Negril Lighthouse, Jamaica

Weird... I thought I'd already posted about this card in this blog but I checked back and nope, I haven't. It must've just been a similar lighthouse postcard, then.. :p I received this one a couple of years ago and it might still be the only postcard I've received directly from Jamaica, written and stamped.



Negril Lighthouse was built in 1894 2.4 km south south east of the westernmost tip of Jamaica by the French company Bubbler & Bernard. It is one of the earliest concrete lighthouses. Its foundation is a tank 4.3 m deep, which is kept filled with water to keep the 20-metre reinforced concrete tower balanced and secured in the event of an earthquake. The tower is topped with a lantern and gallery.

An automatic white light 30 m above sea level flashes every two seconds. The light was operated by gas initially, switching to acetylene in 1956 and solar energy in 1985. Several adjacent one-story frame keeper's houses are staffed.

The site is a well-known attraction of the Negril area, and the lighthouse is maintained by the Port Authority of Jamaica, an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Works.



Such beautiful stamps! The one on the right is from a set of 5 stamps issued in 1995, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Birth of Bob Marley, and the stamp next to it is from a set of 4 bird stamps, also issued in 1995, this one showing the Yellow-billed parrot. The stamp on the left is from a set of 4 stamps issued in 2003 with the theme 'BirdLife International', the stamp here showing the Jamaican Tody. The stamp at the bottom is from a set of 4 stamps from 1995, commemorating 50 years of United Nations.