JAMAICA CARNIVAL 2017 - Do it for the culture

Jamaica is a country of polarisations. 

I thought for a while about how I would approach this post. I could discuss Soca* vs. Dancehall... uptown vs. downtown... inclusivity and accessibility... class, whiteness, browness, blackness... very valid and important topics that mean a lot to Jamaicans, but would probably not mean much to foreigners. Because in foreign white is white and black is black and brown is black, uptown doesn't exist and we all take public transport. 

I decided that's not what I wanted to write about, because that's not what the carnival week meant to me. 

All I wanted from Carnival was revelry, wildness and a likkle bit a freedom.

So leave any badmind at the door and come and have an adventure with me!

*(Please see the end of the article for a quick Caribbean Carnival vocabulary lesson)

If you're not from the Caribbean your experience of Carnival might be Notting Hill Carnival in London or photos of Rihanna & co. *whinin' on Instagram. 

The season long lead up to the big Road March (always on a Sunday) is a whirlwind of *Fetes, *J'ouvert parties and general madness. 

Up to a year before the Carnival week begins men and women are hitting the gym, going *Bacchanal parties and looking out for the next Soca song of the season. People take off time from work, some take out loans (yes, for real), and some save up all year to get on bad during Soca season.

Preparation can include, but is not limited to:

• Hair
• Make up
• Gems
• Nails
• Brazilian waxes
• Spray tan/ Body make up
• Road March Costume, plus shoes/boots & fishnet tights
• Tickets for pre-carnival parties (To name a few: Beach Jouvert, Town Jouvert, I <3 Soca, Private Ryans party, Ceasar's Army Party, Sunrise Breakfast Party etc.)
• Outfits for all the parties you intend to go to. (And we all know how Caribbean people stay, you can't wear any outfit more than once)

You get the idea... you're lucky if you don't need a loan. 

For the first time in Jamaica there were 4 different *Carnival Band options: Bacchanal, Jamaica Carnival, Xamayca Carnival and Xodus Carnival. 

All my friends were *jumpin' with Xodus Carnival - A new Carnival experience, a merger between Jamaica's own Dream Entertainment Ltd. and Trinidad's premier Carnival Band Y.U.M.A. 

We bought the costumes online via their website, but you don't receive the costumes until a few days before the big event.

How it all works is that you buy a 'package' that includes: 

• Your choice of around around 14 different Costumes (front line = more feathers, gems & money, back line = less feathers, gems & money) 
• Premium drinks included all day 
• Lunch (choice between Italian, Jamaican, Chinese) 
• A cute goodie bag with some treats like mini rum bottles, gum, chocolate, one sippy cup with straw for maximum drink mobility etc. 
• Fresh coconuts on the road
• A day long party, starting at 10 am and finishing in the night

So now for the photos!

Getting ready = My Victoria's Secret Moment

Finished! Costume name = X-ctacy Back line. 

One Appleton rum and coconut water, please!

(Not me or my photo, but it was too cool not to share)

Video from @xoduscarnival Instagram

Video from @coreymus Instagram

MY FAVOURITE 5 CARNIVAL SONGS:

KES - WORK OUT FEAT. NAILAH BLACKMAN

VOICE - FAR FROM FINISHED

MACHEL MONTANO - LIP SERVICE

VOICE - CHEERS TO LIFE

DESTRA - LUCY

CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL VOCABULARY

• Soca Music - Genre of music for Carnival, not going to give a lesson on this one, wikipedia is free. 

• Fetes - Soca parties

• Carnival Band - the group of people you are jumpin' with. You will all have costumes provided by the same company, drinks from the same trucks and will have lunch at the same spot. 

• J'ouvert - Large street parties during the Carnival season, usually involves colourful paint being thrown over the revellers.

• Jumpin' - Participating in the Carnival Road March, meaning you got the costume/ t shirt  

• Whinin' - Caribbean way of dancing, like in the videos above. NOT twerking.

• Bacchanal - A large party or celebration

• Tabanca - Feeling of forlorn sadness and longing when the Soca season is done and you have to go back to real life. 

There you have it. The Carnival tabanca is so real!

x o x o

Tasmin

TROPICAL CHRISTMAS - WAVY, BABY

Ah, Maiden Cay (Lime Cays likkle badgyal sister). 

I think the name Maiden Cay is funny and ironic considering how bad people get on out there. The combination of rum, sun and half naked people can only mean one thing; wildness. 

ICONIC image. I don't know who took it, but if you're from Kingston you know this photo.

Photo from Pintrest

We went out on a yacht with a big group of people. The best part of endless summer seasons is bikinis. For this trip I chose a party bikini rather than one actually meant for swimming.

It rained a bit in the morning and so the sea was choppy and dark, but then there was a beautiful rainbow over Kingston that made the rain worth it. Can you spot it in the video? 

Dreamy.

x o x o 

TROCIAL CHRISTMAS - CASTAWAY

My European friends are always amazed at the thought of a sunny Christmas. Anybody who has watched TV knows that Christmas = fireplaces, snow, reindeer and white Santa Claus in a wooly red hat etc.

In Jamaica we still have the Santa Claus but he's usually black... sometimes skinny. I imagine he's really sweaty and hot running around in his red woollies. My mummy used to tell me that Santa had to slip through the bars on the windows instead of down the chimney, because people don't generally have fireplaces in the Caribbean.

We spend most of the time outdoors, usually on veranda's or terraces next to pools or the ocean. I ate Christmas brunch on a bamboo chair in the sunshine wearing a dress.

On my second day we took a canoe out to Lime Cay, a tiny tiny little island about 20 minutes off the coast of Kingston. It's about the size of a football field with nothing on it except sand and some wild trees. My friend said she felt like Robinson Crusoe. 


Lime Cay essentials:

Sunblock (The sun out there is no joke)
Towel
Sarong
Bikini
Appleton Rum (VX if you're flossin, Special if you're not)
Coconut Water (for chaser)
Water (so you don't get heat stroke)
Lighter
Ganja
Rizzla (Raws, please)
Some cash for the canoe man ($1500 JMD or $15 USD round trip)
Iphone camera
Food! (We ate about 20 bags of plantain chips, but usually people bring KFC)

photo above from http://absolutetraveladdict.com/2012/12/20/lime-cay-beach-port-royal-kingston-jamaica/

So who wants to come visit? 

x o x o

STRAWBERRY HILL, JAMAICA

It's that time of year again! Christmas on my paradise island.

After months of being away from home I took two flights and I'm here, and now I don't want to leave. 

The past few days have been a whirlwind of family, parties, reggae music, sun and rum.

Strawberry Hill Hotel is a magical space perched high up the Blue Mountains above Kingston. This hotel has a really interesting history and is currently owned by Chris Blackwell - founder of the Island Records label. 

Blackwell is the music industry icon that released Bob Marley & the Wailers first album "Catch A Fire". According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to which Blackwell was inducted in 2001, he is the single person most responsible for turning the world on to reggae music. 

Strawberry Hill has been a haven for musicians, artists and creatives from Bob Marley and Grace Jones to U2 and The Rolling Stones. 



The roads up the mountain are windy and have pot holes galore. It's a pretty intense drive if you're not used to it. As you climb up from Kingston the air gets very cool and the vegetation changes from tropical palm trees to rainforest firs and bamboo.

We drove up in the afternoon to have Jamaica's world famous Blue Mountain coffee and watch the sunset.

The property was designed by one of Jamaica's most respected architects - Ann Hodges. 

There are several secluded villas, a restaurant and beautiful spa, amongst other luxuries. I have been up here for a yoga class on the pavilion in the photo below, over looking a vast green valley. After yoga the hotel provided brunch and cocktails or coffee. 

First day back on the rock and it was magical. My little piece of heaven, I missed you.