A Birthday in Jamaica pt. 2

***This is a follow up post to A Birthday in Jamaica pt. 1

I usually prepare for international trips with itineraries. For MoBay however, the boyfriend and I barely pulled our itinerary on our flight. That said, we prioritized one main attraction: Bob Marley’s childhood home and final resting place at the Nine Mile Mausoleum site. Luckily for us, this attraction was grouped with the Dunn’s River Falls hike.

Dunn’s River Falls in the parish of Ocho Rios. Let me begin by saying that Dunn’s River Falls as an excursion or attraction is offered as a hike, and it’s literally an incline hike through a waterfall.

The next stop: Nine Mile, famously known as Bob Marley’s hometown and final resting place deep in the hills of the remote and humble St. Ann Parish. The drive to Nine Mile is unpleasant. Our tour guide specifically told us, passengers, not to holler, scream, or be a backseat driver. That’s because it was bumpy, it was all uphill, it was narrow, and windy. Not gonna lie, passing other cars was frightening and my mom was holding on for dear life. Thankfully we made it okay.

So we arrive at Bob Marley’s Nine Mile Tour where Bob Marley was born and partially raised before moving to Kingston and becoming one of the most-recognized reggae performing artist and political activist of our time. I mean this guy is just DOPE, even in death. This was my favorite part of my entire Jamaica trip to say the least, and here’s why: I grew up on listening to Bob Marley. Not to discredit or shade anyone that discovered Mr. Marley in college and suddenly coined him a legend… but LEGEND has been played in my household since birth, accompanied by intellectual discussions about civil strife, social injustice, and crooked politics. So this was more than another point of interest for me – this was the home of the man whom not only provided entertainment but perspective.

Even better about the Nine Mile Tour at Bob Marley’s Mausoleum, it’s a rastafarian village so you can burn one in peace. No judgement, no harassment, just an open and safe place to *ahem* medicate.

During the actual tour, musicians sang Bob’s songs (singing along and dancing is encouraged). The tour guide was informative but also enjoyable. We learned about the Rastafarian religion and customs, Bob’s biological father (a white man he didn’t really know), and what his final days battling cancer were like. We got to see the very bed where Bob slept and the kitchen where his mother cooked. And lastly, we got to touch Bob’s tomb. Without giving too much information away, Nine Mile was by far my favorite activity in Jamaica. It’s a little treasure for BM fans and followers because it still retains his energy.