Talking Travel – Jamming In Jamaica

Foreign. Hello and welcome to Talking Travel with myself, Kay Holland of Women's Radio Station. This is your weekly show for travel tips, inspiration and answers to all your burning travel questions. Now on today's show, I'm so excited because I'm going to be sharing my experiences, my recent experiences of Jamaica with all you listeners. So we are off to the island of alright. It's known for its stunning beauty, its friendly people, vibrant culture and rich history. So you know what? There's no better way to describe the whole Jamaican experience other than, well, iri. That's what they say in Jamaica. You don't say you're good, you say you're irie. Everything's irie. So I'm calling Jamaica the irie isle. Oh. After this episode, you. You'll be reaching for your passport and booking your flight. It's such a dynamic destination that you could actually make hundreds of visits and always have a unique experience every single time. The island is, of course, the home of the legendary Bob Marley. He's probably reggae's most iconic and globally recognized face. And of course, if you go to Jamaica, you have to try the food. If you visit and you don't sample jerk chicken or pork or fish or any kind of meat or seafood is a crime. The technique involves smoking meat or seafood that's been seasoned with so many spices and herbs in a metal drum or barrel, and it's absolutely incredible. Other traditional Jamaican must. You've got to try the patty and then curried goats and of course, the national dish, aki and salt fish, which Jamaicans have for breakfast. But it's not just about the food. It's not just about the music, of course, it's about the beaches. Jamaica's beaches are probably among the world's best. You've got the world famous Doctor's Cave beach in Montego Bay to the equally popular Seven Mile beach in Negril. Really and truly, there is a beach for everyone. Now, I'm going to be sharing a little bit about my trip and the destinations I visit to and the people I met. But before we do that, I think we've got to kick off with a song. As we mentioned, Jamaica is the home of the one and only Bob Marley. We've got to play One Love. One love, One love. Let's get together and feel all right. You're the children crying. One love, Hear the children crying. One heart saying give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right. Let's get together and feel all right. Let them. I'll Pass all day Turn to remind One Love. There is one question I'd really love to ask. Is there. That was the legendary Bob Marley there with One Love. I certainly enjoyed that, so I hope you guys did too. And if you are headed to Jamaica, you can pay a pilgrimage to Bob at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston. It's situated on the site of the musician's home, which he purchased in 1975. And it's where Marley recorded and lived until his death in 1981. And do what I did and be sure to take a few selfies with the statue of the famous singer in the courtyard. Don't forget everybody, if you've got any questions for talking travel and about Jamaica, why not tweeters at women's radio Stn? So back to my trip. I touched down in Montego Bay, or Mo Bay as the locals affectionately refer to Montego Bay. And I checked out the world famous Doctors Cave beach before heading east to Negril. Now Negril is famous for its world class sunsets and Rick's Cafe where you jump off the cliffs into the water. And I stayed. Most fabulous hotel. Actually, I was very fortunate to stay as a guest of Sandy Haven. It's a boutique property. That's simply stunning. But one of the things that really stood apart for me was the stuff. So here, here's a little chat I had with Sinclair, probably one of the famous, most friendliest people in Negril. I'm joined now by Sinclair, who works at the fabulous Sandy Haven in Negril. Welcome Sinclair. Thanks for joining us. Thank you very much for having me. Good. And you've been here in at Sandy Haven, which is a fabulous adults only boutique hotel. I'm certainly enjoying my stay here. You've been working here for five years. For five years, yes. And it, it seems to be, I know it's a bit of a cliche, but a special, special place. Yes. What, what can you pinpoint or what do you attribute that to? What's the reason for the success of this hotel? Yeah, okay. The, the hotel is very nice. It's a very nice place. It's very classy. Very classy, very clean, spotless. Yeah. Yes. And all the staff here, they're fabulous. Yeah, Real, real. Along with the security. Along with the security. Real, real friendly, genuine Jamaican welcome. Very friendly, yes. And do you, I guess you see a lot of repeat guests, people coming? Yes, I have a lot of repeat guests. I've seen though you're so super busy. I've seen you, your eyes out the back of Your head patrolling and looking around the beach and. And is that a need for security or just for the privacy of the guests? Well, I'm in the. It's, it's, it's okay for the tourists. Just a little harassment with the guys on the beach. But I think it's quite friendly. They're all calling me friendly, but they want to sell you, like. I love it. They've been calling me Princess all day. Yes. And, yeah, so you have to be here because if you're not here, everybody will want to come over to sell the guests the jewelry and all the stuff that they are selling. And some of it's great. The fruit has been. I was walking. I went for a long walk along the beach and the fruit was incredible. Very nice. And I haven't found it too. Hassley say no. And they, and they're, they're very. There's no nastiness, no nothing. Yeah. So we've talked a little bit about the hotel and obviously. So you're. You're not from Negaro, but you're about 40 minutes away, is that right? 40 minutes drive. 40 minutes drive. So you drive in every day? Every day. And, and I, I do 12 hours on the job every day. Twelve hours, yes. That's, that's, that's hardcore. Yes. Wow. Oh, gosh. Exhausting. And you have two days off, one day off. I have three days off. I work. Oh, good. Because for those, those hours. Yeah, you need to. So Negril again, is absolutely incredible. It feels. I've only been to Mo Bay so far. I'm continuing my journey after Negril, but it feels very kind of a real slice of Jamaica. Lots of. Kind of bohemian. How would you describe Negril Tua to our listeners? To our listeners, Negro is very quiet and it's no violence. Yeah, it's a very nice place. You can walk during the day, you can walk during the night. It's okay. And, and we have, we have. So a lot of nice places you can go, like to clubs. Yeah. If you want to go shopping. Where would you go for shopping? You. Mostly downtown. Right? Mostly downtown. It's a seven mile long beach. Yes, the famous Seven Mile beach. Seven miles. Yeah. But up the top, mostly you find the big all inclusive hotels. Down this side you find the smaller ones and then you go shopping on this side. So almost each section of the beach has its own character then in a way, the all inclusives, the boutiques. Yes, yes. Okay. And most of the hotels, they have their own gift shops and they said A variety of stuffs. And what would be the one? If I'm going to go home with one souvenir from Negril, what would it be? What would you suggest then? If they got gift shops, is there anything that's, I guess, unique to Negril or even to Jamaica? Carry on. Something with, like, Jamaica. Like a T shirt with Jamaica. No problem. Oh, yeah, that's a famous. Then they will know that you were in Jamaica. Ah, And Jamaica. No problem. That's one of the. The lingo. Yeah. I've been trying to practice my patois, but so far I've only managed to get wagwan. Wagwan me soon come. And wagwan means what is going on? Ah, okay. What's going on? Can you use it as hello? Can I use it as, like, hello? Like Wagwan Sinclair? Yes. So, hello. What is going on? Yes. And the patois is just a shortening form of English. But it's hard to. But it's hard. A lot of times the tourists don't understand the pattern. I learned one word that I can't repeat on the radio. Which one? Oh, I'm gonna say anyway. Bumba clap. I shouldn't say that. I learned that one, too. So. Yeah, that's not one. In Jamaica, we call that bad word. And it is a bad word I learned everywhere. What. Are there any other phrases we should try and learn? So, Wagwan, where you come from? Where you come from? Where you from? And I heard. From where you come from. And I heard do your thing. Do your thing. Everything, Chris, Everything good. Matting later. Yes, I've been picking a little bit up. Yes, that's nice. So, coming. I won't keep you too long. But we mentioned then about the shopping, a bit of patois. What. What kind of. For the. If tourists are coming. If our listeners decide they're coming to Negril, what are the key things you think they should do? Sightseeing. Sightseeing or just relaxing on the beach? What are the kind of Negro big. The best experiences. They can relax on the beach. They can go out on the water under the water. Sports. Yeah. Because you can do snorkeling with the glass bottom boats. You can go on the island. There's a little island. You can go and eat lobster. You can do parasailing and Jamaican good food. Oh, yeah. We have rice and peas and chicken curry, goat oxtail fish, ackee salt fish. The patties. Yes. And the drinks, of course. And the drinks. Yes, The. It's the red Stripe and the rum Punch. And they're the famous real red stripe beer in the bottle. And we have the rum punch. Okay. Maybe if you drink two, three, you will get junk. It's strong. It's very strong. Yeah, it's very strong. Yes. Okay, fantastic. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today, Sinclair. Thank you so much for having me. And we'll be back. And listeners, come out to Negri, Come and stay at Sandy Haven and come and see the lovely Sinclair. Yes, yes, man. And I will. I would, I would recommend any guest to come to Sandy Haven. It's a wonderful, beautiful, fantastic luxury boutique. And everybody here is nice. I, I can second that. You're welcome. As warm as the weather. Best person. Yes, best person in all of Jamaica. There we go. We've just had a. What's your name, sir? Lawrence. Lawrence has just. Just vouched for that as well. Thank you, Lawrence. I agree. Thank you. Thank you, Sinclair. Thank you, Lawrence. That was the lovely Sinclair who you can find working at Sandy Haven resort in Negril. Now, Negril is a very relaxed, sleepy place. It's just where you kind of just chill out. It's got a very boho, hippie vibe, although it does come alive at night. But if you want to get active, you should head to Ochos Rios. That's about an hour and a 45 minute drive east of Montego Bay. And it's so much more than just a popular cruise ship. Port Ochi, as the locals call it, makes an excellent base for active travelers who want to partake in a myriad of adventures. I guess the most famous place to visit in Ochi is Dunn's River Falls. That's actually the number one attraction in the whole of Jamaica. And each day guides lead visitors up and back down the waterfall, which flows into the sea and adjoins a beach where you can just relax after. So definitely put Dunn's River Falls on top of your otchi bucket list. It's also got some great shopping. And you can venture further afar to Yaman Adventure park, you can go to Firefly, which is the former home of Noel Coward, the English author and playwright and actor. So, so many things to do in and around the region. That said, if you're staying at Jamaica Inn, and I was very fortunate to stay there, it's very hard to leave the resort. I tell you, it's. It's like stepping back in time. There's no televisions in the room. You wake up to the sound of the shore, the sea lapping the shore. Rum punch, complimentary rum punch on the beach every hour at. Then you might go to a cocktail making class. Then you might go to a reggae class. Your day can be filled. Then take a little sip, a little siesta before dinner. It's very hard to stay holed up there. So over now to Tina who works at the hotel. I'm joined now by Tina from Jamaica Inn. Welcome, Tina. Thank you very much. Thank you for joining us. And perhaps you can tell our listeners a little bit about Jamaica Inn and your involvement with the hotel. Okay, sure, I'll be happy to. Jamaica Inn is a very small, intimate boutique property. It's only 55 rooms on property and we've been around since 1950 actually and has been in the family, a family owned property since 1958. So we're pretty much a family here. From the staff members, we have staff who have been here from 60. 60 years and 60 years, wow. 60, 51, 40. Most of the team members have been here forever, but I've been here for over 11 and a half years and it's a great team. Happy to be a part of the Jamaican family and lovely place to work. It's a lovely place to work, definitely. And I've been speaking to some of your guests, a lot of them. One of the couples I've Met has returned 25 times. So obviously you have a lot of loyal regulars. We do. We do have a great repeat clientele. We have guests who have gotten married here 40, 50 years ago, came back to celebrate their anniversary. So they've been coming back for quite a while. And once you come here, you have to come back. So. And we've just had. You've just kindly given me a little tour of the property. What's your, your favorite places, maybe at Jamaica Innovation. Any standouts? It's really hard to say. The property, all rooms are very unique. They're very beautiful. All rooms have ocean view. But I would say my favorite so far is Cottage three. It's very, very unique. It has its own private access to the sea. Most of, well, all the cottages have their own private access, but that's the only one that has two private access to the sea and also a private tanning deck. So they're all amazing and all unique in their own ways. Beautiful views, fantastic. And I can see that there's so many activities to keep guests occupied, entertaining, entertained. From the. All the complimentary water sports and water activities you were mentioning. What was the game? Croquet lessons. I went this morning quite early to the, the yoga class. And then the ramanology. But away from the property, if guests do somehow manage to drag themselves away, and I'm sure many aren't able to leave. But what would be the essential things to see and do in Ochi or around the region? Oh, boy, there's so, so much to see and do. I believe we have the most excursions here in Oto Riz. There's bobsledding at Mystic Mountain, of course, the famous Duns River Falls. You do not come to Jamaica. Not. It's the number one attraction. Yes, it is. Of course, there's horseback riding, there's river tubing, and if you want to just go a little bit out of Oturias on your way probably to Port Antonio, you have the. The river rafting. So there's plenty to do in and out of altore. So coming back to that, with so much to do both at the property and outside, what would you say is the average length of stay or what would you recommend for listeners that are thinking of perhaps booking and coming? Well, it depends on where they're coming from. The clients from the United States, they'll tend to come and stay for, like, three or four days. Honeymooners will probably stay for seven days, of course. And like, for the European market, It's usually between 10 to 14 days. So it depends on where you're coming from. It's usually a longer. It takes a longer time to actually get here. It's probably two days traveling just to get here from the Europe. The European market. So they'll tend to stay for longer stays. Okay. And lastly, Tina, any Jamaican phrases? Obviously we know. Wagwan. Anything? A bit. Any others? We should kind of commit to memory while we're here. No problem, man. No problem, man. No problem. No problem or yeah, man. Yeah, man. That's very, very, very popular here. Wonderful. Thanks for your time, Tina. Thank you. My pleasure. And thank you for having me. Welcome to women's radio station, the voice of women worldwide. This is women's radio station. You're listening to Adriel Price with kitchen sink spirituality. It's Anna Kennedy talking all things autism. And my guest today is Carol. Welcome to future classical women awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on women's radio station. Women's radio station. We want to hear from you. I listen to women's radio station Women. The possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. 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Welcome back to Talking Travel with myself, Kay Holland on women's radio station. Today we're talking all about Jamaica and we just heard from Tina there at Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios, or Ochi, as the locals call it. And a fact for you about Ochi here, folks. Did you know that the 1962 James Bond movie, Dr. No, it was the first of the popular film series, so the very first Bond film and it was shot on location in Ochi. And you can go and find the site in the beach that featured in the famous film while you're there. But Tina told us a little bit about her property, Jamaica Inn. But I met a fabulous guy there called Willius. Now, Willius is a taxi driver and a tour operator. A tour guide for Otchi and the surrounding region. And he was so passionate about his homeland and about his region. So I thought, let's hear a little bit from him. Over to Willius. I'm joined now by Willius. Welcome, Willius. Welcome. Thank you. So you're born and raised in Ochi? Yes, in Ochreus, Jamaica. And Ochi is what we kind of the lingo for Oches. Ocho's Rios mean eight rivers. Eight rivers, yes. Spanish name for eight rivers. Spanish name for eight rivers for Ocho Rios is eight rivers traverse. And you're a taxi and tour guide, is that correct? In. In the region, in the. In the making for. I'm doing this for over 15 to 20 years. A veteran, very experienced, Very experienced in the business. I'm also the president for the Knoxville Taxi Association. Oh, wow. Transfer people to and from the airport all around Jamaica. Busy, busy man. Yeah, very busy. Very busy man. So for your. For your guests, Willius, what would you. What do you like to take them to see and do, or if they say to you, where should we go? What would be your suggestions? Okay. Well, my suggestion is that we have a lot of attractions in Ocho Rios, which consists of the Blue Hole, the Dunns river, the Little Dunns River, Cayoke Falls, aspect riding, the safari tour, and we also have the tubing, the rafting, which done on the White River River. So a great spot and place for people who want to get their kind of adventure kicks and adrenaline thrills. Lots of. Lots of activities. Yes, well, latter activities are not. We also have some very good restaurants, and in case they need food, they can get some good food and natural Jamaican food that they want. Fantastic. And why do everyone here seems to be so friendly and actually not just in Ochi, but Jamaica in general. What's the secret? Is it the weather? Is it the rum? What is it? Well, it's all that we all friendly and we put our guests first. Jamaica is number one for tourism, and we put our guests exactly first in everything and always try to take care of them. 150%. Tourism is our number one source of income in Jamaica. So you're. You're acknowledged that and you appreciate that. We appreciate it. And we welcome our guests at any time they want to come to Jamaica. We love our guests when they come here. And do you get used to seeing familiar faces? Do you often have guests that will come to you one year and then come back maybe the following year or a couple? Yes, I. I also have guests that were here two years ago, two weeks ago and they return and you know, I love that when they can return and said, look, look, you take me two years ago, you take me three years ago. Yeah, yeah, that's lovely. Kind of building relationships. It's like a family feeling. Fantastic. So if any of our listeners are listening to this and they want to come in to Ochi and they want to get in touch with you, how can they do that? They can get me an email@williusreadahoo.com or they can WhatsApp me and 185,757 and they can get in touch with me. I also have a company by the name of Wintours Jamaica that is well recognized. Fantastic. So lots of ways there. Well, thank you Willius and listeners. I recommend you to come to Ochi and when you do, give willies a shout. Thank you Willius and hopefully listeners, Willius has whetted your appetite to book a trip to Jamaica. So hope you enjoyed our Jamaica episode. You've been listening to Talking Travel on Women's Radio Station. And don't forget, if you wanted to listen again to our Jamaica episode or catch up on our previous programs, you can head to the presenters page on womensradiostation.com thank you for listening and we'll see you next week. Women's Radio Station is a fresh new broadcasting platform driven by love and passion. Connecting women around the world in a global network is all about diversity from opinions, career, ethnicity, education. We aim to show the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and a platform for your voice. 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