Great report!! Can't wait to hear about Accompong Town. We did the YS Falls tour, Mayfield, Black River tour, Appleton, yet we have not visited Accompong. I regret it to this day! One place in JA that I would love to visit.
Great report!! Can't wait to hear about Accompong Town. We did the YS Falls tour, Mayfield, Black River tour, Appleton, yet we have not visited Accompong. I regret it to this day! One place in JA that I would love to visit.
So disappointed to go to page 2 in hopes of having more report to read.... and nothing!! I will be checking back. Great report, like your style.
A very good start for a trip report. You have fans patiently waiting.
If your dream doesn't include the "impossible", it's too small - Joel Osteen
Day 2 continued --- Accompong Town
We were excited to be on our way to Accompong Town as we navigated the turns on the road up through Maggotty, a small road side town, and then made the turn-off to the narrowing, swithbacks that lead up to the hilltop and Accompong Town.
I’ve been thinking about getting to Accompong Town for a number of years. I’d read some postings from a peace corp volunteer who spent a couple years working in the town, and my daughter had studied some Maroon history in her Reggae course in college (with a great teacher – COLLEGE, as my kids would chant) but it was a fellow boardie, Accompong , who really sparked my interest with his extended travelogue from some time back. And who can resist the large “blank” spot in the Jamaican map of cockpit country with the priceless inscription “ME NO SEN, YOU NO COME”. The anticipation built as we made the final turn off for the last steep pitch to town.
A minor digression. As Accompong (the boardie) described so well, the journey to Accompong is a treat in itself. The road is narrow, turny with some steep drop offs. But for us, the road was dry with no traffic to share the roadway. The scary part of the drive was all due to the driver. I think we’d all agree that the cell phone has been transformative for Jamaicans. Just a few years ago, it was difficult for Jamaicans to get land lines; the wait for a phone installation was long and costly. Trying to make arrangements, meet up with people, change plans, etc. created an even more slowed down version of “Jamaican Time”. “Soon come” was often code word for I ain’t coming – and you’ll never know if, or why. And now it seems that Jamaicans are the most cell happy people on earth. Everywhere you look, Jamaicans are hanging out, talking madly on their phones. Even little school kids have phones and check them incessantly. I took a route taxi in Negril with 3 little school kids riding home from school. Each one had a phone and was checking it the whole ride. I asked the girl, who was 8, if most kids her age had phones. The answer was yes, at least in Negril. I understand that the cell phone is a great way to stay in touch with your kids but we were late adapters. My oldest girl was allowed to purchase her own phone, and get on our plan, when she went to college. My second daughter got a phone at 16 when she started driving. The youngest got rigged up at 14 after 2 years of pleading. But 8 was out of the question. I’m sure for the Jamaicans it’s worth the peace of mind and they’ve fully embraced the technology.
My driver took cell phone abuse to a new level. He had a phone and a new blackberry. I think he must have triple booked that day because the phone kept ringing and he kept juggling between his address book in the old phone and calling on the blackberry. It was like his car was the dispatch center rolling along these narrow roads. I kept telling him to pull over – we weren’t in a rush and I told him he needed to focus on his driving. So there were many stops on the way to Accompong……each call to be his last until the phone rang again, and we repeated the process.
Nevertheless, the ride to Accompong was enjoyable and not that far from YS falls. Finally, we pulled around the last bend and into the center of town. I remembered from Accompong’s post that there was some sign in formality with the Colonel….but my recollections were hazy. We parked by a sign asking that all visitors sign in and a group of men assured me the Colonel would be by shortly. After a few minutes a young man stopped by and said he would be our tour guide. His name was Kenroy. He said the fee for the tour was $40. I wasn’t sure if the Town required a fee or if this was a small bit of vig. The price seemed steep for a short walk about, but then again I knew that economic activity was constrained in Accompong and I wanted to at least leave a few dollars in town. I asked Kenroy if we could have the $20 mini tour and he agreed.
We spent over an hour walking around the town and seeing the sights with Kenroy giving us an inspiring, sobering history of the Maroons, culminating with a visit to the famous Kindha tree (a mango tree) where the Maroon leader, Cudjoe, united the three African tribes that comprised the Maroons to fight the British and secure their freedom. As we sat under the Kindha tree, looking down the winding valleys to the green fields of sugarcane around the Appleton distillery, I suddenly saw a large black bird with unusual markings. As a birder, I went right to the binoculars. Very strange. The bird had the familiar upswept wings and tippy soar of a turkey vulture but had completely different coloring with sharp white bands on the top of its wings. I was thinking, perhaps, this was some type of eagle but the markings were very different from any eagles I’d ever seen. Kenroy confirmed that this was one unique turkey vulture. King John Crow! I was excited, to say the least. I told Kenroy that birders would be excited to see such an unusual bird. He promptly gave me his number so that I could spread the word………..
While we were walking around the town, people who passed us kept commenting and laughing with Kenroy as we went by. Finally, I asked Kenroy what was going on. He laughed and told me that I looked just like Tony, an American from Texas, who had built a house across the valley – he pointed it out – and spent a lot of time in Accompong before he died last October. Everyone who passed us saw me and then said to Kenroy, “Tony come back Mon, Tony come back". We laughed as the next guy walked by and I could then make out his accent “Tony came back”. I told Kenroy it was probably just my long white moustache but he said no, drawing his hands down his cheeks …..it was also my, bony thin face. Although I think I have a bit of an unusual look, everywhere I go, people tell me I look like someone they know. My first trip to Jamaica many years ago, a number of people stopped me on the beach with a familiar callout, “hey mon, welcome back” with a couple adding “you got skinny mon”. I assumed that folks were trying to buddy up for a sale or that skinny white guys all kind of look the same. But I realized it’s happening everywhere. Happened a few time in Guatemala. I guess I just look like a type – I like to think Sam Elliott in the Big Lebowski with his long white moustache (but without the classsic low drawl), but no one else would.
Kenroy is a great guy and was very informative. And the entire trip (even a short one) was well worth it. They are in the process of finishing up a small hotel near the center of town with a beautiful view down the valley so it will be easier for travelers to spend a few days – which I intend to use as a base for a hike through cockpit country in the future. The visit to Accompong was a highlight of the trip and highly recommended for a Jamaican tour.
As we headed out of town, I asked Crampy if Littel Ochhi was too far out of the way. I'd heard from many sources that Little Ochhi had the best fish cook shop in Jamiaca and I was dreaming of another delicious steamed fish dish. I'd forgotten my map -- and as an old college geography major I always travel with maps -- so I wasn't sure of Ochhi was a road too far but Crampy just nodded and said "no problem mon" and turned to the east as we left the road from Accompong and turned down to the Appleton Estate.
I LOVE off the beaten path adventures. YIPPIE for you! I have noted for our April trip, YS and Accompong tour. TY GREAT report.
"I'll love you till the stars fall out of the sky "
:cool
wow, what a great description and micro history of accompong! I have yet to venture to cockpit country and it is on my short list of a long list of things to do in Jamaica. The history of the place really gets me--when you were talking about sitting under the tree, inexplicable tears came to my eyes. I feel such a connection to Jamaican history and culture--I wouldn't be surprised if I had a previous life there. Or maybe just more of a future there here in this life. I have been so enjoying your report--you have a great ability to bring places and sights right to the reader--niceness!
oh yeah and your driver sounds like heart attack material--it is enough to be on the edge of your seat with regular JA roads activity but add two cell phones to that and no red plate--I would be sweating it! Sounds like you made it safely though.
Now I'm really missing Jamaica -- Little Ochi, not really a lunch destination if you're staying in Negril, but I've done it for the best fish and festivals I've ever eaten. If the road was a little better, I'd do it more often.
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