Wayne Bishop | Falmouth facelift looming failure

We vacation in Jamaica at least twice per year, purchased a cottage in Boscobel 10 years ago, and plan on retiring there.

We have a preteen daughter and we all like to drive around the island on our visits. We have been visiting Falmouth over the years, starting well before the cruse ship pier was completed.

More than a week ago while on an overnight visit to Montego Bay, we drove over to Falmouth in the evening. How disappointing!

First, we tried to park at one of the marked parking spaces on the street. Immediately, we were accosted by a man who decided that we needed his assistance to park. This reminded me of Parade or Coronation Market in downtown Kingston. With my family in the car, we drove off and found a paid parking lot.

Exiting the lot, we were again accosted by the same man demanding money, as he claimed that he needed food. I could still see the Royal Caribbean cruise liner in the pier. A local lady told the man to leave us alone, but he persisted in following us to Water Square and the market, insisting that he was hungry and we needed to give him money. The situation was very intimidating.

Now to the town: What an absolutely disappointing mess! The central walk area needs a good pressure wash. The tourists were all back on the ship, so there was no security personnel or police in sight - not a good feeling when being pressured by a stranger to give him money.

One can see that the town had seen some renovation, but as usual, there is no consistent maintenance plan in place. The town looks worse now that it did the last time we visited about two years ago. A senior person in the tourism ministry needs to take an unannounced visit.

Falmouth should be a good Sunday visit for local Jamaicans. Instead, we should be all ashamed of this investment.

We visited the recent new beach walk in Ocho Rios and noted the new sidewalks being built. Let's hope there is a maintenance plan for Ocho Rios.

Oh, and my wife said don't forget the persistent smell of urine in Falmouth!

We saw some good signs of prosperity, but maintenance is essential for prosperity to flourish.

- Wayne Bishop is a resident of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a vacation home in Boscobel, St Mary. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and portlandjamaica@gmail.com.