Wednesday, July 28, 2010

A World Phenomenon

Did you know that Jamaica has the only phenomenon where a lighted flame burns under water? Not only is the flame there, but people actually cooked on it. This phenomenon is at a place named Windsor near Marcus Garvey’s statue in St. Ann’s Bay.

This is a very impoverished area with a horrible road and lots of garbage strewn along the river bank. I can’t remember ever seeing so many young children anywhere in relation to the number of houses.

I get the impression that the person on whose land this phenomenon exists is standing in the of progress for when I asked him why he has not approached an organization like TPDCO to get it developed as a proper attraction, he scoffed at the idea saying dem wi just tief it.

Anyway as the story goes, about 80 years ago, this old lady was burning out wasps in a tree, when the paper she had lighted fell into the water and it blazed up. This created a lot of excitement in the area and over the past few years, geologists from the USA have visited thinking there is natural gas in the area. None was found and the conclusion is that it is sulpher coming up into the spot, (like on matches) which is creating the phenomenon. This flame can be blown out and lighted by simply passing a lighter over the section.

The man who claims the spot has now fenced it around and charges people to come in and have a sulpher bath in the tepid water. The place has a lot, more potential however.

I had stopped there last week to show it to my grandson Shadrach who is on vacation from USA, this attraction. We had spent a wonderful two days at Royal Decameron, an all inclusive in Salem where I had made a hog of myself.

But what the heck, life is just for living.


https://youtu.be/X7uzX5vTAxE

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