Jamaica Tours, Guides and Vacations

Christopher “Dudus” Coke has finally been arrested outside Kingston and all of Jamaica can rest at ease now that America has gotten their man. I have remained rather silent about the whole affair because of how volatile the subject is but I felt it was time to make some remarks. I have no doubt that Mr Coke is a bad man and drug dealer who deserves to be arrested but my only question is why does Jamaica have to hand over one of their citizens to the United States at this time.

The common rationale is that this drug kingpin has committed crimes in America but I have to ask how many other drug kingpins are out there and the  timing of the US actions. If you look at statistics it seems that Jamaica has become rather lax in enforcement of drug laws with drug seizures in the last year a small percentage of the amounts seized in previous years. Actually it seems the statistics show that Jamaica has been lax on drug enforcement ever since California legalized ganja and one must question why the United States government has chosen this drug kingpin to be arrested now when we know of so many drug kingpins in the United States, Mexico and even Canada.

A total of 76 Jamaicans died trying to apprehend this man and he is not even charged with a capital crime. The Cali cartel in Mexico is directly responsible for the death of 100′s of Americans but they have never chosen to go after those guys. As a matter of fact US police officers in Mexico border states are receiving death threats in America by Mexican drug lords but no one seems to care about that. We don’t see any US DEA agents knocking down the capital city like they did in Kingston.

The Jamaican police shot and killed those 76 Jamaican men and women using guns given to them by the United States. Do the American need to send some more guns  to Mexico so they can capture the kingpins there or should we not worry about our southernmost neighbor with the longest border touching American soil? Mexican drug dealers dig tunnels into America and funnel drugs and illegal aliens directly in the country and all Dudus has been accused of is paying other Jamaicans to suitcase drugs way back in the 90′s.

Apparently Dudus is a has been in the US drug trade and his influence in America is weak at best. If Dudus was in fact importing cocaine into America it is a crime but the question is where does the cocaine come from? its not grown in Jamaica. There are no cocoa plants or drug labs in Jamaica. It’s nothing more than a small middle man in the billion dollar drug trade. If we want to stop cocaine from entering America maybe we need to invade South America where they actually make the cocaine.

Beyond the 76 persons killed I can assure you that a number of my friends have canceled travel plans to Jamaica this year because of the news of violence and unrest in the capital. How much do you think this has cost Jamaica in tourism dollars? Is 76,000 a reasonable number or do you think it approaches 76 million instead? how much is one drug kingpin worth and at what cost do we say thats enough? Would it be ok to have killed 100 men in search of a drug dealer? How about 100 million in lost revenues and bad press? Is that too small or too large a price to pay for one man?

Alleged drug kingpin arrested in Jamaica – CNN.com

Kingston, Jamaica (CNN) — Police in Jamaica issued a plea for calm after the arrest of alleged drug lord Christopher “Dudus” Coke outside Kingston.

The arrest occurred just outside the capital city on Tuesday afternoon. A failed attempt to arrest Coke last month resulted in four days of gun battles between security forces and his supporters that left 76 people dead, and authorities want to avoid a repeat of the violence.

Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley is without a doubt the most important man in Jamaican history and the single most powerful figure in driving tourism to Jamaica. Many may argue the importance of persons like Marcus Garvey, Norman Manley and Donald Sangster to name a few but no one has done more to announce Jamaica to the world than Bob Marley. More people travel to Jamaica because of the influence of Bob Marley than any combination of sun, beach and tropical weather and Bob Marley Tours are the some of our most popular tours in Jamaica.

Bob Marley is one of the most respected musicians to ever live and by far the most influential reggae artist to ever make music. Bob made Kingston and the ghettos of Trenchtown and Tivoli Gardens famous through his music and each year several hundred thousand tourists come to Jamaica to feel alright because of their love for Bob and his inspirational music. Bob Marley was a real revolutionary and deserving of the most high praise.

There are a number of Bob Marley tourist attractions in Jamaica with his home and museum in Kingston offering an extensive history of Bob and his musical legacy while his birthplace and final resting ground in St Ann Jamaica is the most popular place to visit and learn about Bob Marley the man.

My first trip to Jamaica was in February 2002 and I landed in Kingston for my very first day and the first place we went was the Bob Marley Museum and his former home followed by Tuff Gong Records which was certainly an emotional experience but nothing can compare to the raw power and emotion one feels standing on the hallowed grounds of Mt Zion where Bob lays facing East towards the rising sun. On my first trip there in 2002 I was shocked at how undeveloped and rough the museum was but still glad to have been able to meet with numerous family members and friends who had intimate stories of life with Bob. I fondly remember the conversations had with his cousin Fuzzy and hours spent with locals when we spent the night across the street with some of the most kind and most poor people I had ever met. Nine Mile is apoor community and a humbing experience outside the walls of the Marley estate.

On my most recent trip in March of 2010 I was impressed with how refined and developed the Bob Marley Mausoleum had become and with just how beautiful the grounds and new exhibits are. I was also impressed with the sheer number of guests there to express their love for the King of Reggae and it was very cool to spend time meeting fans from all over the world. It can be difficult to fathom his influence until you see people from 10 or more countries standing together smoking spliffs, taking pictures and sharing a love for Bob Marley.

Bob Marley truly was an inspiration to generations of kind hearted herb friendly people and bus loads of people enjoy Bob Marley tours to Nine Mile Jamaica each and every day. This last trip was with new friends from California Claudia and Jason who wanted to visit the grave and birthplace of the regggae legend and it was by far the most enjoyable of all my trips there. The mausoleum is much more like the Bob Marley Museum nowadays and the number of personalized artifacts, intimate photos and awards provide fans with an inside view to the life of a legend.

Nine Mile is located deep within the interior of Jamaica and roughly a 2 hour drive from Ocho Rios or about 3.5 hours from Montego Bay but well worth the trip for any real Bob Marley fan. Plan on spending the day traveling rural Jamaica and meeting real Jamaicans like Bobs cousin Fuzzy who has fond memories of growing up and going to school with Bob Marley and learn more about the musical legend. We’ll listen to Bob Marley music, smoke a Bob Marley joint and light a candle on his grave as we pay tribute to the Legend of Reggae Music.

For true fans of his music a tour to Nine Mile is a must do Bob Marley experience and a wonderful way to spend a day touring Jamaica.

Appleton Estate Rum Factory is the oldest rum factory in operation since 1749 and one of the coolest tours in Jamaica. The Appleton Rum Factory Tour takes you through the inner workings of this centuries old factory for a journey back in time when life was simple and more natural. Many of the old factory machines and processes are still in use today and make for a wonderful and informative heritage tour where you will learn the history of rum in the Caribbean and the process Appleton uses to manufacture a world class rum famous around the world as one of the finest.

This historic tour of Jamaica offers a glimpse back into time to the beginning of a nation and covers much of the islands history from the very first use of the Appleton estate in the early 1600′s through the entire history of slavery and settlement to the modern times of today where they are now the largest manufacturer of premium rum. Your Jamaican tour guide will detail the history of the Appleton Factory and also the ancient process for making Appleton Rum as you walk around the lush scenic property tucked away in the Nassau Valley and surrounded by the massive sugar cane farms which provide the raw materials necessary to produce rum.

The factory is located near the Black River Safari which feeds the fast growing cane fields used not only for the extracted sugar but also for fueling the entire factory from the giant cookers and steam engines down to every light and power receptacle on the property. Appleton Estate is a self sustaining off the grid enterprise producing over 1,000,000 gallons of rum each year using no fossil fuels and is an excellent example of sustainable development in Jamaica.

Appleton Estate Rum Factory is often the best part of a full day tour to the area which might include zip line rides and nature hikes at the majestic YS Falls with some of the most beautiful waterfalls or the Black River Safari for some Jamaican wildlife and a ride on the river boats. The tour concludes with a stop by the Appleton Estate bar and gift shop where you can buy some rum to take home with you and also drink as much of the many fine rum samples they offer as you can manage. Here is the tricky part as if you plan things just right you can really cap off a great day with some fine spirits and a few good friends.

I have written about the hassle it was to get my Jamaican drivers license and for those of you who have actually gone on tour with me you have been told my opinions on driving a car in Jamaica but I thought I would put together some information for those interested in driving in Jamaica who are not familiar with what it is like to drive a car on the left side in such a dangerous country.

I get lots of questions about renting a car in Jamaica and my advice on driving yourself around on vacation and my first reaction is almost always to warn persons against doing so unless they have already driven on the left side and they have already been to Jamaica before. if you are considering renting a car on your first visit to Jamaica I will strongly advise you to reconsider because that is certainly a more dangerous and risky adventure. Trying to learn and understand a culture and drive around in a foreign country all at the same time as trying to enjoy the surrounding scenery and sights is simply to much for any person or group to manage. It’s a recipe for disaster in a country with so many beautiful scenes to stop and see.

Driving around Jamaica requires a prior knowledge of Jamaican customs, an understanding of the language and some familiarity with how to interact with Jamaicans because there are hardly any road signs in Jamaica and the even the Jamaican road maps are often useless enough that you are going to have to ask directions and know that you have been given good ones at that. Finding someone who knows where you are going and is willing to direct you there without misdirecting you is hard enough but finding someone who can properly explain how to get there and for you to actually understand it is actually far more difficult and even impossible on many occasions. Most Jamaicans do not drive and sadly many of them do not travel much outside of their parish or local area. A large percentage of Jamaicans have never traveled at all and are totally unfamiliar with how to get to places off the main road that circles the island. You will often find it harder to receive anything more than a hand gesture as the direction to travel and a grunt like “likkle more dat way” from people in rural areas or when dealing with those Jamaicans who are unfamiliar with tourists.

Jamaican road conditions are horrible and many of the roads on the interior are the original roads laid down in the 60′s and 70′s and they have never been maintained or repaired and they are littered with potholes or just plain washed out and difficult if not impossible to navigate without destroying a car or flattening a tire. You can’t imagine how many horror stories I have heard about folks getting flat tires in the worst places or a car stuck in a heavily damaged road conditions or even sliding off the side of ravines and into the gully. I have actually witnessed a car accident in the mountains where a tourist drove a car over the side of a mountain road and right into the top of a house that luckily was empty but still destroyed by the incoming car. Those people lived but they will never try driving in the mountains of Jamaica ever again and rightfully so, they had no idea where they were and they were heading down a hill in rainy conditions like some kind of suicidal maniacs trying to make it back to the hotel before before dark. They ended up almost killing themselves and ruining a perfectly good vacation and there was no reason to do so.

I started out driving in Negril Jamaica with an international drivers license I got from AAA which is enough if you want to rent a car and drive around on your vacation but I had to get the drivers license when I bought my own van. I drive around Jamaica very safe and cautiously and I always have because I can see how dangerous the roads are and I have seen many bad accidents and even more bad Jamaican drivers and I just knew you have to be a defensive driver and you cannot trust any other drivers skills or abilities. There is a dirty little secret in Jamaica that no one will speak much about but that certainly has caused a large number of deaths and accidents. Jamaica has around a 70% illiteracy rate and driving cars is one of the best jobs an average person can get so a large number of Jamaican drivers cannot read and they did not take a drivers tests.

They bought their drivers license from a crooked official for about $200US and next they rent a car from a local taxi cab service who rents a car to anyone with a valid license for about $40 US per day for vans and nicer cars to as low as $25 for certain route taxis. So for about $250 a Jamaican can buy a license and rent a car one and be on the road without ever passing a test. These guys are the hustlers you see speeding around Jamaican roads trying to make money to cover the expense of the car and maybe put some cash in their pockets and food in their families belly. You can’t blame a man for trying to take care of himself when you see the pressure these guys are under to make the ends meet but the idea they are risking not only their own lives but everyone else on the road is the scary part.

I have been in two car accidents in Jamaica. I can say that both of them were not my fault but I did let my guard down and forgot where I was at the time and both situations were made much worse because of me. I wrote about the first accident and road rage incident back when it happened but only those of you have met me know that I was in a very bad car accident in Jamaica that nearly cost me my life. I was driving my Nissan Vannette on a dark road in Gutters heading up Spur Tree Hill on my way to a reggae concert with my friend Ras Slick when I stopped to turn. There were 4 adults in the van and we were having a conversation when someone barked out stop because I was about to miss the turn. I came to a full and complete stop in my lane but apparently I was too close to the line and a driver coming down the hill who swerved around a car making a turn on the same road smashed into the drivers side corner of my van where I was stuck behind the wheel after the van came to a stop down the side of the road. It all happened so fast that I could not react but it happened so slow I can play it back in my head like it was in slow motion.

I actually saw the other drivers face of shock as he hit me and I remember watching the Jamaican youth who was seated in the front with me as he was thrown out the window and onto the street when I looked away from the oncoming car. My first reaction was to look back at my wife and kids in the back seat to verify they were alright and I remember asking my wife if the kids were alive. All three had a nice big red spot on their foreheads where they slammed into the back of the seat behind me but everyone was doing well otherwise. I yelled out for everyone to get out of the van and this was the moment of greatest fear in my life. I realized that my I could not feel my legs and they were pinned by the crushed van and steering wheel which was firmly planted in my crotch. I was stuck in my bus and I could not move and that’s when my head started whirling thoughts of dying in a blazing fire as my kids sat listening to my screams.

Alfred Moya crashed his van in Jamaica and lived!!

It was the most horrifying thought I had ever had and I immediately yelled out for them to remove my children because all I felt was liquid pouring out from the motor and I thought it was fuel about to burst in flames. Thankfully the liquid was only hot water from the radiator that was scalding my legs and not gasoline. I blacked out for a minute or two but I awoke to a scene of beauty as a dozen or more Jamaicans had begun to rip my van to pieces as they attempted to extract me from the wreck. There were people all over and they were hurting themselves to free me. I was elated and in tears of joy at the sight of my fellow man risking his own harm and pain to save me from mine. Two guys were in the cab with me pulling up on the steering wheel and there was a woman rubbing my head telling me “It’s ok rasta we gonna help you”, “we gonna help you rasta man”. This went on for what seemed an eternity and these people were so protective of me that they actually assaulted my wife when she came back from removing my children because the people helping me did not know who she was but they wanted to save me from any harm.

They finally had to tie a rope around the front clip of my van and another rope to the back of my van and they actually pulled my van apart with two trucks before I was able to slip my very broken and distorted leg out of the car seat. My left leg was bad and I was forced to tie it to a piece of 2 x 4 lumber as a splint to keep it from flopping around. It was becoming more difficult to keep aware and guide the efforts to rescue me because of shock and no one was in control but me and I had to make sure they did not kill me on the way out. I was of little help physically and they had to lay me on a half sheet of plywood and carry me over to a waiting pickup truck which was the only ambulance available to take me down into Mandeville about 20 minutes away to the closest hospital.

Alfred Moya stands up for the first time in 90 days!!

I spent about 3 days in Mandeville before being transported by van to Cornwall Regional in Montego Bay because they were the only hospital that could provide the surgery I was supposed to need. I ended up spending almost 15 days in the Mobay hospital waiting on xrays and about 5 different doctors to check me before I got a visit from a Cuban doctor. I spoke to him in Spanish and told him of my Cuban grandparents and he confided in me that surgery was unnecessary and that all I really needed was to properly set a cast on my leg. It seems the lead Jamaican doctor caught wind of my situation and he was trying to get me to pay cash for a private specialist to fix me up. He refered me to an outside doctor who could take care of me sooner and this . I almost went for the deal before my Cuban doctor told me it was not truly necessary and that the surgeon wasn’t even sure he could do much more than than pin it together and that the break was such that a pin would not help much at all.

After being laid up in traction with weights pulling my leg straight for 45 days I was finally set in a full leg cast and released to my home where I sat up for another 5 or more months on total bedrest. All told I was stuck in a bed for over 6 months and it cost me $1,000′s in lost wages and property as well as the huge bill I have to the Jamaican government. Almost two years later and they still don’t have a final bill for me and at this point I may just have to payback Jamaica by some other means because they seem to have lost all record of ever even treating me.

I feel a huge debt of gratitude and dedication to Jamaica because of how quick Jamaicans were to help me and I have dedicated this website and the tour guide service that has grown from it to the people of this great nation. To this day I spend more money on this website and my adventures in Jamaica than I ever make back in money but nothing can compare to the wealth of love and friendship that this investment has offered as my dividends. Not only has Jamaica changed my life but this incident has become the single greatest reminder of how precious my life and the lives of my wife and children are too me and why it is important to savor every single moment of every single day. Live long and irie!!

Boothbay Harbor is home to Browns Wharf Inn which is a family owned oceanfront hotel, restaurant and marina listed on TripAdvisor.com as the #1 Rated Boothbay Harbor Maine Oceanfront Hotel. They offer 70 oceanview rooms with balconies that provide `excellent views of the sunsets and luxurious property. All rooms offer air conditioning, refrigerators, coffee maker, free WiFi and Flatscreen HDTV and you may not want to leave it’ so nice.

This historic and scenic location sits on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and has been serving delicious seafood for over 50 years as the premier Booth Harbor Restaurant. Enjoy fine dining and world class service with fresh local catch of the day or a leisure stroll along the wharf and relax in the comfortable ocean breeze. Take a tour of Boothbay Harbor via the old footbridge and a walk through time as you take a walking tour or available trolley service through the historic township.

Browns Wharf Inn is a great American vacation experience rich in culture and atmosphere. Check out there website at BrownsWharfInn.com for more details.