From the land of snow and ice to the land of wood and water

[Kold Ass Mofo]

We had decided to finally go on a catamaran cruise. Mr. Lunatic has never been on one, so sign us up I did! (Sorry, I had a Yoda moment) Love how we were just talking about it, and up comes a vendor..

He convinced us that Sunday would be better, since it would be a small group..Yay!
Since the excitement and hard work exhausted us, we decided to walk down to our favorite little bar and enjoy a
dirty banana. I love Yellow Bird!

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a Bond movie?

[mwenvlay]

love the kitty pic.

can't wait for the next installment!

[jojo p]

Nice pics...the Yah Mon Red stripe Cat cruise was the highlight of the last couple years for a bunch of us, in April. The crew is first rate, as they do a great job of keeping things professional, watching out for everyone's safety, serving a great hot dinner, at the right time, keeping the cocktails flowing, with no wait....while still ''partying up with all of the rest "".....can't wait to go again !!!

[Maralunatic]

Sorry about the long delay, but you know, holidays?

So last we left off, we were waiting for Linston to pick us up for our big trip to Accompong. We've never hired him as a driver, and only
knew about him from this board, and I have to say he was fabulous! Easy to talk to and he didn't make too much fun of two hick from northern Minnesota!
We drove through Bamboo Alley, which I think was my first time..



Stopped at a cookshop along the way, and met a young woman who used to spend summers working at a resort near us. Small world!
The drive up was around 2-2 1/2 hours but we stopped for beer and water along the way. Linston thought ahead and brought a cooler so we could keep things cold.
The drive up is not for the faint of heart...but it's only bad about the last 10 miles or so. Still, basically single lane roads with a mountain on one side and drop off on the other..made me glad I was sitting on the left side! The worst was areas where marl for the road was dumped which made it tricky to get around.



It always amazes me how Jamaicans have the ability to build houses in areas we would never dream of





Luckily we only met one car on the way up, and we finally pulled into Accompong. The Colonel wasn't there that day, so we continued up to the museum. Everyone has to sign in and get a guide who offers two types of tours. One of the village area, and another longer one (1 1/2 hour hike down and back) to the Peace caves. We opted for the shorter tour, and away we went with our guides. I never did hear their names but they were good!

[Jenn]

I'm really enjoying your report! Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to read more!

[Maralunatic]

We started out walking around the town, stopping at various landmarks which our guides explained.

[Maralunatic]

I loved the mural..




Everywhere we stopped, the views were spectacular

[Maralunatic]

[Maralunatic]

Apparently some of my pictures went on vacation also!

[Accompong]

Apparently some of my pictures went on vacation also!
Hope you don't mind Maralunatic. Got 3 messages with questions about your pictures so I thought I would just give what I think or know each picture is about.

This is a picture of one of the "Seal Grounds" scattered around the town. A Seal Ground was a sacred place where meetings were held because they were thought to have certain "powers" to make the meeting outcome to be fair and just. Often these grounds are where members of an extended family would gather (i.e. Rowe etc.) to iron out family differences.


This is a picture of Mark Wright (your Tour Guide) called "Kutu" (coo too) at the Old Town Burial Grounds. While the First Maroon War was going on, the now town of Accompong didn't exist. In fact, it was often occupied by British Soldiers after the 3-day march up from their barracks in Balaclava. The early Maroons lived scattered in the bush and buried their dead at this spot called "Old Town". On January 6th of each year, the Maroons make a pilgrimage to this spot to scatter rum over their ancestors and sing sacred songs from Africa. When done, they return up to the Kindah "One Family" Tree to begin the celebration where all are invited to feast on unsalted black pig, roosters and horse yams.


Accompong Town View. Accompong was founded by (Kojo)Cudjoe's brother Accompong at the end of the wars in 1739 as a front line of defense should the British not live up to the Treaty.


A look towards "Quick Step" a Maroon Village in the Land of Look Behind.


A look from the road with the Don Figueroa Mountains in the distance and the Black River Valley at it's base.


A better view of the valley where Appleton and Balaclava are located in the distance. It is from there that Cudjoe and his warriors would watch the advancing army and prepare his troops for ambush battle. The solders took to riding two to a horse (one facing forward and the other to the rear). This is where the term "Land of Look Behind" derived. "Me No Send You No Come" was the warning issued to potential visitors.

I hope that helps a little and my apologies Maralunatic.