Note: This journey was captured in December 2024-January 2025, before Hurricane Melissa devastated western Jamaica in October 2025. I write this now to celebrate the beauty and resilience of places and people who continue rebuilding stronger than ever.

Nicola and I made a decision that this would be the year we spent the Christmas holiday and New Year’s in Jamaica. Despite this being the most expensive time to travel to Jamaica where we would normally pivot to other destinations like Mexico or Cuba; this time, there could be no substitution. We were going home!

We were both born in Jamaica but left roughly four decades ago, building our lives in Canada. Our teenage millennial kids knew their parents were from “the island,” but they didn’t truly know Jamaica. More honestly, neither did we anymore. We’d become visitors to our own birthplace, making only sporadic visits and brief stops on cruise ship day trips—snapshots without substance.

This trip would be different. We had made a committment to exploring all, or as many of the 14 parishes that make up Jamaica as possible, discovering what each unique region offers. This wasn’t just vacation; it was reclamation.

My wife’s uncle met us in Kingston, immediately whisking us to Gloria’s Seafood City in Port Royal—yes, that Port Royal, once the Caribbean’s largest and most prosperous city before an earthquake and tsunami destroyed it in the 17th century. Gloria’s rooftop patio overlooking Kingston Harbor provided the perfect welcome home meal: conch fritters, lobster mac and cheese, honey jerk shrimp, steamed fish with bammy, fried plantain, and the refreshing taste of Red Stripe Sorrel Beer. More like a cooler, it’s a lager infused with the sweet, gingery, wine-hued drink that defines Jamaican Christmas. That view, that food, that beer….I was indeed home.

Christmas Day took us from Kingston to Mandeville in Manchester Parish, about an hour’s drive to stay with Nicola’s mom. Then another 30 minutes deeper into the country to Mile Gully, to Aunt Paula’s home perched in the rolling hills. I’ve always loved it here as the elevation makes you feel like you’re living in the clouds, with breathtaking views stretching for miles over lush vegetation.

Family had converged from Finland, the United States, and Canada for this reunion dinner. They had already survived Hurricane Beryl earlier that year, reinforcing their roof and “keeping it moving” as Jamaicans do. We had no idea then that Hurricane Melissa would test their resilience far more severely less than a year later.

The next day brought us to YS Falls, one of Jamaica’s finest natural attractions and, in my opinion, more spectacular than the famous Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios. This seven-tier waterfall sits deep within a former sugar cane plantation that has now been transformed into a nature-based paradise complete with pools, playground, botanical gardens, and zip lines.

The 90-minute drive from Mandeville took us along the most treacherous yet breathtaking stretch of winding road in Jamaica: Spur Tree Hill. But the drive along the A-2 Highway rewarded us with the Holland Bamboo Grove which is a four kilometer stretch along the road where beautifully arched bamboo forms a green, feathery tunnel that flutters with the slightest breeze. This natural heritage site provides shade and serves as one of the most photographed locations on the island. Hungry? Roadside vendors sell fresh fruit, produce, coconut water, and whatever’s in season.

YS Falls consumed our entire day, so the following morning we headed to the famed Lover’s Leap, located midway between Treasure Beach and Alligator Pond. The story behind this 1,700-foot cliff captures Jamaica’s painful colonial history: two enslaved lovers, threatened with separation by a jealous plantation owner, chose to run away together. Racing to this cliff’s edge, they threw themselves off hand-in-hand, choosing death together over capture and torture, a life apart or worse.

Today, Lover’s Leap has become a popular tourist destination offering incredible cliffside views, the highest lighthouse in the Western Hemisphere, and a Sunday night party scene that starts late afternoon and doesn’t stop until dawn. When we visited, construction was underway to a new restaurant and lounge as the roof on the main structure had been torn off by Hurricane Beryl—a preview of devastation Hurricane Melissa would bring.

From Lover’s Leap, we drove to Alligator Pond and Little Ochie Seafood Restaurant and Bar. This seaside gem lets patrons choose fresh fish directly from local fishermen selling their daily catch. Your selected fish gets weighed, cleaned, and prepared exactly how you want while you enjoy waves rolling onto shore mixed with reggae music. Yes, it took a while for our dishes to arrive, but appetizers and Red Stripe Sorrel Beer made the wait worthwhile. When our server finally brought the main course…absolute perfection.

Our last day on the south coast brought us to Black River, the capital of St. Elizabeth Parish, established in 1685 as a major trade hub for sugar, rum, logwood, and pimento. Historic buildings like the Waterloo Guest House and St. John Anglican Church, established 1837 (Jamaicans love their churches) dot the town.

We came for the Black River Safari, which after experiencing an actual African safari, I can admit wasn’t quite as thrilling—but at the time, it was exciting. Our guide used raw meat as chum to attract crocodiles swimming in the water to approach our pontoon boat. Watching him dangle dangerously close to snapping jaws was terrifying—not for him, but for me. Great for tourists snapping pictures, questionable for his insurance premiums.

We spent the rest of the time drifting through water, spotting birds perched in mangroves or gliding through cloudless blue sky. What I enjoyed most about the south coast was its pristine state not as tied to tourism as the north coast. You get a more laid-back, authentic experience where you can actually engage with people and feel the culture.

Little did I know then that Black River, Alligator Pond, and so many places we’d visited would be devastated by Hurricane Melissa. The people we met Sam our safari guide who teased crocodiles, Patricia who cleaned and cooked our fish at Little Ochie they all went above and beyond to ensure our Jamaican experience was truly unique.

Their resilience would soon be tested beyond measure, but Jamaica’s people have endured tremendous adversity throughout history. They possess tremendous faith, perseverance, and grit. They will rebuild stronger than ever.

Tags: #Jamaica #Kingston #PortRoyal #Mandeville #Manchester #GloriasSeafood #YSFalls #StElizabeth #CaribbeanTravel #BlackRiver #HollandBamboo