At left: between St. Elizabeth and Negril, Westmoreland, the scenery changes from glorious hues of green, to black sand beaches, sheep farms, colonial-style houses, to glorious sunset. Here's the Negril sunset from Rick's Cafe. At right Jakes, full of artistry and a great place to soak up the calming effects of the south coast. - Rosemary Parkinson photosMeandering from through St. Elizabeth to Negril
a journey filled with colonial-type houses, old churches, gorgeous
vistas, ripe juicy melons and, at the end, a spectacular sunset
Rosemary Parkinson, Freelance Writer
THIS ISLAND Jamaica never stops surprising me. I have travelled and marvelled at mountains, hills and vales and nooks and crannies that some Jamaicans have never even thought of venturing into.
Suffice it to say, I thought I had seen most of the exceptional spots of Jamaica -- until recently.
Leaving from Kingston one early and beautiful Friday morning with Negril in mind, I stopped here and there for the usual refreshments and in general was taking in the various views. (I was showing my Jamaican companions some particularly good places and they in turn were trying their best to find a spot or two I had not ventured into). Suddenly I was asked if I had ever been to the south coast of the island. My negative response came just before we reached the Santa Cruz (St. Elizabeth) police station. Without much ado we suddenly veered left. It was not so much the sudden turn with a vengeance as my friends' knowing smiles that piqued my curiosity. I do believe though that after every half mile of my necessary Kodak stops, they wished that had not decided to 'confuffle' me, as the Bajans say.
COLONIAL-TYPE HOUSES AND GLORIOUS HUES OF GREEN
Off we headed towards Malvern. Through winding roads, past Christmas Tree farms, mango trees and yams galore. Up through the Santa Cruz Mountains we ventured. The view was, to say the least, magnificent. At the gorgeous old (though a little dilapitated) Malvern Police Station, we turned left again towards the Moravian College. Old colonial-type country houses with stonewalls that reminded me of the ones seen so commonly in the countryside of England, greeted us. The valley below was glorious in its hues of green -- a sight to behold. We went past Munroe College towards Lover's Leap. Suddenly there was a major road, if you please, and we turned towards Southfield, ears popping at this point as we left the height of the mountains to descend into lower lands. We stopped to visit St. Mark's Church in Mayfield. What a joy. As we entered the grounds set on a hill (the old belfry still standing tall) we came upon a group of villagers who were holding a little meeting and we were greeted with warm smiles and invitations to roam and enjoy. What stories the old tombstones in the adjoining graveyard could tell but time was not on our side and we still had a long way to go.
MELONS BY THE HUNDREDS
One realises the sudden difference in the terrain -- dry and rocky in areas, quite strange looking really, then fields of melons. There were hundreds of melons. I have never seen so many melons in my life. There were men picking and packing as we drove by (not before stopping and being loaded down with gifts of these wonderful fruit). As we continued towards the sea there was a goat farm on the left -- another Kodak moment -- particularly as I finally spotted the Jamaican sheep among them.
MESMERISED BY JAKES
We went past Treasure View Restaurant on the coast, Marcia's View Restaurant, and a most sweet blue and white house on the right as we travelled down the hill towards Treasure Beach. Not far after the Treasure Beach Complex we came upon Jakes.
Jakes -- what is there to say about this little 80-year-old
traditional beach house
converted into the most special of places? If you want to get away from it all, in adobe type dwellings, the sea crashing against the cliffs, the wind
blowing through your hair,
good food, Duggy's bar and artistry in every detail of the hotel -- this is where you must go for a vacation.
We left Jakes totally mesmerised and drove to a private bay -- the owners did not disclose the name. I was in a different world. Black sand for miles, the sea magnificent in its strength, the waves crashing on the shore. Here you can close your eyes, breathe in the ozone and know that God has enveloped you in his wonder. If you are lucky you may see the odd manatee or even bottlenose dolphin that is around at this time of the year.
There was still much to travel, so without ado we took off towards Black River. Again astounding countryside with the occasional funny sights. For example, in the middle of absolutely nowhere there was a little hut with HAIR 'R' US - NEW YORK STYLE. Hmmm.
As we approached the town over a bridge that took me back in time but also reminded me of so many old ports on the coast of England and, funnily enough, Holland and Germany, for that matter. I was breathless. All along the High Street are fine examples of classic Georgian architecture -- the Inland Revenue office and St. John's Parish Church -- just amazing.
Black River is Jamaica's largest river and if you have the time it offers boat trips -- great for the kids to experience those lazy crocodiles lolling on the banks. North of Black River is the Appleton Estate which offers tours (see Day Out October 5 for details). A stop to take in the 106-year-old Invercauld Great House is a must, but as you leave the town do notice the old wreck stuck in the sandy shore and almost opposite Dr. John Brown's Office (and maybe home) -- another architectural delight.
Our drive continued through Sandy Ground, Font Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, White House, Auchindown before reaching the familiar Blue Fields, Cave, Ferris Croos and Savannah-la-Mar. We reached Negril just in time for a quick drink at Rick's Cafe where the few tourists took up every inch of wall space, hanging over the deep blue sea while the sun did its thing. The carnival of nature -- Negril's sunset. There is
really nothing quite like it.
Unfortunately the West End Road in Negril continues, even after many months of work, to be worse than the road to Dakkar but we made it to Rick's and back to the Norman Manley Boulevard (our insides in a mess) where tired, but elated and filled with the wonder and beauty of this country, we ate heartily at Hunan Gardens. It was a meal fit for Chinese Kings prepared by Chef Julio Chung. Following that, we only had to wend our way to the comfortable and sweet cabins at Country Country. We woke up the next morning in time to watch the sun slowly light up the skies on Jamaica's most exceptional beach.
An early morning swim and the knowledge that the weekend would bring another spectacular sunset and nights filled with full moon and sparkling stars before the trip back to Kingston.
