Hi friends,
I just returned from 70 days in Jamaica and I am already looking for an airfare deal to go back for 120 more! As usual, I had a wonderful time staying first for 7 nights at Seastar on the cliffs of Negril and the balance at my home in Accompong Town (Cockpit Country) St. Elizabeth Jamaica.
I previously posted pictures and accounts of my stay at Seastar so I won’t go into that much but to say that Chris, Francine, Francine, Francine, Barbara, etc. made me feel like part of their “close-knit” family. I know I have finally found my second favorite place to stay in Jamaica (after my home that is)! Big Up to all of you at Seastar!
I got to Accompong Town on November 23, 2011 to begin my 2- month plus long working vacation. I call it a “working” vacation as I had to take a lot of time off from having fun to assist in the construction of the house. I wasn’t too sure about what I would find when I got there but was relieved to find a downstairs room with a bathroom attached ready for me to move in. Those that know me well realize I have a “camper’s mentality” so I am used to Spartan living conditions. Though it wasn’t completely finished yet as the floor was still rough concrete, no electricity wired in, walls were rendered but not painted and no piped in water… it was home to me.
I spent the first couple of days surveying the on-going construction of the top floor where there are a kitchen, living room and two bedrooms separated by a bathroom. There were no windows yet anywhere on that floor or no doors either. Just a sturdy concrete structure consisting of nearly 3 tons of steel rebar, 400 concrete blocks and 300 bags of Carib cement overlooking the Appleton Valley and the Don Figueroa mountains in the distance where the sun rose each morning. Out the back door you could walk for over 20 miles without seeing another person all the way to Trelawney through virgin Cockpits. The house is truly on the edge of civilization.
I have been visiting on and off for twenty years so I am no stranger to the residents of the town and that became evident on my very first night there. Three times different neighbors knocked on my door and offered me cold jellies; fingerling bananas and an assortment of yams (yellow, white and dasheen) along with a few minutes of chatting so I could catch up on the runnings since my last visit in 2007. Nothing ever really changes in Accompong Town except the people are a few years older and the little pickneys become young adults. Names of pickneys I had met over the years never seemed to be important to remember but as young adults they all seemed anxious that I called them by either their given names or nicknames as they are known.
Marshall has been my best friend for these past 20 years and he has taken the responsibility of looking after my meals and helping me hook-up with the people and places I want to visit while in town. He is a Rastafarian and a staunch follower of Marcus Garvey’s principals. He does not eat any meat only fish and fresh food from the earth which he prepares in constantly changing ways to keep each and every meal tasty and a culinary adventure. I ate very well and actually lost almost 20 pounds over the 9+ weeks I was there.
I experienced so much during this time that it is hard to put into words; an election, an all-night New Year’s Eve party and of course the 6th of January Celebration to name a few of the high points. I am scrambling to catch up with all I missed here in my private life and my work so I don’t know when I will have the time to go into the details and; no, I don’t have a lot of pictures as these are my friends and Accompong is my home so I don’t feel comfortable playing a “shutterbug”.
If anyone has any questions or wants more information about Accompong Town, I will be happy to answer in due time. Until then, I am feeling bittersweet about being back here in the US and can’t wait to return.
Peace and Guidance
I too like the simple life and kinda have a campers mentality. I have always thought it would be so nice to live in Florida becasue it is just a hop skip and a jump from JA and you could go more often and stay longer. I could imagine waking up to rolling mountains at your back door to welcome the sunrise on a daily basis. Thats the life!! Hope the construction of your house goes well and I would love to see some photos of the building process. Maybe some before and after photos. But it sounds very nice!!
Originally Posted by Lola
