Ackee tree, Jamaican staple used in my favorite breakfast, Ackee and saltfish.
In honour of my mom’s birthday. This week’s #flashback Friday is about trip we took to Kingston, Jamaica in 2011. My mom is definitely one my top 5 travel buddies. She’s where I get my curiosity and adventurous side from. You’d be shocked at the parts of town she finds herself in while in foreign cities on the hunt for a good cup of coffee in the mornings. So, when she asked me if I wanted to take a long weekend to Kingston, Jamaica to visit her family, I said “yes” without hesitation.
Kingston, the city, is the capital of Jamaica. Almost everyone in the world has heard about it, but I’d venture to guess a lot of tourists going to Jamaica skip over Kingston and head north to places like Ochos Rios, Negril or Montego Bay. As the capital, vs. these places, Kingston is where you get things done. My friend Luke had the best analogy for this when describing working in Brazil to me. Rio vs. Sao Paolo, Rome vs. Milan — Kingston being like the later of these examples.
We stayed at a very cute inn near to our family’s house, Alhambra Inn. Our main reasoning for staying there was it was close to family. Alhambra Inn was quaint and definitely eclectic. The property was lush with greenery, koi ponds and Jamaican fruits like ackee and mango trees, as well as dotted with antique wares. It was nice, not spectacular, not stand out, but everything that we needed. It is in a very residential neighborhood, right under the views of Beverly Hills (gorgeous views of amazing homes), so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to someone visiting Kingston without a car and who didn’t know their way around. Click through for pictures of Alhambra Inn below.
Fort Clarence Beach & Out and About in Kingston with my family below.
Port Royal & Kingston Harbor. You might be familiar with Port Royal, Jamaica from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Once known as “The wickedest city on Earth,” Port Royal was a major hub for pirates and privateers and one of the largest English colonies. The town was infamous during the 17th century for the great deal of debauchery that went on there. Wine & wenches! Today, much of the city is underwater and considered to be the most important underwater archeological site in the western hemisphere. An earthquake in 1692 sank much of the city and it’s residents. Clergymen at the time of course attributed it to divine retribution for the wickedness in the town. Now a sleepy fishing village, it sounds like Port Royal was a blast before! Click through for my pictures from Port Royal & Morgan’s Harbour.
Alhambra Inn. One Tucker Avenue, Kingston. 876-978-9072
Fort Clarence Beach, Portmore
Devon’s House. Hope Road, Kingston. 867-926-0815
Bob Marley Museum (in his old house). 56 Hope Road, Kingston. 876-927-9152
Port Royal.
Morgan’s Harbour.
Fort Clarence Beach at Hellshire. 2011