Around Jamaica in 14 days: Prologue

Rafting on the Rio Grande

A lot of my friends - from all continents - have asked me about my country and I usually have no problem telling them of its grandeur and beauty... and I find myself only speaking of Ocho Rios (in the parish of St. Ann) and Montego Bay (in the parish of St. James). So, over the next few weeks, I will give you all a snapshot of my island home... parish-by-parish. This will include some history and pictures of places in whichever parish is being featured.

Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean (10,991 km² or  4,244 sq mi) following Cuba and Hispaniola and is the largest English-Speaking island in the same region. There are 14 sections known as parishes and three counties (Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey). The parishes are from East to West as follows (circumferential):

Blue Mountain

St. Thomas, Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, St. James, Hanover, Trelawny, St. Ann, St. Mary, and Portland. 

Jamaica is 66% mountainous with 22 major rivers, one dormant volcano (located in St. Thomas), and one major mountain range (the Blue Mountain Range) which spans from Portland to St. Andrew. Some points of Blue Mountain are visible from as far as St. Catherine, and it's highest point -Blue Mountain Peak - is 2, 256 m or 7, 400 ft high. 

Frenchman's Cove

Outside of the obvious tourist spots, there are literally hundreds of other amazing, non-traditional hangouts that will prove to be either just as enjoyable or even more enjoyable than some of the traditional, common tourist spots on the island. During the next couple of blogs, I will take you on a parish-by-parish tour of my island home: from the rolling Blue Mountain Ranges, to Frenchman's Cove; from Port Royal to the Cockpit Country and Appleton Estate; from Rose Hall Estate with the Legend of the White Witch to Fern Gully! I will show you, my friends, the not-so popular beauty of the island! I'm definitely looking forward to sharing this with you!!

Physical map of Jamaica

Jodi-Ann is an Environmental Studies major in Nova Scotia, Canada.
*** Pictures acquired from external sources