CAPITAL KINGSTON - POPULATION 3.3 MILLION - AREA 10,991 SQ KM -OFFICIAL LANGUAGE ENGLISH
For the last 70 years or so Jamaica has been firmly on the tourist agenda, drawing package-holiday crowds, honeymooners and independent travelers in equal measure. Nothing, not even the constant crime in Kingston Town, seems to keep them away. With new resorts springing up all the time, it's increasingly hard to find space to yourself on the island, though the Blue Mountains are still a serene alternative to chaotic beach life. Keep your eyes peeled in 2009 for news on the improbable Jamaican dog-sled team, which is set to compete in Canada's winter 1000-mile Yukon Quest, the most gruelling contest of its kind in the world and a definite canine Cool Runnings in the making.
OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA
Those lucky citizens of Ocho Rios - of all the towns in all the world, Ursula Andress walked into theirs, and then into film legend. On the evidence of Dr No, she spent her most memorable moments nearby on the lovely Laughing Waters beach, and only in her bikini, too. Her screen entrance here puts Halle Berry's similarly scantily clad introduction in Die Another Day (and, indeed, almost every other subsequent Bond moment) into the shade. But it gets better for Bond fans. The spy's creator lan Fleming built his dream villa just along the coast, and the inspiration for the secret agent's capers was purportedly gleaned here. |
