The Sunday Times - UK (2022-04-03)

14 April 3, 2022The Sunday Times

Travel Caribbean

3 MORE JAMAICA HIGHLIGHTS

BRIGHT SPARKS AFTER DARK

By day the pretty bay that curls

around Falmouth on the north

coast of Jamaica looks nothing

out of the ordinary. At night,

however, the Glistening Waters

Luminous Lagoon teems with

microscopic organisms that

light up the sea, turning

it a sparkling blue.

Hour-long boat

tours start at

sunset — bring

your swimming

gear to take

a dip in the

illuminated

and relatively

shallow bay

(no more than

2m at its deepest).

It’s one place where

you’ll pray for rain, as the

waters put on even more of a

spectacle when raindrops hit the

surface (glisteningwaters.com).

DEVONIAN CHARM

A few minutes’ drive from the

Bob Marley Museum in Kingston

stands the splendid 19th-century

mansion Devon House, which was

once the home of George Stiebel,

Jamaica’s first black millionaire. A

tour takes in the national

monument’s sumptuous features,

including the ballroom. The

mansion is also known for its

food, including 27 flavours of

“I-Scream” (devonhouseja.com).

CHASING WATERFALLS

Tumbling down to the sea

at Ocho Rios, Dunn’s

River Falls, left, is

the best-known

cascade on

the island. You

could easily

spend the day

here, whizzing

over the water

on a zipline and

hiking up to the

ruins of Belmont

Great House (dunns

riverfallsja.com). For

something a little quieter, Reach

Falls in Portland Parish, on the

east of the island, is another

lovely spot. On the Driver’s River,

it features a naturally formed

heart-shaped whirlpool bath.

YS Falls in St Elizabeth Parish,

to the southwest, is also pretty

peaceful, with seven waterfalls, a

spring pool and glorious gardens.

Laura Jackson

house at 56 Hope Road where
Marley’s wife, Rita, and
children were living when
an assassination attempt was
made in 1976. It was chilling
to see the kitchen the gunman
shot from. Nearly 50 years
on, Marley’s legacy continues
through his family, as they run
the house as a museum and
the recording studio.
At lunch we pulled in at M10
Bar & Grill in the southeast of
Kingston for a banquet of
grilled and curried lobster.
But it was the rice and peas
that blew me away: the moist
coconut infused into the rice
in a way I’ve never managed
to recreate at home.
While the hospitality, food
and music haven’t altered

→Continued from page 13

Sirieix at Tuff Gong

studio, Kingston,

where vinyl

records are still

made, above; villa

suites at Sandals

Negril, left

during my two years away,

every single person I met was

wearing a facemask. It felt

similar to the rules in the first

UK lockdown as restaurateurs

and shop owners asked for

you to sanitise your hands

everywhere you went. Tourists

and residents alike were

respectful and disciplined.

You could be in a remote area

and people were on the road

wearing a mask.

I’m often asked: “Why do

you always go back to Jamaica;

why don’t you visit other

islands in the Caribbean?”

I tell them that I did try.

I once went to Martinique

and I have friends who

keep inviting me to St

Lucia. But I know I will

always want to come

back to the reggae, the

history and the beach

at Negril. I hope Dr Love

will always be waiting to

welcome me too.

Fred Sirieix was a guest of

Sandals, which has seven

nights’ room-only at its Ochi

Beach Resort from £1,645pp,

and seven nights’ room-only at

its Negril Beach Resort & Spa

from £1,835pp, both including

flights (sandals.co.uk). He was

also a guest of Visit Jamaica

(visitjamaica.com). He spoke

to Laura Jackson

Nearly 50 years

on, Marley’s

legacy continues

through his

family

FRED SIRIEIX; JR DELIA