Portland

Picture lush green foliage, beautiful scenery, sleepy charm, a fascinating coastline of bays, estuaries and fine beaches ….this is Portland, the parish of Jamaica that statistics confirm, experiences the highest rainfall in the island.  Its terrain is interestingly varied as the parish extends from the highest peaks of the Blue Mountains (over 7,000 ft above sea-level) down to the northern coast of the island. Fourteen caves, seventeen rivers, romantic coves and several sparkling waterfalls offer a veritable feast of natural attractions that throughout the years, although they have been a source of income, their potential as income earners for the parish has still not yet been fully maximized.

Portland’s complex landforms make for adventure and amazingly fascinating locations for movies. Since the early 1950s more than 782 film or screen productions have been shot here in Portland.  Two of the most popular movies are Walt Disney’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” and Vista Productions “The Harder They Come.”  Scenes from the movie “Cocktail” starring Tom Cruise were shot at the bar on the beach at the Dragon Bay Resort property: while Rihanna, as recently as 2011 filmed the music video for her song “Man Down” in various locations throughout the parish.

Portland still offers a playground for the wealthy. In its heyday the swashbuckling American movie star, Errol Flynn is said to have romped through as much adventure off-camera as his characters did in his movies.  He fell in love with Portland, purchased real estate and made Portland his home on a huge estate of several thousand acres where his wife, Patrice Wymore Flynn, a film star and an award winning actress in her own right, still resides.  Today wealthy property owners vacation at their homes near the world-famous, Blue Lagoon, one of the legendary beauty spots in the world.  Believed to be the crater of an extinct volcano, it is also said to be bottomless.  The lagoon is an almost landlocked cove, the depth of which (over 170 ft) gives rise to mysterious tales of exotic sea monsters! In reality, the Blue Lagoon, made famous by a Brooke Shields movie several years ago, is an enchanting spot with deep blue water fed by fresh-water mineral springs.

Portland is said to be the most beautiful parish in Jamaica. The breathtaking view from the old Bonnie View Hotel in the capital town of Port Antonio, looking north to the crystal clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean and encompassing the picturesque Navy Island and the beautifully protected twin harbors would tend to confirm this opinion. Should you visit this gem of a vacation destination it’s appealing to travel by raft down the flowing Rio Grande before travelling by car to Boston on the other side of Port Antonio for its famous food – Boston Jerk Pork. Many a visitor has requested the secret recipe, but the usual response is, “So sorry, it’s not for sale!” Portland’s Boston Jerk Centre has expanded over the years and their jerked foods now include chicken, fish and lobster in addition to their signature jerked pork.  Spicy! Spicy! Spicy Foods!

Driving cars in Jamaica is for the brave and courageous and sometimes visitors who arrange car rentals, after a day or so on the road, avoiding our pot holes and the stray animals who wander absentmindedly across their path, decide to forget about the driving and simply relax with their family on one of the great beaches that are available – a much healthier pastime than driving a car!

A beautiful marina, named after Errol Flynn, has in recent years been constructed on Port Antonio’s waterfront. This accommodates berthing of yachts as well as being deep enough to facilitate cruise ships. In days of old, banana boats were a constant sight as Portland’s very rich soil made this parish a leading producer of bananas for export, as well as coconuts, breadfruit, coffee, mangoes and ackee.  This harbor has for over four decades been the home base of a special sport, deep-sea fishing, at the Annual Port Antonio International Marlin Tournament. The prized Atlantic Blue Marlin is a fish that migrates through the Caribbean in September and October according to the moon’s phases and anglers from all over the world strive to catch the biggest marlin at this thrilling tournament. Marlins can grow up to an impressive 16ft. in length.  Of course when the catch is in, as families relax on their boats, recipes are shared for preparation of this delicacy!

Portland, with its capital town of Port Antonio -  an exciting town of yesteryear, a hotspot for the rich and famous who revelled in this jewel of luxury small hotels destination, is now known around the world as a Jamaican getaway for all types of travellers, especially luxury travellers seeking authentic Jamaican hospitality.

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St. Ann

“The Garden Parish,” that’s how Jamaicans proudly refer to their parish of St. Ann!

This also was the parish that Christopher Columbus first experienced when he landed in Jamaica and described it as “The land of wood and water.”  What delightful descriptions!  What a beautiful region in which to consider purchasing property, to finance a project or to make your home in the Caribbean. It follows that this island, this parish, must offer excellent opportunities to invest in Real Estate.

Historically, the Arawaks/Tainos had been the initial occupants of Jamaica. Christopher Columbus on his voyage from Spain is said to have “discovered” the island. He landed in this parish of St. Ann, in an area called the Dry Harbour Mountains, afterwards re-named Discovery Bay. Discovery Bay still has an excellent harbor from which bauxite is shipped even now: and it also boasts a beautiful stretch of white sand beach. Part of this beach is made available to the general public while another section stretches along what is termed “Millionaire’s Row” where luxurious and ultra-luxurious villas are available for vacation rental whenever their owners are not in residence.

St. Ann was the home of the first capital of Jamaica. It was located by the Spanish at Seville (near St. Ann’s Bay) before being re-located to Spanish Town in St.Catherine and finally to the present day Kingston. The old Great House at Seville displays interesting artifacts of days gone by and each year on the celebration of our Independence a glorious evening of Jamaica’s culture, music, food and dance is showcased at this venue. Residents and visitors travel from miles away to attend and participate is the revelry that continues till dawn.

St. Ann, once a major producer of bauxite … now downsized, is focusing on creating itself as a destination with a host of appealing attractions for the family on vacation. Whether a family of one, two or several individuals; whether a family from another part of Jamaica or from overseas, there is accommodation available to satisfy all tastes.  This accommodation comes in a variety of forms. Your choice may be hotels – a large all-inclusive or a small boutique property, luxury villas or a simple rustic cabin, apartments or condos – in the hills, on the beach – you name it, we have it in St. Ann.

Statistics show that the attractions offered in St. Ann increase continually and many get rave reviews, not the least of which is the world famous Dunns River Waterfalls, deemed one of the top ten attractions in the world and which locale was used in the filming of “Dr. No,” one of the exciting James Bond movies.  Climbing the Falls is indeed an unforgettable and exhilarating experience.  The intriguing Green Grotto Caves located near Discovery Bay was also a property used in the production of “Live and Let Die” another James Bond thriller. Other well-known and popular attractions near the popular resort town of Ocho Rios in St. Ann include: -

- the Mystic Mountain with their fast paced bobsled ride and skylift

- playing and swimming with the dolphins at the nearby Dolphin Cove

- Chukka Adventure Tours with their wide variety of attractions such as horseback riding in the sea, river tubing; zipline canopy, traversing over rivers and trees and much more.

The parish of St Ann is the birthplace of one of our National Heroes, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a man whose life was aimed at inspiring and unifying black persons and enlightening people of Jamaica regarding opportunities for self-fulfillment. It is also the birthplace of the legendary man of music, Bob Marley. Bob Marley was a singer, musician and song writer. He was a world ambassador for reggae music and sold more than 20 million records.  His song “One Love” was voted the worldwide “Song of the Century” for the twentieth century. His feeling for women was reflected in his composition “No woman, no cry,” and he was awarded the Medal of Peace from the United Nations in 1980. The Government of Jamaica awarded him a signal honour, The Order of Merit before his death. Today, the lives of these individuals have given rise to scenic tours, wherein to reach their birthplace you can travel by coach through the verdant countryside, encounter animals of Jamaica along the way, pass the humble homes of the poor yet proud people of Jamaica, deep into the heart of  “the land of wood and water” off the beaten track.  A wonderful experience because we are indeed, more than just a beach, we are a country!

St. Mary

“Day oh! Da..ay…ay ohhhh! Day dah light and me wanna go home.”

These well known words, sung by the world famous singer and movie star, Harry Belafonte, were the opening phrase of the signature song of the St. Mary banana farmers of yesteryear in Jamaica, as they carried bunches of green bananas on their heads from the fields for tallying before the bananas were taken to the ships for exporting overseas.

Real estate in St. Mary, Jamaica, was originally all about bananas and their production. The economic activity then started to include cattle rearing and coconuts, as the land and its topography lent itself to this. The song of the Banana Man however, has remained popular both with Jamaicans and vacationers visiting this Caribbean island, as its music offers that pulsating rhythm popular with so many music lovers.

The cultivation of the coconut in Jamaica has experienced its ups and downs throughout the years. The tall variety of this gracious tree lost much of its inventory to “lethal yellowing” several years ago. Other dwarf varieties have taken their place …harvesting from these is much simpler and statistics indicate coconut production is on the rise and doing extremely well, not only in Jamaica but in the Caribbean and worldwide, based on the many health benefits derived from the fruit. Coconut water is now being bottled here; the coconut oil is deemed a healthy alternative to other oils and recipe books carry a wide variety of recipes for which the coconut is the main and healthy ingredient. Should you travel around the entire island, you would see coconut trees in each parish. As banana production has decreased, tourism has become an increasingly important source of income for St. Mary families, many of whom are employed in the various hotels along the coast.

Today, St. Mary, Jamaica is the home of many villas as well as hotels that offer vacation packages for the family as well as for ‘couples only’ who just want to get away for a while.  The famous playwright, Noel Coward fell in love with the island and Firefly Estate, his Caribbean home, (formerly owned by one of St. Mary’s most famous early residents, Sir Henry Morgan) still sits atop a hill over-looking the Port Maria harbour, offering the most breath-taking and spectacular views of the coast. The home is now a museum designated a National Historic Site and the location is extremely popular, deemed one of the best venues ever for weddings.  Its attraction is heightened by the awesomely romantic atmosphere experienced with the “up-front and in-your-face” view of the moon rising over the silvery Caribbean Sea off the coast of Port Maria.  Definitely a “WOW” factor.

Have you ever seen the thrilling James Bond movies?  This infamous fictional spy, James Bond, was created by the English author and journalist Ian Fleming at his home, Goldeneye in Oracabessa, St. Mary. Ian Fleming, like our present-day returning residents, came to Jamaica and invested in real estate.  He purchased land which fronted on the beautiful azure Caribbean Sea, then had his home built from which he wrote his twelve James Bond novels, the first of which he started in February 1952. This home is presently owned by Chris Blackwell of Island Records and is proving a popular vacation location for the rich and famous. Today an international airport has been constructed in Boscobel near this property and it has been named the Ian Fleming International Airport.

Property in St. Mary that comes on the market for sale in today’s world tends to consist mainly of a few farms, but mostly residential lots and homes. Many mortgage companies have been in healthy competition through reduction of interest rates in an effort to attract clients and to finance their purchases of real estate. Real estate in this parish is very popular with returning Jamaicans, who tend to live in residential communities along the coast where they can enjoy delightful views of the surrounding hills while at the same time being able to relax in sight of the sparkling Caribbean Sea. Some purchase homes already built. Others purchase the land and then build their homes large enough to accommodate their own family as well as an additional section that is suitable for rental, thereby affording them additional income to help with finances in their years of retirement. It’s a win win situation!

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