Paradox in Paradise

[marley9808]

YAY!!!!!!!!!
I have been waiting (as patiently as I could) for this update, partly because I have been enjoying your report so much and the other part, for more selfish reasons, I have been waiting on your review of the "Night of 100 candles"
I love it! Just as I have loved all of your other stories so far, what a great evening you had! You both look so happy and I just love hearing other people talk about their experiences, perception and overall feeling of Catcha....God I love that place. It is amazing and so is everyone there!
I am so glad you and Sweetie Pie got to experience it.
I also enjoyed your visit with Miss Mae, glad you got to do that and I really loved the pictures, I haven't been back there in forever but I used to spend just about all of my time at the Pickled Parrot back in the day. It is there that I first jumped off a cliff, and after I swam into that cave and up to the bar. I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. I told everyone back in the states about it for years! And though it has changed a lot those photos you posted took me back to some really great times and memories.

I don't want your report to ever end!

Also, to Sweetie Pie.....as a serious dog lover (actually animal lover) who worked as a vet tech all through college and even a little after, I think what you are doing is great! And I agree completely with your outlook on the dogs of Jamaica. And I will help any way I can. Thanks for what you are doing!

[Patty Sather]

I loved this report...It seriously took my breath away to see you two in those pictures ..the cave, catcha, everything....I loved it all....

[Coco]

Absolutely wonderful!

[Mike_D]

Excellent report! I can't stop reading.

You probably mentioned this before, but what's the deal with the flower guy? Does he work at Home Sweet Home?

I'm thinking the flowers would be a nice treat for the Misses.

[Guirigay]

Yes, Mike, he is a very nice young man who works at the restaurant and I arranged it through Charlie.

[Guirigay]

Friday

We wake with anticipation this morning, it’s road trip day. At the sunrise spot daybreak competes with Sweetie Pies radiance and takes a beating.



We snap a few pics of the resort this morning.
The high balcony above the dining room



The yard



The hammock



And the view to the rooms across the courtyard. Our room is the top left on the two story block with the doors open



We head down to the cliffs for Tai Chi and are greeted by a waterfall. You can see how it rotted away the steps that used to lead down to the terraces from the pool. The cracks in the cliff face indicate the inevitable fate of all that surrounds us, a peek into actions that operate on geological time scales. It is a perfect place and time for Tai Chi and the splash of the waterfall provides an ambience that brings our master to us; he is always fond of playing new age soundtracks during practice.

[Guirigay]

We grab the leftovers and head out for coffee. Sweetie Pie is running low on biscuits and is glad to have a little extra to pass out. Scar comes up with another dog this morning that we’ve seen nearly every day. They circle Sweetie Pie with joy.



I love this picture, Red Dog is licking her lips and staring right at Sweetie Pies biscuit pocket. Of course, I do the same thing all the time…



Sweetie Pie has saved the leftovers for Scar. She drops a biscuit for Red Dog and we walk along. Scar follows but Red Dog grabs the biscuit and moves off. When it’s just us and Scar he gets the treats and we walk away. He scarfs it all down and is back on our heels before we get to Easy Rock. He waits in silent vigil across the street again.



We are easily into our coffee ritual now, the flow of the morning is slow and comfortable. We have a cup on the verandah. It’s Caribbean Shabby and we love it.



We wander the property with the second cup. I ask the German Bar guy, who is setting up, if it’s too early for a bratwurst with kraut and he nods. Dang! I’ve heard really good things about them this week from several people. Before we leave Sweetie Pie gives her last biscuit to Jamaica. "First and Last," she says and gives him a big hug.

We stop and grab a pineapple from Pamela on the way back home. We stop and ask the kitchen for a knife and Roy cuts the pineapple up for us in next to no time. We feast on pineapple and dry coconut for breakfast. I am certain of this, I will have MANY more breakfasts of pineapple and dry coconut!

We get prepped for the road trip. A bag is loaded with swim suits, a face mask, fruit and accessories. Chris shows up early and Sweetie Pie notices him down by the gate. We call out. “Yah, mon, whenever you’re ready!” We are.

[Guirigay]

A stop at the ATM and we’re underway. That’s two consecutive interactions with the financial system here with nary a hint of an issue. The streak ends here but only because of a funny quirk tomorrow.

We head out the Sav road and I slip into the wayback machine again, roadtripping to Sav, YS and the bamboo avenue with the family. Good times, they were. We have great conversation with Chris about his wife and family, his wedding in December, his business with Percy who is his older brother. As we turn north at Sav and head into the cane fields Chris says, “Things gonna get a little slower now”. He’s not kidding. At points we are crawling through lunar crater fields. He negotiates them with ease. We pass through several villages. These are old sugar cane villages but Chris says people go from here to work in Negril. “That’s a long ride every day,” I say. “Yah, mon, but the work in the cane fields is rough.” He lists the problems – heat, sun, long hours, hard labor, low pay, injury, constantly being cut and sliced by the cane leaves – but worst he says is that all of that together ages you physically at a rapid rate. “You can tell right away if someone works the cane,” he says.

We pass a lot of empty small roadside establishments but in one small village there is a somewhat bigger bar that has maybe half a dozen folks hanging out as we roll bye. They wave, hoot and holler as we pass. We catch glimpses of the mountains we’re heading into through the cane fields. As we get closer it is very obvious that they shoot straight up from the alluvial plain. They seem to be too steep to hold vegetation yet they are covered completely in a wide variety of flora.

As we ascend we ask Chris if he makes this trip often. “No, not too often,” he says, “It’s been a while since I’ve been up here. A lot of drivers won’t go because their worried about damaging their car.” I watch him carefully in the tough spots as I drive 4x4’s off-road at home. He is an excellent driver. The entire day on some wild patches of road he never bellies on anything, never bottoms out a shock, never even spins a wheel! The landscape is wild, straight up to your left, straight down to your right. At one point you cross a saddle between two peaks and it is straight down both ways just beyond the edge of the road. And the road ain’t wide! At different spots along the road are small communities literally clinging to the sides of the hill. Some amazing rudimentary engineering has taken place to support the structures in these villages. Every structure we see has some form of bamboo or lumber post holding it up.

We are awed. “Do you think you would want to live here?” asks Chris. “As beautiful as it is, probably not,” we say. “Yah, mon,” he says, ”One good rain and you can lose your house!” We come around a big curve that circles the hillside of a small hanging valley. On the peak of the spur that shoots out to create this valley sits the small village of Mayfield. It is very picturesque so, of course, we shoot no pictures! Chris gets higgled by a couple of roadside establishments as we roll through town. The craziest part of the road is the last little bit into the parking lot. Chris handles it beautifully. He spends more time navigating the lot for a good shaded parking spot than he does any of the washouts today. “Not gonna park under that mango tree,” he says pointing to his windshield, “made that mistake before!”

We are greeted by a lovely lady who runs a little bar next to the parking lot. “Come have a cold drink after your hot drive,” she says. Chris has run into an old friend he hasn’t seen in a long time and they are excited to see each other. He waves us to the bar, “I’ll be waiting.” We grab a cold Stripe and chat with the lady. “You’re going to love it,” she says, “I guarantee you’ll be amazed.” As we head out she says, ”Come back and have another when you’re done and tell me what you think. If you don’t love it I’ll buy your drink.” That’s a good pitch.

[Guirigay]

As we walk out Chris leaves his buddy and walks us down to the falls. “Good friend,” he says, “Long time since we see each other, Lotta catching up to do.” He’s kind of excited. We head down a road from the parking lot that is in REALLY bad shape. “I wouldn’t bring your car down this either,” I say to Chris. “No, no,” says Chris. As we near the bottom we see a car loading up with some older tourists. We step to the side of the sort of road as they head up. We hear a couple of metal on rock scrapes as it continues up and shoot each other some funny looks.

If I’m not down here when you’re done, I’ll be up with my friend,” says Chris. “Yah, mon,” I say, knowing exactly where he’ll be. We meet a guide in the first building we go to, he says to go pay over at the bar and he’ll meet us there. As we walk over a few of the guides and vendors mill around us. I’m telling Sweetie Pie a few of the things I know about the place from reports here. There’s a discussion in the bar in Patois about who is going to be our guide. One guy’s not sure he wants to take us. He already knows the place, he’s gonna want to be the guide, he’s gonna tell her everything, ain’t gonna be nothing for me. When our guide comes and introduces himself I’m determined to keep my mouth shut and only follow his lead unless I have a question. This is not particularly natural or easy for me but I think I do an OK job.

We change into suits and as I’m waiting for Sweetie Pie I talk to Dave, our guide, about taking pictures for us. I hand him some money and mention I’ve seen some great pictures from here. In the middle of this conversation another young man has joined us and Dave kind of looks at him. Eneil introduces himself and says he is a photographer for the falls. $20 to provide us with a CD of photos of our visit. “This is how we make a living,” he says. Dave looks at him and me and nods. I agree to the photo deal and tell Dave to keep the money.

We head out with an entourage. Eneil is walking with us most of the time but occasionally disappears behind us or trots off in front of us. Dave is leading and talking and every so often saying, “Stop there,” and taking a picture on my iPhone. We stop at a pile of drying root stock on a hillside. “Do you know what this is?” he asks as he breaks a small root in two and passes it under our noses. I smell Jamaican curry. “Turmeric!” Sweetie Pie exclaims. “Yes, exactly,” says Dave. “Sweetie Pie loves this kind of stuff,” I say, “She’s an excellent cook.” “Can I taste it?” Sweetie Pie asks. “No, no!” replies Dave, “Your tongue and mouth and teeth will all be stained yellow.” We talk about how the turmeric is harvested, “It just grows wild here,” and have a discussion about property rights and whether they operate on the basis of the commons. They sort of do but it is a very Jamaican interpretation. “If you know that it’s somebody’s you don’t take it, if it’s not then you take what you need.”

[Guirigay]

We reach the river and the excitement builds. We step into the river and won’t leave its shores for quite some time. Sweetie Pie asks Eneil about how his camera is set up. He looks at her a little strangely because she’s talking f stops, aperture settings, etc. “She’s a professional photographer,” I say trying to help him out. He looks incredulous, “You said she was a cook,” and then he looks at her, “What do you do now, really? How can you do so many things?” Sweetie Pie clears things up and she and Eneil have a connection that grows through the afternoon. A lot of chatting back and forth. Eneil really wants to be a professional photographer and has a ton of questions for Sweetie Pie.

Mayfield Falls is a rugged spot. Even though it was fairly full of tourists the day we were there the river and falls have been left in a condition that makes it easy to let yourself drop back in time to when natives first discovered this gem. There is no sign of any development near the river and the only permanent indication of human presence is the footpath that runs near the river in spots and a limestone wall at one point that has a lot of stick carving done on it. Even that has a fairly ancient hieroglyphic feel to it. You walk straight up the river from one small waterfall to another. At just about every little fall there is some sort of break in the boulders or ledge that creates a rush of water. Almost all of these rushes fall onto a spot where you can sit. These seats all become different variations of a natural Jacuzzi. It is really a lot of fun.



As we get a little ways up the river we’ve passed several impressive bunches of flora that Dave just won’t seem to mention so I have to say, “Look up on the hillside, Sweetie Pie, see how tall and straight they are, that’s some BIG BAMBOO!” I get a good laugh from everybody. There are large clumps of bamboo all along the upper hillsides of the river bank here. They bend and meet over the river like gothic cathedral vaults. It adds to the sense of making a verdant pilgrimage.



After a couple of nice Jacuzzi seats we approach what looks like another nice little rush of water. “Go on up to it,” says Dave as he walks up to the shore. As you get nearer to the rush the water gets deeper than any place we’ve been in the river yet. Eventually you can’t touch bottom and the current of the river pushes you back. Dave and Eneil laugh. I won’t be denied and I backstroke my way to the eddy and swim in place for a bit. It’s a very unusual and enjoyable sensation. “Yah, mon, that’s the way you do it!” encourage Dave and Eneil.