Archive for May, 2008

When to Go

May 15, 2008 at 12:28 pm · Filed under Blogging, Culture, Guide, Jamaica, Nature, Photo, Photography, Photos, Pictures, Travel, Trip, Vacation

Jamaica is a year-round destination: winter is usually warm by day and mild to cool by night; summer months are hot. The rainy season extends from May to November, with peaks in May and June and in October and November. Rain usually falls for short periods (normally in the late afternoon), and it’s quite possible to enjoy sunshine for most of your visit during these months. In Portland parish, however, it can rain for days on end.

Tourism’s high, or ‘winter’, season runs from mid-December to mid-April, when hotel prices are highest. Many hotels charge peak-season rates during Christmas and Easter.

Tourism’s high, or ‘winter’, season runs from mid-December to mid-April, when hotel prices are highest. Many hotels charge peak season rates during Christmas and Easter.

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The City of Kingston

May 5, 2008 at 9:51 am · Filed under Blogging, Culture, Guide, Jamaica, Nature, Photo, Photography, Photos, Pictures, Travel, Trip, Vacation

The City of Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica. It is located on the southeastern coast of the island country. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. In the Western Hemisphere, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city south of the United States, with a population of 651,880 (2001 census).[1]

The local government bodies of the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew were amalgamated by the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act of 1923, to form the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). Greater Kingston, or the “Corporate Area” refers to the KSAC; however, it does not refer to Kingston Parish, which only consists of the old downtown and Port Royal. Kingston Parish had a population of 96,052, and St. Andrew had a population of 555,828 in 2001.[1]

Two parts make up the central area of Kingston: the historic but troubled Downtown, and New Kingston. Several reggae stars, including Buju Banton, Sean Paul, Bounty Killer, and Beenie Man, hail from Kingston. Attractions include the nearby Hellshire and Lime Cay beaches, the National Gallery of Jamaica, the ruins of Port Royal, and Devon House, a mansion with adjoining park that once belonged to Jamaica’s first black millionaire. Several annual and well-visited festivals are held in Kingston.

Kingston is served by Norman Manley International Airport and also by the smaller and primarily domestic Tinson Pen Aerodrome.

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Jamaica

May 5, 2008 at 9:50 am · Filed under Blogging, Culture, Guide, Jamaica, Nature, Photo, Photography, Photos, Pictures, Travel, Trip, Vacation

Jamaica (pronounced /ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə/) is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (146 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about 620 kilometres (385 mi) northeast of the Central American mainland, 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated. Its indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the island Xaymaca, meaning the “Land of Wood and Water”, or the “Land of Springs”.[1] Formerly a Spanish possession known as Santiago, it later became the British West Indies Crown colony of Jamaica. It is the third most populous anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada.

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