I love Salsa dancing and would love to visit the country where it all started from; Cuba!

Not sure whether it's the music, the tropical sour sop fruit, or the simple fact that it's practically forbidden that sparked my undeniable infatuation with the exotic island. 

To start with a brief history, Cuba has been under the Communist regime since the 1950's when Fidel Castro began to rule. Because of the ongoing political disputes between The United States and Cuba, American's have not been able to see the many wonders and hidden gems of the country; until now. 

Great news, Americans! Obama is currently in progress of carrying out a plan to settle civil diplomatic relations with Cuba, which means there will be significant opportunities for Americans to travel there in the near future.

Here is a link to an article I found about the numerous ways an American can find ways around the travel embargo and what you'll need to visit:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-travel-to-cuba-before-it-gets-mobbed-by-americans-2015-07-20

The other day, I stumbled upon an article on the BBC website glorifying the hidden gem of Baracoa city in Cuba. Author Kerry Phillips Badal names Baracoa "the lost Eden" and shares her  unique experience at this unfamiliar territory. Badal notes that the reason why Baracoa has remained hidden is due to the difficulty of accessing it. Apparently, the "rickety" plains from Havana or boat transportation is the only means of reaching it. 

"The lack of infrastructure is hardly a bad thing, though, as it's allowed Baracoans to develop traditions, tastes and attitudes that are uniquely their own," Badal claims.

According to Badal's account, the food from Baracoa differs greatly from the traditional commercialized food in the rest of Cuba and Miami, Florida. While most traditional dishes consist of black beans and rice, the food of Baracoa is a combination of Haitian, French, and Taino Indian influence. The teti river fish is a seafood delicacy while the chorrote is a type of hot chocolate served fresh from the local people and many of the nearby cafes.

One of the island's most unique deserts is the cucurucho. It's essentially like an ice cream cone, but made with rolled palms and filled with a mixture of honey, guava, papaya, coconut, and sugar. 

(Credit: Tanveer Badal)

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20151210-an-island-paradise-you-havent-seen

 Call me a deviant foodie, but doesn't that sound and look delicious?

She also mentions ,"According to Unesco, it's "one of the most biologically diverse tropical ecosystems in an island setting anywhere on Earth" and it hosts a lengthy list of endemic species that includes more than 1,000 flowering plants, man groves and palm, cacao and banana trees within its borders,"(Badal).


Unlike many other luxury all inclusive resorts on the Caribbean beaches, Baracoa is full of remote waters with little to no crowds except for the small beach huts selling fresh juices. 

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20151210-an-island-paradise-you-havent-seen
                                               (Credit: Tanveer Badal)

If you love hoards of tourists covering every square inch of the beach, you can stick with your Cancun vacation. As for me, I'm adding Baracoa to my bucket list!

As I had mentioned previously, this past September of 2015, I visited Jamaica.

Despite what a wonderful country it is, it didn't score highly on lists of the most visited countries.
I'm actually stunned that more tourists are not visiting this beautiful, culturally rich, turquoise island.
Many people to know little to nothing about the Jamaican culture or history other than Bob Marley, Reggae, and dreadlocks. Little do they know, there's so much more to this small Caribbean island.
Here are some of my reasons why I recommend a vacation in Jamaica (particularly in Negril, but the rest of the places I visited were awesome too).

1. There's miles of  white sand beaches with turquoise water. Not only is it clear, but the water is warm. It's great for swimming since there's no high tides or strong waves. Sharks are not much of a nuisance if you're afraid of them like me. One of the last recorded shark attacks in Negril was in the 80's. Also, notice something strange or unusual(in the photos of the beaches below)? The beaches are practically uninhabited! Since I went during the off peak hurricane season, there was barely any tourists! My friend and I practically had the beach to ourselves. This is a great place to visit from the months of May-September if you want to avoid crowds or hoards of other tourists.

2. The culture. This would consist of everything from music to the delicious food. There are plenty of authentic places to eat in Negril. You can sit down for freshly cooked snapper fish, or some jerk chicken if you don't like sea food. You won't see frozen plantains here. This is the cuisine for you if you're an adventurous eater and like a spicy kick once in a while. Along the 7 mile Beach in Negril, you can find Bourbon Beach where people flock during the night to listen to live Reggae music and dance in the sand. Rick's Cafe is another great place to hang out and eat or simply have a drink at the bar if you want to stick around for live Reggae music on a Friday night. If you'd like to know more about the Rastafarian or Selassie culture, there's plenty of guided tours in Montego Bay that take you around the villages to learn about traditional Jamaican culture and history.

3. The locals. I can honestly say, I've never felt so welcome in a country other than my own. If locals approach you, don't be nervous. They love approaching tourists to see where they're from and if it's their first time visiting Jamaica. I can't count the amount of times I was asked, "Is this your first time in Jamaica", followed by "Welcome to Paradise!". By the end of the week, I was even called a "Jamerican" by one of our local guides who spent the day with us and drove us around to our destinations. The locals do their best to make you feel comfortable in their country and feel as though you're one of them. The Jungle nightclub is a great place to hang out with locals, drink some of their famous rum punch, and dance the night away until 3 or 4 AM. Not that there's anything wrong with tourists, but I'm so glad I went during an off peak season because it gave me the chance to get familiar with so many of the locals and try to experience what it's like in their daily lives.

4. Out door activities. As I already mentioned, the beaches are amazing. There's also plenty of other activities to do if you're a nature lover as well. There's Duns River Falls for those who like water falls and rock climbing. There's river tubing, zip lining, swimming with the dolphins, horse back riding on the sand, mineral spring waters, and so many other outdoor activities to do if you're a nature lover.

5. Reasonably priced. Flying to the Caribbean from the American continents is obviously cheaper than flying all the way to Europe, Asia, or Africa. You can five 3 to 5 star all inclusive resorts in Jamaica for the price you'll find a mediocre hotel room here in the states. Many of the hotels are affordable and a one minute walk from the beach. I stayed at the Negril Tree House Resort which was conveniently, right on the 7 mile beach. The hotels are safe and have plenty of security making sure the tourists are being taken care of, they also have on site taxis that are always ready to take guests whenever they're on the go.

Hopefully one, if not all of these reasons convinced you to put Jamaica on your bucket list. :)

Below are some pictures from my recent trip here along with some brief captions. 



This day was a bit overcast due to the hurricane season, but nevertheless, the beach is always beautiful regardless.

The Blue Hole near Ocho Rios - a hidden gem in the middle of nowhere that not many tourists seem to know about where there's multiple rope swings and cliff jumps.

On the glass bottom boat getting ready to snorkel!

Rick's Cafe mid dive. Rick's Cafe is one of the most famous restaurants in the world for its outdoor view of the sunset, the live Reggae music, and cliff diving open to the public. This was the actually the smaller jump, the high dive jump was much taller and is only recommended for experienced divers.

Duns River Falls (Ocho Rios)

Duns River Falls in Ocho Rios. One of the hottest tourist attractions in Jamaica. Unlike the ocean, this water was pretty cold, but it was worth the hike up all the rocks at the end.

Best of the West jerk restaurant(Negril). If you've never tried jerk chicken, pork, or oxtail, you ABSOLUTELY MUST. The best part was that the owner cooked the jerk fresh on his grill right in front of us.

Though many Jamaicans live in poverty, this was an area I came across with beach house mansions.

Our friendly and comical snorkel guide Marcus who took us out on his glass bottom boat.(Negril)

Sunny day at the beach in Ocho Rios near Duns River Falls. Isn' t the water beautiful?

Rick's Cafe in Negril. You can find just as many locals here as tourists. The locals are known for being extremely friendly and love to approach tourists.

Fun fact I took a picture of that was on the first page of the menu at Rick's Cafe

Rick's Cafe and some random Canadian tourist who decided he wanted to photobomb us :p

River tubing near Montego Bay! This was one of the most fun activities that included a rope swing at the end of the river.

I'm Jamie, and I'm enchanted by the enormous beautiful world we live in! I was born and raised in the bay area and grew up in a multicultural society where I've constantly been surrounded by other races, cultures, foods, and religions. This may just be one of the main factors that ignited my curiosity.

I'm intrigued by other cultures and love learning about other countries. I often find myself enticed by foreign movies, and if it were possible for me to learn at least five languages fluently, I would! I'm a very adventurous eater and enjoy trying new foods, and exploring different cultural traditions as well.

I have dedicated this blog solely to traveling and cultural life styles because that's one of aspect of life that has never ceased to fascinate me.

This past September 2015, I finally took my first vacation out of the country in JAMAICA!

Not only did I enjoy every moment of it, but it was also very eye opening and only further fueled my desire to travel. Some of the countries I'd like to visit are: Greece, Spain, Ireland, The Dominican Republic, Egypt, Morocco, Tahiti, and the list could go on forever.

A blog I would highly recommend for people who love travelling is "NotWedorDead", which is written by a young woman named Katy who decided to travel the world after her fiance called of their wedding. She offers great tips for people who travel alone and inspirational tips for getting through hard times.  (http://www.notwedordead.com/)

 Another blog I would suggest with helpful tips for people with incurable wanderlust like me is called "Travel. Paint. Repeat." which consists of numerous posts from artist Megan Van Groll about how to travel on a budget, and how to be successful with your own independent career. (http://travelpaintrepeat.com/tagged/travel)