A Tale of Two Islands: Similar - But Way Different.....

During my recent cruise I got to visit some foreign countries. That's good, because it's always good to expand your horizons. I only got to visit them for a few hours in a tourist port, so it's not like I'm an expert in their culture or politics. But it was long enough to draw some conclusions. Sometimes the differences are striking.

Welcome to Jamaica

Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are both tropical islands in the Caribbean. They are only 272 miles apart. They are both in a beautiful part of the world. But after visiting, I'm left wondering how things got so different.

Jamaica is a large, lush, extremely beautiful place. There are the Green Mountains for growing highly regarded coffee. Tropical forests and plants are all over. Waterfalls and water features just seem to spring up everywhere. Streams are so clean you could drink out of them. The hummingbird, that I got to see for the first time in my life, is the national bird.

The Jamaican people seem to be hilarious. They made me laugh without even trying. Everybody called me the "Big Mon." (I don't know if that's good or bad, but it was fun.) But there's trouble in paradise.

Jamaica seems to be poor as spit. We were at a tourist port, but even there the buildings and infrastructure didn't seem too impressive. Nothing seemed to be quality construction. I'm sure the resorts are much different. But the Jamaicans don't live on resorts. Then there are the street hustlers.

Fish in a stream. You can't see the water

I was told to prepare for the street hustlers, but I was still amazed by their number and persistence. They were like honey badgers. They don't give up. Let me be clear. I never felt in danger or threatened. But I literally could not walk 10 feet without somebody trying to get money for something. "Would you like a braid in your hair?" (I barely have hair anymore.) "Would you like a joint, Big Mon?" (I can get that at home now). "Big Mon looks tired. Ride in my taxi?" (That was true.)

But street hustling has to be a hard life. The cruise ships dump off thousands of visitors only certain days, and for only a fer hours. You've got to make hay while the sun shines I guess. If there was a good economy, it wouldn't be so bad for those people.

Most troubling is that Jamaica has one of the highest murder rates in the world. The cities, such as Kingston seem to be the most dangerous.

The Cayman Islands consist of three small islands just west of Jamaica. They are flat as a pancake. The cruise ships can't  even dock there.They anchor  just offshore and passengers are tendered to the island.  Although still tropical, the islands are far less geographically interesting than Jamaica. The water is bright Caribbean blue. Plenty of coral to snorkel to. I had the pleasure of being at Seven Mile Beach. It is without question the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. (including Hawaii.)

Seven Mile Beach in the Caymans. Take sunscreen.

The streets sort of looked like the suburbs in America. Much of the buildings where I was seemed fairly new. This may be due to a hurricane that destroyed much of the island a number of years ago. Everybody seemed to be driving a late model Toyota. The only really unusual thing I saw were that there were some urban street chickens running around. Sort of like deer in my neighborhood.

There are more registered businesses in the Cayman Islands than there are people. About half the population are native, the rest seem to be well to do immigrants. It is considered a haven for the financial services industry. There is no income tax.

Cayman chix just happy not
to be jerk in Jamaica.

There is virtually no crime in the Cayman Islands. The police don't even carry guns. Because the crooks don't either. If there are any. It has the highest standard of living in the Caribbean. A foregener must first have a job before moving to the Caymans. A work permit is required which involves a background check and a health examination.

Both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands were part of the British Empire. Jamaica got it's independence in 1962 but remains part of the British commonwealth. It is a parliamentary democracy. The Cayman Islands remain a British Overseas Territory. Britain has a Governor there, largely it seems to open shopping centers.

So what caused the differences between Jamaica and the Cayman Islands? Both Caribbean nations. Both former, or present British colonies. Some say the Jamaican government has been corrupt for years, and that has greatly hurt the people. I don't know the answers. I was only there for a few hours.

Jamaica is beautiful . But in the Caymans, the only things scratching out a living are the chickens.