Tapioca Village (6.5 kilometers north of Castleton, tel. 876/924-0091 or 876/472-5255, tapioca_retreat@yahoo.com, US$50 room only, US$60 includes breakfast for two, US$75 for three-meal package for two), just over the border from St. Andrew in Devon Pen, St.

In terms of native biodiversity, Jamaica is surpassed in the Caribbean only by Cuba, a country many times its size. What's more, Jamaica has an extremely high rate of endemism, both in plant and animal life. Perhaps most noticeable are the endemic birds, some of the most striking of which are hard to miss.

EARLY INHABITANTS AND SPANISH DISCOVERY

The most important thing to remember in any visit to a foreign country is that your dollar is your most substantive demonstration of support. Jamaica is an expensive place to live by any measure, and foreign currency is the chief economic driver. The benefit, or lack thereof, that tourism brings to the island is dependent on where the incoming dollars end up.