The White Sand Beach at Morant Point Lighthouse

Lovely White Sand beach near the Morant Point lighthouse

St. Thomas, is not known for white sands beaches, but we have finally found two. These are located just west of the Morant Point Lighthouse which is the most easterly point in Jamaica.

Although some us us have ridden to the lighthouse before, because these beaches are off the beaten path, we had not noticed them before.

We were only introduced to them by Michael Chuck who is an avid bird shooter which takes him into all sorts of hidden crevices in Jamaica.

On Labour Day 2015 when we rode there,  the sea was really rough though. The sand there however is beautifully sparkling and powdery. I understand that there are two hotels being planned for this area but have not heard who the investors are yet.

We had previously frequented the Old Piera area which is also in St.Thomas and has

some really nice beaches. The routine involves driving to Bowden Wharf where they have a oyster growing project right at the entrance.

The wharf itself is now under the control of the army, however they have always been kind enough to allow us to park there and ride north to explore.

The ride from the wharf  is really pleasant, safe and refreshing as we mostly stay on the  unpaved intervals between the cane fields associated with the Duckenfield Sugar factory. So there are no vehicles racing around as when we have to travel on on  the regular roads.

Breezy Tower 

We ride past Breezy Tower in Old Piera which appears to have been some form of storage tower from the olden days when St. Thomas was booming with sugar cane plantations. Unfortunately, no one I have ever asked about this structure knows for sure what it is and why it is there.

It was near there that I stopped to buy water on this trip and met Odane  who lives in Kingston but was in Rocky Point for the weekend. He was picking  hog plums and when I begged him some, he cheerfully obliged. Boy there is something about us Jamaicans when we go to the country. It is as if we immediately wash off  some of the standoffish and selfishness and become so nice and generous!

The nearby beach at Rocky Point also has a wonderful beach and we used to go there quite a bit, although the sand flies there can get quite fierce. However, the sea  there is much calmer than the one near the lighthouse and you can safely walk far out  as it is extremely shallow like at Negril.


 On Labour Day 2015 when we returned to the area, we discovered that one of the signs to the Lighthouse had an interesting twist to it, probably German, as written on the arrow was a big LYTEHOUS! Despitethe spelling however, all else remained the same.

Photos by Omar Downie.

THE COSTAL MANAGEMEN T'S FIRST RACE

I don't think the Coastal Management made a cent after the 5K they had Saturday 26th April,  from Hayes to Lionel Town in Clarendon. For apparently the event was not too well publicized so only 27 participants were there and 15 marshals from fun and thrills! Besides, most of the participants were school kids so I don't think they paid the full entry amount.

Anyway, it was their first attempt at this type of fund raising so I guess they will learn for they never even had police presence for this one but maybe they thought they did not need it as apart from route taxis, there were not too many other cars.

The event started about an hour late and we killed time by riding up and down the roadway giving 

David Jo plenty of time to lose his pump!.

When the  race finally started, Pat and I took up positions at the first water station and saw the first young man running ahead of the pack and looking furtively over his shoulder. When we enquired about the reason for his disquiet, he said the girl behind him was his sister and he did not want her to pass him! Both were from Bustamante High school and she did pass him and won the race doing it in 29 minutes.

I eventually decided to stay behind the last walkers. One was a British woman who has been here for 35 years and active in environmental matters and the other a peace corp voluntee frrom Massachusetts who had been here for only 2 months after a two year stint in Nepal.

 

After the race lymed at the Lionel Town sports club where we had breakfast and when the DJ started to play "Rent a tile music" Chuck was so overwhelmed as that he grabbed a buxom dawta AND locked down. 

I guess because the organisers had such so few entrants at this event, they had an excess gifts so we got a gift basket for our marshaling efforts.

Then it was off to Salt river so those were prepared could swim. Most drove but Michelle and Michael decided to ride to the river while Maurice was determined to ride back by himself since there were no other crazy people willing to join him . 

I did not have any swim gear so took the opportunity to sleep for having done a 14km hike the day before and getting up from 4.30 am to go to Hayes, I was beat. 

KING RIBI

Apparently while I slept. Maurice (Ribi) rode up, did not stop and continued on to Kingston alone. We never saw him until we got to Old Harbour.       

 It was another good spin with 'fun and thrills, organised by the one and only Ayatollah with transportation assistance from Sheriff, Janet, Brian, Howie and Chuck.

Photos contributed by David Jo.

Tapioka Again

Yesterday was an absolutely great day of healthy exercise, beautiful sites and sounds and wonderful camaraderie as once again we took the road to Tapioka in St. Mary. 

I rode to Castleton and decided to join the some twenty hikers who had joined us, as i wanted to capture some of the great sights in the picturesque Junction area. unfortunately, when I got to Castleton and looked in the vehicle that I had put my bag containing my camera, I heard to my horror that the bag had already gone off to Tapioca in another vehicle and the hikers had already left. It was therefore left to Gail to drive myself and Micky Chuck to catch up the walkers.

When we saw Sheila (my cousin from Canada) we came out of the vehicle and joined her. It was a nice, easy walk to Tapioka through super beautiful countryside where slender, green bamboos, fruit trees and flowers proliferate.

Despite his recent accident, Barry, our safety officer,  drove over to spend the day with us as did Jewel, her daughter Brianna and Brian Case. Michelle Lowe who has been missing in action for months, also rode over.

We were the last of the walkers and Desiree is so fit that she jogged past us then after reaching her destination, jogged back to make sure we were ok .

Another super fit person who also followed that routine was an Indian Doctor from the Chest Hospital who was travelling with us form the first time.

When we got to Tapioka, we saw Raquel holding exercise classes at the entrance for the super fit ones who had gotten there long before.

The food at the venue was very good, especially the run dung and hot chocolate, then it was off to the river to frolic.

While we opted for the swimming area in the  Ugly river  by the Devon Pen bridge, which despite the drought had enough depth for excellent swimming, some people chose the Wag Water which was quite shallow while the RIBIS who were riding back to either Castleton or Kingston, never even stopped for a swim .

They don't know what they missed as the water was cool and refreshing. Some of whom stayed behind did not walk on the road to the Ugly river but instead came over the very steep hill with a guide, but having done that the first time we went and finding that hill quite challenging,I had just walked on the main road with  Sheila.

After a wonderful swim and frolic, we drove back to Kingston with Chuck and a number of us met up at Castleton to ensure that the lady who makes the Delicious janga soup did not have anything left in her pot  to lug home!

When we returned to Kingston., I was soaked by a heavy and sudden downpour but amazingly not a drop of rain  fell at my home but as they say, the rain falls on the just on the unjust so I guess I must be in the latter category!.

JOAN WILLIAMS, co-host of JUSTICE on POWER 106, describes herself as an unapologetic addict to the Jamaican outdoors. A foundation member of FUN AND THRILLS ADVENTURE CLUB, she explores the island at any given opportunity cycling, hiking or swimming with that group, family, Jah 3 and anyone else who will have her. In 1995, she published the popular TOUR JAMAICA and the 4^th edition is now an ebook available at;

http://www.amazon.com/Tour-Jamaica-Joan-Williams-ebook/dp/B00EJWCSHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389464644&sr=8-1&keywords=tour+jamaica+by+joan+williams

Contact; gratestj@gmail.com

Bowden Hill Waterfall.....again

This must have been the fourth or fifth time that we the adventurous ones of Fun and Thrills went to Bowden Hill waterfall in St. Andrew, yet we still had difficulty finding the way.

You see, because it rains so much there, the area becomes quickly and heavily overgrown and thanks to Sheriff, we were once again led astray.

It was Johann who saved the day. It is surprising though that neither Michael nor Barry knew the way considering the last time we went there and were lost by Howie (ahem!) they walked out the entire rain forest  for hours and kept finding the top of the waterfall but not the bottom! So shouldn't they know the area inside out by now? hmm.

It was a great day of riding, hiking. getting lost and friendly banter all the way however.

Alric won the comedy hour as we walked through the thick undergrowth . His son Brandon had taken a wrong turn and when he rejoined us, his father suggested that he should simply have jumped into the Hermitage dam and when he got home he would have turned on the kitchen tap to retrieve him. Then he remembered that his house was supplied by the Mona dam! lol.

Of course Bernadette could not resist the temptation of sitting in an ant's nest giving Orrel great pleasure in getting all the ants out of every part of her body.

As usual, to get there, we rode up to Red Gal Ring  where the men separated themselves from the boys and girls as Orrel, Bernadette, Michael,  Conrad and Jane George and  of course Maurice decided to ride the hilly Bowden Hill route. Even Johann, Barry and Sparkles had better sense than to tqke4 on that hill and as to me and my house, no way after the number of bad words those hills caused me to use on the previous occasion.

So the rest of us went the extremely scenic Hermitage dam route and Lisa Williams is really turning out to be a champion rider for despite the rough terrain, mud and water, she remained resolute and completed the journey.

  Theresa who will be leaving us for greener pastures soon, said she rode part of the way up to Red Gal ring but I never saw her on a bicycle on the way up! She did redeem herself however by riding from the top of Hermitage dam road to Manor Park and Chully, to show  off his high energy level, rode back up the hill to meet us after they got back to Red Gal ring and some of us were missing.

Yes it was a great ride and an energizing hike though the bushes. However I refused to get into the water, which after testing,  felt even colder than the one I had tested some years ago just below Whitfield Hall in the Blue Mountain  range. So being an unapologetic coward when it comes to cold water, I stayed far from the spray as the macho ones had a ball under the fierce, cold falls.

I wonder if the next time we go there we will be able to find our way without taking any more wrong turns?

Only time and our continued sense of adventure will tell. 

The Red Rio Cobre

Someone suggested to me yesterday that I change my name to "Sunday Dropper". This is because yesterday was my second spill in about a month, although unlike the one I took on the "Goat Island" trip, this time I got a mere graze when I fell after my front wheel touched Lisa's back wheel. I hope it teaches me to pay attention to whats in front of me, no matter how animated the conversation but somehow I doubt it!

The ride to Linstead was absolutely great in that it was overcast and the blaring sun which usually discombobulates me quickly, was absent. 

The Bog Walk gorge with its huge rocks was as serene, peaceful and spectacular as usual except we knew from then that with the Rio Cobre running red, our chances of swimming in it would be nil.

As usual, the A riders went over Red hills while the majority of us stuck to the main thoroughfare and by the time Grace and I, the last two riders, got to Jucci in Bog Walk, they were already there.

To get to Winnie's place, we had to ride on the old road from Bog Walk to Linstead which was great as we did not have to contend with the highway traffic. We were supposed to have been joined by some walkers in Bog Walk, but they fell by the wayside. 

To get to Linstead, we passed though a very pleasant village called Deeside and the area, dotted with citrus plants was picturesque and homely.

You know I had been hearing about Dinthill high School for years but never really noticed where it was until yesterday when we stopped at the gate to wait for other riders.

Chuck who had been on the planning trip and had been to Winnie's place in Linstead was our pilot but he took us on a wild goose chase up a steep hill which ended at a dead end where the "Collector of Taxes" is located. (I had been on the planning trip but could not recall where the turn off was either)

 I rode  up that steep hill, no problem but when we had to ride down  then up the right steep hill, it was too much, so I had to get off my bicycle and push up that hill.

Winnie, who is a new rider and someone I knew from when we farmed in Spanish town, has set himself up in a nice business in Linstead with a small hotel and that was our final destination yesterday. It has a section of the Rio Cobre river with even a tiny waterfall  for bathing at the back of his place, but as I said earlier, because the river was running red, swimming at this time was out although some persons did swim in a tiny pool there which 'Winnie said had started out as an aquarium until he decided he needed the water more than the fish. lol.

Breakfast  was ok and most of our time was spent playing or observing dominoes and would you believe that shortly after we ate, Ayatollah was announcing that there was more food for us at Charlemont, a few miles from Linstead.

Incidentally, Mark Richards who has been missing in action for a while and his friend Michael joined us on this ride. They rode back to Bog Walk and with Maurice (RIBI) being absent, no one rode back home.

At about noon we departed but I went with Ayatollah, Neville and two young ladies to pick up the food we had ordered from a lady who was supposed to  meet us at the playfield at Jericho Primary School.

Jericho  is quite a pleasant and well developed district west of Linstead, As we went up a dirt path to the football field, the Ayatollah came out of the vehicle to guide us then we saw him running back saying there was a big bull ahead, looking at him!

 On inspection however, the poor "big bull" turned out to be an innocent little heifer which was even tied with a rope. That's all the Ayatollah wanted to hear to get the courage to become a bull fighter or should I saw a cow fighter.

Ayatollah the courageous bull fighter, faces the enemy! lol

.
All I can say it was a good thing that the lady we were waiting for was not the person who was feeding us when we first arrived, for she did not arrive with the food for over an hour but she brought some really good juice which we thirstily  welcomed and carried the food into Kingston .

It came in handy for dinner for those of us who had no dinner at home so  turned up at the Ayatollah's in the evening.

Great day but next time we have to go there during the drought period when the rains are not washing down the surrounding hills into the river.

Richmond Ride

In actual fact we spent around 45 minutes there lyming and not only because we were enjoying the food and camaraderie but also because Howie, who never disappoints when it comes to punctures, had his fifth in two weeks but  expertly dealt with the problem while we waited.      Jamaica is such an absolutely beautiful country that sometimes when we journey out into the country and are overcome by the sheer peace and tranquility, we tend to forget that we actually exist in the country which is one of the top five murders capitals in the world. So ofttimes we relax out vigilance which could easily lead to us becoming victims of crimes of opportunity. Crimes of opportunity are defined as those "..... committed without planning but simply carried out because a potential perpetrator sees and seizes the opportunity to commit a crime".

Howie the puncture expert

Sharon, the "almost victim"

     I was seriously be reminded of these facts yesterday as Fun &Thrills members set out enjoy a great day at a river at Richmond in St. Mary. 

We actually set out in time and were at Stony Hill by 6.30 am where we waited until we were encouraged by organizer extraordinaire Ayatollah to take our rest break at Golden Spring where Shamira was waiting to join  us.

After that it was great, easy riding along the heavily shaded, lush and curvy Junction Road as we headed hungrily to Castleton gardens where the best janga and cow skin soup and boiled corn is sold and is always ready and waiting.

It was on the way to Westmorland bridge, that wide 185 metre bridge built between 2012 -2013 by China engineering at Chovey to replace the one destroyed by hurricane some years before, that I was reminded how easy it is to become a victim of a crime of opportunity.

As I rode slowly up one of the many hills along the Junction road, I heard Sharon calling to me and the story she had to tell  when she caught up was really frightening.

She had been riding alone with new rider Ashawri and as they passed a white van with two men aboard,she overhead them talking about kidnapping someone.

Shortly afterwards the same van passed them, slowed down and moved over to the left bank so that Ashawri who was ahead of her, would have been banked as she approached . So Sharon called out to her telling her to overtake on  the outside. As Sharon approached, the man on the passenger side opened his door and invited her to get in but she too took a wide berth and seeing me ahead, called out for me to wait on them at which point the van drove away.

The fact is however, had they had a weapon, they could easily have ordered, not invited,  Sharon in to the vehicle and with no support vehicles around, they would have got away without problem. Thank heavens nothing like that happened yesterday but we have to remain cognizant of where we live and our support  drivers need to be more supportive, especially of the women riders.

Apart from that it was another great outing for those of us who love to discover Jamaica via our bicycles.

I have certainly never been to Richmond and only knew of it as the place where "elite" prisoners are held.

Having heard about the series of hills once one crossed over the Westmorland bridge to head west our destination, I had long decided that I would stop riding as soon as we reached the foot of the first hill and as always I kept my promise to myself, jumping into Charles Simpsons' vehicle which was being driven by Gayle. To my delight, not only was I greeted by cool, most welcome A/c but there was even a cooler with ice water in the vehicle. Not one to suffer unnecessarily too was Charles himself who soon joined us.

We journeyed slowly through some of the most beautiful countryside with green rolling hills to the south and the blue Caribbean sea visible on the n northern side, through verdant and uniquely named districts such as Bromley, Clonmel an Alleppo and you could see the fabulous houses perched on the hillsides around Highgate as wee approached.

The final hill to Highgate was really challenging and I could see why those who insisted on riding all the way, bypassed that hill by turning off at Alleppo.

Unfortunately we did not know they were going to do this so waited in Highgate for about an hour before Simpson decided to drive back to see what happened to them. It was only then he learnt from a villager that they had turned off.

By then we had been joined by another vehicle of non riders, and Pat who had not been riding because she had suffered  injury to her ribs on a previous fall, decided to join Simpson and I on the all downhill 2 km hide to Richmond.

When we got there, just about everyone else was  seated and waiting on us and the Ayatollah to start eating as the food and servers were ready and waiting.

The food was not as good as at Old Harbour  Bay and I cannot recall seeing more dour faced server for years but Kim insists that most of the persons serving in the canteens she has eaten at, have been miserable looking! I wonder why?

 We didn't let her bother us as we shared stories about the trip over and it turns out the road the others had taken was narrower and terrible causing the Ayatollah to lose his balance at one point and JuJu to complain about the toll it had taken on the vehicles. Howie of course who relishes off road riding (read bad, potholed,  unpaved tracks tracks with grass growing in the middle!) thought it was wonderful.

After brunch, we headed to the river which was grossly oversold by the Ayatollah who had  claimed we were going to a place where five rivers converged and you could dive off safely.

Where we ended up was under an unsafe looking bridge and swimming in  water below where some people were washing upstream, but what the heck, we were hot and tired and had a wonderful time.

Not long after, Maurice who deserves to get an OJ next year for  ri-biing, (riding back from wherever we go) took off and although no one else volunteered  to accompany him, insisted he would ride back to Westmorland bridge anyway. Later when  Pat called him he was at Castleton gardens!

 We were the first to leave with Stevie driving Howie's vehicle and as we started on the Junction road the rain started to pour but that did not prevent  us from stopping to get some more of the delicious soup with curb service to boot.

It was not until we started to ascend from Golden Spring to Stony Hill that we found Maurice and prevailed on him to join us in the vehicle and that is when we discovered that he had ridden so fast that he had out ridden the rain and was as dry as ever.


Big up Mr. RIBI.

A Toothless Shark

We hear such chilling tales about sharks, that seeing a toothless one was quite a novelty.

 This I ran into on the way to Bob Marley beach for breakfast and a swim on Saturday, before riding on to Macca Beach in Yallahs, to watch the international surfing competition.

As we entered the unpaved road to the beach, we saw a man with a wheel barrow with a huge shark inside. As Omar was just ahead of me with his camera,
I exhorted him to take a picture, after all, how often does one get to see a shark close up and even look in his mouth to boot.

It was about 6 feet long with a super -flat, broad head and I actually felt sorry for the creature which was still breathing and the fisherman told me it was a harmless nurse shark.

When I asked him why he killed him then, he said he had gone into his fish net and eaten some if his catch.

He even opened the mouth of the creature which was still breathing, to prove his point.

I never knew I could feel sorry for a shark but I did , especially when he told me he was going to sell it to a guard company for them to feed their guard dogs.

Eighteen of us went on to Macca Beach after we ate and swam, then Johann rode over to Yallahs by himself.

As we reached our destination I saw a jelly man and thirstily, we all converged, buying out most of his stock. I did not have any, as Grace who had been driving around like a tourist with David., had just saved my life with a bottle of water.When we got to Macca Beach, I was ready to go home as the waves were not as fierce and large as the last time we were there, so I knew it would be a tame meet. Besides, on this occasion, there appeared to be more vendors than spectators.

So as the first vehicle was ready, guess who was a passenger?

It was a nice day though, good breakfast, my first shark up close, a nice swim and an invigorating ride.

PICTURES COMPLIMENTS OF OMAR DOWNIE.

https://youtu.be/O4H4Js9esxY

Kwame falls

Despite undoing my long standing domino record with partner Chris (the driver) and getting two separate sets of six love from Carolyn and her new partner another Chris,  (she fired Fatman!) that full days trek organised by Michael and Karen Chuck, was one of the best organised events I have ever  been on.

And no blame on their shoulders, the 43 seater bus that came for the Fun and Thrills crew, did not pull out until more than an hour later than scheduled, holding up the Stella Maris and photographic club posse which traveled on a 25 seater leaving from the Chuck's  home.

Once we were on our way, all went extremely well as we had a very competent driver who provided wonderful music which he brought along on his thumb drive and the organisers even arranged a bathroom stop at the hotel in Robin's Bay.

When we were almost at our destination

our guides, a small boat with captain and crew were waiting. As we had a 1 3/4 hour hike through the bushes to the beach where we would be having lunch, arrangements had been made for the boat to transport the food  and heavy stuff and Betty would also travel by sea as she had two broken toes. Chris (driver) also went along in the boat to help with the cargo,.

We started the walk about a half mile beyond the point where we met the boat and the hike was along a nice, undulating, scenic path and  we were accompanied by three guides, one in front, one in the middle and one at the back.

By the time we got to the beach where we planned to have our meal, the boat was there and we learnt that while the trip had been bumpy but uneventful, when they docked and a large wave came ashore and turned over the boat, sending everything into the swirling waters.  Luckily the crew was able to retrieve almost everything and most importantly , all the food.

We soon arrived at a perfect spot with sufficient trees to give  us lots of shade to hang around under, for food and dominoes. The swimming there was not good however, so we headed towards Kwame Falls. 

The path there was also quite easy, passing  by a big morass (thank god no crocodiles are in the side of the island) and

crossing through the dry Kwame river bed at least three times. On the way I noticed a number of huge holes in the ground and on inquiring from the guide what was happening, he told me they were crab holes, boy would I ever love to see those crabs in a pot for those were the largest crab holes i have ever seen. 

Incidentally, we were told that Kwame was one of the maroon soldiers who fought with Tacky against the British and it is significant that the falls named after Kwame  are much smaller than  the one, also in St. Mary, named for Tacky.

 In fact, because it is a drought season, these falls were a mere trickle but below was a huge swimming area, very deep in most areas but the great thing is it had some very warm spots indicating that there were warm springs feeding into the area.

We spent an absolutely wonderful time there, frolicking in the waters before going back to the beach to find that the pre-cooked lunch made up of delicious curried goat, barbecue chicken. grilled sausage etc was  being served.

After eating, drinking and feeling very merry, we sat down to a game of dominoes but did not get very far before we were summoned to leave.

On the way back, I saw poor David j limping along for his shoes had given way but Orrel and his daughter's best friend walked slowly along with him. It must have been a tortuous journey back for him because the trail has an over abundance of rocks and pebbles but when  we got back, we saw all the people who had been rushing us, waiting, as the bus had gone to get the cargo from the boat.

 So we found some dominoes at a shop piazza and alas, that is where I earned myself two six loves.

As we got ready to leave, we heard there would be a delay as a man who had come with a the photographic club was having heart palpitations and as he had had by pass surgery, a bike had to be sent down the narrow trail  to being him in. Fortunately, he seemed to have made it ok as I heard nothing adverse.

I was also very impressed with the professionalism of the lead guide for when we reached the hotel where we had picked him up, he came over to our bus to thank us for using him and wished us a good day..... excellent training and what had grabbed me about them too was the fact that at lunch , I had to invite them to come over and get something to eat, as when I went to get my chair from the boat, they were sitting there patiently. It was only when I inquired  if they had eaten,  that I realised that they were not the regular type of  guide that we have had in the past, who would have dived for the food, with or without an invitation. Really professionally trained fellows.

I  unreservedly give the organizers of this hike,  10 out of 10.

Hiking to Hollywell

The first rest stop just below Red Light

The $2000 hike that the Forestry department organised which we did for $500 thanks to Ayatollah, (Charles Williams) was a real a fun event and extremely well organised with  a large number of guides, ambulance and Red Cross staff and rest three rest stops where they provided nice walking canes,  fruits,and water as well as portable toilets.

While the F& Thrillers  like Sheriff, (Nicole) Yohan, Lisa, Nicole(Lawrence) etc paid their just due (although Lisa and Nicole L did not use the buses provided) , cheap stakes like Desire, Theresa, Charles, Marcus and I  were driven independently to Gordon town  by Chris and just melted in with the officially registered  hikers from there.

 The trail was well marked, scenic and quite easy and actually this short- cut to Newcastle was a first for me as the first time I hiked with an official party, we were way ahead of the rest and  mistakenly took a far more arduous and treacherous path which had us crawling on hands and knees in some areas.  This was a much more well defined route with pieces of wood set in the trail to prevent us from sliding as we went through picaresque pine plantations with coffee plants interspersed and the Forestry Department  guides had even put up a rope rail in one section where it was a bit tricky.

At the first rest stop by Red Light here there was lots of fruits, water and juice and even portable toilets and that is where Sheriff caught up with us as she had taken a bus from UTECH.

Chris bought food and drove up to Hollywell and after we had plodded uphill for about three and half hours, we found him waiting patiently for us. Though Ayatollah only ordered ackee and calaloo as usual although he knows I am allergic to ackees, he somehow managed to hijack a lovely barbecue chicken meal through one of those who were with the official party, so I never had to kill him. So we had a great brunch, hung around a bit telling jokes and  blew poor Chris'  mind with stories guaranteed to help him cut down on his womanizing! He grumbled all the way down that the would never give another girl money. lol                                                                                               

                                                                                                                             

There were probably four to five hundred hikers  (but then I am no good with estimating crowds!) and lots of buses to transport them back to Kingston, but they were not  returning until around three in the afternoon for the $200 fee had included an entertainment segment but  none of us wanted to spend the entire day up there. So since there was only the Prado for some ten of us,  Charles tried to get one of the bus drivers to take an early trip down to transport some of us, but none of those drivers could be bought!

It was therefore decided that Chris would take one set  of us to Newcastle and go back for the rest and we would try to get better transportation from there. Incidentally  while we were driving down at around noon, there were still quite a number of hikers still struggling up the hill.

I went down with the first group and while we waited,  who did we see struggling up on a bicycle all by himself but  Omar.

Although he planned to continue on to Hollywell and he said he would not allow us to break his determination to ride all the way, he hung around with us until the other group arrived. As we waited, we saw two men who appeared to be doing a tour of Newcastle and sent our model Theresa to try and get a lift down with them, but they said they were only going to Strawberry Hills. So we continued waiting.

When  the others arrived, it was decided that Chris would take one trip down with the first group and return for the others, but by the time we got to Cafe blue, Lisa got a call that they had arranged alternative transportation.

The big drama of the day was when it appears three police thought they could have made some money off Chris.

On the way down, he took a corner wide and a police pickup was traveling  up  towards Newcastle and he nearly hit the vehicle.

Although  it was a narrow escape but no harm was done, within what seemed like only a few seconds, they had managed to turn around and were behind us, indicating that we should stop.

There were three of them, one woman in uniform and two men in plain clothes. They all jumped out of the vehicle belligerently, calling out to Chris to get out of the vehicle. I looked around feverishly in the pocket for the papers but could not find them so Desiree and I  came out to see how they would behave while Theresa turned up the back glass as the vehicle was over loaded.

 After looking at Chris' license and finding that it was unfortunately in order, they seemed pleased that we had no papers and started to huff and puff.  The big belly one who was apparently the senior officer drew himself up and started to tell poor intimidated Chris how he  could take away the vehicle for that. At that point , I said "Are you sure officer? This is a Resident magistrate;" pointing to Desiree.   What an immediate transformation! He immediately turned to her very very courteously saying,  "Good afternoon maam". At that point Sheriff, having searched more diligently  than I, found the papers and showed them. I think that saved their obvious embarrassment for with Desiree there they had realised they could not carry on any hanky panky so the big belly seemed to take an extra long time  pretending to scrutinise the documents, before lecturing Chris about  the dangers of careless driving and telling him how lucky we was to have not run into one of the trucks being driven by the soldiers. Chris apologised  for his bad driving and we continued our journey but I swear had Desiree and the rest of us had not been there, he would either have had to give them some serious money, had the vehicle taken away or shot  for supposedly resisting arrest for their aggressive attitude initially could never ended up with a reasonable result like just getting a ticket otherwise. 

After a great carefree day, that incident reminded me poignantly of  the terrible realities of life that some people have to abide on a daily basis for in this beautiful county of ours, if you do not have either what we loosely refer to as "high colour" or some special status, you are a lamb to the slaughter when having encounters with some of those who are sworn to "Serve and Protect".