We left Great Huts at 8:30 for a 90 minute taxi ride out of Portland Parish and into St. Mary's Parish, which is just west of Portland (Think of the Parishes like states - there are 14 total). Finally, we arrived at what used to be a 16th Century Spanish fort. It is now a guest house, and Eric said some of the trips stay there rather than Great Huts. We picked up our sandwiches and met up with our guides: Lion, Dale, and Cassan. Everyone hit the bathroom, lathered on the SPF, slapped on the Deet bug spray, and we were ready to go at 11 am.
Eric told us we would encounter all sorts of terrain, and he was right. Throughout the two and a half hour hike out, we were walking through what could've been Beaver Creek, then all of a sudden we were walking on a black sand beach, next we were in the heart of the jungle, which brought us to a dry creek bed where we hopped from rock to rock. At times we climbed up long, steep hills, and other times we walked flat for a while.
I stuck pretty close to Lion, who was leading the group. Lion is a tough name to live up to, and I pity the poor kid who just isn't good a dodgeball, but, unfortunately, his parents already named him Lion. This Lion, however, lived up to the name and then some. Lion is a Rasta, meaning he practices the Rastafarianism (you can read more about it on the link). He had his long dreads all wrapped up in a towel, similar to what my mom looks like when she just gets out of the shower. Shirtless, he wore a pair of swimming trunk and carried only a machete. His two dogs Loni and Lassie came with us. Oh, and did I mention that he did the entire hike barefoot?
Lion is also a bush doctor, meaning he knew the medicinal purposes for nearly every bush we passed, and about every 5 minutes he'd yank down a leaf of this or that and have us smell it. Some examples include a bush to clear out your sinuses (think garlic and vinegar in plant form), memory busy, aloe, a tree that leaked milky stuff when he hacked it with the machete (he told us that they take the milk and boil it to make glue), a tree whose flesh made a natural bandaid of sorts (very sticky and malleable), iodine, and lots of other things. He also pointed out many different fruits such as the ackee, jack fruit, guinep, bread fruit and papaya.
About 2/3 of the way out, we stopped at the black sand beach for a swim and/or lunch. We stayed there for a while and then walked the last 45 minutes to our destination - a waterfall. The last leg was intense, jumping from rock to rock, wading across parts of the river, and walking sideways up and down steep, loose slopes. Finally, we made it. The waterfall was a little slower than ususal, but the pool at the bottom was deep and cool, which felt wonderful after over 2 hours of hiking in the heat. Wearing bathing suits under our clothes, we all stripped and jumped in. The guides cut down bamboo poles for us to float on, which worked 10 times better than the "noodles" on which I struggled not to sink as I kid.
While we swam, the guides made a fire to keep the bugs away and cut up a jack fruit and pineapple. Lion also had some fish that he had caught and cooked that morning that he shared. Most Rastas are vegetarian, but some eat fish, so when I told him I was vegetarian, he seemed very happy saying, "Ah, you vegetarian lady, das good for you. Ya, good for you" (at least that's what it sounded like - he was very hard to understand, as are most Jamaicans). He also offered me some banana bread he had made, which had chocolate chips in it, and when I expressed my excitement, he said, "Yes I know you like chocolate, girl. Not a lady no like chocolate. No lady I meet don't like chocolate."
Finally, we had to head back, which went a lot faster than the way out. Throughout the whole trip, there were two ATV bikes that were going the same way, and we would see them every where we stopped. On one bike was a Jamaican guide, and on the other, a European couple. Lindsay asked Lion what his favorite place in Jamaica was and he said either St. Mary's or Portland parish because there was little pollution. He also told us how much he hated the quad bikes because they were disturbing his natural environment, polluting the air and ground. He loves the jungle because he can get everything he needs for free from the plants. Bringing quads into the jungle makes things less peaceful, less natural, and I can't say I blame him. At one point, we were heading back from the waterfall in a single file line and heard the quads behind us, having left the falls after we did. We could hear them right behind us for a few minutes, but, following Lion's lead, we did not get over and kept walking. Finally, they were right behind us, and someone asked Lion if we should get over for them. After a few minutes, he finally got over, and I could see him grumbling under his breath. I thought it must be really frustrating for him to see his peaceful land becoming more and more "civilized" (that would be a bit of sarcasm).
We made our way back to taxis with no problems, and soon were on our way back to Great Huts. We arrived just in time for dinner, which was served while a dance group entertained us. A group of about 13 dancers showed us traditional Jamaican dances and even invited us up to dance with them. After a long day of hiking coupled with the dancing, I was exhausted and went to bed as soon as I could.
Today we are going to a beach about a mile away at noon. We'll stay there most of the afternoon, coming back for dinner, drumming, and music therapy meetings. We will begin our work tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to.
I'll try to attach some photos, but might not be able to. I had to ask Adam to put the one up from the other day, because it would not load. Understandably, the internet is a little slow!
Here I am with Lion. Notice the "soap bush" in his hand that turned sudsy with water
A 16th Century Spanish lock near the waterfall
AJGA hat! See if Lion can come to the Farm to clear the path.
ReplyDelete