I had been presented with an opportunity to travel to Jamaica for a FAM trip (familiarization tour), which is a common type of trip for many people in the Travel industry, as a way of exposing us to the culture, food, and destinations of the host country.
FAM trips are intense. They are usually packed to the tee, as the organizers want to cram as much into as short of a time frame as possible. My trip was to be 6 days/5 nights, with the first 3 nights being spent in Montego Bay, and the last 2 nights being spent in Negril.
The very first full day that we were there, we were taken to visit Dunn’s River Falls. I had not stepped foot outside our resort until then, and when we arrived at Dunn’s River Falls, I was quite surprised at the aggressiveness of the vendors there. Even though we were clearly with a group, vendors did not hesitate to come right up to us and shove merchandise into our faces, which made for quite the awkward encounter. It wasn’t until we walked past the entrance that we were able to enjoy the beauty of the Falls.
Throughout the week, I learned that Jamaica is actually a very laid back place. The stereotypical “yah man” slang really does seem to be used very frequently by locals, and this made the aggressiveness of the vendors at Dunn’s River Falls seem like an exception to everyone else on the island.
The most memorable part of the trip by far, was the very last night, where we were able to watch the sun set at The Caves Hotel. The hotel was appropriately named as it was built into a cliff, and housed a “secret” restaurant inside a cave. The whole atmosphere was just wonderful.
As soon as we arrived, we saw some locals diving off of the cliff.
It was a wonderful end to a very short trip and definitely helped me realize what a wonderful place Jamaica is.
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