Jamaica Tours, Guides and Vacations

I made it to the 2008 Smile Jamaica | Africa Unite Concert in Oracabessa at James Bond Beach on February 23rd and it was a great show for me in many ways. I met some super cool people and made it all the way backstage with the artists. I shook hands and held a short conversation with some of the Marley brothers. I made some new friends and learned a lot about Jamaica and her royal family as well as myself in the process. The concert was big and a drain on me in more ways than one. I have not written much about my experience but I’m finally putting some reviews together now.

I have over 1200 photographs from Reggae Months biggest concert event from backstage before and during the show to front and center of the VIP area and even some shots from underneath the stage I have lots of pictures of 2008 Smile Jamaica to load to the photo gallery and some great video as well but the force has been against me. My website server was hacked and another one of my sites has been causing us troubles. You may have noticed some considerable downtime for us recently and I have been working hard on that. I’m uploading video and pictures now and I will update some new articles and links later this week but here are some pictures to give you an idea of how it went.

I got to the event very early in the day and was able to watch the setup crew from three different production companies at work as they got ready for what they all said was one of the largest concerts of the year. It took them 3 days with over 60 guys running around to setup for a show that was supposed to last about 12 hours but ended up running much longer. Things were a bit slow and in between set changes made the night drag on but the show was worth the effort.

I walked right into the park with my camera on my neck and past all sorts of security and staff. I had been at the same facility two weeks earlier and did basically the same thing that I did for the Bicycle Bash and walked around taking pictures all day long. I met up with the Musical Director and Drummer for John Legend and we hit it off quick. My new friend Swiss Chris arrived early and we hung out for quite some time while he and the band went through setup and sound check. Chris asked me to video him during his performance that evening and I jumped at the chance to hang out on stage with permission. I got some great shots of Swiss Chris on drums and also Sharif Simmons on guitar. Someone told me Sharif was one of the youngest Marley brothers and it took me some time to figure out that was not true. I spent some time with both and had a great day on stage learning a lot about the music business in the process. It really was cool to just sit and watch as things went on. Chris is an amazing drummer and watching him do his thing was incredible. I have a new found respect for musicians and the talent it take to put on a major show. Chris and John are Grammy winning artists and you can see they earned their place in the industry through hard work and real talent.

Swiss Chris on pre show sound check for Smile Jamaica 2008

Sharif Simmons on guitar at Smile Jamaica for John Legend

On stage with John Legend band at sound check

I hung out with Chris, Sharif and some others backstage until the crew came on stage to setup for the Marley family. There were guys tuning the drums, guitars and making adjustments to the mic stands. I sat on stage and took photos and no one ever said anything. I was enjoying the opportunity to watch a show take place from the other side of the chain link fence out front of the stage and it was all very exciting. I think things got a little to exciting for me as Stephen, Damian and Julian all appeared on stage an began to rehearse just 30 feet before me on the very same stage. It was one of the coolest moments in my life to watch the three of them walk out on stage as they casually puffed on big fat spliffs and sipped Guiness beers and begin singing some of their fathers music that has become so familiar to me.

The Marley brothers mean a lot to me and I did not handle this situation well at all. I will leave that up to another article soon come. Suffice it to say that I know of the 100 people the Marley brothers may have met on this day I know I am one of the few they will remember meeting

Marley sound crew prepares for Smile Jamaica 2008

The Marley Brothers on stage pre show at Smile Jamaica 2008

Once the Marley brothers were finished with their sound check I disappeared under the stage with some of the production guys where I tried to live blog some photos using their wifi connection but my sites were down and I was happy enough to get them back up as I went on with the show. I stayed under the stage for much of the beginning of the concert and hung out with my new rasta friends as we discussed music, politrix and life in general. I hung out with them for quite some time until some of the larger acts of the evening started to hit the stage in preparation for Ziggy and the rest of the Marley clan.

The shows theme is of course Smile Jamaica Africa Unite so they had to have some African artists on stage as well and they did. African poet and philosopher K’naan put on a great show and is a very talented young artist. He is from Mogadishu Somalia and you can hear in his lyrics that he has seen some horrible things. I met with him backstage after his performance with the Marley clan later that evening and we had a great conversation about the effects of media on youth. I have noticed a very disturbing effect on Jamaican youth from the movies and music they pickup from America and it gives them a heavily distorted view of what goes on “a farrin”. I won’t get into some of the stereotypes that exist here about and our sexual preferences and perversions. Suffice it to say when a 5 year old asks you if you want to rape him as he runs away from you it knocks you for a loop.

K’naan at Smile Jamaica 2008

Javaughn on Ghetto Youths Label

The last time I saw Bunny Wailer was 2003 in Fort Lauderdale Florida and I swore he was dead and propped up on stage for a show that was more sad then anything. I went because I felt I had too and I regretted it. It was not a good show. When they said Bunny was playing for Smile Jamaica I was hopeful he would not be dead again. Was I surprised to see as this old man hoped and scooted around the stage and gave one of the best performances of the show. He was even nice and respectful of Bob although he did make mention of some of their differences and sounded like he took a sarcastic jab or two at Bob and the Marley family during his speeches in between songs. Bunny has a real funky jerk chicken kinda dance he does and he seemed to put all he had into the show and the crowd appreciated it. I think Bunny was a highlight of the early evening performances and far better than some of the big name acts to follow.

Bunny Wailer on stage at Smile Jamaica 2008

I made it backstage after Bunny was on to meet up with my buddy Swiss Chris before he went on stage with John Legend. We walked on stage as the stage crew was moving around set pieces and the crowd was being kept calm by Mutabaraka from Irie FM. There is a lot of commotion and action on a stage during a show and even under the best conditions things are hectic. I watched these guys for much of the day and I can say that all of them were complete professionals but having never worked together on such a diverse setup caused them some long delays and members of the crowd were getting tired of it after long. I’ve been backstage at a number of concerts and I have met and worked with a lot of musicians and artists but standing on stage and watching John Legend perform at Smile Jamaica 2008 was awesome. The energy and feedback from the crowd was amazing. Sadly the whole thing goes by rather quick and the amount of preparation before the seems a bit much now that I see how quick the performance was but these guys are devoted to putting on the best show they can and I was glad to be able to watch them do so.

Setting up for John Legend at Smile Jamaica 2008

John Legend performs at Smile Jamaica 2008

The Crowd viewed from the stage at Smile Jamaica 2008

After John was finished I went backstage to hang with Chris and the other artists and VIP guests. This was the artist area and there are supposed to be no cameras allowed. I did notice that really hot chicks were allowed to ask guys like Sean Paul for a picture but most everyone else had to stash their cameras per orders of the security staff. I left mine in the bag and hung out with lots of well dressed and important looking people. I can say that Sean is a lot shorter than I thought but who gives a crap when you’re covered in hotties like he was. He won’t smoke a spliff in public but I know for a fact he smokes with cool people

The artist area was cool but I’m not really a celebrity chaser and watching everyone get silly over these guys got old fast. I decided to get back out front so I could score a decent spot in the VIP area before the big show started. I was able to get pretty close to the stage actually because I came in from under the stage unlike everyone else who came in from the sides. I was probably a bit to close for some of the better shots of the entire stage but I was in a great location for up close pics of the artists and I spent much of the rest of the evening in pretty much the same spot for the main show.

This was a Marley show as far as I was concerned and none of the acts to follow them mattered to me. I left the show as soon as the Marley Brothers left stage and went back to my van were I crashed until about 10AM when I got up and drove home. I’m writing up another article about the Marley bothers and my experiences at the show with each of them. It was very strange meeting them and a true pleasure in watching them perform together. In my last post I wondered how they would handle a commercial event like this with their father and I was very impressed by they way everything was handled. I watched as they performed songs made famous by their father and it was obvious they were having fun and truly enjoying the experience. It must be very difficult to live in the shadows of such a great man and I feel almost proud of the way they conduct themselves in his legacy.

Bob Marley lives on in his sons and it appears to me that each of them has taken a part of their father and made it theirs. Ziggy is the eldest son and most resembles his fathers kindness in person and in music. Ziggys music is uplifting and full of the life inspiring spirit of some of Bobs biggest hits. He believes everything will be alright with one good spliff and so should we all. Julian shares some of this but it appears less defined in him. Ziggy

Ziggy Marley performs at Smile Jamaica 2008

Kymani Marley at Smile Jamaica 2008

Julian Marley at Smile Jamaica 2008

Stephen Marley is the 2007 Grammy Award Winner for Best Reggae Album for his release “Mind Control” and is one of the favored sons in Jamaica for certain. The crowd was on fire when Stephen hit the stage and the energy in the place was invigorating. It was 4M and I had been on my feet since 9AM and I was a dancing fool for much of his entire set. Stephen has quite a bit of Bobs hard side to him and is known as ragga muffin to many in Jamaica for being one of the toughest of the Melody Makers but his history as a child carries on with him and he has a sweeter side in some of his songs you won’t hear on younger brother Damians music.

Stephen Marley performs at Smile Jamaica 2008

If any one of the brothers picked up more of their fathers militant side it has got to be Damian. He’s the real ragga muffin in this clan and his hard hitting lyrics and machine gun toasting are crowd favorites here in Jamaica. His “Welcome to Jamrock” is an anthem for much of the Ghetto Youth in Jamaica today and Jr Gong is by far the more popular of all the Marley brothers for most Jamaicans. When he hits the stage the crowd goes crazy and when he goes of in a rant at 100 miles per lyrical mile he brings the entire place to their feet. It was a high energy show as soon as Damian hit the stage and stayed like that throughout his performance.

I have more picture and video from the show that I am uploading now. I’ll add links to those soon.

Damian Marley on stage at Smile Jamaica 2008

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.

There is a yellow boa in the mango tree outside and the locals are having a fit. Jamaicans DO NOT like snakes and this one was almost dead if I had not told them they could be fined up to $100,000 jamaican dollars for killing it. They want it out of the mango tree and I sent an email to SOS Wildlife Jamaica and they called me back to say they had no one in Negril that could come and catch the snake but they might have a person here on Wednesday. If they do then they will send him over and he will assist us in relocating the snake to a safer place.

The Jamaican Yello Boa is endemic to Jamaica and a Protected Species. The yellow boa in the tree outside looks to be about 6 feet long and 4 inches in diameter. The snake guy I spoke with said it was probably a female and she had eaten some rats in the tree and was sunning to digest them. This guy may make a trip all the way from Mobay to make sure the snake is unharmed and he said its vital we save all the females we can.

Anyone live in Negril want to climb this tree and catch a 6 foot snake?

So I tried to make it to the Jamaica Fat Tyre Festival in time to catch at east one days ride but things simply did not work out. On the way from Negril to Ochi I was forced to make a stop and repair the front brakes on the Vannette. I have been having some trouble finding the parts for it and we had to take advantage of the opportunity to get the repairs done before we continued on any further long distance trips. The brakes were in need of repair and so we took a half day break in Mobay at the auto mechanics. This blew out the rest of my travel plans and we ended up arriving in Ocho Rios to late in the day for any riding with the crew in Robins Bay. We decided instead to spend the day at Cranbrook Flower Forest which was absolutely awesome but probably not quite as much fun as mountain biking for dad at least. We did however make it over to Oracabessa in St Mary and spent the day at James Bond Beach for the 1st Annual Jamaica Bicycle Bash put on by SMORBA, the Saint Mary Off Road Bicycle Association. SMORBA is a not for profit organization affiliated to IMBA that is actively engaged in building and maintaining bicycling opportunities for local residents of Jamaica’s famed North Coast.

SMORBA is supported by Island Sports , a non profit organization sponsored by Island Outpost which manages the James Bond Beach complex along with a number of large properties on the island, and their goal is to promote their Bicycling Works program to the benefit of area youth. The Jamaica Fat Tyre Festival has been held in Negril over the past 8+ years and was primarily an off-road event limited to participation of 3 to 5 Jamaicans and a larger number of international competitors. This years goal was to open the event up for more community participation and the number of races days was paired down in favor of cycling activities for locals such as the ramp for kids to jump on, the big dirt jumps pictured below we’re reserved for professional dirt jumpers who put on a show and the highlight of the day had to be the Rambolympics.

The Rambolympics were staged to show the ingenious usage of bicycles in Jamaican society. A bicycle can be much more than a form of recreation in an impoverished nation like Jamaica and in many cases it can be the sole form of transportation for a person and even an entire family. Watching Jamaicans ride their bicycle to work in the morning one can never expect what to see being carried away in a basket or dangling from the handlebars in a grocers bag as the move about their day. The Rambolympics were broken down into three events, the most popular event was a skill test to see how a rider dealt with carrying odd objects that you may find a Jamaican carrying on their bike each day. The ride was three laps around the oval track with the rider being required to pick up a large cumbersome item on each lap. The first lap a rider had to carry and empty Red Stripe case around the field and proceed to the empty gas cylinder so common in kitchens around Jamaica. The Red Stripe Case and the empty gas can seemed difficult enough for most riders but it was the final piece that gook most of them out. The number of Jamaicans seen walking around with a weed whacker can only be surpassed by the number of Jamaicans you see walking around with a machete. Carrying one on a bicycle in the streets of Jamaica is a whole different trick and riding with a weedwhacker, an empty gas gan and a case of Red Stripe makes for some damn good fun for everyone. This was without doubt the most fun and most popular event with everyone enjoying watching the locals spank the international professionals in every event except of course the pro dirt jumping.

Jamaicans are very resourceful people and they seemed to be more adept at carrying odd loads on their bicycles when compared to their “farrin” competitors. The “white boy” riders from America and Canada were not prepared for the sweltering heat and excitement of the days events and you can see it in their faces. The Jamaican riders are more at home in the tremendous heat and better able to deal with the physical activities of the Rambo race. I predicted a Jamaican youth would win and I was right. The young man being covered with flour below was the winner of not only the most favored event but he also won the most challenging event when he took the “5 Mile Rambo Race around Oracabessa” which is a three lap loop through the city center ending back at James Bond Beach. IN Jamaica it is a tradition to cover a person in flour in their birthday. This was a pretty hot day and it was obvious the sun was taking its toll on the vacationers who had already ridden for 2 or 3 days each.

There was a lot of bike riding going on throughout the day and some of the most action was at the dirt jumps with professional riders from around the world showing off their talents to the local youth. Of course the local kids were just waiting for the pro riders to crash on some of the big air jumps they pulled but everyone had a good time and the kids were super stoked to see these pros do their thing. Professional Riders Cam McCaul and Kyle Ebbet did some superman style dirt jumps and the residents of Oracabessa loved it.

The Rambolympics and the Rambo Race around Oracabessa were big fun for the older riders but I think many of the youth actually had more fun riding bikes on the ramp and participating in the bunny hop contest. Jamaicans are very competitive people and each of them was looking to win the Red Bull bunny hop challenge. The goal was to bunny hop your bike over the bamboo rail set on top of stacked cases of Red Bull. I think they got up to 5 cases before everyone started missing them.

SMORBA is working to teach local youth on how to own and operate their own mountain bike guide services and JamaicaMAX.com is going to help. If you want to do some mountain bike riding in Jamaica or take a Jamaica mountain bike tour then contact us so we can arrange a mountain biking trip in Jamaica for you and your group for a small donation to SMORBA. What they actually need is some equipment such as used mountain bikes and cycling gear to outfit local youth and begin their training. If you donate a Jamaican youth a quality mountain bike then JamaicaMAX will deduct 50% of the value of the equipment from your tour costs. For more information about SMORBA and what they do visit their website at http://www.smorba.com or look for our upcoming article featuring more details on their program.