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| Mississippi River |
Memphis. What can I say about Memphis? Well the first thing that strikes you as you come into the city centre is the magnificent expanse of the Mississippi River. It truly is one of the great rivers of the world. Its not hard to see why the Chickasaw Indian people chose this spot as their home. In fact, the cliffs or bluffs along the river were Chickasaw lands for thousands of years before the Spanish and French came along.
You can also see that Memphis was once a magnificent and very wealthy city, which like so many I have visited here in the South, fell into hard times and is now dragging itself back to grandeur through new business opportunities, industry and tourism. The telltale signs of the past are there in the amazingly beautiful and elegant old buildings dotted throughout the city, but which sadly are in various stages of decay and repair.
Memphis has such an interesting history which perhaps lends an explanation for this layered decay. In the late 1700s, the land on which Memphis sits, officially became Spanish territory and it remained so until the end of that century when the Spanish abandoned it entirely and Memphis became a ruin and ghost town. It wasn't until 1819 that Memphis was developed as a river transportation centre. Cotton become an economic boon for the area and so consequently, and sadly, Memphis became a significant slave market delivering the labour to the antebellum South. Then of course the Civil War changed the face of Memphis yet again. This period saw Tennessee secede from the Union and become Confederate territory briefly. With the end of the war came a series of yellow fever epidemics which almost destroyed Memphis reducing its population by over 70%. With increasing and suffocating city debt, Memphis again fell into despair and decay.
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| Lorraine Motel, Memphis |
The Mississippi, cotton, lumber and livestock fortunately saved her and dragged her into the 20th century only for the city to be the centre of the civil rights battles of the 1960s. It was at the Lorraine Motel in downtown Memphis that Dr Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated the day after giving his "I've been to the Mountaintop" speech. April 1968 I think changed the world for us; certainly the world in which I grew up and now live in was changed by the events of 1968. The National Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Motel memorial site were a very inspiring experience, if not emotional. There is also a great new exhibition on the Freedom Sisters, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It tells of the numerous women in the US who have fought for civil rights throughout the last 200 years.
But throughout all this tumultuous and tragic history, music has been the one constant in Memphis' makeup. Music is in the blood of the local people; you can see it in the way they move and walk! Memphis is the hometown of so many greats that I grew up listening to. Jerry Lee Lewis, Muddy Waters, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, BB King, Isaac Hayes, Booker T Jones, Al Green and yes.....Elvis Presley. Oh, its also the birthplace of Justin Timberlake.
So a trip to Memphis would not be complete without cultural immersion including a good dose of music. With my mad Elvis-loving mother in toe, I spent a day at Graceland absorbing all things Elvis and I was pleasantly surprised with what I learnt about Elvis. We grew up somewhat amused by my Mum's nutty passion for this fella and other than for his songs, movies and dance moves, I really didn't know much about him. Consequently, I was impressed to hear about his social welfare, charity and civil rights work. I was also blown away by his collection of books which, by all accounts, he actually read. He lived a very simple life at home at Graceland. Not the big rock star flamboyance that I had expected.
From Graceland to the Rock & Soul Museum, Star Records, and of course, Beale Street. We topped off our trip with a great night at BB Kings Club where we listened to some amazing jazz and blues. A performer by the name of Memphis Jones blew us away. Every part of your body just wants to move when listening to blues I think. But you can hear this kind of music on the street corners of Beale Street. It truly is the birthplace of blues and I am grateful for my time in Memphis. As a music lover, the South is like being in a chocolate factory!!
Jamaica was the largest island nation I visited, with some 2.8 million people and all the usual social problems that go with that number. It has a pretty tumultuous history, having changed from Spanish to British rule in the 1600s and for much of its early history, it was home to a significant slave population. On the back of that slavery, Jamaica was for some 200 years, the world's leading exporter of sugar and rum. While visiting, I took the opportunity to explore an old sugar plantation, Good Hope. One of the oldest still functioning properties in Jamaica, it was established in 1774 by an Englishman, John Thorpe, who was at that time the largest land and slave owner in Jamaica. It is said that he was renowned for his good treatment of the slaves on his properties and that he built hospitals for the slaves and introduced farming techniques aimed at improving the working conditions on his land. Good Hope occupies some 2000 acres of absolutely beautiful land. The views are amazing and I was surprised by the lush, tropical and mountainous country I travelled through. Its easy to see how Jamaica reclaims the soil when left abandoned! Jamaicans are wonderfully welcoming and very proud of their island home.
From the beautiful beaches and mountains of Jamaica to the magnificent waters of Grand Cayman. This place is spellbinding. I can't begin to describe the colour of the water here and the beaches are divine. Grand Cayman is a flat island about 35kms long and 13kms wide. Originally founded by the British in 1700s, it is today famous for its off-shore banking and investment industry. Between that and tourism, it is a thriving and economically strong country which is reflected in the standards of living for the locals. Very relaxed and welcoming! I snorkeled some of their amazing reefs as well as the Kittiwake, a sunken WW2 vessel that's now an artificial reef. Definitely need to return to this little locale.
Final stop on this trip was Cozumel, Mexico and Playa Del Carmen. Both spots are situated on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, home to the Maya people. Both are rich in culture and history and are a sight to be seen. What I liked most about this area was the people. The Mexican people of the Peninsula, or the Mexican Riviera as it is known, are proud, friendly people. Those I encountered were extremely generous of their time in answering my questions about their home and its history. A short stop only, but enjoyed with a Margarita in hand, and a desire to return and explore further.
