The Real Garden of Eden

If a real Garden of Eden exists, it is right here in the Rio Grande valley in Portland for there is yet to be another more peaceful, scenic, lush place in the world. 

The distance from Berridale, where you start rafting, to Port Antonio is eleven miles but by river it is only eight. And it is eight miles of sheer peace, beauty and tranquility.

Pat relaxes

Where you take the raft is across from the district of Burbank which lies to the south of the river. The Parish council operates a raft free of cost for the residents of that district as during the rainy season., the river really gets deep so they cannot cross by foot.

The one time we hiked to that area to visit Scatter Falls and the Fire cave, the river was really low so we just swam across.

The captains have to be very adept to navigate through the shallow areas

This Saturday when we went rafting, the river was indeed low too and that made you realise that the captains need great skill and not just strength to navigate that eight miles down to Rafters Rest.

My cousin Sheila and I had a ball

Our captain was Dennis, was a very nice guy. He said he has been rafting from he was about eight years old and he and his friends started building their own rafts  which they fished from.

He said his father is also a raftsman but because business is not very good, with most of them not getting more than one trip per week, he does farming in the hills, growing bananas coco and dasheen.

Poor Portland, they did great business in the good old days but because cruise ships are now super liners, that port cannot accommodate them so tourism there has gotten a real beating.

Dennis at work

He says before you can become a licensed captain to take visitors down the river, you start as an apprentice bringing the rafts back from Rafters Rest back to Berridale. This means polling most of the way up but to get up the rapids they have to get off and pull up the raft up by rope.

I had always thought these rafts lasted years, but he told me they only last about four months as when the bamboo starts to split it becomes water logged.

Amrita and family

As I had seen the rafters at Martha Brae carrying back their rafts by trailer, I asked him whey they don't do that in Portland but he  said when you pack them on top of each other, they do not even last three months!

For this trip, we had been invited by Charles as his sisters Diana and Amarita  were here with their families.Nine of us took the four hour trek including my cousin Sheila who is here from Canada.

The Rio Grande valley is surrounded by part of the Blue and John Crow mountains and now I see why it is called John Crow mountains.

Lovers Lane on the Rio Grande

John Crow is the Jamaican name for our vulture  and they abound there apparently. All along the river we saw them cooling off  in the water and hunting for rotten bait left by the numerous fishermen who make their living fishing for mud fish, snooker, mullet, jack etc in the Rio Grande.

About half way down,  shortly after you pass through Lovers lane, a lady by the name of Belinda has set up the most wonderful restaurant by the river bank.

There we  had the nicest lunch I have had for many years. Yes it was rice and peas and chicken, but real country chicken which has a much better taste than  commercial chicken. She also had the most delicious cray fish cooked in coconut milk. 

Boy I could eat some more  right now!

Ready to eat again

It is back breaking work for Belinda though as she lies in Stony Hill in the hills overlooking the Rio Grande valley and has to bring down the ingredients by foot daily. She says she stores her pots on site however.

So many people depend on that river to make a living. There as a lady on the way down too who had cool drinks and coconuts on her raft.

Pat was her best customer.

It was an absolutely wonderful day of camaraderie, swimming,m ,eating and of course falling asleep because of "itis" before we reached our destination!

 

An absolutely beautiful valley

Selling drinks and coconut from a raft

Hiking to the Blue Mountains

(This is the 2nd in the series entitled "Enjoying the Simple Life" being published in Caribbean Today.)

You know a number of persons overseas like to talk about Jamaica being a one season country…….perpetual summer all year round, they say. However, I am here to tell you that we also have some very serious winters. I am not about to say this is islandwide but I remember having to turn on the heater in my car in Saldings, Manchester one night. As to the Blue Mountains, since we started gathering data on the temperature in the 40’s, the records show that twice there was frost present there.

Frost or not, it can get extremely cold up there. I remember once hiking to the peak to watch the sun rise and nearly freezing to death in the rush! We had set off from Whitfield Hall at midnight and reached the 7,400 foot peak at around 4am. Well, I am here to tell you that during the approximately two hour wait till sunrise, the blood literally froze up in my fingers... in fact, I can’t remember feeling any movement in them until we had descended to Portland Gap a couple hours later.

Despite that experience, hiking to the peak is an enjoyable adventure. Our normal routine is to drive up to Whitfield Hall, spend the night and start the approximately four hour trek at about 5 am, just before daybreak.

It is not at all as exhausting as some people seem to think, that is, once you are not totally out of shape. However, according to the records kept by the Blue and John Crow Mountain park rangers, only a few hundred Jamaicans make that pleasant, invigorating trip each year. I am told that among the avid hikers is a Jamaican octogenarian who hiked up to the peak for her eighty first birthday!

The path is well defined, although I suggest that first timers should get a guide. And naturally, it gets easier each time you go. I can recall, the first time I did the trip, some thirty odd years ago, I had to hold on to the tail of the mule that we had hired to carry our gear, to ascend some sections. That was when I was young and unfit! Now the only section I find challenging is Jacob’s ladder and in fact I find it worse coming down than going up as it has a lot of loose gravel and one can slide easily and sprain ankles etc.

Regardless of the challenges, hiking up to the Blue Mountains gives one the opportunity to really enjoy unique Jamaican flora and birds that you never see elsewhere. The path is covered with a variety of lilies and ferns of all colours and shapes. The tree fern which is extinct in most places in the world, is profuse and raspberries and blueberries are all along the path. Then there is there marvel of the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee being grown on the most precarious slopes. I never stop wondering how people actually keep their foothold on the treacherous slopes on the side of the mountain to plant, tend and reap this world renowned gourmet beverage. But thankfully, they do without getting hurt.

The Blue Mountain range spans St. Andrew, St, Thomas and Portland and the view from every angle during the trek up or down, is just awesome. There is a special lookout just above Portland Gap where you can view the entire north eastern section of Jamaica and the deep, lush forest that makes up the John Crow Mountains. Looking at the vast expanse of hills and mountains covered in every colour of green, reconfirms every time that Jamaica is by far one of the most beautiful spots in the world and after each trip, it seems the beauty has increased. At Portland Gap too, there are facilities that can be rented to hikers who want to overnight or spend the weekends in the coolest, crispest and most invigorating part of Jamaica for just a few dollars.

Yup, hiking to the great blue is definitely one way to enjoy the simple life, but for me the trip can only be taken in the summer!

JOAN WILLIAMS IS A LICENSED REAL ESTATE DEALER BASED IN JAMAICA AND THE AUTHOR OF 'THE ORIGINAL DANCEHALL DICTIONARY AND TOUR JAMAICA.