We're on our way once more, heading northwards for Cuba, and onward to Florida. Our stay in Jamaica proves to be more than just a welcome stop - it turns out to be an experience in its own right. We don't quite end up with the amount of relaxation we'd hoped for, but we make up for it Thursday evening.
Port Antonio has a fascinating history. It was the birthplace of tourism in the Caribbean, run off the back of the banana trade. We've been very kindly hosted by Earl Levy, owner of the Trident Villas and Hotel (www.tridentjamaica.com), probably the most famous hotel in Jamaica. It's a wonderful collection of white-painted villas and gazebos set along one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline. Our villa has large paddle fans in the ceiling, and a verandah with wicker chairs enjoying a secluded view of the sea, and peacocks strutting the lawns.
The elegant lounge in the main building has framed signed photographs of just a few of its many celebrity guests over the years - Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, Glenn Close, Noel Coward and Eddie Albert. But there have been many, many more. Luciano Pavarotti has stayed, and I discover as I chat to Earl that I'm sitting in the very chair relaxed in by Sir Anthony Hopkins the last time he came along. Trident has seen politicians and royalty, too. It was a great favourite with Princess Margaret, and Colin Powell has stayed, as well as John F. Kennedy Jr.
Earl throws a small reception for us, and one of the guests is Pat Flynn, widow of movie legend Erroll. She lives in Port Antonio, but when Erroll was alive, they owned Navy Island, a beautiful island set in between the two natural harbours of Port Antonio.
I ask her what she thinks of current plans to commercialise it, and she pulls a face. "When my husband and I lived there," she says, "we lived on a boat, and the island was our garden. We were always here except when we had to go to Los Angeles for filming."
Earl takes us for a walk along a beautiful winding trail to the Castle. Originally built as his home away from Kingston, the Castle is now part of Trident, and can be rented in its entirety for a cool six thousand dollars a day. It has the look of a place much older than it really is, with antique furniture, and all sorts of architectural curiosities, including a pair of crocodile statues guarding the main entrance, made, I'm told, by the man who did the special effects for "Jaws"
As stops go, we certainly needed this one, although having overcome the initial severe bout of land-sickness, we now have to get used to being on the water again. Our very special thanks to Earl Levy and his daughter Suzanne for their wonderful hospitality, to Lesley and Gareth Halliwell, who plyed us with far more Red Stripe than was good for us, and to Jim Malcolm, HM Ambassador to Panama for setting this up.
Clive Tully
Copyright Clive Tully ©2002
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