Well we finally got the opportunity to climb down that steep ladder into the Quashie river sink hole, aka Rat Bat cave, but 'chicken " Joan who is terrified of heights, whimped out.
All who go on adventure treks with Fun and Thrills have at one time heard of Rat Bat Cave in the Cockpit country and most of us have always wished to visit it, although it is reputed to have the coldest water in Jamaica. After having jumped into so many very cold rivers therefore, it was with great anticipation that we approached the ride that was finally organised to give us the opportunity to feel this super cold water for ourselves.
Coincidentally, ride organiser Howie, just happened to mention to me some weeks ago that they really wanted to go there soon. Bernie (my brother) and his wife Judy were due to come to Jamaica for the weekend of the 17/9-20/9 but since it was a Cornwall college affair and they would be out most times and no domino session was planned, I had told them I wouldn't bother to come down to the beach house at Silver Sands. So when I told Howie about the upcoming weekend when "Winedown " would be virtually empty, he immediately got Michael to start organising a ride to Ulster Spring, Trelawny (which is where I had heard Rat Bat Cave was) with Silver Sands as the base.
So down we went on Friday night (17/0 )with the intention to ride on early on Saturday morning. We had a fully house and lots of blow up beds that we did not need and Damit and Sharlene stayed in St. Ann's. Bay with Chris. Saturday monning they were at Windeown by 5 am so whether we liked it or not we had to get up.
The ride was wonderful as the climate was cool and fresh. The route extremely scenic and the hills though longwere not particularly steep. We bought breakfast in Clark's town (hog wash inna the first water) for although it was too early to eat, there was no guarantee that any of the other small towns along the way had cook shops. So Shasheena who was driving the support vehicle went back to collect it for us by 8am and as we rode and the stomachs growled, it seemed like forever before she came with the food. When she did we stopped by a shop owned by a very nice lady, Mrs. Brisset, who gave us a ripe pear to go with breakfast and was most accomodating with her bathroom facilities and water to wash our hands.
The feared "Alps" which conjured up images of really steep inclines, was not as bad as I had expected so there is some merit in my continuing to ride Beverly hills and Long mountain on Saturdays.
I had heard the ride was to Ulster Spring and had determined that I would ride to that district. When we got there, Chris' sister in law who is Deputy Speaker of the house and MP for the area, saw her and stopped. When she heard our destination was Rat Bat Cave she said that we had to go to Albert Town which was some miles further and worse, up hill all the way from Ulster Spring. I immdeidately (I was the only one) abandoned the bicycle and decided to help Shasheena with the driving. Actually it turned out that we did not have to go to Albert Town but could turn off on a bad road and go through German Town (I always thought the only German Town we had was in Westmorland, but I live and learn.
This one is in Trelawny and while you do not see white people around like in Seaforth Town, you could see the signs that they were mixed. The road was extrelely bad but it was downhill all the way. However I did not regret not riding for that thype of terrain can be extremely hard on the handsand the arms.
When we parked, it was about a 10 minute hike before we got to the long awaited Rat Bat Cave. Only problem is I never saw a cave only a 90 degree drop into a deep dark ravine!
After venturing along the slippery incline to the edge, I decided I had enough for there is no way I was going to climb down 40 feet to see any cave and lake. So Orrel, Sharlene, Chris and I valiantly hiked back to the vehicle where Michael and Tara were sitting. Michael had stayed behind to watch the bicycles and keep Tara's company but he was fast asleep.
Anyway it was a very hot day and although we were not crazy enough to climb down 4o feet to swim, we wanted to cool off and remembering we had seen a little waterfall along the road we startred out to get cooled down there. When we did arrive, we found it was quite treacherous and slippery but decided we would not turn back but instead head out to "civilisation" where we could get some snacks to buy.
On the way we found a very tiny waterfall under a culvert and happily eased down into it to cool off. The next stop was to find some food and believe it or not, a funeral in the area seemed to have attracted every single member of the several communities we passed through, as just about every house and shop seemed locked up tighter than a sardine can. Eventually near the Ulster Spring school we found a feeding hole and as we headed back to the intersection, we
realised that the others had finished their adventure and had returned.
Luckily, Howie's friend Leslie, who is from Mandeville, had driven over to explore the cave, so she was able to carry back some of the riders. Otherwisde, all us tired troopers would have had to ride back home, albeit it was almost all downhill all the way. So because we got to drive back, only the round the islanders Michael, Howie and Orrel rode back but all of us had a wonderful day with the grand finale being the fabulous white sands beach at Silver Sands, dinner and drinks.
All who go on adventure treks with Fun and Thrills have at one time heard of Rat Bat Cave in the Cockpit country and most of us have always wished to visit it, although it is reputed to have the coldest water in Jamaica. After having jumped into so many very cold rivers therefore, it was with great anticipation that we approached the ride that was finally organised to give us the opportunity to feel this super cold water for ourselves.
Coincidentally, ride organiser Howie, just happened to mention to me some weeks ago that they really wanted to go there soon. Bernie (my brother) and his wife Judy were due to come to Jamaica for the weekend of the 17/9-20/9 but since it was a Cornwall college affair and they would be out most times and no domino session was planned, I had told them I wouldn't bother to come down to the beach house at Silver Sands. So when I told Howie about the upcoming weekend when "Winedown " would be virtually empty, he immediately got Michael to start organising a ride to Ulster Spring, Trelawny (which is where I had heard Rat Bat Cave was) with Silver Sands as the base.
So down we went on Friday night (17/0 )with the intention to ride on early on Saturday morning. We had a fully house and lots of blow up beds that we did not need and Damit and Sharlene stayed in St. Ann's. Bay with Chris. Saturday monning they were at Windeown by 5 am so whether we liked it or not we had to get up.
The ride was wonderful as the climate was cool and fresh. The route extremely scenic and the hills though longwere not particularly steep. We bought breakfast in Clark's town (hog wash inna the first water) for although it was too early to eat, there was no guarantee that any of the other small towns along the way had cook shops. So Shasheena who was driving the support vehicle went back to collect it for us by 8am and as we rode and the stomachs growled, it seemed like forever before she came with the food. When she did we stopped by a shop owned by a very nice lady, Mrs. Brisset, who gave us a ripe pear to go with breakfast and was most accomodating with her bathroom facilities and water to wash our hands.
The feared "Alps" which conjured up images of really steep inclines, was not as bad as I had expected so there is some merit in my continuing to ride Beverly hills and Long mountain on Saturdays.
I had heard the ride was to Ulster Spring and had determined that I would ride to that district. When we got there, Chris' sister in law who is Deputy Speaker of the house and MP for the area, saw her and stopped. When she heard our destination was Rat Bat Cave she said that we had to go to Albert Town which was some miles further and worse, up hill all the way from Ulster Spring. I immdeidately (I was the only one) abandoned the bicycle and decided to help Shasheena with the driving. Actually it turned out that we did not have to go to Albert Town but could turn off on a bad road and go through German Town (I always thought the only German Town we had was in Westmorland, but I live and learn.
This one is in Trelawny and while you do not see white people around like in Seaforth Town, you could see the signs that they were mixed. The road was extrelely bad but it was downhill all the way. However I did not regret not riding for that thype of terrain can be extremely hard on the handsand the arms.
When we parked, it was about a 10 minute hike before we got to the long awaited Rat Bat Cave. Only problem is I never saw a cave only a 90 degree drop into a deep dark ravine!
After venturing along the slippery incline to the edge, I decided I had enough for there is no way I was going to climb down 40 feet to see any cave and lake. So Orrel, Sharlene, Chris and I valiantly hiked back to the vehicle where Michael and Tara were sitting. Michael had stayed behind to watch the bicycles and keep Tara's company but he was fast asleep.
Anyway it was a very hot day and although we were not crazy enough to climb down 4o feet to swim, we wanted to cool off and remembering we had seen a little waterfall along the road we startred out to get cooled down there. When we did arrive, we found it was quite treacherous and slippery but decided we would not turn back but instead head out to "civilisation" where we could get some snacks to buy.
On the way we found a very tiny waterfall under a culvert and happily eased down into it to cool off. The next stop was to find some food and believe it or not, a funeral in the area seemed to have attracted every single member of the several communities we passed through, as just about every house and shop seemed locked up tighter than a sardine can. Eventually near the Ulster Spring school we found a feeding hole and as we headed back to the intersection, we
realised that the others had finished their adventure and had returned.
Luckily, Howie's friend Leslie, who is from Mandeville, had driven over to explore the cave, so she was able to carry back some of the riders. Otherwisde, all us tired troopers would have had to ride back home, albeit it was almost all downhill all the way. So because we got to drive back, only the round the islanders Michael, Howie and Orrel rode back but all of us had a wonderful day with the grand finale being the fabulous white sands beach at Silver Sands, dinner and drinks.
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