Jamaica MAX is a vacations blog with travel tour adventures of an American family moving to Jamaica to open a vacations planning and tour guide service. Explore this Caribbean travel destination and tour the “Real Jamaica” for your next vacation.
I read this article below about guns in Jamaica after a weekend where I came to see just how deep the love for guns and violence goes. I have noticed for quite some time the morbid fascination with guns and violence amongst many of the men and young boys here in Jamaica and its correlation to the music they listen to. Jamaican youth are consumed with violence and guns of any fashion and the music they listen to is loaded with the most violent lyrics. I’ve met many children in this country and many of them are good kids but they all have this weird love of guns, murder and death thats very unhealthy.
Most Jamaican youth greet each other or celebrate bravado with gun shot hand motions and verbal blasts such as “Pop, pop, pop” or “Blast him” and almost every musician in country promotes it at every music festival and concert on the island. I was shocked to see the Marley brothers so fast to cut loose some pops of their own. I don’t believe we should be glorifying guns or death and I especially think those of us in influential positions should lead by example. I think the Marley brothers owe it to Jamaica to point out the horrible reality of guns and violence and the pain and anguish it leads to.
The Jamaican gun man is a cultural icon both feared and celebrated by locals. Many “dons” or local crime bosses began as gunmen for hire and recent murders attest to the fact that Jamaicans never forget your past. Revenge murders and retribution take up a larger percentage of Jamaican crime statistics than most know about. Just two weeks back a local don was murdered in as hail of gunfire and the rumors are it was revenge for a past murder he committed as a youth. Jamaicans don’t seem to forget and I can attest to the fact they don’t let people get away with murder here. I think it’s a biblical to be honest. Eye for an eye is the rule of the streets in Jamaica so be careful what you do unto others or it shall be done unto you in return.
I had an experience with some younger kids here in Jamaica. One of them is 3 and he pretty much says or does what he hears his older brothers say. At 3 he knows more about guns, violence and murder than I did when I was 15. I asked him what he did in school one afternoon and his answer was “play gun games on Xbox” and I asked him why and he said “to kill de man dem” and I asked how he killed them and he said “with my AK dummy” and I asked him why he killed people and his answer was “cuz every man scare da gun man”.
The UN and Jamaica could try their best and they can never stop the guns from reaching those who really want them. if Jamaica is to come out of this violent trend then they must start by making the gun man a less glorious figure and point out the reality of the situation. The gun man is no friend and no one to be admired. Guns and violence are tools of the oppressors and its time for Jamaica to stand up against this oppression.
THE United Nations wants the Jamaican government to institute strict gun control regulations as a means of stemming the heavy inflow of guns and ammunition into the island.
In a joint press release issued by UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)for the Global Week of Action against Gun Violence, the UN urged all stakeholders to increase their efforts to tackle the arms flow, and embark on a social intervention drive in order to curb the high rate of armed violence that has taken over the island.
Ok, this is actually old news. I went to the Miss High Times 2008 contest on Negril Beach about two weeks back and I swore I posted the pictures the next day but after looking for them on the site it appears that blog post was lost somewhere in the deep dark internet. I can’t find it so I’m going to repost the pictures her with links to our Miss High Times photo gallery for you.
The contest was fun and it seems everyone enjoyed themselves. There were about a half dozen guys there with the High Times Staff on the official ganja tour of Negril that I met with and they all claimed to be having the times of their lives. Everyone was burning big fat spliffs and laughing it up at the bar for awhile after they crowned the 2008 winner and they all seemed to be having a great time. I did not hang out for much beyond meeting last years winner and conversing with her about how being the first winner was. They went to a ganja mountain and saw some small fields in production but it was a bit of a disappointment to some. I think some still have the idea that ganja grows in huge tall trees in large plantations here in Jamaica and many tourists do not even realize ganja is in fact illegal although tolerated to the point of it being decriminalized to a certain extent.
You can feel safe here in Negril with a small quantity in your pocket and know you wont be getting into any serious trouble if you get stopped with it. We have seen cops here in Jamaica ask tourists to put spliffs out who were caught blatantly smoking in public and I have also seen them stand with a group of rastas who were puffing like kings at a reggae show and never say a word to them. I was not even surprised that the event was held in the open at a bar on the beach and everyone was burning lovely with no cops or anyone around. You’re looking at a fine mos often and you might even be able to pay that directly to your arresting police officer and avoid a trip to the jail if don’t use the wrong words like bribe or payoff. Simply suggest you won’t be here long enough to deal with this thought he courts and if you could settle it beforehand you would be willing to do so. Let the officer take it from there and you may be asked for a small cash donation to the local police department. $20 or less will often do the trick but thats all based on how you handle yourself and you’re attitude towards the police who stop you. Do not be arrogant, do not act scared. Be sure and confident that you’re ok and you will be.
They did not advertise the Miss High Times event locally that I am aware of and I never saw any signs or notice anywhere. I found out about it online but much of the contest coincided with the Smile Jamaica concert so I missed most of the events including the talent show and swimsuit competition. I did get the chance to tell a buddy from the States about the show. My friend was here taking care of business for a few days and I told him High Times would be at For Real Beach for the Miss High Times contest. I told him the luck I have had here in Jamaica with people assuming I am a part of the event staff when I show up places with my camera and he went to the bar one night. He asked where so and so from High Times was and the bartender took him straight in. He hooked up with the crew and by the end of it all had himself a spot as a judge in the contests. He said it appeared to him that High Times was run by a handful of stoners who have been there for quite some time and its not as cool a job as it may seem. They do travel quite a lot and smoke the good buds but its still a job and they work pretty hard at it. Who wants to work hard even for High Times? Not me I prefer to work smart and for myself!
The Circle B Farm was my first choice for accommodation on our first night in the Ochi area because they were one of the few places we spoke with that still offered camping when we called them. Sadly that all changed when we arrived on site and were informed that the owner no longer offered camping because the bathroom and shower facilities outdoors were non functioning and all they had to offer us was a room for rent. The room was clean and simple and only cost $1500 for a nights stay so we took it and were glad we did. I liked the place so much we spent a second night there and enjoyed the place for another beautiful morning.
Circle B Farm is a hostel and farm operating on 140 acres of surreal beauty and lush tropical landscaping. The farm is predominately a banana farm with many other fruit trees on site such as the variety of mango and even a Giant Lemon which I have never seen or heard of before. The farm is busy but quiet for most of the day and if you stay at the rooms up front you may never know what lays in the property around you if you don’t take a walk. There are cows, goats, pigs, dogs and a donkey on site but the domestic animals are less important than the natural flora and fauna found surrounding the place. The farm has a small man made river which runs from the hillsides along the southern border and actually circles the entire facility. This running water and all the sweet smelling fruit trees keeps the area covered in butterflies, birds and insects of all sorts. The bats swirl around at night feeding on the flying insects trapped in the beams of light around the buildings at night for a pretty cool night show.
The stream runs in front of the hostel rooms for rent and around almost every building on site you can sit and peacefully enjoy the sounds of rushing water all day long from just about anywhere on the property. The running water and numerous fruit trees means that early mornings at Circle B are filled with the sounds of a dozen songbirds as they sing praise to the new day before us. One both mornings we were there it was true pleasure to stroll through the banana and pineapple fields and listen to the kingfisher and mockingbirds try to out sing each other. I’m going to need a much better camera in order to catch photos of many of the birds of Jamaica as I simply cannot get close enough to most of them for a decent shot but trust me when I tell you the air was thick with the sounds of birds and nature and it was beautiful.
Circle B is a great location to begin a number of eco tours of the area and central to the many attractions of the North Coast and Ocho Rios area. You can make it to Dunns River, White River Valley, the Bob Marley Mausoleum and much more in an hour or so from this place and its a great place for anyone interested in a youth hostel or camping vacation on the North Coast of Jamaica. For those budget minded travelers interested in tours of the North Coast and Ocho Rios but not wanting to spend more for a place to sleep then you will on the days activities then consider Circle B as a place to stay in your Jamaica travel planning.
E-mail them at: info@circlebfarm.com
or call them at: 1-876-913-4511
You can write to them at: Priory P.A., St-Ann, Jamaica W.I.
Make sure to tell them Alfred @ JamaicaMax sends his love and maybe you’ll get a special tour.
I bought this travel guide for our planned move to Jamaica because it was the most up to date book on Jamaica travel that Amazon offered and I had a bad experience on my first trip trip to Jamaica by carrying an outdated guide. On my first trip to the island many of the locations in the guide had closed or changed hands and things were not what they were supposed to have been. I was very disappointed and made the decision my next handguide on Jamaica vacations was going to be the best one available. I think I made a great choice with The Rough Guide to Jamaica 4 by Rough Guide Travel Guides. It's been an incredibly valuable tool in my adventures and I think it will do much to help you with yours.
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