On Sunday November 22nd, 2009, we had a wonderful ride from Bodmint near Falmouth (where we stayed), to Good Hope great house and guess what, there were many persons with cameras this time! For as I rued last week on my first visit there, none of us could capture the picturesque scenery then.
Well I wont take a bow for misleading my fellow cyclists, for what I remembered to be a flat and slightly undulating ride from Falmouth turned out to be quite a challenging and hilly terrain. That's the difference between travelling in a 6 cylinder SUV and having to use woman power on a two wheeler!
All things work for the greater good however, for had Donna and Charlene not heard that it was a flat ride they would not have come along, but they did and conquered it all despite the fact that Donna hadn't ridden for months.
The road was a bit bumpy but the overhanging bamboos and trees not only saved us from the pelting sun but also created an ambiance second to none. Thankfully too, this is not a route that is heavily trafficked so we felt relatively safe all the way.
As we rode, horses looked peaceful in their paddocks, the fauna delighted, Zuri enjoyed seeing the peacocks showing off their feathers in all their glory and all riders oohed and aahed, not only at the well restored great house (which we were unable to tour as it was fully occupied with guests who had attended as wedding the night before) but at the absolute beauty of the lush rain- forest that we know as the Cockpit country as it loomed majestically in the background.
All hopes of a swim in the inviting Martha Brae river were stymied by a sign prohibiting swimming as it could contaminate the shrimp and fish breeding grounds below. The real reward of that ride came with the return journey which was basically downhill and a cool, gentle breeze accompanied us all the way.
The weekend's pleasure was enhanced by a swim at Oyster Bay. .....not half as nice as Silver Sands Beach but it was welcome means of cooling us off for the long drive back to Kingston.
The story of Oyster Bay, a peninsula offshore Falmouth, is sad though. Apparently the development there has been stopped but a bit late in the day isn't it? For the developers had cut and put in a road in the middle of morass which is the prime breeding ground for all sea life. The section on the northern side of the road is fully destroyed while the larger section on the southern side is slowly dying. Will the developers be allowed to continue or will they be required to totally abandon the project and restore the ecology of the area? I bet on the former for we live in an extremely corrupt country where money will always prevail over what is good of the country and our children's future.
(Others on the Sunday ride were; Howie, Michael, Damit, Stefan, Heather, Penny, Charles and Michelle.
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