Trek to Alligator Pond.

Wi nevva even catch cole!😭

That's the fate of fisherfolk. Sometimes the fish are running and sometimes they keep their mouths shut.

About a week ago, we went out from our usual spot in Duncans, Trelawny, but not even the fisherman who took us got a bite.

So,  having been told that Alligator Pond in Manchester had better fishing grounds, we drove over three hours for the big catch.

Shanti who took us out

We stopped at Sunny Isle Cay. Last year's hurricane wrecked sections of it.

This is by Sunny Isle Cay off the coast of Alligator Pond. 

The only thing we caught all morning was sea weed.😭

Three times I thought I got a bite and it was sea grass. Not even the fisherman got a nibble.

That area would be great for manatee (sea cow) but we ate them into virtual extinction on the south coast.

Anyway it was a good trek as we got an Airbnb and lymed at Little Ochi the night before.

Our Airbnb 

Port Kaiser and Lovers Leap in the distance.

Hanging out at the Airb&b.

Lots of fishing boats around

David, Bernie, Joan, Kai, Father Topping

Mitzie and David 

Mr and Mrs Evans who organized the trek. They gave us lots of fried lobster and curried crab😋

David and his dad

Yup we came home empty handed, but next year we gonna catch those critters .

 I can't believe it's tomorrow that I have to leave😭. 

How time flies when u having fun.

Sumfest 2025

 I thought Sumfest 2024 was a bit better  (can't forget Freddie McGregor and Babyface' s outstanding performances,) but this year still selloff!

The band change before Toni Braxton's performance was a bit long and I fell asleep😡. However what I caught of her, including her massive hit "unbreak my heart" was so dynamic, it made up for everything I missed.

We arrived there early and got our usual spot at the fence and that's why the pics are not so clear. But what the heck, it's a cell phone camera!

I especially enjoyed Fantan Mojah who I haven't heard for some time, but he said he had been in hospital.

Bugle was good as usual and Protegee has improved 100% since I last saw him.

 Love how Fantan Mojah and IWayne preached against child abuse, sexual predators and incest. Very appropriate as we have been reading about some horrific cases in the local papers.

Annea

Bugle

Rasta empress in audience waved her flag all night😊

Protegee at work

Toni Braxton is really beautiful 

Comfortable by the fence

Good night of solid entertainment all around and we were home by 4.30am.

 That meant leaving before Taurus Riley came on, but have seen him dozens of times.

I was a bit sorry for the vendors though. There were twice or three times more vendors than normal on the outside and when we were leaving, they had so much stuff left over which I guess they have to pay to transport everything back.

They seem to have forgotten that there were stalls selling everything on the inside.

So sad, they were just trying to make some money from the festival but it didn't seem to work out too well for most.

Getting lost

 It's becoming very easy to get lost in Jamaica these days, because of the rapid development taking place everywhere.

So I guess on my annual visits I just have to get accustomed to it.🥴. 

Last year we got lost trying to find the roast yam and saltfish vendors at Melrose Hill. For they had been moved from their regular place in Williamsfield to the new highway bypassing Mandeville. And because as per usual,  no information signs had been posted anywhere about how to get to their new location, we just decided to forget the yam treat and head home to the north coast. That's when we almost ended up in the bowels Clarendon for again, there were no directional signs anywhere about how or where to connect with the Edward Seaga highway 😡.

Getting lost this year had nothing to do with signs however, but rather because of the rapid development taking place everywhere along the Northcoast highway, from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios.

This is making many areas unrecognizable! 

I had visited my friend's home in St. Anns Bay many times, but could we find the entrance today! This had been easy to find as one simply drove down a lonely, unpaved road to the beach.

But it's not lonely or unpaved anymore, for a massive housing development of some 1000 units on 100 hundred acres of land is now taking place right where the entrance had been, and more, there is now a massive private security gate.

After driving around in circles for a while, in frustration, called our friend Chris who had to drive to where we were and lead us to the new paradise. 

But it was worth the frustration as once we got there, we had a wonderful afternoon hanging out with old friends.

L-r back: David, Grace, Bernie, Joan, Chris

 Front: Shirley, Denise.

Most of us had been members of the once vibrant Fun and Thrills Adventure Club which saw us regularly hiking and riding around the island and normally ending up by a nice river where we would swim and eat delicious meals cooked right there on the river bank.

Those were the good old days.

 Today, it was really great hanging out with the old crew once we found our way.

Great memories.

Hmm. Wonder where we will get lost next year?  For with the rapid development taking place everywhere, it's bound to happen.

(NB. Some pics taken by Denise and David.)

Negril revisited

As a child, I visited Negril in Westmoreland, Jamaica many times with my parents, brother and cousins, as it has the most beautiful white sand beaches and cool, clear, warm water and on the west end, people were having fun jumping off various rocks into the clear blue waters. 

You see, where we lived in the neighboring parish of St. Elizabeth, had nothing comparable.

At that time, Negril was a little sleepy fishing village.

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Somehow in the 1960's, rich hippies from the nearby USA, heard about it and propelled by the thought of being able to freely enjoy some top quality ganja (marijuana) while lounging on the beach or jumping off 40 foot high cliffs into the clear water below, started to visit. 

The  Negril lighthouse

People from all over the world are still enjoying themselves, jumping off the high cliffs into the clear blue waters today.

Then they were accommodated in nothing but thatch huts, offered by extremely hospitable people.

  The existence of this new hot spot near the USA spread rapidly  and soon people from all over the world started to find their way to the exotic village. 

That was the genesis of tourism in this most prized section of Jamaica and today, almost all the land on the 7 mile section of the beach is lined with bars, hotels, restaurants while the cliff side is abuzz, offering everything including high end accommodation, non-stop music, partying and fun for people of all ages.

The late great Peter Tosh who also hailed from Westmoreland, strongly advocated for the legaling of marijuana and numerous paintings of him with his mantra " Legalize It" are prominent on the wall at Ricks Cafe.

I had not visited the cliff side for more than a decade and was really impressed with what it had become.

Ricks Cafe which established itself    

beside the jumping spot 50 years ago, has been expanding  exponentially too.

 That's the party center of the West end.

Boats bring visitors from the beaches to the cliff side to jump off the rocks.

They come from land and sea to party.

Negril is definitely now on top of its game and I loved the vibes.🥳