Jumpin' Jamaica

Photo Credit: Marshall Katzman

By Katharine Dyson

Today in Jamaica, deep-rooted memories of how these sugar-based fortunes were made elicit very mixed feelings and just a handful of the old Great Houses still stand including Greenwood Plantation, Barnett Estates and Rosehall, all open to the public as museums.

Tourism has replaced sugar as a major cornerstone of the island's economy. And it's very evident why this is so. There are few islands in the world which offer such diversity.

The largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean and roughly about the size of Connecticut, Jamaica has six mountain ranges, the highest rising to 7,402 feet, waterfalls, caves, bays, 120 rivers, and 151 miles of wonderful white and buff-colored beaches.

There are art galleries, museums like the National Gallery of Art and the Bob Marley Experience, cricket at Sabina Park, polo at Chukka Cove, theater and lots of great shops.

You can go horseback riding in the forests and on the beach, river rafting, scuba diving, climb Dunn's River Falls and enjoy some great Jamaican jerk pork or chicken available in every town. Or catch the week-long Carnival in the spring, a cultural and musical festival with plenty of merry making: parades, reggae, soca bands and costumes.