Jamaica Gleaner

An eerie night in MoBay

By Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

The city of Montego Bay, inclusive of its entertainment heart beat, the famed 'hip strip', was shrouded in eerie silence on Thursday night as visitors and locals alike vacated the streets, showing the ultimate respect to Hurricane Ivan, which is on a collision path with Jamaica.

"I have never seen it like this before," said one of two policemen, stationed outside the popular Margueritaville Sports Bar, which was uncharacteristically in darkness. "Even the ladies of the night (prostitute) are not on the strip tonight."

The Coral Cliff Gaming lounge, which is usually jam-packed every night of the week, was quite low-keyed with only a handful of patrons playing the slot machines. The musical chiming of the machine went on against a backdrop of workmen busily nailing ply board across the massive glass windows on the upper floor of the complex.

Further down the famed 'hip strip', the Sunset Beach, an established heaven for night-bathers, had only one couple - an elderly-looking Rastafarian and a much younger Caucasian woman as occupants. The duo, cuddling on the sand and seemingly enjoying a smoke, showed no inclination towards entering the water, although the waves appeared quite friendly.
The long concrete wall, which runs adjacent to the Buccaneer Hotel, which is normally heavily peopled by the 'young crowd' out enjoying a late snack or sight-seeing at the harbour as well as aircrafts landing at the nearby Sangster International Airport, was a picture of quietness.

Except for the taxi stands, where a few persons were seen waiting for transportation home, the usually busy downtown Montego Bay was like a ghost town. The regular soup and jerk chicken vendors were missing and so were the peanut and sugar cane vendors.

"Wha a gwaan big man, you nah go home," said one pedestrian to another in the vicinity of the North Gully, one of the city's hangout spots. "This is not a hurricane to joke with, this is Ivan the terrible coming."

At the Cornwall Regional Hospital, in Mt. Salem, the Accident and Emergency Department, which is generally crowded around the clock, was virtually empty, except for three elderly ladies, who did not appear terribly ill.

The popular Mt. Salem main road, which has a reputation of never going to sleep, did not have its usual buzz. In fact, the only sign of life was a few young men, who had gathered around a makeshift monument to former national footballer Winston Anglin, who recently perished in a car crash.

With a light drizzle starting close to mid-night, the few persons on the street could be seen hustling off to their various homes, leaving the night to the mysteries bottled up in Hurricane Ivan.