Our Modern Athlete correspondent Ciara Picco brings us the experience of her journey to the Puma Disc Launch in Jamaica! Will she meet the world famous athlete Usain Bolt? Keep reading to find out!
Wow, JNB – JFK – KIN, far to say the least.
From getting on the plane in jo'burg, to crossing the threshold of my hotel room took 25 hours. All with a technical delay at JNB, the longest apron taxi at JFK including a blur of customs and baggage recheck, an AirTrain ride, a 1500m dash any Olympic hopeful would be proud of, a final expedited rush through passport control, a quick wee, then boarded my Jet Blue flight. Sigh of relief.
Being someone who likes to break things down into small achievable goals, getting on that Jet Blue flight was the top step prize for getting through the previous 16+hours on my long haul flight.
Honestly, I had no idea airplanes could fly for that long. My questions don't center solely on the fuel and viability of engines to operate for that long but more on the human waste side of things, and hey, all systems handled quite as they should.
Immediately on Jet Blue I experienced the easy going nature of The Jamaican people. It was a full flight so in many cases families were split up, but a switch here, a change there and everyone ended up just where they wanted to be.
I will admit that I didn't realize that it was such a long flight from JFK to KIN so got a bit agitated towards the end of the 4 hours. After quick nap and a view of their great on board entertainment selection and I was descending into Kingston, Jamaica.
Wah gwan, bredren! I have landed!
Another passport control, the only out of the last four that I was able to keep my shoes on at. Stamped, forex, bag picked up and through customs I went into the heavy humidity of this port town.
On the hotel transfer we made a hairpin trip on the coastal road into town, past the University and cricket stadium up to the Spanish Court Hotel. On the journey in, the meager living made by Kingston folk is apparent in the urban living style. Lots of side road entrepreneurs selling various consumables to make their living. By this it is easy to see why sport has such a great and deep meaning to the Jamaican public, from towns like these come international heroes. World champions. World record holders.
Off for a settle in and recoup.
To follow more details of the launch, follow #TurnItOn.
To read more about the new Disc Shoe, read more here