I’m back!!! Its bittersweet to be back after 1.5 weeks of being lost in techno-land.  Bear with me as some things still need adjusting.

The BAD NEWS: I lost a lot of posts….everything from June 2 forward. That includes the good old Chicken Foot Soup post among others LOL. I will redo the posts I lost over time so some of you might experience some dejavoux when you see them.

Here’s a list of the noteworthy posts I lost:

• Glistening Waters
• Chicken Foot Soup
• Jamaican School Kids
• Jamaican Medicine Man
• Jamaica Waves
• Canoe Restaurant Negril
• Mahogany Beach
• Irie Restaurant
• Ochi Recording Studio
• Legend of the Sea Cow (LOL)

The GREAT NEWS: While I was crying over the loss of my blog I managed to pull myself together enough to create a brand new Jamaican Chat Forum! We’ve been up and running for a week now and you have to come check it out! Come chat about ANYTHING Jamaican with a bunch of other people who are all about Jamaica too!  CLICK HERE to check out Jamaica OUR Way!

Mama’s House

I “actually” met my second Mama on my birthday in 2006. I “cyber-met” her long before that on a Jamaican travel forum. When we started chatting about 5 years ago she didn’t yet live in Jamaica, but finally she made her move and the timing was perfect for me to visit her.

I flew into Jamaica on my birthday in 2006 and Mama met me at the airport for the first time! It was hilarious to finally meet her and seemed like we’d known each other all our lives. She’s been like family ever since and I’ve stayed with her a couple times now, once when she lived in Montego Bay and once at her new place in Negril.

Her house in Negril

Her house in Negril is AWESOME! She had it built over time and its the cutest place ever! I remember driving into Negril and arriving at her new house at night. Its pitch dark up in these hills and her house with the porch lights on was like a beacon in the night LOL. So adorable! She lives in the upper level here and she rents out the identical lower level to guests.

Lower level veranda...I spent a lot of time on it!

Since I arrived in the dark, I was shocked at the view she had the next morning. Breathtaking. I think she has a million dollar view, one of the best in Negril.

View of 7-Mile beach in Negril, from her house.

Each level of the house consists of 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, living room, dining room and full kitchen. It was perfect for me and the friend I was traveling with, plenty of room even for dinner guests. This night we brought over a bunch of country children for some curry chicken dinner.

Kids over for dinner

Here are some of the neighbor’s homes in the area. Its a relatively new development up here and people are still in the process of completing their homes while they live in them. Beautiful neighborhood tucked up in the hills but only about 10 minutes to the beach. I’d live there in a heartbeat.

Neighbor's house to the left.

Neighbor's house to the right and up further

Its always a pleasure visiting my Mama. Will be seeing her again next month!

By far, one of the most valuable resources for all things Jamaican is a chat forum. I have gained so much knowledge and met so many people this way. This entire category will tell about all the people I’ve met, family-like connections I’ve made across North America and Jamaica, places to stay that I would have never found, etc.

I was a senior moderator on a Jamaican chat forum for 6 years and it’s enabled me to experience so much more on my Jamaica vacations. So far I’ve met 18 most wonderful people from Jamaicans to Americans to Canadians, who all have one thing in common….vacations in Jamaica!

I have since branched off that forum and started my own.  Its primary purpose is to be a place where lovers of the country can come together and share experiences, knowledge, fun, travel tips, recipes, language and culture.

My favorite thing about forums are the trip/travel reports. Pretty much everyone posts a report after every trip they’ve been on.

Come visit the newly launched JAMAICA OUR WAY for some great Jamaica talk!