Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

[tigerinatrance]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

Meanwhile, the gates are now closed, and in the gaps are faces and hands waving weed around, calling “Princess”, “Goddess” until we were out of sight.



If I have painted a picture that sounds scary and intimidating to you, I apologize – I am not implying that kind of vibe at all. Maybe other’s experiences have been different. I was cool with it – I felt that the one place in Jamaica where you should be able to get an abundance of herb should be Bob’s birthplace. So Jah seh








We are led over to the sensi growing under a trumpet vine, in the parking lot. It might as well have said “Welcome to Bob’s. The Healing of the Nations”.



Binji tells us that he was responsible for a lot of the stone work around the place, and that is how he got involved at Nine Miles. He has been a guide for seven years. He is from Nine Miles.

[tigerinatrance]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

We walk into the gift shop, under the yellow “one love” greeting, and there are people in there, and people are paying for the tour, and it is a little chaotic for me (remember, I am way relaxed at this point on the trip – I was not feelin’ transactions and shopping and such). So we then roll out of there with Binji. Binji leads us up stairs and through a beautifully carved archway.




I was so excited – I had seen the pictures here, in all the trip reports, and, I have to say, pictures do not capture the place properly. I am sure the BOB LIVES rocks look cheesy to some when you see them in pictures, but you get the feel, and it is in context, when you are there. In looking at the pictures here, I had no idea how the property was laid out. The pictures of the hill always threw me.


Binji takes out his partially smoked spliff, and leads us up the stairs. We make our way through a tunnel of sorts made out of rock, where there is a display of Bob’s records and a flag for every country in which he performed. Binji tells us this is how they made houses back in the day, but I think to myself that I haven’t seen any cave houses in Nine Miles, and they did have wood back in the day. Maybe he meant the Indians – I am still confused on who, exactly, was making houses/caves.





We emerge from the cave, and we round a corner. The fence is really high at this point – maybe 6 feet, but it is on the side of one of these gumdrop hills, and so its height is constantly changing as you ascend. There are people’s faces in cracks in the fence, offering you herb. One kid is sitting on top of the fence, and tells us he’ll be waiting for us to come back.



We walk up stairs, around a covered wooden walkway, which has a floor, ceiling and railings and balisters made of dark, carved wood. The building is an orangish-yellow stucco color and the roof, a steep pitch, is trimmed in the dark wood, but scalloped. I see Delroy, sitting on one of the wooden barstools which line the walkway, talking to the waitress – she’s listening more intently than if he were placing a drink order. “Good” I think to myself “He’s occupied, and we can take our time.”




Bingi leads us down the walkway which is leads to through the café, where we stop, and the bartender smiles. He tells us that he wants to take our picture at the bar, and we oblige.



He shows us the documentary playing on the TV, and tells us we should watch it, and we tell him that we have it, and know it well. At first, Binji is down to business. He takes us to the designated “start the tour” area at the deck bar, and he starts telling us about what we will see. He ends with a joke “This place is called Nine Miles – but it wasn’t only Nine Miles for you to get here.” Or something like that. He lets out a “Laugh here” laugh.



To be honest, that initial “walk through” Bob’s, up the stairs and thru the café and around the deck and out the yard was too fast. I need to go back and hang out, take it in.

[BND1999]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

((TIAT)) just catching up with this one now..

Understand all your sentiments.. the spiritual pull to Jamaica....you write so eloquently..

I began our journeys with something similar about 6 years ago.. my son on the same path.... gosh my trip report "dannys dream" seems a life time ago... and i remember the drive around the island in search for that connect he was looking for...

many years later.. many trips later..many layers later... the island is now home...my son a reggae musician... the rasta stuff we can talk separately...

You seem like a lovely.. deep.. intelligent woman.. and im enjoying your perspectives...

what i want to ask without seeming rude. as it's not meant to be at all.. Jamaica Inn..looks fantastic.. heck id like a couples massage and a noni facial.... but that place seems so contradictory or diametrically opposed to what you seemed to be in search of......staying in full pampered glory at one of the most expensive places in jamaica.. and yet going out in the country to meet the people.. and glean some type of "roots" experience..... Again no criticism.. just wondering why you chose this place .. would you choose it again?

Beleive the place looks dynamite.. id like a few days there. but i also know for me.. im not comfortable for too long in a fancy place with the elite.. just not.. i prefer a more local flavor..

give me your take.. and again..lovely lovely report. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[tigerinatrance]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

No hard feelings Francis - I too, had trouble with the "contradiction" if you will. And know that there is not one word in this explanation said in a terse tone. It is sometimes hard to imply the right feeling in writing, and sometimes even harder to correctly infer it. So, I'll say it now - Respect.

When I booked JI, I had no idea that it was as old school as it was. I really, wanted to stay ON the water. As I said, I saw the room in a magazine, got on the website and was SOLD.

My husband and I talked about us staying there, while reading the over twenty books we had on Rasta, reggae, Jamaica, Rastafarian art, patois, dreadtalk, and maps. I talked with him about addressing it here, and came to the conclusion that this report was about the trip and the people.


I feel that I made the right choice with JI for several reasons:

We met Ryan, a staff member at JI, who will become a good friend over the next few years. We have talked with him several times since we returned home, and will be sending a few "care" packages to him - mostly of Sizzla music and magazines, and pictures of our trip which include him.

We have a date with Ryan, for the next time we come to Jamaica, to go to his home in Orcabessa, and meet his family, and have dinner with them.

We hooked up with Earl, who is working with us to establish a charitable organization, a partnership between the US and Jamaica's school children and young adults - he is the shuttle driver for JI - we were destined to meet.

We met Carolyn and Mary and Terri and Suzanne - all very great people - people with whom you can connect. Caroyln turned us on to Tahitian Noni, and we have been using it ever since. Suzanne offered to take us to her home a little distance away, but we were so busy (believe it or not) that we missed it - next time I will take her up on it.

We met Delroy who was such a big part of our trip. We had such a good time with him - I would not have wanted anyone else to go with us to Nine Miles - he was so good about understanding that this was a real experience for us. He was so positive that he changed my way of looking at things.

For instance, if he told me a story about how someone did not want to ride in his car, and I would say "Why? What didn't they like? What a pain in the azz?" Delroy would say "Some people might like my car, some don't." He said "Yuh know, sometimes my spirit does not catch a person. I don't know them, have never seen them, don't know anything about them, and my spirit just does not catch them. Maybe that was the case with the guy who did not want to ride in my car."

Yeah - it's OK - don't get so worked up about everything - don't take it personally. Sometimes your spirit simply doesn't catch certain people, and that works both ways.

We made several new friends on the island, including Binji, and we have talked several times with many of the people we met.

Scott and I came to Jamaica with the goal to meet the people and get a feel for the place. This was a cultural and spiritual trip for us.

If that is truly the case, then money should have no effect on what you are seeking. Yes, I know we left with that for which we were looking.

Most people don't make the connections that I made - whether they are staying in the cheapest room on the island, or in a million dollar villa.

The point is, I am going to glean a roots experience no matter where I stay - because I have roots - where I stay and where I live, and the car I drive may diminish my street credibility, but that's not my core.

As Bob Marley said "Home is in my head. Home is what I think about."




He also said that money is not his richness, his richness is to walk the earth barefoot.




I don't believe that you short change yourself by staying at a place like Jamaica Inn because it is expensive.

And, I will say it again - If you want to stay there, I encourage you to do so - you should, treat yourself. It is amazing and beautiful, and the people were so, so wonderful that I could not imagine them not being part of my experience. I would not change a thing.


Are there elite people staying at JI? You betcha. People with a whole lot more loochie than I have. People who don't think twice about spending a month there.

But in all fairness, I did not take a lot of time to meet the other guests, so I can't tell you what kinds of hearts they have. I am sure that there are many good people that choose to spend their money at JI.

You can't judge a book by it's cover. Or if you prefer "Looks is deceiving, don't under rate no man."

I would and will stay at Jamaica Inn again. Being directly on the water, listening to the waves crash against my veranda, was so grounding and cleansing for me, and has had such a calming effect on me, that lingers to this day. No television, no phone, just nature and great people. Ahhhh.

It was the closest I could be with nature while staying in Ocho Rios at a hotel.

And, some people with money have roots too. In fact, Bob Marley had LOTS of money. He stayed in some pretty swanky places while out spreading the word. Didn't undermine his mission one bit.






Know Yourself!

[tigerinatrance]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

We make our way to the bar, where Binji takes our picture. We walk out onto the deck, which is made with the dark wood, and has tables and chairs that are likewise handmade. We would end up spending a long time there later. Binji has his spliff in one hand, and a red lighter and a bottle of Roots in the other. He starts to tell us about Nine Miles, and Bob’s grandparents house, where he was born - “Big House”, where Mother B. stays when in town.

Then that British guy crashes our party and tells Binji that he has to take along these six French people. He was diggin’ hanging out with just us, and we were diggin’ it being a private tour.



(a building in view from the deck/bar area)

So Binji starts the whole intro again, complete with laughs and songs. And, the Nine Miles joke in there, same laugh. I was thinking “Oh no, don’t let this be a Disney experience” – you know, where the whole thing is scripted.



We go to the gates, with the Exodus and Respect pictures of Bob. Binji takes off his tam and shakes out his locks. He starts to sing Kaya, and makes some remark about if you want to get as high as the sky, go for it. (Smoke and fly)

[tigerinatrance]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

We then make our way up the hill – and one of the French guys gets ahead of us and whips out a pretty big video camera. Binji says under his breath, “Tell ‘im no video, and ‘e tapin’” And I say “Tell him” and he does, and the guy put it away. I just thought it was funny the way Binji said that to me about the taping – like he was really disappointed in the guy – it was as though he was saying “here we go again”.



He shows us the Malcolm family plot behind Big House, where Omeriah, Alberta (grandparents) and Uncle Day (Omeriah’s father) are buried. Omeriah had done pretty well for himself, a descendent of tenant slaves who had cultivated Nine Miles as “provision ground” where they planted produce and were permitted to barter some of it. Omeriah was also very well respected. It is said that he was schooled in obeah and the dark sciences, and “white light” magix as well. Already you know this is the ground upon which some pretty intense people walked. Some families could have been there since the early 1700s.



We walk up the hill, which has now been landscaped and closed off with a fence, and we encounter several more groups with other guides. Immediately you are greeted with “Jah Rastafari!” My shirt, a picture of H.I.M. and his Empress, was a big hit, and I got compliment after compliment.



At one point, we walk up to a tree, and sitting in one of its cupped leaves is a tiny hummingbird – which, I thought was fake (the cynic) – I could not believe that a real hummingbird was sitting there, when people walked right up and looked at it from 6 inches away. Turns out it was real, and I felt like an azz for questioning it. Of course the birds are at peace up here – they are at Bob’s. They have no fear of being harmed by the visitors – who Jah bless, no man curse.

Later on, I got this picture of a humming bird in a tree near the road. I was in the bar upstairs, and tried like heck to stay still. Delroy told me it was a lucky shot, and I teased him and said, no, I’m that good.

[BND1999]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

"The point is, I am going to glean a roots experience no matter where I stay - because I have roots - where I stay and where I live, and the car I drive may diminish my street credibility, but that's not my core.

As Bob Marley said "Home is in my head. Home is what I think about."

that's the point!
couldn't agree more

Thanks for the response.. though you did not have to delve so deeply i appreciate it

i wasnt judging you.. just asking.... i live in an affluent area.. drive a nice car...

outside things have never defined me.. never will... and ive stayed many times in my life in very nice places... that really wasnt what i was getting at..

and many a rasta that spread the word don't always live so clean either.. flawed like the rest of us.. including Bob.. and his siblings..

tho his messages are forever profound and yes he is like a prophet..no one quite like him.. not sure there ever will be...

and i can clearly see you have a good heart character.. and mind.. all in the right place...that is what counts ...

Many of us understand how you feel.. what you felt there.. and the connections you made...

there are those of us that go quite often.. myself included.. and have made some similar connections.. and find our spirit moved.. and ourselves evolving with experience..

glad you are now a part of that ... and share what you came away with ....

it's funny as you talk about nine mile.. i remember feeling that way about it the first time i went..... doesnt do it for me anymore.. but ive evolved in diff ways now......tho my son will still go and rest his head on bobs casket... and i can see he still feels it deep inside... and more so now having been connected to some of his sons in the reggae industry..

please keep sharing your insights.. and your photos...

and maybe someday ill go for a noni facial.. my husband drinks noni for his lymes disease.. me i cant take the taste or the smell.. YIKES!

keep on with what your doing. your on the right path.

PS my name is Nina.. not Francis... thats the woman who wrote my quote.. lol

[tigerinatrance]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

Sorry Nina - duh - I should have looked.

The Tahitian Noni is mixed with blueberry juice, and is more tolerable.

[BND1999]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

not a problem.. was just editing as you were writing...

hard to say sometimes what one means... not sure i did so either time.. lol...

[Rose]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

Wow, tigerinatrance, I have to get over to this forum more often! Love the photos..especially the flowers.

[atticus]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

I'm is lovin this!

[Laurel]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

[img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[n.c.rootswoman]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

Great report [img]/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] Thanks for takin us wid you on this deep journey.The best part of my Ja. experience was the friends we met, and the family that they have become. Treasure these people who shared their homeland with you. You have been blessed for real!!

[Seveen]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

thank you for the wonderful trip report and pictures i enjoyed your journey

[tigerinatrance]

Re: Ocho Rios, Jamaica Inn, Blue Mountains, Nine Mile with photos

More soon come!