Haywood Hall, St. Mary and River Mummas

Yesterday we had a really nice ride to Haywood Hall in St. Mary which has a really long river with swimming areas above and below the fording. This outing was arranged by one of the the St. Mary men  in F&T, Alrick Rpbinson. He did his part well and the problems which we had with food, was caused by a breakdown at the Haywood Hall end, nothing to do with the planning from his end.

Haywood Hall river is a tributary of the Paget river.

This area is approximately four miles from Port Maria  and 36 miles from Kingston. Trich and I accompanied Alrick when the area was being scouted out for the ride some months ago.

That was when we met Norma, an absolutely beautiful back woman of around 40 years old who said she is a photographic model living in  Germany.

She was born  at Haywood Hall  (as was the film star Ester Anderson who acted for years in the series "The Avengers.")  She is now developing the area where we went as an eco-tourism park.

She has already cleared the section by the river, set up wooden lounge chairs by the river, installed a small stage and a nice clean bathroom. It was on that trip that we learnt the legend of river mummas at Haywood Hall.

Wooden lounge chairs line the river side

RiverMumma is the Jamaican river equivalent of mermaids which are said to live in the oceans.

These are ghost like, beautiful women with long hair who occasionally rise from the deep to sit on the rocks and comb their long tresses. According to folk lore, if you look directly at the river mumma, it can bring all kinds of problems including you falling into the river and drowning.

Since it is a ghostly creature, it is therefore not surprising that only children have ever see one and both Norma and Mr. Ellis, who was supposed to arrange the St. Mary part of things as Norma had to go back to Germany, claim they had actually seen one when they were children.

Mr. Ellis poses with his son and daughter in law

   

These river mummas are said to live in a bottomless area at the eastern side of the fording but as the water was cloudy on that side as they are repairing the fording, we went swimming in the western section.

I guess that is why we never saw any river mummas yesterday!

Brian enjoying the river

I Ireally enjoyed the ride through Junction which has become one of my favourite routes to ride as road is undulating, paved and well shaded. 

I rode with Andrew and Charles the 1st all the away  to Agualta Vale. They are really good company and stayed with me all the way.

At Agualta Vale I decided to drive as I find the north coast highway too void of trees and hot and always shy away from riding in the blaring sun.

 Andrew joined me in the support vehicle being driven by Stanford and Charles went in his own SUV. When we got to the entrance to the destination, we jumped back on to the bicycles for the approximately two mile journey there.

When we got there only a few members of the A team had arrived including Bernadette the only woman who could keep up with with the fast ones.

Alrick consults with Bernadette and Barry

Soon all the other riders filed in  by one.

Apart from some 30 riders, there were approximately 20 hikers, most recruited by Chuck from the outdoor lovers at Stella Maris. The walk  however proved too strenuous for most of them so they gave in to support vehicles one by one.

From we arrived, there was delicious hot chocolate waiting on us as well as potato pudding, cornmeal pudding and blue draws, aka tire leaf. This is a mixture of sweet potato and cornmeal with other ingredients that make up puddings, cooked in coconut milk, then it is tied up in banana leaves and boiled.

It is rarely seen these days as not many modern cooks have acquired the skill to make it. But it was popular in the days of our grandparents when people had lots of time to sit around and make all sorts of delicacies. Unfortunately most of these recipes are lost to the younger generation but I really enjoyed getting this after so many years.

Unfortunately though, the cook  that Mr. Ellis had, got it all wrong for there was the dessert ready from we got there but could we could not get our breakfast! For he kept cooking small amounts of fried  johhny cakes, saltfish and cabbage etc and before you turned around, it was all gone as everyone was starving and wanted their full breakfast. That cook is a disaster, for the food was nice but he had no idea about time, what had to be done first and how to cater for a large group!

What did we do before those smart phones were invented, I wonder lol?

Fact is at noon, he had not even peeled the bananas for the mackerel and bananas which so many people had ordered and the ackee and saltfish, the other popular dish that he had prepared, was so inadequate that not even ten people were able to get any.

This really made a number of people very angry and some even drove to Port Maria to buy KFC .

I had run dung salt fish for the first time and really found it delicious but there was just no food available to go with that small dish either. Although I think I now prefer run dung saltfish to run dung mackrel but that could be causerie I was so hungry !

I left there about 1 pm in Nicole's car,  along with Stewart, my cousin Sheila and Maurice Brown. I suspect all the others left shortly after.

Hanging out with Diana, Carol and cousin Sheila

Luckily I had gone to the river early and had a wonderful swim and  later got in a couple games of dominoes while picking at the food as it was being slowly prepared. Those who came back from the river later had every reason to be angry as the there was no food ready for them at noon after Alrick had even gone to the trouble of printing food tickets with "FNT' on them! Unfortunately the food part was  really a flop because of bad  organisation at the Haywood Hall end.

I told Mr. Ellis that if he keeps that chef, he is going to go into bankruptcy at the get go, for this was the very first group catering session and it went awry. Word of mouth can be great or devastating!

Anyway, I had  a great ride and really enjoyed the desserts, the great country chocolate tea and of course the ride, the river, the camaraderie and dominoes.

Christian

The star of this ride was a little boy named Christian who is only nine years old and I bet that in ten years he going to win Tour De France (if he continues at the rate he is going.)
For not only did he ride up the entire Stony Hill road without stopping but I also hear he never even took a rest stop for the entire 36 mile journey. Wow, am I impressed!

 Another Sunday well spent .

Revisiting Big Dunn

According to my bible, if you can drive don't ride and if you can ride don't walk. So when Charles aka Ayatollah called at 5am to say he was sending a support vehicle for me on Sunday 9th September, to follow me up to Stony Hill and I saw bicycles packed up inside when it arrived, I packed mine in too.

But Charles was not as weak willed for after we picked up Chuck and we all were driving up to Stony Hill we saw him and Theresa struggling up Long Lane. But Theresa being smart, jumped into Charles 1st vehicle as it arrived (ours was already packed up with sensible people!) but stubborn Charles refused to be bribed and struggled all the way up the steep hill in the early morning all by himself.

All power to him.

Of course, all this excitement was in preparation for a return ride with the Fun and Thrills group to the wonderful, refreshing waterfall known as Big Dunn aka Fish Dunn, just outside of Buff Bay, Portland.

The ride to Castleton Gardens was easy as it was downhill all the way and there, we had delicious, boiled corn and janga soup. It was there that the main group of riders which had left the headquarters later, joined us.

Super athlete Andrew and daughter Paris

The greatest athlete on this trip was 8-year-old Paris Smellie, Andrew's daughter. Andrew had driven
to Agualta Vale then unloaded her bicycle which she rode from there past Annotto Bay while her super athlete dad jogged protectively behind her. 

They kept that up to the border of St. Mary and Portland (Dover district in St. Mary and Windsor district in Portland) where it started to rain. I personally welcomed the rain for what always defeats me on those long rides is the blaring sun.

As soon as the rain stopped, Paris was back on her bicycle and Andrew back to his jogging all the way to Buff Bay.

Along the way I had seen members of the Portland Cycling Club heading west, but just outside of Buff Bay some passed me on a hill while one or two others of the team followed, doing Orrel's regular job, that of helping weak female riders by riding behind them and pushing them up the hill with one hand.

Members of Porland Cycling Club- a Patricia Marie Summons photo

In Buff Bay they told me they are the top riding club in Jamaica, having recently won the championship and that one of their members, Oneal Samuel's rides with BMW in Atlanta, Georgia while two of their members are now in training for the Caribbean championship meet next month.

When one showed me his wheels which cost US$5000 each, I finally realized what a little leaguer I was! I can see why they would be a top riding club however as their regular training routine involves riding east from Portland to Kingston and back home via Junction taking an average of seven hours to do that rotation.

Wow.

They rode with us and had breakfast with us at a cricket field just beyond Crystal Springs. About two minutes before that, I had kept to my resolve to stop riding as soon as we started the steep ascent to the intersection. However, after breakfast, I realized that what I remembered to be a steep climb was a mere slope as the really steep section starts after the intersection going towards Bybrook.

It was a marvelous day. Someone had tied three knotted ropes on trees at the top of the falls and allowed them to fall over the gigantic rocks for adventurers to climb up on and jump into the deep, clear, refreshing water below.

Several of our macho men tried but gave up in frustration until Johan accomplished what had seemed to be the impossible. Seeing that it was doable, Andrew and Howie persevered until they succeeded too.

Fun and Thrills riders frolic at Big Dunn aka Fish Dunn, Portland

While on our first visit there, Chuck had been the only one to "chuck" off the gigantic rocks into the deep water below, this time numerous fellows did and was joined by Sasheena who represented the women.

It was a great day as the weather was excellent for riding, the water refreshing and not too cold, the breakfast delicious and the camaraderie wonderful. The only regret is that we had mistimed our return visit as the apples which were ripe and in abundance on the first trip, were absent this time.


What the heck, you can't always have it all!

Robins Bay Again

This is the second time the Fun and Thrills group has organised a ride to Robins Bay in St. Mary and  although this time we ended up at a different location for breakfast, it was just a memorable. What was great too is that this time no one ended up in the hospital (as unfortunately Pat and Desiree had during my absence ) and there wasn't even a spill as we enjoyed our leisurely ride along the  the extremely scenic Junction road accompanied most of the way by the snaking Wag Water River as it slowly navigated around humongous rocks.

I left my home at about 5.45 am and rode alone towards Stony hill until I was joined by Gary, a professional rider who opted to keep my company up to the square where half of the group was already waiting.

The next stop was the scenic Castelton Gardens outside of which the greatest soup is available.... janga  soup. While pleasing our palates there, we were joined by most of the others who had left headquarters at Hope Pastures later than the A Team.

While we were there, it started to rain but not very heavily, so we set off for a pleasant ride with just enough rain to cool us down.  On most of the way to Agualta Vale, I was riding with Charles Simpson, who though new to riding is fulla stamina. (dancehall lingo).  Incidentally, the humorous story leaked out how  he had been conquered by some of the slopes going up to Stony hill and had to tie a rope on to his SUV to pull him over the hill. I am only sorry that I did not arrive in time with my camera to catch that sight. This is not a first among Fun and Thrillers however for Michael Chuck invented that move some years ago on a ride to Newcastle in the hills of  St. Andrew and I have the picture to prove it!

When we got to Agualta Vale we saw some of the party waiting, but Charles who proudly tells us that he is St. Mary born, convinced me that our final destination was less than 2 1/2 miles away and gullible me swallowed it hook line and sinker. Naturally, in typical Jamaican style, the 2 1/2 miles ended up being about 5 miles. I could have kicked myself for not having stopped to rest with the others.

Anyway I survived and this time our final destination was just at the turn off to Robins Bay proper. As we arrived first and I saw a number of domino tables, I wasted no time in recruiting three local players and got down to business. Before I could either drop or receive a 6 love however, the rest of the posse arrived and breakfast was announced. The food was absoluteluy fabulous and the ambiance just great, right beside the sea.

After breakfast it was straight to the beach for some of us while the MTR's went riding into the bushes in rugged country. We walked about 1/4 mile to a beach but it was full of rocks so after enquires we set off to another which we were told was not too far.

In  true country style, not too far turned out to be very far but it was a nice beach near an area with huge rocks protruding but where the water was fresh and clean and it was situated in a cove which protected us from the fierce currents that Robins Bay is notorious for.                                                                                                          It was another great day of fun and camaraderie with  the group of wonderful adventure seekers from Fun and Thrills riding club.

For more photographs see; http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?id=763366822&frecId=false&qn=1310492716&tid=190063094373469&success=11&failure=0&set=oa.209587812420997

A MEMORABLE RIDE FROM KINGSTON TO MONTEGO BAY

By God they did it!

When some crazies(aka. MTR....mad to rass) from “Fun and Thrills” (our esteemed riding club)decided that they wanted to ride all the way from Kingston capital to Montego Bay city, a distance of over 100 miles, I scoffed at the idea..

 Amazingly however, some fourteen crazies said they would participate in that ride. Those of us who hate the burning sun said we would ride until it got hot, using markers such as Manor Park or Port Maria as their goals. However, Howie, Michael, John, Heather and Damit decided that come hell or high water, they were riding the almost the 120 mile distance.

I actually started to invite bets privately with friends outside of the club, banking on no one completing the trip. One of my friends who had no respect for the stamina of our club members, actually took up the bet, putting $500 down that no one would complete the trip, so in defense of my colleagues, I changed my bet, greatly perturbed that I was going to become $500 poorer!

(My biggest problem in life is that I can never collect from my cheap-stake friends when I win but I guess they have the same complaint about me!)

Well on Saturday April 4th, 2009, the courageous sixteen set out on bicycles at 5.15 am (half hour later than planned.) The ambitious souls were-Howie ,Michael, Damit, Charles, Sasheena, John , Joan, Heather, Orel, Donna and Olivia… a visitor from the US of A who participates in professional riding on the flat plains of Florida. Problem, Jamaica is not flat, so the trip proved a challenge for her but she took a stab at it. Driving in front of and at the back of the group, with their hazard lights on to shield us from impatient motorists, were Mr. Rhoden, Betty accompanied by Winston, Shari and David.

The route selected was not the traditional route via St. Catherine and up Mount Rosser, but rather up Stony Hill, over the Junction and on to the new highway from
Agualta Vale in St. Mary to Montego via the parishes of St. Ann, and Trelawny .

That was an absolutely wise decision as the Stony Hill to Agualta Vale route via Castleton Gardens is one of the most scenic routes in Jamaica, with lush valley, mist covered mountains and the long Wag Water River with its humungous rocks, flowing lazily in the valley below. The early morning ride to Agualta Vale was absolutely marvelous, though to weak blooded persons like me, a bit chilly at times.

Well, despite Donna setting a low goal for herself, that being to ride to Manor Park, she made it to Agualta Vale in St. Mary which is some 26 miles from Kingston, though she did get off the bicycle from time to time and drive.

I had decided to surpass my previous long distance record of 37 miles by trying to make it to Port Maria, but after refueling at Agualta Vale, I could not stand the hot boiling sun, while air conditioned vehicles were available to drive along in, so I ducked out there.

Charles and Sasheena outdid me, riding valiantly to Port Maria in the boiling sun and Betty then gave up the cool air-conditioned comfort of the Prado to join the ride there. She rode to Ocho Rios.

As we drove along in the air conditioned comfort of our vehicles watching the sun getting fiercer and fiercer, we kept saying the rest would never make it to Montego Bay. But they plodded, re-hydrated, fixed punctures, changed bicycles when some became disabled and rested occasionally.

Would you believe that Orel made it to Greenwood at the border of St. James and Trelawny? According to him, when he arrived at Greenwood, he realised that was where our hotel was and was only too happy to throw in the towel for a dip in the sea. Heather was nearby and he tried to tempt her, but she replied "I left to got to Montego May and that's where I am going"....and she did. Her husband John who was far behind her, said that when he reached Falmouth in Trelawny and saw a sign saying Montego Bay 23 kilometers, he wanted to quit but soldiered on looking for his wife. That's the only reason why he rode all the way to made it to Montego Bay he said.

As to Damit, from we left Hope Pastures, he took off like the Green Lantern in his blue shirt and I never saw him again until we caught up with him when he got a puncture in Trelawny. He had actually had a spill and hurt his hand in St. Ann, but before we got there, he again took off like a light, determined to complete the ride to Montego Bay,(which he had initiated, by the way) and he did. He is also full of praises for two motorists who stopped to enquire about his health while he was taking a nap. He said he had a puncture and while waiting for those who had a tool kit to catch him up, he fell asleep (Damit falls asleep at the drop of a pin!). He said he was awakened at one point by the screeching a car brakes and the sound of a car reversing. Knowing our reputation (he is from Sri Lanka), he was a bit apprehensive, but the motorist simply wanted to know if he was hurt, as did the other who stopped.

The stars who made it all the way were Michael, Howie, Damit and John along with the lone heroine, Heather. All rode proudly on to the Montego Bay Hip Strip at about 8 pm on Saturday night.

Had someone told me that we had members who had attained that level of fitness to complete that harrowing journey, I would have laughed (and I did secretly while telling non-riding friends of mine of the mission impossible that "Fun and Thrills” members were planning.)

It was a wonderful feat as far as our club goes and it now appears that the sky is the limit!(Those who refer to us as the "Ring Road Posse" have to eat their words!

Unfortunately the group broke up on Saturday night as some persons had to get back to Kingston but six of us stayed back, determined that we wanted some real fun ….going to the beach on Sunday.

“To tek shame outta mi yeye “as we say in Ja., I decided to ride from the hotel in Greenwood, St. James next day to Silver Sands in Trelawny, where we were going to swim. Donna, myself and amazingly, Michael (who had ridden over 100 miles the day before) set out and whereas Donna had challenges with the sun and made the wise choice of air conditioned comfort, we rode against the breeze to the famed resort where we happily plunged into the warm sea bringing to a pleasant end another wonderful expedition.

Each time we finish a trip, we have to heap praises on Howie who had taken the decision about two years ago to acquire a vehicle that could transport the cycles after we have finished riding. If he hadn’t you would see us on the road sides with our bicycles, bumming rides from all and sundry, after tedious and challenging rides out into the beautiful countryside, from which we need weeks of rest to recover.

Look at some photos from this challenging ride at;
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100683&id=763366822&saved