Aagghhhh!

[Vince]

Linder??? Did you find the cheap plane tickets and left us?

[Linder]

Linder??? Did you find the cheap plane tickets and left us?

I wish! lol

Finally got caught up on sleep. Or perhaps it was a short hibernation- lots of grey and snow outside..... haven't been outside for over 24 hours- too deep for my car.

The splice is pretty funny as I sat under it every day and never knew till you found it! Its the roof of the Mango Bar which is wrapped around the base of the tree and is made from scrap lumber and bamboo from our yard. The tree is twisted so it gives a bit of support and since it is over 200 years old and not growing the bar was fitted snugly around it. Amazingly it feels rock solid!
Careful now, this next photo could cause heart palpations when you see the bar's downhill supports! We had a housewarming party and it held a DJ and 12 people comfortably and did fine with all that weight. Ingenuity and making do with what you have is a finely honed Jamaican talent that I admire.
And yes that is 3 ancient hardwood logs with rocks for a base.......


Our house has much different construction. Foundation is deep and big- took weeks for it alone. Tons and tons of steel rebar woven throughout the house- cell reception is affected if your not by a window-lol!

Vince glad your wife is excited about Jamaica. Follow your dream- wisely.
Our neighborhood has a couple houses with sad story's. Unfinished they were started by dreamers who met the wrong person to fulfill it- and sadly wound up abandoning their dream homes. Unless you go with a realtor (which means more $$$ with gated community and resulting isolation), you will need someone on the ground to supervise your construction or you may be cheated. And this far up in the mountains everything is based on a handshake and cash so it needs to be a local you trust. Cards and checks only work at the hardware/window stores along the main coastal road.

When we met our next door neighbor who oversaw our house build, his reputation preceded him. He's sort of a male Mother Teresa around here and feeds and clothes a lot of neighbors in spite of the fact that he has no running water in his unfinished house. But he has a dream to better things for everyone up here by bringing in much needed tourism. And we wanted to do something in our retirement that made the world a bit better and so it was a match made in heaven.

Building our house was phase one.
Next we add guest rooms down stairs and the proceeds will finish our neighbors house so he has guest rooms of his own.

And of course as soon as we get back we're starting the mountain bar-hopping adventure.

FYI we feel really safe here. Don't think I would anywhere else with this much poverty all around. We know most of our neighbors and chat daily while out for a stroll. We live at the end of a long road and more than once have been told that we are watched out for by many neighbors. We share food, charge phones, and spend tourist dollars here. Plus the upcoming tourism plans are wanted by all.