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A few more photos from Frenchman's Cove...and we are off again to visit the 'Blue Lagoon'
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On the way into the Cove...I had chatted with this gentleman about a braclet with the red seeds that I had seen earlier from the Rasta on Long Bay beach. I didn't like the clasp he had on it, and I told him that I would buy it on the way out, if he could change the clasp. Of course he was eager to accomodate for the sale, and I picked it up when we left.
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I saw this other man in a car smiling and pulling away...and I thought he kind of looked like a younger version of Jamie Fox. What a smile... :)
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We drive up the road, and you probably don't realize how close in proximaty everything is. Just a stone's throw from our hotel are all these beautiful places to discover. As we enter the Blue Lagoon area, we hear that there was a storm that mashed up a lot of this area. We drive down the narrow road...the back of all the expensive villas on the left and enter the lagoon area itself.
At the top of the road was a raftsman who wanted our business. $6,000 J for a likkle ride up the waterfront to see the villas...but we were not biting. As I had mentioned the waves were up and a boat had captsized up the way, and the boat patrol police were there to help out.
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Awesome!! I could literally walk right into your pictures it is as if I am there. I am going to jamaica soon for four days and yes I know it is short but better than nothing. I am going back next year for fourteen days and plan on going to Portland.
Thanks for this:)
Enjoy your trip Summer....
The Blue Lagoon was a bit different that I had envisioned. There were lots of Jamaicans waiting for tourists for rafting, a few stalls set up selling their wares, but basically it is a beautiful spot. We decided we weren't going to do the rafting, and just as we had a arrived, the group from Frenchman's Cove arrived for a boat ride.
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We were ready to leave...took a few more photos of the overturned boat on the reef and it was getting late in the day, but I really wanted to do Winifred Beach....
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If you look at this photo, you can see the boat up the way that is stuck....
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A better view of the boat....
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Now to find Winifreds Beach was no easy task. Not sure why, but few signs anywhere for anything around this area. Same problem when we tried to get to GeeJam...lol We decided to ask someone and he gave us a route that was a better road. OMG is all I can say....
We traveled up through a sort of subdivision...then hit the dirt road. It seemed like forever...pot holes the size of quake craters every few feet. We traveled up the mountain...along with the goats....and then down the other side to the beach. Wheeeeph....glad it's a rental car! ;)
But low and behold...we had arrived...and another feast for the eyes. A photographers dream...
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We stopped at the first bar....chatted up the bartender and got ourselves a couple of Red Stripe Light....
Hubby chatted up the bartender while I walked the beach and talked to the vendors and took photos. A nice relaxed, laid back beach....not hair pulling or begging for money. A few polite requests...but nothing over the top.
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Very few people on the beach....a couple with their young children and a elderly couple reading their books under a tree.
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Met a nice Rasta who was doing some carving work on his gourds. What an art that is, and to watch him work was pretty cool.
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Boy if I had lots of extra money to throw around, I would have bought some of his bowls. But...we were spending more dollars this reach, so it wasn't to be.
He sat beside me on the bench at the bar....after just showing his work, but never again mentioning anything else. We just talked about the intrigacy of the carving. Now that is when I WANT to buy...but we were just there for a visit and had a whole reach ahead of us...
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I decided to walk up to the end of the beach where the old boat was...and I could some of the other eager vendors waiting for my arrival at their table. I thought to myself....on a beach like this it must be terribly hard to make a living. A few requests to buy some jewelry but I was pretty firm with my 'No thank you' answer. It just has to be that way....or a person would be broke traveling and buying.
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This old boat seemed a perfect prop with a gorgeous background of the blue waters....
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Thanked them all for their time and showing me their crafts....so I turned around and headed back to the bar area...
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I walked past the Rasta carver and walked towards the cool looking painted bar...
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Drinks were done...and time to head back to the hotel. Lots of beaches in one day, so we needed to relax, have a couple of cocktails, a nice meal before heading out tomorrow for Runaway Bay!
Loving this reach so far :)
Back soon with more photos...
Oh My Goodness, this is the BEST road trip EVER!!! Thanks so much for this, its wonderful seeing these places that I would not otherwise see. And I agree, you can walk right into those photos. And the handsome guys with the big smiles, whooeee, its getting hot in here. :p
this is incredible, Sprat--the next best thing to going myself is viewing JA through your lens. It is so nice to see places I have yet to visit that are on my JA wish list. Thank you for sharing!
oh yeah, I have to say you have an eye for fine Jamaican men:) And of course for boats, beaches, water and food!
I logged on just for this and you did not disappoint....................Portie is one special place and you have captured her in all her glory!
wow, those pics just take my breath away! That looks like some serious wave action going on in some of the pics..lovely.. :)
i find winnifred beach really laid back . . . "i cliff" is the rasta, a real gentle soul . . . and otis looks after his little area around the bar, those two men try to keep order at winnifred . . . knowing that i'll be there in a few days is a relief.
so, you got as far as long bay? maybe next time you will circle all the way around and through kingston and back to negril . . . i like that ride too . . .
now that you've experienced driving in ja, would you do it again? rent a car, i mean . . .
Jitterbug...Thanks for reminding me of their names....they were both wonderful men to meet. Most definitely we will do the other side of the island, not sure when though....
Can't imagine not having a car now....lol We loved the independence of getting out and about and the driving was great. Soooo....next year, a car..and possibly a villa in Runaway Bay....as we did love it there too. So many possibilites now...
More to come....Folly point ruins...
http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.c...olly_ruins.htm
If you don't know the story ...here it is...
Soon come...
Love the photos of Winnifred....my favorite beach! Otis and I-Cliff are wonderful and they've looked out for us each time we were there. We'd go and spend the entire day at Winnifred almost daily. They get to know you and the vendors are very sweet and don't bother you. I love chatting with them about their families. When my kids were small they would all look out for them as they would play up and down the beach...they are all very family oriented and kind! Thank you, Sprat!
Oh, and Frenchman's Cove is always lovely. I found it to be a bit stuffy for my taste but it has gorgeous grounds. The vendor you bought your bracelet from has been there each time we have every gone. Nice man ;)
Loving these! Looks like it was very windy, or just wavy, the days you were in Porty? I've been to Frenchman's, Winnifred and Boston on only glassy days - lovely for swimming like Negril at its best - but Long Bay always seems to have waves.
Yeah, it was pretty windy and the seas were up during our time in PA, but it was so beautiful....
So where was I ....lol
Well we love Portie and Bayview Villas on the hillside was a nice property for many reasons. Enjoyed our room, breakfast was included and always wonderful and a great proximatey to travel around Portie and the sights.
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Loved the balcony ....
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A lot of walking in PA...uphill, downhill...lol ( I guess that is a given...lol ) but it's all good. This is the trek from the room to the car....
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An evening view from the restaurant at Bayview Villas...
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I really wanted to see the Folly Point ruins....as we had passed them daily to go to town for money. The ruins sit in a park area on the edge of the bay so we drove in for some photos on our way out of town.
As we worked our way up the road....we saw all the tethered goats....
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It wasn't long before a young school boy found us and made sure he was our guide...not that we needed one :)
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I swear I heard this goat say to me....'You can pay me now...or just cut the tether....lol'..
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Oh yeah...that young boy....
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We chatted a bit, and I guessed he was 14....and I asked him if he was good to his mother. He smiled and said...'yes mam... I swear...I love my momma....' Do you work hard in school...'Yes mam..I do"...
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He asked right away for lunch money...and I said, we'll see...we just got here. He stayed around as we walked the perimiter of the ruins, which were fenced in.
This is the view....if you walk down to the waters edge...
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Hubby didn't want to go in, there was no real entrance per say, just a broken part of a fence where all the goats were hanging. Mmmmm
Hubby did not want to go inside....until the young boy said, " You can go in here".....From above a man said, " Come on in...you don't have to be afraid". I knew we could go in...just had to get past the goats. Many photographers have done videos here, and model photo shoots, so I thought we are here....we have to! :)
We climbed in the wire hole in the fence past all the goats and their droppings....lol ewwww
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A great view of the island across the way....
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We walked up the side of the building....still a bit apprehensive.....
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This was the first view we saw....after walking the goat path to arrive into the main area of the ruins....
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Just a variety of photos from various rooms .....what a place...
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This actually looking from the front entrance....
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These tiles throughout the house were slick and slippery from water, goat droppings....you get the picture....
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This is the lovely Jamaican man who invited us in...and told us not to be fearful. What a smile.... He was cooking and must live and squat there by the looks of things. His smile was so inviting, I would have loved to visit and chat with him, but it was time to get on the road. ( I could sit and talk to many people...lol, but I guess I can't do that everywhere...hubby has to keep me on track )
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I can only image and envision this place in its' hayday. What a beauty it must have been...
Top floor...
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i've noticed for years now the young men doing extreme eyebrow things . . . not so much in negril but in porty, it's a big thing . . .
Why are all the pictures on your thread and all the other threads on the right side of the frame and not centered?
I have no idea what you are talking about jefmaka... I don't see it...
i've noticed for years now the young men doing extreme eyebrow things . . . not so much in negril but in porty, it's a big thing . . . "
My son used to do the same thing about 4 years ago in Miami & I HATED it.....he got over it in about a year & started looking natural again...."style & fashion" dat
Amazing! The smiles, the beauty in the land...love it! you capture it so well Sprat!!
Great pics of the ruins, I would love to visit with camera in hand. I stayed in Runaway Bay one trip and it was big wave action all week.
This is awesome! You guys are visiting pretty much all the same places we did on our trip in October
Somerset Falls, Blue Lagoon, Frenchmans Cove.....love it
Your pics are fabulous, as always.....and I just love the way you capture people...eyes, smile....its like your pictures speak...they tell the story...just can't get enough!
Thank you for taking us along!
We decided to visit Erroll Flynn's marina on the way out of town. It's like night and day walking into this property right in the middle of town. From the hussle and bussle of the Jamaican feel of the city....to a port that feels like you are in a different world. How can that be....so close in proximatey...yet so different in class.
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The Marina was gorgeous....so pretty with sail boats, and finely manicured beach front and tables on a dock that I would love to sit at for an evening meal.
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Now on our way to Runaway Bay....but not without a visit to Firefly.... :)