Kingston and the Blue Mountains

Kingston is a big city with big-city problems, so the reactions of some visitors to the capital are not always favorable. Yet, islanders themselves are always conscious of Kingston's influence on their lives. From the slums of Trenchtown, immortalized in Bob Marley's music, to the glittering high-rise towers in New Kingston, the city is an explosion of color and sound. Despite its problems, the capital is a source of pride for all Jamaicans.

For visitors, Kingston can be intimidating. Exploring some of its dicier neighborhoods without a licensed guide is foolhardy at best. Yet, with careful planning and the normal precautions, Kingston can reward the visitor with a greater appreciation for Jamaica's unique culture. True devotees of things Jamaican can ill afford to skip this metropolis entirely.

On a clear day, when beneficial breezes have shoved some of Kingston's motor-exhaust haze out to sea, you can admire the nearby Blue Mountains from many vantage points around the city. Following your gaze across the Kingston plain into the highlands is a study in contrasts as the gritty cityscape is gradually replaced by tropical splendor.

Leaving the city far below, the highway begins to twist and turn, narrowing to an unevenly paved road as it passes panoramas of lush vegetation and soaring peaks. Rounding hairpin turns, you encounter sudden views of tiny hamlets clinging to the hillsides, their inhabitants going about their daily chores in what seems to be luxuriously unhurried fashion. The view from the top is spectacular, with Kingston's sprawl spread out before you, bounded by the harbor, the ancient stones of Port Royal and, further out, the blue Caribbean Sea glittering in the sun. As the breeze shifts, a faint hum of the frenetic human activity below may reach your ears, but no louder than the buzz of a hummingbird's wing.