Jamaica

I'm surprised no one (Åge?) has mentioned it yet, but Jamaica is not exactly part of Latin America, that I'm supposed to be exploring. Well, that's how it is when you travel with some one, you also have to listen to them. And Jamaica was a country Merete wanted to visit. It was very nice, but I'm glad to be back on track in the Latin American world.

So how was Jamaica? Yeah mon. What to say. In less than two weeks it's difficult to learn too much about another country. The thing I noticed on the airport was all the bill-boards. Difficult not to I guess, after three weeks in Cuba.

The part we stayed in first, Portland, is not a clever choice during the rainy season (now). It rained a lot, also during the day, which made it difficult to do anything. The far western part where we went afterwards, was a lot better, as it's the driest spot on the island. You have cactuses and more of a desert feeling, not like the mangrove forest in Portland.

Close to Treasure Beach, in a tiny, tiny village called Top Hill, they have a celebrity they are quite proud of; Colin Powell. Next to that village, you have one of the biggest factories on the island, a huge bauxit factory, owned by russians. At the moment just a big ghost, as the financial crisis has hit that industry with all it's power. 900 workers are now unemployed. In a small village like that, in a small country like Jamaica (only 2.9 million inhabitants), where social well-fare is at it's best a faint dream, that's a devastating blow.