Paradise Perspectives
Welcome to "Paradise Perspectives," where island vibes meet personal transformation! 🌴
I’m Riselle, the Traveling Island Girl, and I’m thrilled to have you here. This podcast is all about helping you live your best life—whether that means traveling the Caribbean. starting a new business, shifting your mindset, embracing change, or simply finding the courage to chase your dreams.
Drawing from the beauty and inspiration of my Caribbean home, St. Maarten, I bring you real stories, practical tips, and a whole lot of motivation to help you step into your power. Every episode is designed to empower you to create the life you truly want, with a little bit of island sunshine and a lot of heart.
We’ll dive into topics like career pivots, entrepreneurship, personal growth, and travel—all from the perspective of an island girl who believes that every day is a chance to start something amazing.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a stay-at-home mom, or someone who’s just feeling stuck, this podcast is for you.
Join me on this incredible journey as we explore how to make bold moves, live authentically, and enjoy the ride. Let’s turn those dreams into reality, one sunny day at a time.
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Paradise Perspectives
On a Quest for Hidden Nature Adventures in Jamaica with Kareem LaTouche
Are you ready to explore the nature of Jamaica with my guest, Kareem LaTouche from Kareem's Quest?
We are going to dive into this popular Caribbean destination's rainforests, rivers, and cascading waterfalls, as Kareem expertly guides us on an adventure on the unbeaten paths of his home island Jamaica.
Discover hidden treasures beyond the tourist-infested Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. Our conversation brings to life the authenticity and interconnectedness that Jamaica offers.
For more nature spots you'd want to explore in Jamaica visit Kareem's website and don't miss his alluring videos on YouTube.
Get in touch with Kareem on Facebook or Instagram.
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Hey you, how's your week going? I am so happy that you are able to join me today. I truly am, and I truly bring joy to my heart. You know that you have taken the time out of your busy schedule to lend me an ear, so I want to thank you for that. Before I tell you all about today's destination and guest, I want to remind you to leave a review and a comment there on Apple Podcast, if that is your listening platform of choice, and also let me know how you like to show. You know, just give me a review, let me know how you like it, give me a little blurb, you know, if you get a chance. I thank you so much for that, and if you have any questions that you would like me to answer on a next episode of Paradise Perspectives, don't be shy. Send me an email. You can send it to booking at the travelingislandgirlcom. It is, of course, linked in the show notes, so definitely go check that out at the end of this episode.
Speaker 1:Today is so very special because we're about to take a trip to an island that is so very special, and that island is none other than Jamaica, and today's guest is very well versed in everything Jamaica, and our guest is none other than the amazing, the truly great, kareem Latouche. From Kareem quest. He is the host of an adventure series that highlights the unique aspects of Jamaica. He's an award winning journalist, a YouTuber and guide who takes an adventurous approach to traveling across the island. The show focuses on Jamaican people, culture and places. Now, just like you know, and I know, jamaica is a very large island, especially if you compare it to my little hometown of Samaritan, with our little 37 square miles right, and there is so much to explore in Jamaica. So today we are going to narrow it all down and we are going to dive deeper than just the turquoise waters, because, as I always like to say, the Caribbean islands, including Jamaica, is so much more than just beautiful beaches. So today we are going to discover Jamaica's hidden eco treasures lush rainforests, cascading waterfalls, you name it. So get ready for some sustainable tips and off the beaten path adventures.
Speaker 1:I cannot wait for that, because that is my jam and get ready to immerse your soul in Jamaica's Emerald Paradise. I love how we call it that Emerald Paradise. That's so cute Now. So make sure your seat belt is secured and we are lifting off in three, two, one Jamaica. Here we go. Karim, I am so incredibly happy that you could join Paradise Perspective Podcast today because I've been looking forward to this conversation in a little while. You know what I mean, because you and I had this conversation out the long ago. You know, we were talking about having you on the show and you and I it's kind of like we had an immediate click and it was like okay, that's it and the friends. You know how have you been?
Speaker 2:I'm so happy to be on your program. I mean, I've been watching it so much and what persons don't know is that we, as Caribbean people, we're like brothers and sisters. You know what I mean, because we share so many things in common. So when I saw your content, I was like I love it and I keep telling you listeners. You have to go to Rizel's website. She actually posts in a lot of personal stories. One of my favorite schools on her website is when she talked about living in our 40s. You should listen to that. I mean you should read that one.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, you read that. That's like so far ago. I think I've wrote that like eight years ago when I turned 40. So yeah, it's a while ago.
Speaker 2:She's reporting her age right. So I'm also in my 40s and you know I just wanted to hear a female's perspective of it. So you know, she wrote very candidly and very honestly and I always tell her so, Rizel, you have to put these stories on your social media, Let people know that they can read these things, because so many people go through these things. I mean, I'm a male. I went through a different experience than you did, because you did point out from some good pointers as to you know, from a female perspective, what are some of the things that were on your mind, and, as a male, there were things that came on my mind too. So who goes to that?
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, thank you so much. That means so much coming from you, because you know, listen it's. You know, this is the age of vulnerability is what I like to tell people, and I've always been quite vulnerable and not shy in presenting myself as vulnerable. But this year I've been like kind of like taking it up a notch, not being too afraid of sharing my inside stories, my personal struggles, because, at the end of the day, you don't know what your struggles can mean to somebody else that might be going through something similar, so it might shine a little bit of light into their life. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, thank you so much for that, karim. That's amazing. All right, but we're not here to talk about all my personal struggles, which are many and we're only you and right, but I am so excited to talk to you only. Well, I mean, like you and I can have a conversation up to late in the night is like we just had it. We were supposed to talk on what was it? On WhatsApp call. We had a WhatsApp call together just to prepare ourselves for this interview and we started talking and it was like it was supposed to be like a five, 10 minute conversation and when I looked down, I think we had spoken for a whole full hour.
Speaker 2:Yes, I think we can't just do the same demographic as well. Yeah, we're in kind of the same era, so, you know, because of that, you know, I mean there's just so many things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we got a lot of similarities.
Speaker 2:You came to me and said Karim, I love nature, I want to know about some places you know in Jamaica that cater to nature and everything like that. And you know, I've been doing this thing now for, like, I've been a journalist for over 20 years. So I started in 2004, 2005. And I've just been doing it. I just captured so many different places around Jamaica. I think that that journalism book in me just made me start writing about these experiences, and then I just ended up starting my own website, kareemesquestcom, in 2019, 2020. They're about and capturing all different places in Jamaica that persons can visit, writing about my experiences, giving people tips, things like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and which is so similar to how I started doing all of this. You know the storytelling on St Martin. You and I have such a very, very similar background and also our motivation is very, very much the same, which is why I guess you and I have such a you know, we sync really really well. But what I wanted to talk about is like I wanted you want to show to talk about Jamaica yes, and I wanted to talk about Jamaica from a Jamaican's perspective. I want somebody from there to be able to tell visitors what they can expect and all of that. But when you and I started talking, I realized we need to narrow it down because Jamaica is large and it's got so much to offer. So we said in this episode, because Kareem is definitely going to be back, I mean I cannot have nothing, we need to have him back on the show. But I wanted to tackle what I really want to tackle in this conversation is I want to talk about the nature of Jamaica, which we know is gorgeous. We know there's a couple of waterfalls. We've seen that all over. Your beaches are amazing.
Speaker 1:But most of the time, as an outsider who has not been to Jamaica yet high on my list haven't been yet. You know what we look for and when we. As soon as I type in Jamaica, the most of the stuff that comes up is Ocho Rios, montego Bay, the more of the touristic side of Jamaica. But lately, through you and through a couple of other content creators in Jamaica, I've been able to see another side and it's this lush, green, beautiful, pristine nature of Jamaica and I was just like, okay, I really need to go. So let's talk about the nature of Jamaica Before we dive into that. Karim, I really want you to tell our listening friend a little bit about you and how you started, just so we can kind of get a background why it is that we should listen to you from Karim's quest in all of this.
Speaker 2:So I started out as a journalist and I work for the nation's newspaper, which is the newspaper cleaner and it's the longest newspaper actually in the Caribbean started in the 19th century and I just started writing about different things and I mean, this was never like traveling was never necessarily my main thing to do. But at the time I had a very flexible editor and he was like if you meet your quote of articles, you can do like one article every week that you want to do. And those articles for me were travel oriented articles and I just want to write about places that have been to one, give persons my insightful tips on them. So from that, you know, persons would just always reach out to me where is this place? What's the food like? You know everything like that. I wanted to give them something that was informative. You know pretty much like what you did or you are doing. You get me and just telling them all right, keep this in mind. Is it best for couples? This is one question that I get asked a lot. Who does it suit? Does this place suit a historian? Does it suit a couple? Does it suit like a girls trip type of group? You know, what does it cater to.
Speaker 2:So I kind of started asking all of these, getting me asked all of these questions and end up, you know, just coming up with different content that kids, the people and then it just started to grow. I remember my brother looked at me one time and said you have to start documenting this thing better. Yeah, like you know, I would just write it on Facebook and write it, you know, just like any other. And he's like no, you actually need to start documenting this thing better. So, you know, one thing just leads to another and it has blossomed really nicely. You can find a lot of more content on Facebook, and Facebook are very active. You can look for Karim's Quest on YouTube. My website, karim'squestcom, has all the information in terms of various places across Jamaica.
Speaker 1:And it's so interesting to mention the Gleaner, because I would be surprised that back in the day, when I was a news anchor here on a radio station in San Martin, I used to really I used to look at the Gleaner's website for information because I used to do regional lose. So I wouldn't be surprised that I actually bumped into your name or some of your articles back in the day without knowing. And now look at us. That's amazing. Okay, now let's talk a little bit. Let's just give the listener an introduction into the nature of Jamaica, because it's not like San Martin, for instance. It's not everywhere the same. It changes dramatically. The scenery can be something in one end of Jamaica and completely different than the other end. So let's give the person that listening to us today an introduction into the nature of Jamaica. What can they expect?
Speaker 2:Wow, okay, so Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean. We have mountains that run through the spine of the country and we have some beautiful beaches on the north coast and some on the south coast. For this list, I came up with about five places that, if you're a nature lover, you should visit when you come to Jamaica. So let me kind of mix them up, because there are some places that they're off the beaten path and usually I recommend the poor things. If you want to explore off the beaten path, please visit Intermeco. Get our repeatable tour guide. All right, you can do your research, go to person's websites, you know, just see people, social media pages, what are the activities like, and things like that. All right, nothing is wrong. I mean, I'm just always encouraging person. Yeah, absolutely cautious in terms of Get not to our guide at the same time to not even just that, but you want to make sure that your energy matches with that energy.
Speaker 1:Okay, but before you start just one more thing. What did you say?
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:Because I was really I was so shocked I didn't know y'all had crocodiles. You know, I really didn't, I didn't. So you know, call me silly, call me naive, I don't know, but when I saw a story on there was somebody's story that they were in this boat and there were crocodiles I was like what the hell? I didn't know. Jamaica had crocodiles. Okay, people, before you freak out, crocodiles are not as dangerous as alligators. I did my homework. Alligators are much more aggressive Crocodiles and especially the species that you get there. I mean, I'm not saying they're pussycats. Don't go up to it, to a crocodile. And you know, for a selfie I wouldn't do that. But you know, still keep your distance. But it's not, it's not something to be alarmed off, it's not something that you can say, okay, I'm not gonna be beat, I'm not gonna go into the rivers, etc. Etc. So take it from, take it from me, karim. Just go ahead with the story here and and set them a, set them a piece piece. I don't want anybody to freak out.
Speaker 2:No problem, no problem, so. So we're starting with the first one on our list, right, and if you look crocodiles, this is the place that you need to go to. So it's called Black River. It's located in the southern part of Jamaica and it's in the parish of St Elizabeth Now, jamaica has 14 parishes, all right, so this is one of them and it's on the southwestern side of the island.
Speaker 2:Now, black River has a rich history. Black River was actually the first Tone in the Western Hemisphere to have electricity, right, so we're talking before the United States. Back in the days, it was for exporting Lovewood that they used to make dye, so it was a thriving community in Jamaica filled with rich history. Also poses the Jamaica's first guest house. So the first guest house ever that was on this island is actually in Black River Nonetheless. So when you're in Black River, I mean you can get history of Jamaica, but you can also go on that Black River IRI Safari tour. Now they have many tours along the, the river itself, and it's called Black River because at the base of the river are said in black sediments. So the river itself, it looks like Black River also has a good history because Result I well, you must know about the maroons right.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So they are our freedom fighters in Jamaica. They did a lot in terms of just empowering slaves, not only in Jamaica but in other Caribbean islands?
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely, they are very active in Suriname and other parts of the Caribbean, for sure.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and this river actually starts from the real well, it's called the Rio Amino and it actually starts from a maroon settlement, right, and yes, it runs very long. So this, it starts from way in the mountains, all right, in a maroon settlement, and it runs straight down into Black River. Say, it starts in another parish, yeah, yeah. So when you're on this tour, I must tell you this, though, right, it can get hot, we are at Tropical Island People, when you're coming to Jamaica, make sure that you have your sunscreen, make sure that you're away. If you have those portable fans yes, yes, I never knew one of those fans on my page. Yes, if you go to my Facebook page, you see where I review it If you have those portable chargeable fans, those little small ones, they'll be with you.
Speaker 1:All right, okay we're talking about some massive heat, then right.
Speaker 2:No, no, let's see what happens. Let's see what happens. Rizal, I went there midday. If persons can go there like 10 o'clock in the morning or towards the afternoon, like just pay attention to the opening, almost, though, right, if you can go there like four o'clock, that would be ideal. If you can speed there like 10 o'clock, I went there 12, rizal.
Speaker 1:What were you thinking? I got to ask you, like, what the hell were you thinking? Oh, my lord, that's like that. That's. That's the time when we're all walking around with not only one portable fan, but multiple, because it's so hot.
Speaker 2:Let me tell you what happened. Rizal, you know what you're doing your road trips, right? You're stopping, you're talking, like I like to stop and talk to vendors. I like to stop on my road food, and you know I mean different things like that. So I ended up reaching like I left out very early, but I ended up reaching at 12.
Speaker 2:Jamaica is Jamaica. Roads tell a journey. It's not like first world country roads where it's just a street highway. You're driving on roads with a lot of corners. You know you're driving on hills and valleys, and so it's. The roads are like a character, so you get to stop and you get to look at the Greenery. You get to you. Sometimes you can't stop and pick fruits if it's in an open land, right, you see co-pastures, different things like this. So it's a beautiful thing to envision just driving to a journey or to a destination in Jamaica. So by the time I reached that river, it was 12 o'clock. Anyway, the good thing with this four, which is island safari, this is the one that I recommend because you have multiple tours, but I know the owner and he's a biologist by training, right?
Speaker 1:Yes, so he's got all of that inside info.
Speaker 2:Yes, he will tell you about, you know about the 100 species of birds that you can see While you're on that tour, and he'll stop and you know you point out every bird and tell you about the history. You'll also tell you about, you know, the plants that are endemic, you know. I mean he'll tell you we have another more than 100 species of plants, so we just have different things that it has to offer and, of course, everybody wants to ask about the crocodiles.
Speaker 1:No, I'm waiting for that.
Speaker 2:I'm waiting for that. So what's happening is so you're going through the Black River, you're going through the Maras, right, and when you're going there, you're going to spot the crocodiles. The crocodiles are extremely tame. The person who always asks the question what will they do? Will they attack you? No, if you don't attack them, they won't attack you. So every now and again you'll see them pop up, but they will stay in a little corner to themselves. I have actually been to Everglades, and Everglades has huge crocodiles, right, yeah, always are not as huge as the ones that you will see there, but they are very present and they are usually. They are very isolated and they want to be by themselves. So, yes, you take them as close as is respectable, right, but if you leave them out there, you'll turn off the engine, you'll get to tell you some history about them, about their origins and things like that. So you know what I mean. They and they will. If they're even preying on something, they're going to preying on things that are extremely small.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So not like a human, it's too much work. They're not that. You know what I mean. They're probably like yeah, yeah, that's like way too much work.
Speaker 1:It's way too much work and the person's going to struggle and it's going to be like no, no, by the time I have lunch it's too late. No, no, no.
Speaker 2:So if you love nature it's about, and this one is about 45 minutes. His boat has a kebab. So even though it's hot and the good thing about our country is that you don't have to worry too much about the humidity You're surrounded by a lot of trees, so you're going to get a lot of wind that's passing through. It's just that when the boat stops and there's no wind, yeah, that's when you feel it All right.
Speaker 1:So that's Black River.
Speaker 2:Black River and Rizelle. You know what happened Because you asked me for this, I ended up doing an article on my website that talks about nature places. Oh did you. So if you want to trust the guy, you can use the link so she can use it and you guys can see for yourself and read through the article.
Speaker 1:I am definitely going to read it myself and I am going to link it in the show notes. So, once we are done with this conversation and you are done listening to Karim and I talk about Jamaica's nature, go ahead, check out the show notes. You're going to get all the links. I promise I'm going to put the links how to get in contact with Karim, how you can follow him, how you can see all the videos on his YouTube and, of course, I'm going to link it to his website so you can read this particular and all the other stories that he has written. So what, after Black River, where are we going next After Black River?
Speaker 2:Alright. So where I'm going to carry you next is to this place called and this is a lesser known place and, if you notice, I could have mentioned places like Don't River Falls, but, in all honesty, Rizelle, everybody knows Don't River Falls. If you do any, if you do the slightest amount of research, you will know these places. So the place that they don't necessarily know about. So this one is from a young person and her name is Jessica and she started this business called Sand and Saddle, where you ride horses through the sea. No, she loves horses and she actually has a great story, because during the pandemic, nobody was coming to visit these places and so a lot of the horses were, they were being like, they were malnourished because, I mean, you're not making any money, you can't feed the horses.
Speaker 2:She found some horses and she bought several horses, Right, and she decided to take care of them. And then she saw this nice little property and she said, hey, I think I can start up an attraction. And she started the attraction. She had our horses there. It's a private property, so you can just come on the property, right, you book it with her sand and the word you really use it Sand, and it's a beautiful place to go to Rizal, I'm telling you. It's one of the beaches so clean and the water is so pristine. Right, I actually saw it on your.
Speaker 1:YouTube channel and I was amazed and that was actually going to be one of my questions. I wasn't sure you were going to mention it, but since you did, as an animal person, I am really, really, you know, always make sure that whatever I do that has animals in it, I make sure that the animal is treated nicely and that it's not mistreated and that at no time the animal suffers. So what is your take on this? When you went? I mean, these horses are well taken care of and all of that.
Speaker 2:And she's a big animal lover. So for the persons who are like yourself, who always want to know about the well-being of the animals, I mean you want to know that you're supporting somebody. And this is not a big corporation, this is an individual. It's a privately owned establishment, so you're helping the small person, so to speak, right, she runs it very professionally, she's very hands on. I mean, when we did our tour, you know she was there with us, communicating with us every minute and things like that. So just a really professional person. So a person should try to. And this now, this is in the parish of Trelawney and this is on the north coast of the island.
Speaker 1:So I'm taking you from Seoul to North we're tracking through the whole of Jamaica going on the other side. Okay, and how many? Do you know how many tours she does a day?
Speaker 2:Whoa. So most of the time she does them by appointment, and let me tell you this result. So I don't know if you will struggle with the same thing that we struggle with here. Right Guys, please be aware of when there is a cruise ship present.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, yes, please. It's a whole different story.
Speaker 2:You don't want to visit any of these places when there is well, especially places on the north coast the Black River Safari tour, you won't be bothered by that too much. However, if you're on the north coast, don't visit any of these places. When there is a cruise ship, right, I mean, it's chaotic, it's a lot of people coming off those ships.
Speaker 1:Yeah, same here, and it's one of my pet peeves. Actually, as much as I don't get me wrong I welcome every single visitor, whether you're coming on a cruise ship or not, and you're visiting our shores, I welcome you with open hand. I just wish, and especially for us you guys are a little bigger, but can you imagine when we have four cruise ships in or more than two, that is, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 people on this little island to 37 square miles? It is just ridiculous what kind of traffic and congestion and annoyance and interference into our daily lives that it causes. So I really want you to know when you're booking all of this. Just make sure that you book early if you're coming on a cruise ship, because if this is a cruise ship day, yeah, that's not easy you need to book well in advance. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Thank you for bringing that up. So we're actually giving persons tips as well, I mean because that's what we do. So, persons, if you're visiting St Martin, you have to look up and if you're visiting Jamaica, you have to bring them as well. We do give these points and we do kind of cater to a demographic that is concerned when they're making these plans.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Back to Salon Saddle. Another great thing about them Rizel, you are actually taking a horse to a farm, Wow, and this video is on my YouTube page.
Speaker 1:Yes, I saw it.
Speaker 2:They're going to the farm. They're showing you different spices of the island, different fruits and vegetables of the island. So you're riding the horses at a very slow pace. There's a guide at the front of the group and there's another guide at the back of the group. You're not moving at a fast pace at this point because you're not always going to be going through the water. They want to take you through the community and say you can see how they do community farming. You know what I mean. The guide will literally allow you to come off the horse at some point and you will actually get to walk around. And the great thing is this when the tourist is finished, you can literally go to your private beach and you cool off there.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 2:You can go to the private beach and you don't ride more than like. The one thing is never higher than like five feet, right, so it's not a high culture, big horses, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:So my thing is I have to get back to that. It's like two things actually I want to go back to is one especially when you have, like, cruise ships and port I mean, knowing that she's an animal lover, she probably does make sure that she doesn't over exceed the horses capacity, right? So it's always like she doesn't overwork them, naturally. So I do want the listener to know that these horses are so well taken care of. So if you do want to go on a horseback with sand and saddle love the name, by the way then definitely know that she is an animal lover and the owner of this what is he? She's the owner of the horses, so she doesn't overwork them, okay, so I don't think she's going to be, even on a busy cruise ship day. She's not going to have, like you know, 10 tours on the day on the poor horses back. So, yeah, and the other thing I wanted to go ahead.
Speaker 2:I just wanted to know what you want to go. Limit us to a quick introduction as well. There is also a weight limit when it comes out to the well being of the horse. All right, Okay, so you can also you know inquire more of these things in terms of weight limits when it comes out to riding horse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just wanted to know, like with us, we have our, you know, the Samaritan port website that we can go on and we can see what you know how many cruise ships are going to be in port that day. Can you you have a place or a website that you could recommend that visitors that are interested in sand and saddle or any other you know tour or attraction activities in that area, where it's so frequently frequented by the cruise ship tourists, is there a way that they can get to know? Okay, well, if I'm staying on Jamaica, how do I find out if there are cruise ships, important or not?
Speaker 2:That's such a great question, Rizal, and, to be honest with you, I don't know of a specific website, but I need to look into that. Like that's a good thing. What I can tell you is that it's mostly Wednesdays, and what I can also tell you is that our busiest season which is the same as yours, right is that winter season, Right? So if you're coming in the winter season and here's another thing that you guys want to take into consideration when you're planning your trips to the Caribbean islands if you're looking for the best rate, try to do the non-winter seasons.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's what I always say.
Speaker 2:Yes, from August to February, right from October to February. It's tight. Yes, all right in terms of good rates.
Speaker 1:It's madness.
Speaker 2:So you always want to stay away from that. But yeah, it's mostly Wednesdays and you know you kind of have to gauge it. Sometimes you can call or you can email. The good thing is, I mean everybody do it when they say they want to call because they might be calling from a foreign country, and you don't want to want to come in. It's just you know you know minutes right, but nonetheless, you can always email persons, and we use WhatsApp heavily in Jamaica. All right, okay, fantastic, so it's our preferred mode of communication, okay.
Speaker 1:Good, good, I am ready for the next one. I'm ready, go with it. I'm ready, hit me with it.
Speaker 2:I've given you a safe one. This is a tourist one now. So this is not one that is off the beaten path, it's a tourist one. It's still on the north coast, it's in a different parish. That's called St Anne. It's called Konoko Falls. No, it's a. It's a, it's all my biggest, biggest, biggest establishment in our you know, in our context. And they have this private property where they have a fall and they have a little zoo and they have a what I should say? No, they have like this museum, and this one is actually good for groups. You can do it as groups, you can do it as couples, it can just fit into a variety of functions because they have the space for it and they have the person for it.
Speaker 2:Now, some persons, when they're going out, they want to go to some place that is totally established, totally safe. They want to be somewhere that you know, I mean, it's totally touristy. This is the place that's totally touristy, all right. So it's catered fully for tourists and just to design up it. So let me talk to you about the falls. The falls is about and I'm gonna speak in depth about all of these things on my YouTube. Actually, I'll view this place on my YouTube. So the falls is about like three out of five. It's this. Now you can actually go midday. I don't like cold water, I don't know about you. So all our falls are in the mountains. All right, our kind of elevated areas. Good side you can, contrary to Black River, you can go to the falls midday, right, if you're a somebody like me who don't like cold water. I don't like cold water, like cool water.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, it's a big difference. Cool it's cold yeah.
Speaker 2:Big difference. It takes about 20, no more than 20 minutes to go up there. There's a guy that usually carries you there. I mean, like Don't River Falls, which is our most famous falls, right, don't River Falls is probably like one hour, this one is just 20 minutes.
Speaker 1:So when you say in 20 minutes it's a bit of a. Are you talking about a hike, a 20 minute hike, or with a car?
Speaker 2:Okay, Okay, so 20 minutes hike to climb the falls, right, but that's because you're doing it in a cautious manner and you're maneuvering. It doesn't take more than 20 minutes. To be honest with you, if you're a brisk person, I mean you can. Just you know it can be like 10 minutes right. But of course it's nature, so you don't go through nature quickly.
Speaker 1:No, you want to take time and appreciate it Exactly.
Speaker 2:Yes, Take time. You appreciate nature. So it has that lovely fall area, cascading water, feel cool and nice against your skin. And then, when you reach to the peak, you have this lookout point where you get this panoramic view of our tourist city. So you get to see the hotels, you get to see the forest area, you get to see the ships if they are docking, you get to see so many things and it's also a picture point.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 2:So the person come on the whole of this phone and they take the picture and support. Wow that sounds amazing. Yo, you tell you that's that, that's that, that's that, that's that. Like a couples area, right, yes, yes, that's that picture area Kissing on you Absolutely. Oh, wow, that sounds amazing. But it's like one thing that I want to go back on that.
Speaker 1:You said you know. When. You said about, you know this particular fall versus the one that is so popular and so touristic, right, you said that it's all safe and all of that, but this little one is safe as well. Right, I mean it's, it's totally safe and I think that's a good thing. And yeah, and especially with the tour guide that you're going with. So everything is like. It's not like Don's River is safe and this one is not. It's just, yeah, no, it's also catered.
Speaker 2:This one is actually owned and operated by a security company. Oh wow, okay, well, yeah, definitely safe.
Speaker 1:I always want to stress this the persons right.
Speaker 2:It's not that some places, like everywhere that I recommend is safe, right, but this place is a designated tourist spot, so it's more like a business. The other two ones that that that you have, that you hear me mention prior to this yeah, they are very safe as well, but they are also privately owned and they are more in tune with the, the ad-females, and they're more in tune with the, the adventurer and the more local give a more local vibe Wow, which is what we want to know more of.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, it's a tourist business, all right. Okay, you won't have any local vendors there. They sell everything on property. You can't bring food on their property as well? Right, because they serve dirt chicken and you must try this. Right, they have sweet potato fries. I love that.
Speaker 1:Yes, give me some of that Right Right.
Speaker 2:It is lovely. When I go there, I always try their sweet potato fries, okay.
Speaker 1:So you hear it from Karim. We got to try. We got to try the sweet potato fries. Where are we going next?
Speaker 2:All right, so let me just give you a finish up. The point is on.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, we're not done yet, because you said, you did say there's some. There's. It's not only the fall and the what do you call it? That picture perfect spot where you can take pictures, but there's more at this location.
Speaker 2:Yes, absolutely, so they have a museum there and in that museum there's a lot of artifacts so scattered throughout St Anne, the parish of St Adam. This is where Christopher Columbus actually landed. So there is a lot of history here in the St Anne parish and so there are also a lot of artifacts and they have a mini museum there and they also have a mini type zoo, so you have different animals and they bring out the parents.
Speaker 2:So when you come there, you come there and they'll grow the parents. And even in my video I have a parrot on my shoulder and I also have an iguana in my hand. So, if you like, those things, you like nature and you like animals. I mean, they are very friendly and they're very accommodating. So that's it for Kodoko. We can't go to the next one, no.
Speaker 1:Wait but before we do now that you talk about animals, my next question, of course, is are the animals well taken care of?
Speaker 2:All taken. So the thing about this one is this no, the owner for this place. He's a big animal lover. He also operates one of our two zoos in Jamaica, which is Hokusu.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So before operating Hokusu, he also had this other zoo I don't remember the name right now. So the owners are actually extremely big on animal safety. So, and again, because this is an official tourist place, it meets all the international standards. Gotcha Okay, Even with the koi. They have to do with the koi. They have ponds with koi in them. They have to put these mesh around them because the birds come down for the koi.
Speaker 1:Oh yes, so they need to protect the koi? Oh my gosh. Oh yes, I forgot about the damn birds. There's like little things that you don't think about.
Speaker 2:So they'll come down to. I remember this one day and I was like why are these mesh over the pond right? And they're like oh, that's for the birds. I know that, the wild birds, because you're also in the forest area, you'll have a lot of wild birds there.
Speaker 1:So they'll come down, of course. That makes sense, that makes total sense, all right, so I don't know Am.
Speaker 2:I.
Speaker 1:Let's go with it. Hit me with it this one right.
Speaker 2:I published this, my review on YouTube of this place, and I call it the most peaceful place in Jamaica.
Speaker 1:I'm ready to listen. I'm definitely listening and I am definitely interested.
Speaker 2:So this one now is a place that is located in a remote area of a parish that's called Portland. I love this parish, right, portland. So our highest point in Jamaica is on the Blue Mountains right, and the Blue Mountains spans over four parishes in Jamaica and one of the parishes is Portland, and this place is called Ambasabet Ecology. No, to get there, rizel, this is off the beaten path of Rizel right. It's located on the eastern, northeastern end of the island. When I was driving there, I turned up the main road, rizel, so you're driving. Are you going to be driving for a long time? You can't spend one or two nights at this place. You normally would have to. It's some ecologic, it's not. It's totally like rootsy and rustic. So it's not no five star hotel, but it is one with nature. No, you probably are a recommend person spending like five nights here.
Speaker 2:No, my journey to get to this place, which I document in my YouTube review right, we drove off the main road and then we hit a parochial road, rizel, and let me tell you, only an SUV can take you here.
Speaker 2:All right, okay, you're driving through bushes and everything like that, but when you reach the place, first of all, it operates off solar grid, right, they have a proper kitchen, they have a proper resting areas, they have what you call it, again like they have a meeting room and then you have a river. No, when I reach Rizel, I enter from, so we're hearing what they call it. These are some of the small frogs and it makes this creaking noise, right? So hearing that as you come on the property, hearing that, no, this is a way of from civilization, all of the persons who would live in this border it's called border community they would have all died decades ago. Well, yeah, probably decades ago, right? So this is the only kind of establishment that is in this district. You would have to go to another district to find, you know, persons living there, right?
Speaker 1:So you are really one with nature. Yeah, we're thinking the same thing at the same time. Absolutely one with nature. Wow, that is beautiful. You're completely off the beaten track. And not only that, but you're off to Gregg.
Speaker 2:Of course. So listen, I mean you might have to stand on a rock to get phone signal, all right, so you know, like. And first of all, let me tell you something, right, I, rizel, and I have this, this, this kind of symbiotic type communication thing. I always tell Rizel, rizel, rizel plans retreats right Every year, and so in her retreat, she, she, she, she themes her retreats as well. So this might be places like these she might just save. So I'm going to take you guys to.
Speaker 1:If you want to go to right, Go to our website to find out when our next retreat will be, because you know, that's exactly what I'm thinking, right, you know, that's where my mind went when you're talking about this, and you didn't even tell me. You didn't even finish telling us all the details of this place, but I'm already thinking like, hmm, I wonder if they do retreats.
Speaker 2:So let me tell you. So let me tell you what happened. No, the, it is now owned by the second generation, right, the first generation died and the owner is Lloyd. It's another Lloyd, lloyd Wilkes, and his mother died about like, probably about more than five years ago, but really strong woman in that community, and his father always said I want you to build a place where persons could come and relax. So, rizal, you're in this place. It's a cabin, right, you're sleeping at night. You're hearing the river that runs adjacent to the property. Good, it's beautiful. And then when it rains, they have these like sink roof and the rain just beats a rhythm on the roof, right. So if you're lucky, when you're there and it's raining, it's the most peaceful sleep you will ever get. I guarantee that You're surrounded by a ton of plants. And then, when we woke up the morning, so we have this food that's called breadfruit.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, you can make some really good stuff with breadfruit yeah.
Speaker 2:All right. So you're eating like local cuisine or bread. So we got up in the morning and we had some nice. You can choose to have coffee, which were known for our Blue Mountain coffee, so you can have your strong Jamaican coffee, or you can have, like your chocolate tea that you beat out with a mortar and a pistol. So this is not no commercial thing, right? You're literally beating those kind of like cocoa beans, yes, and you beat out the cocoa until you get that tea and it's a rich, nice tea. So that's what I'm learning.
Speaker 2:The owner and the caretaker was there. They cut coconut jelly for us and you have all different like, so you can pick your activity. We chose to go on a trail. No, again, the maroon cycles throughout Jamaica. So when I talk about the Trilon that's the western end of the island we're talking about Black River, right. So when we talk about Black River, maroon cycles there. And on the eastern end of the island, in Portland area, maroons also cycle there, right.
Speaker 2:No part, they're all stupid, the maroons. They run away and a lot of them are from Ghana. Our first and our only heroine, which is Nani, of the maroons, she's of Ghana descent and they would run to the mountainous areas, because it gave them coverage, yes, and they would create their forms in those mountainous areas. So you see, when you come to this area, this is a great thing that Lord actually did for us. He carried us to a tree, rizel right, and he actually cut the vine. Well, not a tree, but he carried us to this plant, he cut the vine, squeezed it out and we drank about, like, like, about six ounces of water, right.
Speaker 1:That was in the high. And that's what the maroon was doing.
Speaker 2:Wow, he actually had a maroon experience.
Speaker 1:That's amazing.
Speaker 2:We had a maroon experience there, right, so he would cut the vine for you and we started just drinking it, and then he started to show us different beads and different fruits and different things that they would eat, and stuff like that on the trail. So we took a trail and he showed us the different waterfalls and he used this especially for him when he was a child. He had to catch water at the falls for his grandmother. No, if you know how a waterfall work is, this In these communities, you have a bunch of water sources, right, so they don't.
Speaker 2:They're off the grid. They don't get water from a pipe. They get water from a pipe through a fall and they use that fall water and direct it to their own tanks so that you're drinking the purest water that you can get on the island, right, and he had to walk like a mile to get water for his grandmother and Brazil. The joke was this whether his grandmother used the water or not for the day, she would throw it out the pond and they had to fetch a new bucket of water every moment so he had to walk this every single day to get fresh water.
Speaker 1:Wow, okay, now you know. I gotta ask you about showering there. Is it cold water or is the water?
Speaker 2:heated in any way okay, because no, listen, I've seen two places before. We'll do that for another one of our episodes, yes, where you have to run in that water run out. I'm telling that straight up, right, right. And we are story being people. We used to play this game called, like Shandy, dandy, shandy or some persons call it Shandy where somebody would throw like a soft object at you and you'd have to you know kind of site it or move on to the way to make it. Yes, the game of the game is to make, not hit you, right, what are you doing that with a show when you're there, right, if the heat is not working?
Speaker 2:Yep, the great thing is that this is an ideal place for large groups, so like when result is doing her retreats and usually persons. When you're doing a retreat with a large group, that's the fun and the enjoyment, right, it's communicating with everybody. Listen, you will hear persons and you have different showers, that the good things that they have. This. They have different set up of rooms, so some rooms are single, some rooms are double, some rooms you have bunk beds in it, you know, for persons who have groups like that, and you will hear somebody start screaming because of the cool into the water from the other room well, if I do do a retreat there, we're all gonna be in it together.
Speaker 2:So everybody's gonna be screaming at our cold water and it's okay, it's part of the adventure and then right below it, we talk about the river that runs through it, though this is one of the most beautiful things results. I was in that river water, just kind of just sitting down, relaxing, meditating, just being one with nature. So you're looking around and you're seeing the hills and you're seeing the greenery, and you are going to see the local farmers, like taking their cattle through the water, just carry them up to the hill right so you see the local farmers when they're going on to their farms and when they're coming back from their farm.
Speaker 2:Sometimes they're walking with produce. Yum, they're walking with cocoa, they're walking with that. Sometimes you can just patronize them and just say hey, you know you might want something for dinner. You just say hey, can I? You know, let me purchase some of that and support like that.
Speaker 1:It's a beautiful place super fresh, right from the tree or the earth.
Speaker 2:Amazing, wow, that is your photos and everything like that. I review it on my website. I have a full video review as well on my youtube page.
Speaker 1:You shouldn't say that, because now I'm like I want to rush you through the end of this because I want to run to the computer right now and I want to watch it oh my gosh, I want to watch this video, like right now. We got one more to go.
Speaker 2:I'm going to give you a listen, karim.
Speaker 1:I don't know how you're gonna top any of this. No, because already you gave us four really, really good places off the beaten path. One of them that's not so off the beaten path, but still magnificent on its own.
Speaker 2:So I don't know how you're gonna. I don't know if you're gonna I don't know if you can top it. I don't know let me be honest to you. Let me be honest to you. So, ambassador, might just have to be it for us for today's day, right? Oh my gosh, but this time we will definitely have to look into the others for next time.
Speaker 1:But yes, I think there was four no man, you can't keep it that far. You got it, you got it. You promised us five. You need to go with five. Let's do it, let's do it.
Speaker 2:Okay, this is the fifth one, right? Okay, this is a senior person to me. This guy is filled with knowledge and he we're still in the eastern part of Jamaica. It's a parish called St Mary. He has this lovely place called Getaway Tapioca. He and his wife actually started all this business and they built a nice rustic again place that's called Tapioca. It's TAPI OCA and when you go there, I mean they have done some great things with their property. Now, when you go to these places, I always recommend that people do their research, because it's not an upscale hotel and I purposely stayed away from that. If you want to do one on all inclusive hotels, no problem with that, but you want. You. You're talking to Rizela, you're talking to me, and all knowledge is so extensive that we want to give you the knowledge that's not out there and you can do one you can do some research and find information on other places, but these places are kind of rare and they're special.
Speaker 2:So he he now gives these grandkids this other place to run which is called Getaway. Now Getaway is somewhere where you can do rafting. There gives a nice rafting experience. It's a place that it's not open to the public, just like that.
Speaker 2:You have to book it and you book it as a group. When you book it there they have places where you can have your fire pit, you cook your food. You're sitting on like the side of a mountain so you get to watch a river. There's paddle boats there as well, so you can go in the paddle boats and you know it's a nice couple's activity to just paddle through the river and just sit down and just relax and it's a river that's called Wagua to River and it's a that's a very famous river in Jamaica. It is extremely lovely.
Speaker 2:You go on the raft. The raft captain actually tells you a lot in terms of what happens when they're like a hurricane or how the water can get, and, you know, tell you about their joining communities and things like that. So it's a nice place for relaxation. I mean, the grass is green and beautiful. You can sit down and we play dominoes there. When we go there you bring your food or you can cater. You can have them feed up to you, because the owner is actually a chef by profession. He's a person called Errol's senior. He's a senior man to me. Every time I go there I'm always picking his brain because he can tell you so much about the history of Jamaica. So and he will hear his wife say it's like a family, it's a Jamaican family. So know they're going to their third generation. It's actually the third generation result, the third generation, actually meaning the grand daughter and grandson.
Speaker 2:They're the ones running the establishment that is so cool.
Speaker 1:That is so, so cool. Thank you so much, karim. Wow, I am. If I wasn't impressed with Jamaica before, I am just like beyond impressed right now it is. Thank you so much for that beautiful local insight into your country. It's wow. I am just speechless. I didn't and that doesn't happen a lot, but I am speechless. I don't know what to say. I don't know which one. I guess I'm gonna have to do a month in Jamaica if I want to do everything on this, on this little list, you know and this is only five of the things that you mentioned, but it all has like these are all places that you don't just go for like an hour.
Speaker 1:These are places that you go and you just experience and you live it. That's amazing, amazing, amazing.
Speaker 2:I know, I know the article on my website don't eat, right. I could have easily written about 12, right, but I mean, there's just so many different places. If you love nature and these are also for the persons who are very eco-friendly if you're looking for eco-friendly places, you know, the point about eco-friendly places to that, I'll say to anybody is that they're cheaper than places that have motorized sports. Yeah, true, so you're also spending less money when you're going to these places, you are helping the environment as well and you're actually just being one with nature. These are places where you really get to, you know, kind of recent to your mind and recent to your thinking, and they provide perfect ambiance for the person who is looking at that.
Speaker 1:Mental, really wow, wow, wow, wow. Okay, now I think we're going to make it official, karim, we're going to make it official. I am going to label the title of this podcast. I'm going to put a number one behind it, because we are certainly going to have this conversation again with a part two. We need to follow up with a part two because you already said on your website, you have eight and you could have easily put another two, three, four with it. So we are going to have to have this conversation again and make a part two of this. So stay tuned for that before I let you go.
Speaker 1:I know that, like me, you also offer some extra services, so whoever is listening now, I want them to know. If you're planning to go to Jamaica and you are like like Karim and I and you want to be more in nature and you want to experience it more from an environmentally friendly, more of a green vacation, then definitely hit up Karim. Karim has a consultation service. Like I do for St Martin, he does that for Jamaica. You can go there and you can ask him any question. You can sit down with him on a. Well, how do you do you do yours on on video call zoom?
Speaker 2:so I do my consultation on zoom and google meet, I mean persons normally. Normally, when persons want to experience Jamaica, you know they want to get the most out of their experience and you know we'll sit down that would for 40 minutes. I'll give them my pointers in terms of you know where some of the best places that they should visit, what are some of the factors that they should take into consideration if they're coming as a group, as a couple, uh, singles, you know what. If it wants to be, I mean you know you kind of get your consultation and you get the best hotels or you get the best spots for you and the best things that you should try. You know what our cuisine, you know if, what type of taste we have and the things that you want, and you go to my website you can see book a tour.
Speaker 2:And I mean I always tell persons we start off with a consultation. I mean, and if you want, we can go more into tour services where some of these like off the beaten path places, I mean you won't necessarily get a direct ride from your host in these places, so we would have to arrange things like that so persons can get these experiences and you just experience Jamaica. You know I mean. You experience Jamaica, experience all over by our chemistry wow, that is just.
Speaker 1:That is exactly what I wanted to know, because, if I am, especially for those that travel solo, like I do, if you want to have that experience, you want to get up to this eco lodge that we just spoke about then you want some, you want to go with somebody, or somebody at least to take you where it is, that you don't need to rent a car, and then try to find your place to it, right? So this is exactly and love.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love how you actually offer that as well yeah, exactly so you won't be able to find it, so you need a local guide to actually take you there. So these are all of the things that Karim's, karim's quest offers, and you definitely want to hit up Karim after this show. Karim, thank you so much, so much for your time, because I know you are a busy, busy man. I am so in awe of everything that you had to tell us today. I am wow, I'm just. I'm really like I said, I'm never speechless and I am speechless today. I'm just. I need to let that all sink in and I need to like, kind of like, make my own list. Like which one am I gonna go to first?
Speaker 2:you know of course, wow, of course, and especially when you're planning, when you're planning your retreats, and you know you, you know you guys going to start explore more and more and more. Yes, definitely come here. I always told person, like I remember I was doing this tour with the school once and they came to Jamaica and they were trying to experience all of Jamaica once, right, and this Jamaica is broken into so many things and it's home of Bob Marley, right, the world's most influential living artist. It's home of the fastest person on earth you're staying mode? Yeah, it's home of one of the world's greatest philosophers, marcus Garvey. I was telling them that you can't come to Jamaica one time.
Speaker 2:You know, I know we're like no, no no, we're from other countries and believe you, mirzele, at the end of the year they called me and they were like, oh, we're coming back right it is.
Speaker 1:It's just so much more than just what you, what you actually hear about all the time. You know, and it's it's just, it's so, so, so much more, especially now that we're talking about nature, all of the things that you can get to experience there. You know it's like and I want to really, really if you are going on a cruise ship to Jamaica and one of your stops is Jamaica, or you are planning on going into a all-inclusive resort, I beg of you, get out and explore. Don't stay in the side of the resort. Get out, get in contact with somebody like Kareem and then get experience the true beauty of Jamaica.
Speaker 1:You cannot just get yourself hold up in a resort and if you come in as a cruise ship visitor, try to stay away from all of those tours that are so hectic and planned around visitors that are coming off the ships. Try to book yourself a tour with a local guide. That is not exactly part of you know what the what the cruise ship people will actually push you to do. So that is my advice to you authentic island experience.
Speaker 1:You want to get away from everything that's too touristic and you want to really really get into the nitty gritty of what the country really represents. Thank you so much again, kareem. Thank you, you're welcome, rizal. Oh my, that was so good. Kareem is such a great storyteller, isn't he? I really felt like I was exploring all of these places alongside him, didn't you? We now know to visit, uh, or we now know which places we want to visit, because I don't know about you. I was definitely paying attention and I have made a list for us. So, in short, here is what we learned today. We know to go to Black River and we know to go a little later in the afternoon to avoid that excruciating midday heat. Here is also where we are most likely to see some crocodiles, and that, ladies and gents, is definitely what piques my interest. I just love those little creatures, so that's definitely interesting. We know to book ourselves a tour on horseback with sand and saddle, and we also know to make sure that we have some little time left at the end of the tour on horseback to take a little refreshing swim in the beach that is on the property. Speaking of refreshing, we are also going to take that little hike up to Koroko Falls and remember that charming little spot, that eco lodge that he told us about. We're definitely gonna go there. I think it's called a. What's it called a masabeth, a masabeth eco lodge. That's where we're gonna go and, lastly, we are definitely not gonna miss out on a hangout at getaway to pioga.
Speaker 1:We have learned a lot about Jamaica's eco and green adventures thanks to Karim today, really. So if you need to to book a one of his services and you definitely should, because he is so so well known in all of it find the link to his website in the show notes, where you can also book a consultation call with him. I will link also his youtube channel I'm loving the word also today. What is wrong with me? Anyway, I am gonna link his youtube channel so that you can go check out all of the videos that he has there, including videos after different places that we spoke about today, and you can go stalk him on social media, so I'm gonna link his facebook and his instagram as well.
Speaker 1:All of that info you can go and find it in the show notes, so hurry up as soon as I, or as you, uh, yeah, no, as I end this show, I want to thank you so much for spending some time with us today, karim, and I remember that I am here to answer any questions that you have about a Caribbean. Let me know which islands you would like to visit with me next and I cannot wait to be back with another episode filled with Caribbean travel tips from, of course, the locals who live where you get a vacation in the next episode of Paradise Perspectives. So this is the podcast, as you know, for Caribbean lovers and Caribbean travelers. Definitely make sure that you subscribe and that you leave me a little note of love, a little review, a little five star, if you will, and until next time, I'm Rizal, the traveling island girl, ciao.
