At the word "Jamaica" scraps of pirate stories and reggae tunes appear in my head, and on my lips - a smack of rum and aromatic Mountain Blue coffee, which is grown on the island in its northern, mountainous part. Even now, when the opportunity to travel around the world is open for Russians, few of them get to this corner of the Caribbean, Cuba and the Dominican Republic are more popular. Jamaica is chosen by those who love extreme sports.
Geographic location of Jamaica
Jamaica is one of the Greater Antilles, this group, in addition to it, includes Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands. Cuba is located very close to Jamaica - 100 km to the north, to the east, 120 km is the island of Haiti. The main part of the territory of the island of Jamaica is occupied by mountains, the highest - Mountain Blue peak reaches 2256 m above sea level.
The island is very picturesque, covered with tropical forests, it is dotted with gorges and plateaus, its relief is uneven and there are beautiful waterfalls on many rivers. Healing mineral springs gush out of the rocky rocks.
The borders of the state coincide with the borders of the island, the area of which is 11, 5 thousand square kilometers, from east to west, in its widest part, the island stretches for 235 kilometers.
White-skinned people are rarely seen on the streets of Kingston, especially in the port area of Down Town, and their appearance is of interest to the local population. But Jamaicans are very open and friendly.
Jamaica is an island with an interesting history
Jamaica was located close to the sea routes by which the Spaniards exported wealth from the territory of America discovered by them. Naturally, caravels loaded with gold attracted the attention of pirates, whose bases were located in cozy, protected from prying eyes bays of the Greater Antilles, including Jamaica. Even the name of its capital - Kingston - comes from those Kingstones, technological holes in the holds of ships that were opened to flood them.
On the island, not far from the capital, there are the remains of a fort and coastal fortifications that have survived from those distant times. In 1692, a large earthquake occurred in Jamaica, but the structures of the fort were not destroyed - the buildings simply bent over and now tourists can bring interesting photos from Jamaica when a person standing upright is in a room with sloping walls and a ceiling.
Jamaica is the birthplace of the "king of reggae" Bob Marley, in Kingston there is a house-museum of this famous singer, whose cult is supported by the locals in every possible way.
Until 1962, Jamaica was a British colony, and then gained independence, this event, as usual, was accompanied by ethnic clashes, now they are in the past, although road signs in the vicinity of Kingston are dotted with bullet holes. Jamaica remained under the jurisdiction of England and the formal head of state was Queen Elizabeth II.
The island-state is governed by the principle of parliamentary democracy, the representative of the queen is the Governor-General, and his colonial-style palace is located in the center of Kingston.
