Jamaica By Ruth Fitzmaurice

Places I went to:

• The Blue Mountain range, Kingston

• Rio grande in Port Antonio

• The Blue Lagoon, Port Antonio.

• Dunns river fall in Ocho Rios

• The green grotto caves, Discovery Bay

Map of Jamaica

The blue mountains

• The blue mountains are the longest mountain range in all of the island. The highest peak of the mountain is 225m.

• I climbed up and down the mountain in one day. In total it took seven hours. The trail is well marked and there is a lot of places to stop for water, shelter and there are bathrooms.

• Portland gap ranger station which is about three hours up the mountain you can see lovely views of the surrounding towns and villages.

• The blue mountains are famous for their coffee. I stopped at the Old Tavern Coffee Estate. On the northern slopes of the mountain.

• Grown in almost complete fog. The coffee takes much longer to ripen resulting in a more concentrated flavour. Said to be the nicest in the whole world.

The blue mountains

Rio grande in Port Antonio

• I rented a raft and sailed down the river.

• While on the trip you can see banana, sugar cane, wild ginger, allspice and orchids growing beside the eight mile river.

• While on the three hour journey the guide told me stories about the people who used to raft down the river.

• According to legend, this tradition originated with actor Errol Flynn when he organized races with locals transporting bananas on these rafts.

• I also went to a town on the river called Nanny. It is where the national heroine, Granny Nanny.

• Leader of the Jamaican Maroons in the eighteenth century.

• Her face is also on the 500 Jamaican dollar.

Rio grande in Port Antonio

The Blue Lagoon

• They say that the lagoon is bottomless and that a sort of dragon is hidden there

• With its change of colours from blue to deep emerald, to sapphire and turquoise.

• Though originally called The Blue Hole, this place was made famous by several movies, particularly Brooke Shields starred Blue Lagoon and was re-named as Blue Lagoon.

• In the day it is possible to take a dip from its platform or snorkle and get a boat ride. You can also go swimming and see if you can reach the bottom.

• The restaurant there is famous for serving their food on banana leaves.

The Blue Lagoon

Ocho Rios- Dunns river fall

• The river fall has been described as a living and growing phenomenon.

• The total height if the river fall is 600 feet.

• It is an overwhelming series of waterfalls that send crystal clear water flowing and emerging over layers of stone steps.

• Human chain led by a fall guide who helped you up the river fall into the caves.

• Bordered by trees which shades the area from the sun. This kept the area cool as I tried to climb the waterfall.

• Cocktail starring Tom Cruise was filmed and where the James Bond film Dr No was filmed.

Dunns river fall

Green grotto caves

• 1,525 metres long and 12 metres deep.

• chambers

• light holes

• lake.

• James Bond movie was filmed film Live and Let Die in 1973.

• The caves were used for villain Doctor Kananga's underground base beneath a cemetery on the fictional island of San Monique.

• It is most memorable for being the location where Bond kills Kananga by forcing him to swallow a bullet of compressed air, causing him to float up to the ceiling like a balloon and explode.

• Walk down centuries old steps. The main highlight in the limestone Green Grotto Caves however is the huge lake that is 36m below the surface.

Green grotto caves

• You are able to get a closer look at the natural beauty of the cave by boat.

• The tour of the cave is an hour.

• The tour guide told stories about the pre-Columbia Arawaks and the Spanish people who used the caves to hide from their British owners in the 17 th century.

• The Jamaican government used the caves as a storeroom for barrels of rum after the second world war.

• Also in recent years the caves were used as a hideaway for smugglers taking guns into Cuba.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS-0Q47BrWY

Green grotto caves

Jamaican Expressions

• Backfoot- Expression of surprise Blouse an skirt- Expression of surprise or wonder Ca ca faat- Expression of surprise Cho/Cho man- Expression of anger Gweh- Go away Kiss mi neck- Expression of surprise or wonder Ku deh- Look at that Move frah ya- Get out of here! Massi mi Gad/Lawd a massi- Lord have mercy!

Food

• Breakfast

• ackee and saltfish

• seasoned callaloo

• boiled green bananas

• fried dumplings

• Main courses

• Jerk chicken

• Curry goat and Curried Mutton

• Jamaican pastries

• Corned Beef and cabbage

• Jamaican spiced bun

Food

• Dessert

• Coco bread

• Bulla cakes

• potato pudding

• gizzada