Rio Magno

Charles 2nd has finally redeemed himself!

You will recall how he led us on a wild goose chase last year...to port Esquivel to be exact. So wide did he carry us that he even told us to bring swimming equipment but when we got there it was an arid play field. And to add insult to injury after we rode all the way from Kingston, there was no breakfast.

Well yesterday was the exact opposite..... it was absolutely fabulous.

For off we went to Rio Magno, a lush, underpopulated area which we had to ourselves and we had a ball.

We the ordinary riders drove from Kingston around 6 am while the A team rode off at 5.15 am and I understand Michael said he would do the ride to Juici patty in Bog Walk in 45 minutes. Well while Maurice, Orrel and Alrick did it in just over an hour, Howie who stayed back to keep Michael's company and Michael made it in just under two hours. Lol. Barry of the A team, had a puncture and had to drive over.

Anyway we waited for the entire A team at Juici and although it was just after 7 am, the thick fog that characterises Bog Walk had not yet lifted. In fact as we rode off, I was a bit sceptical about breaking the traffic light to to go to Rosemont as unless the cars had on their head lights, you could barely see them coming.

Anyway by the time we cleared the miles of orange groves that accompanied us most of the way until we made the turn off to Redwood, the sun was just really emerging. This made it an extremely pleasant ride as you know my aversion to sun and for the rest of the way there was a great overhang of trees all the way.

When Charles and I had scouted out the location on the Wednesday before, the hill leading from Redwood to Cedar Valley looked daunting and I determined from then that while I would ride up to Redwood, I would not be riding up the other long hill. Surprisingly though, the hill was not as difficult as it appeared when I was drivin.... in fact it seemed a lot shorter and after pushing up my bike at two separate points, I ended up doing the entire ride without doing my usual, jumping into the support vehicle.

In fact, Charles played a role there too for as I pushed up one especially challenging section complaining loudly that I wanted the support vehicle, he told me I was mistaken as we had not yet reached the challenging hill! I disbelieved him a bit but as I had pledged to do the first hill, I carried on only to realise on reaching the top it was actually the 2nd hill that we had just completed and it was downhill all the way from there. At one point as I pushed I heard Grace shouting that she was riding through and in shock I turned around only to see that she was indeed riding, but Orrel was riding behind her and pushing her up the hill ! Orrel is absolutely fantastic at that and he is extremely strong although he is not even close to being built like Arnold Schwarzenegger, I have often seen him riding up long Mountain and Beverly Hills and pushing damsels in distress on their bikes in front of him. This is an amazing feat that takes an inordinate amount of strength and skill and I have never seen anyone else anywhere do this. Maybe he should be nominated for the "Guinness Book of World Records?"

Anyway I took the lead flying down the other side of the hill and while after crossing over the fording I did pass the track leading to our swimming area at first, when we turned back I saw the lady who was cooking for us and her team by the river. It didn't take me a minute to tear off my shirt and shorts and jump in the river (not nude, I had ridden down in my bathing suit underneath) and it was absolutely wonderful. Actually, where we were was the Indian river, a tributary of the Rio Magno.

At one point there was a bit of concern for whereas we had committed to bring the eating utensils, Charles had left them with Betty and he said she was an hour behind. Pat saved the day however for she had brought two lovely banana breads and voraciously we dived into them giving us the ability to enjoy the water a bit longer as we waited for Betty without dying from hunger.

The food was just great and plentiful......turned cornmeal, lots of ground provisions, calloo, run dung, ackee and saltfsh and wonderful corned pork. We had a wonderful time swimming and eating and when a local young man showed us a spot where the huge rock has a small opening that you can swim through, Michael and Barry had to scratch up themselves on the rock to prove that they could do it.

Our cook Hopie had told us on the previous trip that there was a waterfall nearby and eventually we convinced the same young man who had come there with her to take us to it. At first when she was quoting the distance, she said it was a mile away and when we protested, she cut the distance down to 1/2 mile!

Charles set out with a small group and shortly after, about twelve of us set out. Problem was, we didn't see where they went as by the time we got to the main road they were out of sight. So we followed the general direction in which Hopie had pointed and headed up the hill. After struggling uphill for about fifteen minutes and getting the feeling we were going away from the river area, we stopped a route taxi only to be told yes, we were going the wrong way for the only waterfall we would see at the top of the hill was a tank overflowing.

Disappointed we turned back but as we almost reached our original picnic spot, Charles the 1st (Simpson) suggested that we drive to look for the waterfall and Grace and I accompanied him. We went in the general direction that we had been told and it appeared that we were getting further and further away from civilisation. We were all for turning back but Simpson said that often when we turn back in situations such as this, we hear later that we were almost at our elusive destination, so we should continue a little further.

Shortly after we heard loud voices coming from what appeared to be a deep wooded ravine with humongous trees. So we went up further to find a spot to turn back and as we got back to the spot we saw Alrick sitting on the roadside. Apparently because it had actually been a 45 minute walk, Charles and company had called Betty to ask her to come for them and Alrick (who never swims!) thinking the vehicle that had passed had been her had come up from the river so she would be able to find them.

We parked and walked gingerly down a slippery and treacherous path until we got to the river where we saw Sharon under the excuse for a waterfall. Actually that waterfall is no bigger than the one we often use at Maryland on a Sunday. Behind a huge rock was Charles and company in what they described as a sauna. When I tested the water and saw how cold it was, I ignored the invitations for me to join them. However, that area is known as Ham Lane and the river is the Rio Cobre which comes down from Guy's Hill. It is an absolutely awesome area heavily wooded and in a deep ravine (I think of it as it as a very mini Grand Canyon !) with some of the largest trees and rocks I have ever seen. The eastern side is an extremely high ninety degree hill which gives it an almost eerie look.

Betty arrived shortly after and reluctantly the adventurers got out to return to our original picnic spot. When we got there everybody was more or less packing up and would you believe that Nicole and Chris Dalrimple decided that they would be riding back to Juici with the A team. Once you had gotten over the hill that we had sped down on our arrival, it was more or less downhill all the way however and we who drove back did not have to wait very long before they all got back to Bog walk.

Then it was back to Kingston after an absolutely wonderful day. Actually I think we need to find more of these quiet, natural and idyllic spots instead of always going along the beaten track to known locations such as Reggae and Reach Falls, for exploring is far more interesting.

Of course, whenever you have winners you usually have losers and we were the winners on Sunday. The losers were my friends Michael and Camille. I had invited them on Friday night but they didn't confirm. However, according to Camille, when she woke up on Sunday morning and remembered the turned cornmeal and corned pork I had told them about, they decided to drive over. Would you believe they reached Rio Magno, saw the fording and the pedestrian bridge but didn't see us.

Not being persistent like Charles the 1st, they turned back after trying to call me a couple of times and having the phone going straight to voice mail. According to Michael he left me a message filled with reams of colourful cloth for not answering the phone and causing them to have to drive back home hungry. But as it turned out the laugh was on him as he had transposed my number incorrectly!

  I wonder who got all the colorful cloths he left for me?

Easter 2010

-->

Easter holidays in Jamaica are always a time of great fun and frolic and this year it was no different. While the “A team” of “Fun and thrills” decided to show their machismo and ride around the island, doing 8 to 10 hours in the saddle and the blazing sun, on Friday, the rest of us rode to Morant Bay in St. Thomas. We left around the same time as they did and some of us kept up with them up to the cement company gate.

Michael Chuck is a real Trojan, for while his family waited for his return, he rode with us only to assist in taking back some of the bikes in his pickup. That’s the type of dedication to the group that makes it one big happy family.

After the pleasant and not too strenuous 32 mile ride to Morant Bay, we loaded up into several vehicles for a day at the beach at Long Bay in Portland. That beach is known for its huge waves and is thus a surfers dream, but for swimmers it is simply no fun. So we had our meal there, played some dominoes and drank some liquor. We were honoured to be paid a “rest” visit there by “round the islanders” Heather, Michael and Orrel.

The original plan had been for us to got to Reach Falls, but unfortunately because it was a sacred public holiday, it had been closed by the operators. The Long Bay alternative was only plan B. 

Luckily for us, the Trinidadian environmentalist, Kim, who knows more about eastern Jamaica than most of us, had ridden with us and was able to suggest a great swimming area at Drivers River. Incidentally, Drivers River is the same river that forms Reach Falls at the top, but where the excellent section for swimming is, is at the bottom of the road. It was actually the local people who were in the shallow section washing their cars and a truck, who directed us to the perfect spot.

There, the water was cool and fresh and quite deep in certain areas. As a result the adventurous were able to go up to an overhanging cliff and jump off into the water without even touching the bottom. We spent a wonderful time there before driving back to Kingston.

On Saturday, only Charles and I rode, me up the hill as usual and Charles around UWI campus. After that we took the boys from the National Children’s home for their usual spin.

On Sunday I rode alone and in the afternoon, four of us, Nicole, Fatman, Charles and I went to Mandeville to join the “round the islanders “ on the last leg of their journey.

Michele and her mom were perfect hostesses, providing an excellent meal for all and accommodation for some of the cyclists. On Monday, we started the ride back to Kingston ahead of the A team. It was quite pleasant for me up to Old Harbour as the morning was cool and the traffic was limited. Damit passed us near the toll bypass in Clarendon. We never saw the rest until we got to Inswood in St. Catherine.

By then the sun was really pelting down and I couldn’t wait to jump into one of the support vehicles. Charles and Fatman finished the entire journey from Mandeville and Michael, Damit, Howie, Orrel and Heather returned to Kingston after riding around the entire island without incident.

We are really going to miss Heather, our real inspiration. She is a foundation member of “Fun and Thrills” and the role model for all female riders, for she has never wavered to undertake any challenge that the men come up with and has surpassed them on many occasions. Unfortunately, she has to go abroad to join her husband Johnnie. After riding around the entire island for four days, she flew out on Tuesday 6^th April 2010. But not before we threw a farewell party for her on Monday night. Stefan and Penny were the hosts and all went well.

Who will be the new inspiration for fun loving women in “Fun and thrills?” Anyway, as Francois Rabelais said, Nature abhors a vacuum, so I guess the position will soon be filled.

Walk good Heather.

For more photographs, go to; http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=199350&id=763366822&ref=mf