Gimme Buffett

JAMAICA

Head for Kingston, mon. Jamaica has the third-largest English-speaking population in the Americas, after the U.S. and Canada. And of course you can’t beat the music. But take Air Jamaica, or make sure your plane is well-marked. Otherwise, you just might find yourself mistaken for a drug runner. It happened to Jimmy.

In 1996 Jimmy was flying to Jamaica in his Grumman HU-16 Albatross “Hemisphere Dancer.” The plane was shot at by Jamaican police, who suspected it was smuggling drugs. No one was hurt, although the plane suffered a few bullet holes. You can see for yourself: the plane is now on view at his Margaritaville restaurant in Orlando.

Based on these lyrics from “Jamaica Mistaica” (on the album “Banana Wind”), all is now forgiven:

Come back, come back, back to Jamaica.
Don’t chu know we made a big mistaica.
We’d be so sad if you told us goodbye,
And we promise not to shoot you out of the sky

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HAITI

A former French colony, Haiti became the world’s first independent black republic in 1804. Unfortunately, Haiti suffers from political unrest and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Aggressive deforestation has led to soil erosion and exacerbated flooding problems. Still, despite the problems the Haitian people have had to endure, in the liner notes to “African Friend” in the boxed set “Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads” Jimmy says, “they are the warmest and friendliest people I have come across in my travels.” Continue reading

Ah, the Caribbean. So many mysteries. Like which syllable gets the accent, the RIB or the BE? And which islands have the gentlest breezes? The bluest waters? The friendliest natives? Should I cruise via Royal Caribbean or take more of a DIY approach?

Jimmy knows. He became fascinated by the history of the Caribbean while a history major at the University of Southern Mississippi. He’s traveled the Caribbean for years, by boat and seaplane. The various islands are the subjects of numerous songs, and receive tangential mention on even more. To sum it up, In “Migration” (on the album “A1A”) he claims, “Got a Caribbean soul I can barely control.” So what’s his take on it all? And what’s in it for you? Continue reading

It’s well-known that Jimmy Buffett loves the Caribbean, the tropical island paradise. But he also recommends changing latitudes as a way of changing attitudes. And when it comes to latitude adjustment, a traveler can’t do better than Paris. Continue reading

This sleepy little island community (which is proud to be the #1 producer of farm raised clams in the U.S.A.) off the Gulf Coast of Florida became a little more famous once Jimmy Buffett sang about it in the opening line of “Incommunicado” (on the album “Coconut Telegraph”):

Travis McGee’s still in Cedar Key
That’s what John MacDonald said.
My rendezvous so long overdue
With all of the things I’ve sung and I’ve read
They still apply to me, they all make sense in time.

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