Le Chameau véloce by Laurent Moutinot

Le Chameau vélos by Laurent Moutinot
If you are looking for a recent account of a ‘no frills’ holiday adventure in Jamaica Laurent Moutinot’s book titled Le Chameau véloce danse le reggae en Jamaïque is the answer. It is a delightful account of three vacationers who cycled across much of the island to see and experience the real Jamaica.  

Moutinot along with his wife Myriam and friend Stéphane started and ended their trip in Port Royal where they enjoyed seafood dishes at Gloria’s, a popular restaurant with locals and visitors alike.  Read more on Port Royal here: https://www.experiencejamaique.com/blog/port-royal-%E2%80%A6

Written in the form of a diary, Moutinot presents an engaging account of their month-long cycling adventure across Jamaica’s north and south coasts.  It is an unvarnished, yet amusing narrative of his experience as they discovered the island’s culture, beaches, cuisines, less visited locations and history. Le Chameau véloce danse le reggae en Jamaïque is a strong contender to the Lonely Planet visitor’s guide for visitors who wish to see the less touristy part of Jamaica.

Laurent Moutinot is well known in Geneva, thanks to his years of active service in politics.  Both he and Myriam reside in Geneva’s Lancy commune, the home of Expérience Jamaïque.  Here is an article in the April 2021 edition of Le Lancéen by its Editor in Chief, Kaarina Lorenzini based on an interview with Moutinot about his book about Jamaica.

The Swift Camel - “One the road again”
For those who do not yet know it, the "Swift Camel" is the inseparable bicycle of Laurent Moutinot, former Councillor of State and Regional Municipality. On his two-wheeler and most often in the company of his better half, Myriam, but also with relatives or friends, he travels the roads of the world, bringing back his impressions of the Silk Road or Burkina Faso in his notebooks, when it is not from Egypt or Cambodia.

All these “road trips” then become intimate, both documented and funny. An offbeat style of writing that is the hallmark of the author.
His new opus ‘Le Chameau véloce danse le reggae en Jamaïque’ is available at Slatkine Editions and chronicles his last trip undertaken just before the emergence of Covid-19 in our lives. The story begins in Kingston and ends in Petit-Lancy during the early stages of the pandemic.

 After a journey marked by new tastes, sounds and visual experiences, characterized by pleasure and movement, they returned home abruptly: “I discovered silence: no more planes, no more traffic in my area, work in the neighbouring site has stopped .... Every morning, for years, I’d go to the Boulangerie des Ormeaux to buy my bread, but at the start of confinement, it closed: no more morning walks, no more fresh bread and no more smiles from Alice. Small pleasures that have flown away.”

Hopefully, the virus will disappear as soon as possible, just to see the Swift Camel hit the road and bring us a new nugget in its luggage.

For more information about ‘Le Chameau véloce danse le reggae en Jamaïque’ go to Slatkine, 2021, CHF18.

On the Lancy Commune go to: http://www.lelanceen.ch

For more go to these links:
Leman Blue TV:  http://www.lemanbleu.ch/fr/News/Voyage-en-Jamaique-avec-le-dernier-livre-de-Laurent-Moutinot.html
RTS Play:  https://www.rts.ch/play/radio/le-grand-soir/audio/laurent-moutinot-auteur-le-chameau-veloce-danse-le-reggae-en-jamaque-ed--slatkine?id=11841237
Slatkine Publishers:  https://www.slatkine.com/fr/editions-slatkine/74789-book-07211016-9782832110164.html

Also visit our gallery for contemporary Jamaican/Caribbean fine art: https://www.experiencejamaique.com/product_gallery
 

June 2021