Trip Report July/August 2016

[*vi*]

When we arrived to the area, Tommy pulls the car to the side and nestles it close to the bush. He turns off the engine.

“Why are you stopping here? You have to P?
He laughs. “No, we are going in though the back way. We are taking the path.”
“The path??? Why??? Tommy I don’t mind paying. Besides, hiking was not part of today’s agenda.”

He mentioned adventure…pictures of rare flowers & tings…he even threw in “exercise”. All the above appealed to me, including the workout. So I gathered my gear. Just as I was about to get out, I noticed a woman sitting off to the side, in the bush. She was stripping stalks of sugar cane.

“Tommy, I don’t think she’s there just to strip and bag cane. Maybe you can’t take the path anymore. Bet she’s the gatekeeper. Fine with me…let’s go.”
“No this is public property. Come.”
I didn’t move.

He greeted her. She greeted him. He said he wanted to go down to the river. She said no. I put my gear back on the floor and re-strapped my seatbelt. Soon came the patois loud and clear. Part of me wanted to tell Tommy to leave her alone and get in the car, but she didn’t need my help. He had brawn, but she had a machete. I just made sure the keys were in the ignition just in case she went from slicing cane to slicing Tommy.

The voices soften and Tommy returned to the car.
“She said its private property and we are trespassing. She will let us walk the path if we pay her 1000J each. But I’m not paying her because this is public property. She’s being rude, rude. No, I’m not paying and I’m not going to take her disrespecting me and threatening me and stuff.”
“Threat?!?! Tommy, sweetie pie, I just wanna feed the little fishies.”

He paused, looked down at the container of rice then got in the car without saying another word.

[*vi*]

Vince, you're not alone in that dream. I've been to Moore Town!!

[*vi*]

THIS is what the small entrance fee pays to maintain. The reception grounds are immaculate!

[*vi*]

[Vince]

Did ya jump? I'm in!

[sammyb]

OMG Heart be still

[*vi*]

Did ya jump?

ummm nope…lol

OMG Heart be still

Sammy, wait til you see pictures & vids from you-know-where…

[*vi*]

https://youtu.be/Z77uhEOcTk0

Ahhhhh is all I could say once I was finally wading in the refreshing river of Reach Falls.. As you can see in the video, water shoes are highly recommended. The beautiful but slippery stones don’t cover the entire river area, about four yards out the bottom is sand.

The highlight of these waters is the multitude of fish that call this place their home. And “their” home it is. The security not only patrols the falls 24/7, but they also ensure no one takes home the fish for dinner. My last visit was about 16 months ago. I shot video of the guppies darting over and between the rocks. It was hard to catch a good photo of them because they were so small. The security guard suggested I bring bread crumbs or cooked white rice to toss into the water to draw them out. I remembered the rice this time and couldn’t wait to see what happens. I was shocked to see how big the fish are now. They put on a fascinating show when the rice hit the water. Tommy was like a little kid when he saw the frenzy.

https://youtu.be/fxmHMF44Ziw

[Vince]

VERY Nice *v*, that part of Jamaica has me already and we haven't even been .lol

[*vi*]

Tommy joked about using the net to catch a heap of fish. The guard said you can’t get them with the net. So Tommy thinking he’s smarter than a fish decided to put the net in the water then toss rice in the center of it. Well, look at what happened…NOTE…turn the volume down before watching. I got a little excited and started yelling as I recorded. Sorry…

https://youtu.be/hQkqxskGP-A

The minute he removed the net, the fish dove for the rice. Of course when he got to the bottom of the rice container, Tommy grumbled on and on about how we didn’t get enough rice.