Write Around the World: Operation Jamaican Music

It's not everyday you get to travel around your home country with National Geographic and Islands magazine, having a gander at one of the cultural elements that put your country on the map. Today is that day for me. Over the next few days, I'll be hanging out with a Nat Geo film crew and a team from Islands who are travelling around Jamaica exploring music from the perspective of the musicians, the people who love the music, finding out what it means to them, the works.

I know. I'm lucky. Don't hate.

Last Night, I met the film crew and heard their chiding recount of the day's interviews. 8:00 p.m. at Truck Stop bar and restaurant on West Kings House Rd., and there are surprisingly more groups than one would expect. Yet, I found mine on the first try and met Farook, Jacob, Olivier, Dax, Kelly, Gillian, June and Tony, facilitators of musical conversation, hidden insight and the non-E! TV version of Jamaica. I know I missed about two or three people in there, but don't hold it against me.

Within minutes of getting to Truck Stop I was drinking an ice-cold Red Stripe, teasing Kelly that he has the same name as my sister, getting into a philosophical discussion with Dax about the evils of television (neither he nor I have one) and practising my French with Olivier. I suspect this is going to be an interesting next couple of days.

The day apparently started out with Tarrus Riley on a bluffy beach in the parish of St. Thomas, followed by King Jammy at his studios in Waterhouse, an inner-city community deep in the belly of Kingston. Apparently King Jammy refused to be interviewed until the crew blazed a big one. They crew nevertheless got the footage, so apparently someone eventually gave in. :) Truck Stop for dinner and a satiating close to a day that started at 6:00 a.m., after only three hours of sleep. (Hey, prize video don't come cheap!) Shortly after I got there, it was time to retreat to their mountain hideaway, Strawberry Hill. I let it slide that there was a horizon pool. Stick with me, there's more where that came from.

Go time is 9. Destination: heaven, aka Negril. A little Rick's Cafe for the sunset, some live Mento bands, panoramas of the sea.....here's to a great start to the rest of the week.