Jamaica Sights

When one visits Jamaica, there is a sense of excitement when that tropical breeze hits your face. You know you are about to be in for an adventure. There are so many wonderful places in Jamaica to visit that I really can't list them all.

Here are some Sites to visit:

Lacovia

Lacovia is the longest village in Jamaica, laid out for more than five miles on either side of the South Coast highway and the Black River, both of which divide the community into East and West Lacovia. Throughout the 18th century, Black River and Lacovia alternated as the capital of the parish of St Elizabeth. At one point in time, the river was the main transportation route for the parish, as road travel through the dense and humid mangrove swamps was treacherous at worst, miserable at best. > Learn More

Fire Fly

The historic home of playwright Noel Coward offers a nice tour. Named for the luminous insects seen in the warm evenings, this house has certainly entertained its share of luminaries from both the political and entertainment worlds, including Queen Elizabeth II, Laurence Olivier, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Alec Guiness, Peter O'Toole, and Richard Burton. > Learn More

Lime Cay

Fifteen minutes by boat from Port Royal is a small, low-lying island cay with one of the most beautiful beaches in Jamaica. The largest of the many small cays off the coast of Port Royal, Lime Cay is uninhabitable by humans because it is occasionally submerged when the tide comes in. Lime Cay has been the source of many scams and hoaxes whereby the cay is “sold” to unsuspecting buyers as a potential location for a private resort. > Learn More

Runaway Bay

Runaway Bay is certainly one of the most scenic areas in Jamaica, Since the early 1960s, when the old Cardiff Hall Estate was converted to a combination of luxury hotels, golf courses and private villas, the town has developed its own character and persona as an elegant yet lively getaway. Over the years, there has been much debate about the name of this small coastal town. > Learn More

New Kingston

If your travels bring you to the city of Kingston, you will, at some point, probably end up in New Kingston, the fast-growing commercial district that is increasingly becoming the business centre of the country. Built on lands formerly part of the Knutsford Park Race Track, major construction projects in New Kingston began in the late 1950s, and still continue today. The result – most of Jamaica’s modern multi-storeyed office blocks, the visible representation of the high-flying financial service industry, are clustered here. > Learn More

Runaway Bay Christmas Fire-50 years ag0

Early Christmas Day,about 50 years ago there was a great tanker fire that devastated the Runaway Bay Area in St. Anns. This inferno engulfed the site left 23 people dead, many of them children, and another 70 fighting for their lives in hospital.
The cause it was due to a tanker that was on its way to Donald Sangster airport when it overturned and crashed. Many of the residents in the immediate and surrounding areas, carried buckets, pans and anything they could to get some of the precious cargo. The driver urged people to get away from the overturned vehicle as he saw the danger. However very few listened.

Their was a man in the crowd who lit a cigarette and in that one brief moment the fire lept out and literally devoured so many people. Worshippers coming out of the Christmas morning service at the Congregationalist Church (now the United Church) about half-a-mile away were wishing each other 'Merry Christmas' when they heard the deafening explosion, followed by the roar of the fire and the anguished screams of the victims.

Last Friday, there were more than 65 people who attended a commendatory ceremony, including member of parliament for North West St Ann, Othneil Lawrence, and Winston Lawrence, councillor for the area

More information on this tragic event see the following: Runaway Bay Fire