January 13, 2025 - Week 51

A milestone has been reached this week, I finally hit Hanover! This completes my bingo card of all 14 parishes of Jamaica: Hanover, St James, Trelawny, St Ann, St Mary, Portland, St Thomas, St Andrew, Kingston, St Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St Elizabeth, and West Moreland.

My friend and I drove through 11 parishes on the weekend as we took the North-South Highway and then the East-West Highway to return. It was a massive feat!

The North Coast parishes offered emerald green and brilliant blue seaside stretches along their white sand beaches; whilst the South Coast offered luscious Palm trees, Jurassic Park-esque hills, and the red mines of Bauxite.

My personal favourite is the underrated St Thomas, with its black and white sand beaches bordered closely by high mountains providing a unique landscape. The North Coast e.g. Montego Bay, Ochi remains a must-visit, however, the ubiquitous resorts and cruise ships with their mainly white tourists add a more artificial and commercialized feel to the Jamaica I know. Portland is the favourite amongst many and I appreciate the jungle, but as someone with insect allergies, the parish has too many insects and rain for me!

And s0, 38 beach visits to 24 different beaches later, I must bid adieu to Jamaica's beaches and prepare myself for Canada's snow. I will wrap up final work requests at my placement this week and offboarding processes at CUSO.

Here also endeth my sand collection: