to us when we were there. This is exactly the kind of trip I love. I like to get in touch with people from other cultures.

We made a good Rasta friend, Wycliff or "Bush" as he calls himself, for when he was young he remained hiding in the "bushes" to watch the cannabis fields of his family. He took us to the YS Falls not far from the village. I paid him so that he would take us there, rather than taking a taxi, he was very nice but very in love with his Ganga! He also brought us to a nearby cliff where the locals swung at the end of a rope to jump into the water. It was really "weird" because we were the only white persons, me and Sam ... We felt really white in the middle of all these Jamaican people.

Montego Bay

Then we had to leave our cottage and our friends to get to our final destination: Montego Bay.
It was our friend Bush who brought us there. Oh lala the journey was painful for me. I have motion sickness in general but rarely in a car when i'm in front. But The road was so narrow and very very winding. I could not wait to get there.

When we finally arrived, I had difficulty finding the desk that was, in the end, the owner's apartment. He showed us the room which was actually a small, furnished apartment. We settled down and our friend Bush left.

We had to go to the store to buy food for our meals. I wanted to go out before it was dark outside, we were in a rough district of the city. Oh lala we felt very white on the streets of Montego Bay. On our return, unable to go out in the evening (young woman alone with a child), we watched television. Here too we were disoriented! The commercial advertisements made us laugh by their difference and the soaps too. We had a nice evening laughing in front of the TV.

The next day we headed for the beach in the tourist area. We sunbathed, Sam made friends again and I was floating in the ocean like on a cloud. The beautiful life, you know!

Finally like any good thing comes to an end, we had to leave the next day. It was our friend Bush who took us back to the airport.

We came back with memories full our heads for the years to come! I am happy to have been able to bring this experience to my son!