How I got to Jamaica...too.

[Accompong]

Frank was explaining that we would need to make at least one more stop to fill the radiator before we arrived at Peter Bentley’s place. He went on to explain that there was a small stream a short way down over the side of the road where “I” could go and fill the empty Red Stripe bottles but he wasn’t saying why “HE” couldn’t do the same thing. It was getting dark and we were getting nowhere. I thought it over and weighed all the options before agreeing to go. My wife did not like the idea but, at that point, it was either me or her, so I went with my little dollar store flashlight leading the way.

In the dimming light, it was two quick steps followed by a bauxite mud slide down to the small creek below on the seat of my white drawstring pants. I took a minute or so to catch my breath and do a quick inventory of my bones. Check. Red mud everywhere. Check. I filled the empty bottles and climbed back up to the car.

Frank seemed amused but did not say much as we pulled out to continue the trip up the mountain. I kept glancing over at the temperature gauge as both we and the gauge kept climbing. Anxiously, I was trying to anticipate how far we would get before having to stop again. I made up my mind there and then that a repeat trip down the side of the road to get more water was not in the cards for me. Period.

Rounding a sharp corner, I saw a bar named Foxy’s at Peter’s Rock Road and before I could ask Frank a question about it, he volunteered that Peter’s place was only a few chains up the road. That did not help me much as I had no idea how long a chain was but, frankly, I did not want to know right now.

The radiator was steaming again as we pulled up to a house with a young couple sitting on the verandah next to a sign that read “Sense Adventures”. “This is Peter’s place”, announced Frank. I do not know when I was ever so happy to get out of a car in my life. While Frank had the boot open to retrieve the Red Stripe bottles, my wife grabbed our backpacks as I walked over to the couple on the verandah to ask about Peter’s whereabouts.

Gus and Inga from Holland were their names and they had been staying in a bedroom for about a month. I asked about Peter and they told me he would “soon come”. A phrase that I would hear often in Jamaica. I walked back to the car next to Frank who was refilling the radiator when I heard a voice calling my name. I looked around and there was Peter confidently striding towards me with an outstretched hand.

What the Hell??

[Accompong]

Not exactly a truth serum but, if you want to get someone talking, a cup or two of freshly brewed Blue Mountain Coffee is certain to get the ball rolling. Within an hour over breakfast we all knew more about each other that any of us really wanted. Peter asked about our plans for the next six days and we said we were open to suggestions. Peter said, “Take your showers now as the water is on and meet me in the living room in about an hour, okay?” Sounded good so I nodded to my wife to go first. I really wanted to wait a little as I was a little fearful of the cold-water shower to come.

About an hour later, we walked into Peter’s living room where he had a projector white screen set up with a carousel Kodak projector. There were a couple of throw pillows on the floor and no chair or sofa, so we made ourselves comfortable and waited for the show to begin. We whispered some small talk while waiting when my wife asked about Peter and the nudity thing. “Do you think he will be wearing any clothes?” to which I said that except for when we first met, he has been wearing a pair of shorts at least all the time including breakfast this morning. “True”, as Peter entered the room clad in a new pair of shorts.

He asked us if we wanted a drink. One dollar each, of course, but we begged off saying it was too early and we rarely drank anyways. He continued. “I am going to show you some pictures of places where you can go and stay around the island. We all work together so I can set up any reservations you might want.” He asked, “Are there any places in particular you might want to visit?” I told him maybe Negril as I had read a little about it and then I told him about how we got here by the throwing of the dart and Galina Point, St. Mary. “I know just the place for you.” He began showing us the pictures.

I have to say that Peter was an exceptionally talented photographer. His shots were beautiful with one added feature. Almost every picture had a naked woman super-imposed or posed on it somewhere and this is before photoshop, so I really did not understand how he did that, but I liked the added touch. After nearly 50 slides, we narrowed down our trip to two stays: Sealawn Coral Beach, Port Maria and Secrets Cabin at Firefly in Negril. Peter explained that although Jamaica was not that large, the transportation was by country bus and they were hit and miss and sometimes did not come by at all on a particular day plus it was not good to travel on a Sunday.

We decided to stay here another night and go see something around Kingston. Stay the 14th and 15th at Sealawn Coral Beach and the 16th and 17th at Secrets Cabin and travel all day on the 18th back to Kingston to catch an afternoon plane to our last week’s stay in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Peter pulled out his pre-printed Sense Adventures invoice sheet and started writing down our choices and totaling up the associated costs of the trip. The total came to a little over $100 US for the four nights we would be staying after leaving here. He explained that we were to pay him, and he would give us a receipt to take to the two places and he would pay them next week when he was visiting them.

My wife and I exchanged a “Do we look like country bumpkins?” look. “Give us a little time to make a final decision, okay?” Peter smiled, nodded, and left the room. We talked it over and evaluated the prices and the payment method finally settling on the “I know where you live!” scenario if things went wrong.

I called him back in and counted out the money.

[Accompong]

I helped Jah Mike re-beach and turn over the boat and hide the oars before following him up to the house. It was still early, and Jah Mike asked me if I wanted to accompany him to football practice. Sure. He changed into a soccer uniform that closely resembled one of the National Team uniforms I had seen on TV and he told me it was an old one of theirs from when he used to workout with them.

We arrived at the pitch and I witnessed firsthand the leadership qualities and the respect the youth in the area had for him. He practiced them hard. I was saddened by the lack of shoes as most of these boys had none to wear. Without a man like Jah Mike to guide them, I shudder to think what would happen to these youth.

Practice wound down and we walked back to the house. A young man that I had seen that first night on the verandah stopped us and handed Jah Mike an ounce or more of ganja which he passed to me. “Here is your $2 bag”. I had almost forgotten about that ordeal last night. “You keep it”, I said. “You can roll me a spliff later”. Jah Mike smiled a signature toothy smile. It was done.

Back on the verandah, Jah Mike and I were still talking when my wife and her ever changing entourage kept coming back down the lane and, after getting things out of the tent, running back up the hill. I stopped her to remind her Jah Mike was cooking the fish for dinner and she said she would be back around sunset before running off again. Jah Mike remarked that he was grateful for my wife helping these young women as many did not have positive role models in their life either.

Jah Mike did not like to talk about money, but I knew I owed him some but did not actually know how much. Meals. Beers. It all adds up quickly. He told me that Peter had put $20 US in the envelope that I brought him. Jah Mike explained that he met peter at Sun Splash in Montego Bay about a week ago and Peter borrowed it from him. I told him that Peter was coming by to pay him for our camping at $10 per night next week but that he should not have to wait. I gave Jah Mike $20 and asked if it covered everything until Peter and he worked out the rest. “Jah Bless”, he said with a smile.

The dinner was cooking, and the smell of herbs and spices was filling the house and making me hungry when my wife arrived alone. Finally. Alone on the verandah, she told me about how the girls did not understand the most basic of feminine hygiene and how they were constantly asking questions. She said that the girls asked if we had children and when she said we did not, the kept saying how sorry they were thinking we were unable to have them instead of not wanting them.

Jah Mike’s girlfriend had steamed the fish and stuffed them with crushed up Cream Crackers and callaloo which was delicious. We finished and Jah Mike, my wife and I went out to the verandah where at least 15 people were gathered around in respectful silence. They were waiting patiently while we finished our meal. Again, I was feeling a little ashamed having eaten such a big meal and most of them had not enjoyed a full meal in a long time. One of the girls, Beverly, was sitting next to my wife and holding her hand. I knew right then and there, I had to do something for these people.

We sat, talked, and laughed a lot until around midnight when Jah Mike asked about our leaving tomorrow. I said we wanted to catch the country bus and he said we needed to be out there on the road early as there wasn’t a firm schedule of times that anyone knew of as it depended on a lot of things like mostly breakdowns. We told everyone individually goodbye and thanked them for everything. It was an extremely hard moment.

I went to the tent to lie down. It took my wife a little longer with Beverly.