Mind States Update
May 28, 2002

[return to Mind States Jamaica]


Mind States producer Jon Hanna visited the conference site in Jamaica last week to check out the scene. Here are some notes from his travels:

On arriving at Montego Bay, the picturesque drive to Negril is about 1.5 hours. As expected, the island is gorgeous. There are many dilapidated shacks along the drive, where nature is in the process of reclaiming that which man has built. Cows and goats occasionally roam free and cross the road in front of traffic. There appear to be no laws against having open containers of alcohol in vehicles, and I enjoyed a couple of cold beers on the way to the resort. (Beer of choice seems to be limited to the Jamaican Red Stripe and Red Stripe light, along with Heniken and Guinness.) The driver was very friendly, shouting out to numerous people that we passed.

The resort where the seminar will he held is just past Lucea at the start of Negril on Bloody Bay. This is a good spot to be at, as is a bit removed from the center of town, so we will have plenty of space to ourselves. The resort is beautiful: huts on stilts, lush vegetation, lizards, a pool with a swim-up bar to serve various tasty mixed drinks, mango trees, palms, the beach access across the street with white sand, blue very warm water, and a grill and bar for lunch with fast service. For those who have been to the Palenque Entheobotany seminars and to the Hawaiian AllChemical Arts seminar, this location seems to have captured an atmosphere that combines the best of both of these other locals.

I spent some time wandering the town, looking at other resorts. The one that we will be staying at is the best of any that I saw. Although there is web access at our resort, cheaper access can be found in town at an Internet cafe housed at the Coral Seas resort ($6.00 per hour access). Jerk chicken stands pepper the roads. At Ms. Browns and Jenny's cafe toward the west end, one can purchase "space cake" or mushroom tea--these shops have been open for years without any apparent problems.

While cruising the beach, a couple of friendly entrepreneurs approached me to see if I might be interested in purchasing any of their mind-altering wares. There would appear to be no shortage of such wares on the island. During my short stay on the island, three people I met offered to take me on tours of their medicinal herb gardens.

I took a glass-bottomed boat out to Rick's cafe at the cliffs (complete with cliff jumpers), and watched a beautiful sunset while enjoying a smoke on the roof of the boat. Caught some reggae bands in the evening at a nightclub. Overall it is a great location with a lot to offer a group like ours, and I expect that a fun time will be had by all.

I'm glad that I had an opportunity to check out the site first-hand, and see the various ways in which it is uniquely suited for an event like Mind States. All plans for the seminar have been going according to schedule, and we're excited about the upcoming event. Check back at the main site periodically, for updates on the speaker's presentation topics and more information.

Note: Erowid has provided web space for the Mind States conference, but is not involved in the organization of this event in any way.

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