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Welcome to Cheryl's Travel Blueprint! I’m a former Spanish teacher turned travel advisor, passionate about curating unforgettable experiences. My expertise lies in European adventures (with a special love for Spain), cruising, and all-inclusive Caribbean getaways. I specialize in creating tailored trips for families, multi-generational groups, and teachers—whether they’re traveling solo, with colleagues, or leading student groups.
In this podcast, we celebrate the joy of travel, uncover hidden gems, share practical tips and tricks, and embrace the spirit of adventure. Each episode features inspiring conversations with fascinating guests from all walks of life as they share their unique travel stories, lessons, and favorite destinations. Whether you're planning your next getaway or simply love to dream about the possibilities, this is your place to explore the world from wherever you are.
Let’s embark on this journey together! 🌍✈️
Have you ever visited a place that instantly felt like home? Today, we're diving into a destination where the rhythm moves through the streets, the food tells a story, and the culture welcomes you with open arms. We're talking about Jamaica, beyond the beaches, beyond the resorts, and into the heart of the island. And today, we're going to be joined by someone who knows Jamaica better than anyone, Diane Holland from the Jamaica Tourist Board. From must -experience cultural gems and what's new on the island, after the recent hurricane recovery, she's giving us the inside scoop you can't get from a brochure. So settle in, because this is going to be a conversation full of insight, inspiration and travel ideas you want to add straight to your bucket list. Welcome, Diane, and thank you for joining us. My pleasure. Can you tell us a little bit about your role at the Jamaica Tourist Board? Well, first, I want to thank you so much for my being here. We appreciate it. I am the District Sales Manager for the Jamaica Tourist Board, with the responsibility of 15 Southwest USA states. I've been with them a long time. Wonderful, wonderful. And what makes you passionate about sharing Jamaica with travelers? Well, I've worked for my island home for my entire working life. This is my 47th year with the Jamaica Tourist Board, my 47th year working, my 47th year representing my destination, my island home, Jamaica. Jamaica is different. It's not just that I was born there, so I need to represent it well. Jamaica is my bloodline. I mean, it's in me. You couldn't pay me enough for what I do. It has to be a passion. We don't profess to be perfect. And thank you, John Legend. I think we are the perfect imperfection. And I think that's why people travel, for the imperfections. And Jamaica has it. And I believe in that, where travel is concerned. And that's why I have a passion for Jamaica. Well, that's beautiful. I can feel your passion. It comes through with just the way you light up when you talk about it. Yes. Definitely. Absolutely. So can you tell us a little bit, Diane, about the current travel trends that you're seeing in Jamaica? Who's traveling to Jamaica? What are some reasons that they might be interested in traveling to Jamaica? Well, actually, what keeps people coming is that they heard somewhere along the line that the people, you know, you go to some places, it's the scenery, it's the history, it's this, it's that. People, everyone is hearing about the Jamaican people, and I think it's our richest asset. These days, when anyone travels, they're traveling more for just being somewhere different. They're traveling for experiences. And trust me, Jamaica is more than a destination. It is an experience, and it reads to your sight. It reads to your hearing and, oh my gosh, your teeth. It just appeals to everyone that goes there. And the average traveler these days want to know that when they go somewhere, that they immerse themselves. not just going in a hotel room, staying there, seeing some of the sights and attractions, but to immerse themselves in the culture. And Jamaica has all of that and more. Absolutely. I want to go right by the book of flight right now. We were talking about it. Absolutely. Can you think of some things that travelers don't necessarily know about Jamaica? a lot of persons don't realize how diverse our people are. We're 90 % African descent, but the other 10 after slavery was abolished, they needed people to continue working the plantations. So somehow it got out that we needed help. Some were escaping religious problems, political problems, whatever they were escaping. They came to Jamaica to work and to leave. However, so many of them didn't leave. So Jamaica, though it's basically only 10 % of our population, is made up of such cultures from every corner of the world. So that's what makes our people so interesting. So curry, every Jamaican, curry. You know where that came from, our East Indians. Jamaicans also, we all do cook with soy sauce. We do have a Chinese population, and I have to mention jerk. You hear the term jerk, this jerk in the cooking, and it's not the person that prepare the meal why we call them a jerk. It's a method that's coming back from slavery. a way of preserving meat. It's first in the seasoning, the spices of the island that's used in preparing the meat, and then slow cooking it over an open grill. It's moving it along that grill, that's why it's called jerk. That came from our African tradition. And Jamaica, the Jews settled in Jamaica before they did New York. So with all those blends and more, of course, the food, yeah, and we're just a unique set of people. It speaks to us. You see it in our culture. A lot of people don't realize that they're full Chinese in Jamaica. Yeah, I heard about that recently and I was just like, really? yeah so a lot of people don't know that so whenever I get it all the time when I'm around my best friend she's full Chinese and then when you hear her talking like me and then you give it a double you know did I hear that right and um But that's something people don't know about us. Another thing is that how resilient we are. We're a small island. We're very resilient. We're strong, strong. -willed people. And we carry that everywhere we go. You never tell a Jamaican that we can't. We're going to go to whatever length it takes to prove you wrong if you think we can't do something to strengthen our people. Many people don't know that. Most folks don't know how strong we are. A couple other things very unique about us. Well, since we're talking about resilience, now might be a good time to ask about what's going on with the infrastructure in light of the recent hurricane. Well, Jamaica was hit by the strongest hurricane in history. NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has confirmed that Hurricane Melissa was the strongest in recorded history, modern history, with sustained winds of 252 miles per hour My God, it's hard to imagine. Jamaica, I always say, is no ordinary destination. The first, I'll start out with this, the first hurricane in recorded time, modern history, that hit the island was in 1951. 37 years later, in 1988, we had another hurricane hitting us. And 37 years later, three weeks ago, just about a month ago, we experienced another hurricane. So there has to be something with a 37 -year mile, 37 -year marker. Again, Jamaica does not do things ordinarily. And if they should create another strength of hurricane, It is said that we, the strongest hurricane hit Jamaica, which was a level five. If they should create another level, it's going to be because of Jamaica. Because now it's been confirmed that Melissa was the strongest in history with 255 miles per hour winds. That has to be created. I think we just created a level six, I think. But with that strong, strong wind and rain and all that water, yes, the infrastructure was damaged. Many of our roads, hotels, homes, vegetation, anything that you can imagine, you know, were affected. But we're strong and to tell you a bit and going back to show our resilience, our flag, green, gold, and black. Each color reminds us daily of things about the island. The gold for the sunshine and all the wonderful things that to us, the green for the natural vegetation, the black for the majority of people on the island. But it also reminds us of adversities. Once we have overcome the ones we are expecting, because we always have some adversity, and Here comes Melissa. It's no different. But we keep going. It has slowed us down, but it just reminds us that black in the flag to keep going. We're a strong set of people. And before I go off the subject of the flag, we're different again. It's the only flag in the world that has no colors of the United States flag. Jamaica is not an ordinary destination. Of course, with a hurricane that strong, a lot was damaged. And we need time. People's lives were uprooted. We're still there. And many people might be asking, oh gosh, I want to help. We feel your heart. We know that Jamaica is loved. and we feel everyone, we know what you're thinking about us and we know you all want to help. The biggest help anyone can give us is to come down because that is supporting the destination directly. We know it's not possible for everyone and there are many, many ways of giving back. This is one time that we are not going to. we're not going to turn down anything because we were damaged. We'll be modest enough to say we were damaged. However, we are still there. There are hotels that are operating, attractions that are operating. The entire island was not devastated. There are good portions that are still there. Our green vegetation will come back, but it will take a while, but we will come back still. If you are understanding of these things and manage expectations, it's fine coming down. Yeah, absolutely. Come on. That makes sense. You know, things aren't going to happen right away. But like you said, the entire island wasn't fully destroyed. You know, there's still places to go, local people to support, you know. Exactly. Exactly. And if I may quickly bring up something, the hurricane before that hit us in 1988, we didn't have Facebook, we didn't have YouTube as popular, social media just wasn't there as they are today. A question I asked, and I get asked as well, Why is it that everything looks brown? Junique, it's a green, lush island. I ask a question as well. Usually when you chop a tree down or a tree falls, it stays green for a while. But I ask the question, why does everything look brown, as if a bomb was dropped or it was a fire and not water? And I got the answer, chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is what makes the plants green. And with this hurricane, well, chlorophyll does not like salt. Salt kills chlorophyll. And with all the the droplets from the sea that was brought inland by the wind, that's what killed the vegetation along the coastal area. So, that answers that part. When you look at something and it looks as if, you know, it looks so brown, that's the answer for that. MAGALIE LAGUERRE -WILKINSON It should come back eventually, you know, it takes time for plants to grow. CLAUDIA FILOS That has started, it has started to come back. Yeah. It takes a little bit of time. It will. That resilience you were talking about. Yes. So speaking of you were saying that people should that's a great way to support the island and, you know, being able to come back. What are some top emerging destinations beyond Montego Bay, Ocho Rios or Negril? Puerto Antonio resort area. I would guess that you mean. You mean areas in Jamaica? An emerging area in Jamaica is Port Antonio. That's in the eastern part of the island, one of the most beautiful side of the island. The backdrop of Port Antonio is our highest mountain range, so it gets most of the rainfall, so it's beautiful, it's so lush. And it happens to be that side of the island that got the least of the rain. by the hurricane. So it's so beautiful. And that, I think, is an emerging resort area. And if not many hotels are there right now, a lot of guest houses and smaller boutique properties. But if you ever get a chance to go to the eastern part of Jamaica, Port Antonio or Portland, the parish, and St. Thomas, you know, do so. And on another one is Kingston. Kingston. So many people, when they hear go to Kingston, they think, no, not Kingston, no, not, come on. Kingston is a city of about a million people. The hustle and bustle will be there, but that's where our culture, is headquartered. If you want to enjoy a variety of restaurants, of course, be in the heartbeat of Jamaica, take a trip to Kingston. So before we continue, if you're loving these insider conversations about destinations around the world, make sure you subscribe to Cheryl's Travel Blueprint. Yes, absolutely. You know, we have a new episode dropping every week. So don't forget to hit that subscribe button. It's somewhere down here or more like down here. Don't know exactly where. Ring that bell so you get notified and you'll never miss an episode. Give us a like and a comment. Let us know where in Jamaica you would like to travel. We want to hear from you guys. So don't be shy. Get to typing a comment. So why don't we talk a little bit about you? You mentioned jerk already, but are there some other foods that are just must -try foods for travelers that are coming there for the first time, like local dishes or hidden gems, things like that? Our curry, curry anything, curry chicken, curry goat, which is very similar to lamb. Also, make sure you try our oxtail. A lot of people are familiar with oxtail, but you need to try the Jamaican oxtail. Anything that is cooked in Jamaica is seasoned well. That's one thing. we know is how to season very well, even a hot dog, hamburger. If you have a hamburger in Jamaica, it's not just going to be a meat patty throw on the grill and you season it with a slice of onion and maybe a little pepper over it. It's seasoned before it's thrown on the grill. So try our food. Try our food. There's a national dish called and codfish. The ackee is not something that is familiar to many folks. Actually, it was brought from Africa, but most African countries don't use it. Other Caribbean islands, it grows there. However, they don't use it. The ackee itself is a vegetable that's grown on a tree in a pot and before it opens up naturally to expose that portion of that pod that is used in the dish, it's poisonous. So it has to open naturally on the tree and once opened it reveals these little pegs of vegetable that is cleaned, boiled and It's sauteed with salted cod. Salted cod is another thing that's not really popular in the U . S. Salted cod, you know, it's done somewhere in Canada, but it's first soaked until it gets to the point where it's edible because, of course, it's preserved in salt. and then seasoned in all our spices, our onions, our garlic, our scallion, our thyme, and then throwing in those pods with some tomato cubes. Gotta try that. It looks very similar to scrambled eggs, but tastes nothing like scrambled eggs. You've got to taste it to know. Breadfruit. Breadfruit, that is popular. in Hawaiian Southern Pacific, South Pacific islands. We use it as well. Differently, we bake it or roast it, and then on the inside, it's like a bread. It's almost as flaky as a bread. Doughy, but, oh, delicious as well. All of that together with your ackee and salt, beautiful. Try it. If you ever go to Jamaica, try it. Don't go to Jamaica. You're doing us an injustice if you come to Jamaica and not try our food. It does sound delicious. Yeah. And Jamaicans, I'm not going to pick it before time. Do not do that. And yet, during the time of slavery and during around that time, I get to understand that the pods were used as soap. The Maroons of Jamaica used to use that as soap, and I think certain areas in Africa, they use the pods because I get to understand it suds very similar to soap and it can clean as well. I've never seen it used but you know. Multipurpose. Yes. Exactly. And another reason to actually go to Jamaica instead of trying it here because you can get it prepared properly and just have the whole experience. Get it from the source. Or if you go to a restaurant, a Jamaican restaurant here, you can try it there. Okay. I'm holding out for my trip. How can people, how can tourists be responsible when they visit Jamaica? Don't go expecting somewhere else. Don't go with expectations that might not be met. Be courteous. Jamaicans very courteous people. We're very kind. We love to talk. Don't be rude. Don't be rude to us. Don't be rude because we can be even worse. We're some very friendly people, but don't cross us wrong. Be kind to us. Just be kind to us as we would want you We would want you to be kind to us when we come here. We're a set of friendly people, and as I mentioned before, our people are our richest asset, so. And don't call us natives. Don't, don't call us natives. We don't like the term. Yeah. And don't, another thing, don't say we are poor. Yeah, that is out of line. Yes, because, because poor is relative. Some people will try it. Yeah, because they see a house in Jamaica that might not be painted or may not look beautiful. However, you can't determine that that person is poor. Poor is relative. That person may be richer than you are. They own the land that they're on. They own the home. If there's a car in the On the property, it is theirs. We don't have layaway plans, and most people don't have mortgages on them. home. So would you call that person who owns their home, their land, their car? I think they're richer than me. I have a mortgage, I'm making payments on my car. Who is richer? Don't call us poor. Poor is relative. Our homes are clean. Jamaicans are very scornful. We're very clean people, so don't call us poor. And most of the time when someone is homeless in Jamaica, it's because there's a mental problem. Not because they're out of a home. Not because they don't have a job, rather. Because we'll use whatever means to make a home. Absolutely. So don't call us poor. Right. And I mean, I think that's common decency, you know, just to be respectful of other people as you would want them to be towards you, you know. And I know that a lot of and sometimes travelers don't realize that, which is kind of sad. Yeah. You know, they'll see it and the first thing that comes to mind, oh, my God, they're so poor. They're so poor. Oh, no. You know. It's not necessarily the case. When you look at it most of the time, when you look into it, we're richer because we don't have that load on our brain. We don't have to worry about a mortgage. We don't have to worry about this. We're free spirited. So would you say that it's easy for a tourist to connect with people? Because one of the things that I love doing when I visit another place is I like to learn about the people and make connections and things like that. It sounds to me like it would be very easy to connect and have some meaningful conversations. Of course, because when you do that, you realize that we have more in common. then we don't, you know, just speak to people. As I mentioned, Jamaicans love to talk. It might take a little moment to break the ice, but we love to talk. We want to know about you as much as we want you to know about us. We're not fair weather friends. When you, once you go to Jamaica, you are going to make a friend that you're going to have for life. We're not going to be around during the good times only. And another thing about us is that you tell us something we remember. So we continuously ask you, do you still have this problem with the dog next door? We listen. We listen to you when you speak, and we hear you. Not only listen, we hear you. So we love to talk. That's another way of connecting with our people. And we love to share ideas. We just, we're people, people. And that's, that's important because when you, that's, that's, like I said, that's one of the things that I love about travel is getting to know people and having some memories to take back. And, you know, and like you said, having a friend for life when you go someplace and, you know, you know that you can come back and, you know, to see him again. Yes, yes, yes. And that's something that we do have. You connect with the people. Yes, indeed. So, speaking of connecting with people, what are the best times to visit the island? Well, Jamaica is warm year -round. We don't have seasons. We don't know spring, summer, autumn, nor winter. We have one season, it's always warm. We do have traditional rainy months, April, May, September, October, what that basically means. You're going to get some showers and that's what keeps us green. We are within hurricane belt. The hurricane belt is not just Jamaica and the Caribbean. It also, for the past couple of years, hurricanes have affected the U . S. more than they have Jamaica. We are within the hurricane belt and the hurricane season is June through November. However, it doesn't mean that there will always be a hurricane. Hurricane develops off the coast of Africa and based on the warmth of the water, you know, will develop into something or may die naturally. But Don't go by all of that. We have more sunny days in Jamaica than anything that will affect your stay. So whenever you are ready, whenever anyone is ready, we are ready as well. Absolutely. Could you talk about any unique experiences that you could have in Jamaica? you know, depending on if someone's traveling with their family versus if someone's traveling alone or maybe they just have a friend or two with them? What would be some unique or interesting experiences to have in those situations? I think if you're traveling with children, I'll start there. Make sure that they meet other Jamaican children so that they can ask questions of each other. Schools in Jamaica are a little different than they are here in the U . S. Number one, all school children must wear uniforms. And, you know, they might want to know, why is it that you wear uniforms? Back in the U . S. , when they wear uniforms, it's a private school or a Catholic school or something. Why do all the schools in Jamaica wear uniforms? And what it teaches the children is that once you're in school to learn, nothing should differentiate you. Not the shoe you wear, not the jewelry you're wearing, your hairstyle. Everyone should look the same while you're in school. So the uniforms will just keep you won't say if you have more money than the other kids. So that teaches the kids something, to be appreciative of what they have. You get so much here in the U . S. , all books in Jamaica, textbooks, everything must be purchased by the parents. You don't get that in schools. So having a child experience other children if it's even to go into a school to see how school operate, it goes a mile in their lives. It teaches them a lot. And of course, if you go to Jamaica, you've got to get out of the hotels. Get out. Get out. That's the best way to experience the culture. I cannot. Speaking of on how different our culture is and how unique it is, you will get some of that in the hotel. However, you cannot get it completely. Like when you immerse yourself with the people, walk among them, speak with them, with us, I should say. Speak with us and, you know, do that. Experience our our food go to our attractions. A lot of our attractions in Jamaica cannot be found anywhere else in the world. They just cannot be recreated. It's just so much about that little island. And I always say, if you take this hotel and place it in another country, it's the same hotel. However, you cannot replace the destination. So when you go anywhere, in this case, Jamaica, get out and just experience. You go with a family, make sure that they meet with other families. And we, the Jamaica Tourist Board, used to have a program, and I hope they bring it back someday, that was called Meet the People. It was free, and what it did, you just tell us your interest, and we put you in touch with person or persons of similar interest. Because when you meet, say a teacher going down to Jamaica, and we put you in touch with a Jamaican teacher, you'd be surprised to see the differences, the things you can exchange, ways to keep that child in their seat, keeping their mouth closed and speak when you're spoken to, that kind of thing. There are so many cultural exchanges that can be made. So any interaction with Jamaicans is good. It's beautiful. Once you visit. Absolutely. I think that's a great way to get perspective also, you know. I think being able to think of another person's perspective is obviously a valuable thing, but that's a great way as well, you know, connecting with people, seeing how people are really living, you know. Definitely. And Jamaicans love to debate. We love to debate. Yeah. Debate with us. We're ready. I love it. Can you tell us about a personal favorite memory or place on the island? You know, Personal memory is my growing up. I was brought up in the countryside of Jamaica, modest upbringing, many things I didn't experience until I came to this country. We never thought, and it's something that's not brought to our attention when we're little, is that we are poor. That was never brought to us. But now reflecting to when we're growing up, oh my gosh, we didn't have this, we didn't experience that. I guess in modern times, we would call that poor. And how Some, a memory that keeps coming back, there were seven siblings that my parents brought up, and yet now to date, and we're brought up in the country, the middle of Jamaica, modest upbringing, yet we're brought up with discipline, and we are who we all are today because of our upbringing. That's a memory that sticks with me. And I've carried on to my kids as well. I never shied from my modest upbringing. But those things, I remember how strict our school uniforms were. We couldn't wear jewelry. We couldn't wear anything outside our uniforms, any color, any ink. hear accessories outside of our school colors. Those things remain and actually makes me who I am today. So those are valuable memories to me. That's beautiful. So do you have recommendation of something that, like as a visitor, that they should not leave the island without doing? Getting out of the hotels. Experience Dunn's River Falls. Dunn's River Falls is one of our attractions. It's a natural waterfall that cascades like a tiered cake. a wedding cake. It's natural. So many people see it in pictures and think that it is water that's pumped. It's a natural waterfall that you start from the top. You take the stairs down to sea level. You start from sea level and you climb with a guide or if you feel you're able to, you go by yourself and you make your way all the way up 600 feet or as far up as you can go. You can come off whenever you want. That is only Jamaica. You're only going to find a Dunn's River Falls in Jamaica. You'll find waterfalls everywhere all over the world. Not many of them you can negotiate and climb and experience and feel it beat on your shoulders. That's something I'd say do not leave Jamaica without doing. Don't forget to experience our food. Yeah, that sounds beautiful to witness. Well, you've sold us. Absolutely. Book my flight tonight. Yes, we want you though. Well, Diane, this has been such a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for sharing Jamaica with us. and the spirit of Jamaica. Yep. And if y 'all enjoyed today's episode, do not forget to subscribe to Cheryl's Travel Blueprint. You don't want to miss what's coming next and the episodes that we have planning coming up. So just be sure to subscribe, give us a like and comment. What did you find most interesting about this conversation today? I know it's going to be hard to pick just one thing. But, you know, sound off in those comments below and let us know what you guys are thinking. And we've got more incredible destinations, inspiring guests and behind the scenes travel insights on the way. So as Brittany said, hit that subscribe button and share this episode with someone who's dreaming of Jamaica. And we will see you next time. Thank you again, Diane, for being with us. We appreciate you taking the time. I know you are a busy woman and you got a lot going on, but thank you for taking the time to speak with us. No, thank you so much for this opportunity.