CoVid Chronicles: An Essential Worker’s Perspective

Here’s part 2 of my Covid-19 chronicles. Catch part 1 here.

I completed medical school last June so I’ve been a doctor in a Jamaican public hospital for 9 months now and counting. During that time I’ve seen a lot and gained a world of experience. When this current strain of coronavirus emerged, it sounded surreal BUT we all knew it was a matter of time before our country and region would be affected too given how highly virulent this pathogen is and how closely connected our world has become through the 21st century’s ease of travel. Subsequently, Jamaica recorded its first case on March 10. Every day since, or rather every hour, there’s something new. One minute it’s a public attraction closing its doors, the next it’s a restaurant, a factory, the schools, offices, then finally the country’s airports on March 21. At the time of publishing this post, the number of confirmed cases is at 26 and our nation has recorded 1 death.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle23 Comments

CoVid Chronicles: Staying Fine During Quarantine

Many people are stuck at home for days at a time during this pandemic and the biggest worry among the food-secure minority of the world is whether or not they’ll get fat from eating their quarantine snacks too quickly, and worse, the fact that their gymnasiums to battle the bulge are closed until further notice. Locally, the Jamaica Moves campaign has taken to social media with info-graphics and live streams replacing workout classes and people are still encouraged to go for solo runs in their communities once of course it’s safe to do so. Healthy meals, snacks and fresh produce can be delivered to your house once you can afford the delivery fees or order in large enough batches to get these fees waived. That being said, many people aren’t so vocal about the elephant in the room– maintaining your mental health while life as we know it is disrupted.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle30 Comments

Ten Things to Do at Devon House Besides Eat Ice-Cream

Devon House in St. Andrew, Jamaica makes the best ice-cream I’ve ever had in my life. International critics agree too, ranking the Devon House I-Scream parlour as serving one of the world’s top 10 best ice-creams. I recently relocated to a next corner of this beautiful island so Devon House is no longer as accessible for me, but I do crave a delicious ice-cream scoop set against the lovely antique theme of red brick and cobblestones ever so often. That being said, there’s so much more to Devon House than ice-cream and being home to Jamaica’s first coloured millionaire. Devon House has evolved into an exciting village with gourmet à la carte restaurants, a relaxing day spa, quaint souvenir shops, a first-rate bakery, clothing stores and interesting delicatessens which slip below the radar when we brand Devon House solely as a mansion and award-winning ice cream parlour. Thus, this week I decided to share 10 other ways to enjoy this beautiful property.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle15 Comments

Peter Tosh Museum, Saint Andrew

Peter Tosh is a platinum-selling Grammy award winning artiste and is one of the most talented reggae musicians to emerge from Jamaica. He got his claim to fame from the Wailers, a trio which also consisted of Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. Peter Tosh was born in 1944 in Westmoreland, Jamaica’s most western parish and his life was brought to a brutal abrupt end in 1987 after a home break-in and robbery-turned-murder. Tosh had a rough start with an unstable family background, shuffled around from relative to relative based on circumstances but his musical talent emerged early despite the upheavals. Tosh is a self-taught guitarist and keyboardist who got his first real taste of music and performing when he moved to Trench Town as a teenager and met his fellow band-mates in the early 1960s. He taught them how to play, and they dabbled in ska and rocksteady before finding their calling in reggae, infusing their tunes with spiritual and political messages from their newfound conversion to the Rastafari faith.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle12 Comments

Jamaica Rum Festival 2020: Recap & Highlights

Time sure flies when you’re having rum, I mean, fun. 2019 was the inaugural staging of the Jamaica Rum Festival and social media would not let me live it down that I missed it! The pictures looked epic and even my friends and colleagues were speaking about it for days. Thus, I eagerly anticipated the second staging, knowing that the event would be here to stay given all the success it had in its first showcasing and I was not left disappointed. The Caribbean produces some of the world’s best rums and our history is intricately intertwined with the spirit. Rum production dates back from the 17th century on plantations where my enslaved African ancestors toiled to produce this lovely liquor from sugarcane and its by-product molasses, and rum became the region’s chief export product after muscovado sugar.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle30 Comments