I took my wife out to the garage to the dart board on the wall and grabbed a dart while she took a well-worn map and placed it over the board. We decided to just throw a dart and, if Eastern Airlines flew to any country it landed on, we would go there. I stood at the prescribed distance and threw the dart. Wouldn’t you know it? The dart landed in the middle of Cuba and we could not go there! She suggested I throw it again, but I declined and came up with an alternative solution. I tied a piece of thread to the dart and made ever increasing circles until it hit a land mass. Bingo! Galina Point, St. Mary’s Jamaica.
It was Providence. In 1978 I worked as a Stage Security Guard at the Santa Barbara County Bowl for a Bob Marley and the Wailers concert. I was transfixed by Bob and the band as his lyrics seemed like they were talking to me and me alone. And so, began my fascination with most everything Jamaican from the food to the music and from its history to its mystery.
And, I started with my digestion of the Eastern Airlines Route Schedule with a goal of fitting all three destinations into a maximum 21 day time period while also being mindful of the rules such as only being able to stop at any airport once which proved to be more difficult than I anticipated.
Nearly one month later I had an outline of a plan that would do all three stops and take almost all the 21-day limit too. Now I needed to work out a ground plan for when we arrived for things like places to stay and car rental when public transportation was not available. We would be backpacking taking sleeping bags and a tent as an alternative cost saving measure when appropriate.
On July 3rd, 1983, the adventure began.
