Jamaica: A warm welcome for everyone

Oct 12 2009 By Anna Smith

Couples Sans Souci, Jamaica _460

Jamaica, even with its lush greenery and beautiful golden sands, isn't always seen as the friendliest island in the Caribbean. It may be home to reggae legend Bob Marley and the world's fastest man, Olympic champion Usain "Lightning" Bolt – as well as some of the finest rum and coffee in the world – but media coverage has painted it as a crime-riddled, dangerous place.

The former British colony reportedly has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with gun crime rife as gangs battle over drugs and turf. So it hardly helped my nerves when a gun-toting "madman" held up a plane and took hostages in Montego Bay, Jamaica's second-largest city, 24 hours before we got there.

But any sense of menace was quickly dispelled as we arrived safely at Sangster International Airport, returned a wave from the smiling ground staff and admired pictures lining the walls painted by children at a nearby school. Our friendly driver, Maxwell, explained the previous day's events, which closed the airport for several hours. He made a "crazy in the head" sign and said the guy was carted off to hospital, with little fuss and no injuries.

It's hard to take in when you see the island's tropical rainforests, sprawling American-style resorts, topsy-turvy shacks and white-washed mansions – one of which, Maxwell pointed out, belongs to Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. The main problem, Maxwell says, is gang violence and gun crime centred in Kingston, on the south of the island, and Montego Bay. But it's all pretty much contained, he shrugs, and petty crime figures are roughly the same as anywhere else.

On the way to our resort, Couples Sans Souci, in the north near the port town of Ocho Rios, Maxwell pointed out tourist hot-spots. There's Dry Harbour, now called Discovery Bay, said to be the landing point of Christopher Columbus when he claimed Jamaica for Spain in 1494.

To the west of the bay is a port where the St Ann Bauxite Company exports aluminium ore. As well as tourism, Jamaica's economy is dependent on mining – it is the second biggest exporter of Bauxite in the world, behind only Australia.  The huge mine, with its giant tunnel leading down to the water's edge where giant ships from around the world fill their loads, employs 450 and is one of the best-paid jobs around "even if you just clean the floors".