Another Wonderful Weekend

This National heroes weekend was and absolute blast. On Saturday and Monday we went riding and swimming at Bob Marley beach in Bull Bay. Actually Simpson had wanted to ride to Hellshire on Monday as he lives near Bob Marley beach and complains that when we go there, he barely gets a little ride. But we shouted him  down and suggested that he ride to Kingston to meet us. He did and never met us until he had ridden to the top of Mountain View avenue, so I suspect he will never complain about the length of the ride again lest he be given the same option.
Anyway now that we have discovered Bob Marley, Hellshire is just too crowded and polluted for us! Besides riding to Bull bay is much more fun than riding in the blazing sun on the long, flat stretch to Hellshire   As usual the crazies rode back, but I and I not into dat.

Beautiful Bob Marley beach

Anyway it was great fun both days and the rasta men cooked some nice ital food. Saturday they shorted us a bit with the food but today we got more than enough. Barry created the excitement today when he lost his $50,000 tested, designer sun glasses. We spent a good while searching for it but  no luck. When a $5,000 reward was announced, a professional spear fisherman came with his snorkeling equipment and found it within 20 minutes.

Sunday was the real clincher though as we journeyed to Accompong Town in St. Elizabeth to reconnect with out ancestors. 

While some 50 of us traveled in a JUTC bus, another 25 or so went in a mini bus. Our driver was absolutely competent, pleasant and his music was fantastic as we were entertained by a wide selection of oldies to all the way.

On the way down we stopped at Jucci in Clarendon where Charles had pre-ordered breakfast. The camaraderie in the bus was great and it was smooth sailing until we almost reached Accompong where we encountered some really narrow roads which our big bus had some difficulty with. Desiree created some excitement as she looked over the deep inclines and got out of her seat thinking, I guess, that the bus might catapult down the side of the road. I was sitting on the hill side of the bus and did not see what was creating the problem, but on the return journey, I sat on that side and really didn't see any area that was particularly treacherous , but as they say, different strokes for different folks.

This  beautiful painting of Nanny of the Maroons is in the assembly hall.

When  we got to Accompong, they were ready for us and we got an interesting 10 minute presentation from the colonel, on the history and traditions of the Maroons. They are really well  set for tourism as there is an interesting museum there and an a number of explanatory plaques and statues.

The view from that plateau too is absolutely awesome and I can't recall ever seeing so many little, verdant, warm hills surrounding any one town anywhere else.

We set off for the hike to Cudjoe's grave site after our guide sprinkled white rum and wiped his face with some. (Cudjoe is the leader who led the western Maroons to victory in the fight against the British) .

Unfortunately it started to rain  as we set out and the soil there is extremely muddy so our hike, (despite the trail being shorter and less difficult than the Cuna Cuna trail of the Eastern Maroons) became quite treacherous . I slid and fell at least four times, I hear some lady got so stuck in the mud she had to be pulled out by others, then they rescued her shoes! 

Others less fit were bawling and complaining all the way but I think it was because they were ill prepared for the hike, most not even carrying the basic insect repellent although it was well known that we were going to the Cockpit country, but then that's why they are known as MTR for most never even carried water when they first tried to hike down to the bottom of Lovers leap some time ago!

The champion hiker was of course Penny who though about 7 months pregnant, declared at one point "isn't  this fun" and even offered to carry Verleta's bag as she observed that she was struggling! Stephan carried one child and the guide the other. That family is patterned off the Robinson Crusoe clan.

Crusoe himself with passenger! (A Terry Ann Miller photo)

I  thought it was great walking in the rain but we never got a chance to go to Cudjoe's burial site which is up a hill among the rocks, because of the rain and most people never made it to the "peace cave" which is the site where the British signed the peace treaty with the Maroons, giving them the land and self government as they just could not defeat them. And one could see clearly why the white man got what the duck got for there is no way they could have survived in those hills as the Maroons had the strategic advantage of being above them at all times and having many caves to hide in and ambush the enemy.

The way back was quite easy and when we returned they played the drums for us and did some traditional dances (after doing another ritual of pouring white rum on the floor and wiping their faces with it.) The food was absolutely wonderful too..... stewed pork, curried goat, run dung, fried chicken, rice and peas and lots of ground provisions.

 Part of the plan was to go back to  the Maggoty water fall and swim. From we were going past it however, I declared I was not swimming since it was the rainy season  and the river looked really  muddy. It seems everyone else had that thought for when it was said that it was too late for us to stop there, no one protested. Some of us wanted to hike down the hill anyway but were over ruled by the Ayatollah. Howie, Richard  Sharon and myself did start out on foot anyway but before we had covered two miles we were caught up by the buses and had to board.

The drive back was great, rum punch flowing from Bernadette's stash and I had already had my fill of Vodka and coconut water with Howie, Fatman etc. The absolutely wonderful selection of oldies that our driver brought along was competing with the loud chatting and laughter and a few snores but that made the journey even more interesting.

Can't wait for the next hike.

Kidnapped!

Now I know what it feels like to be kidnapped and imprisoned! Well maybe that's a bit dramatic since my experience was nothing like that poor Colombian senator who was kidnapped and held by rebels for some seven years during which period she had a child (no doubt the result of rape) for one of the rebels.

So by comparison, my experience was by no means as frightening but it was a form of kidnapping and imprisonment anyway.

It started so simply, for after having a bout of fever and shivers on Friday 25th May and taking the  usual home remedies and having the fever go away, to my  surprise after a great day of riding to Lovers leap in St. Elizabeth from Spur Tree Hill in Manchester on Sunday, when I returned the fever suddenly reoccurred accompanied by chills.

View from Lovers Leap

By Monday morning the stubborn fever was still around, so I went to my doctor at Medical Associates Hospital  to get some antibiotics. Problem was, my doctor was sick so they sent me to his colleague Charmaine Webb who I had  known many years ago. When she heard about the fever going and coming, for some reason she looked up symptoms for malaria and asked me if I had been to any countries where they have the disease.

I mentioned that I had been in south America but had been back for over three weeks but that seems to have set off a panic as according to them Brazil has a serious malaria epidemic.That's when it was referred to a Dr. Kildere Donaldson who is supposed to be an expert in contagious diseases and he insisted that I had to be admitted for observation and the matter reported to the public health authorities for malaria had been eradicated from Jamaica and they were paranoid that it not return to the shores. I had to be admitted immediately they said so the necessary tests could be done.

 Never having encountered a situation like this, I called to get legal advice but was told that my contact had no knowledge of public health law. So I called a friend had been the medical officer of health for St. Ann. His sober advice was that I go into hospital for observation and testing for  if I didn't, the public health authorities could send the police for me and take me into the public hospital  to be quarantined and tested.

 Well that was enough to get me to go back and be admitted to Medical Associates where they put me in a private room, under a mosquito net and all! However, the  net was open at the top so if any mosquitoes were around, they could have flown in and out in wild abandon, so happily, since I am terribly claustrophobic, I quickly abandoned it!!!

For two days, I was put through every possible test and I think they took away at  least half of my blood and would you believe I never even had a temperature or chills for the entire time I was there . 

Anyway, the hospital is not bad at all. The food good and all the staff nice but there is no place like home. So since I had absolutely no more symptoms, I was allowed to go home although the test results from the government lab were not yet not returned. (I hear those bureaucrats down there can take up to 2 weeks to send back the results!)

What a relief all around. No more confinement and no more topless mosquito nets.

One thing I know though, the next time I go south, I will be taking every single vaccine available, from yellow fever to dengue, for I will never be confined again.