It was Thursday, July 14 just before sunrise and I was wide awake in the tent thinking over our plans and our first real day of travel out on the island alone. I was rethinking the plans. How easy would it be to just stay here where we know the runnings instead of braving the unknown? Stop it! Don’t let it get inside your head! Everything is gonna be alright. Isn’t that what Bob said? The sun was just peeking through the trees when I slipped out of the tent quietly and headed towards the kitchen.
I caught up with Peter putting a pot of water on the stove for coffee. We went into his office/living room where he handed me an envelope for Jah Mike at Sealawn Coral Beach and a receipt for $20 to give to Valerie (I think her name) at Secrets Cabin, Firefly in Negril. He said that everything was set and not to worry. Just give them these things, okay? He asked when we would be ready to go, and I told him about two hours. Just let him know when we were ready, and he would take us down to Half Way Tree and see we got on the proper bus as it can be a little confusing for a tourist. “Thanks”. “Thanks for everything”, I said as I was heading out the front door.
Two hours later and after some sad goodbyes and hugs, we loaded up the Land Cruiser and headed down the hill to the bus park. Peter was right. It was a mad house of activity as Peter pointed to the bus that said Annotto Bay on the signboard across the top. When it gets to the ocean it will turn and go through Port Maria and Sealawn Coral Beach was just on the other side of the town. Peter said to ask the conductor on the Bluebird Country Bus if you need help. We grabbed our backpacks and headed for the bus.
It was not too hard to identify the conductor as he rushed over and grabbed us both by the arms and pulled us towards the bus. It was his job and Peter had warned me about that. On the way, I told him we were going to Sealawn Coral Beach to see a guy named Mike Higgins. “Ah, Jah Mike. Mi breddren.” “No, problem”. “Here, take the front seat and I will tell you when”, as he stretched out his hand for money. I knew the fare from Peter, but I gave him some extra for the guidance. About a half hour later, the bus was full and all the cargo on the roof.
The heavy bus lumbered up through the mountains and I put it together that every time someone yelled “Driver, One Stop!”, the bus would pull over and people would pay the conductor. I was thinking that maybe I should not have paid the conductor in advance. People along the road would point to the ground or wave and the bus would pull over so they could get in. It all seemed orderly for Jamaica.
Peter had given my wife one of his older travel guides so she was following the occasional road signs and giving me what information it had about the area we were traveling through while also following the route along on the map page. It was slow going up the mountain but a little frighteningly fast going down the other side to Annoto Bay.
The coastal part of the trip was beautiful as well until we entered Port Maria. Port Maria was very depressing and the first up close look we had of poverty in Jamaica. We felt so sorry for the people because, compared to them, we were rich and entitled. About 15 minutes later, the bus pulled out of Port Maria and the conductor tapped my knee. “Soon Come”, he said. We secured our backpacks and waited.
“One Stop!” the conductor shouted to the driver and he pulled off the road on a sharp turn so we could get off. A crudely painted sign saying “Sealawn Coral Beach” with an arrow pointed down a walkway towards the ocean below.
It was just around noon and we were anxious to see what would come next.
