St, Bess & Beyond...

[Seveen]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

hey CEW i'm glad you got a chance to go home and re-visit the beauty that keeps me going back year after year - i haven't seen beauty in any of my travels that rival jamaica - and i always long for her - even when i'm traveling to some place "almost cool".

and my son loves some sugar cane too

enjoying every picture - awesome [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mo_fire</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The little white birds at the mouth of the Black River (your first picture) are called Egrets... the second are the herons. On any tours we took guests on (and I've probably done that river at least 100 times in my years living in Treasure Beach) that is what the captains referred to them as. They are also the same species I have seen in Cuba (which they called Egrets also). </div></div>

Thanks; yep...that's it. Heron and Egrets both sounded familiar but a team member confirmed the white bird was one of the Egrets. You rock [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[schultz]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

Cew, lovely report. Your pics are wonderful!

[churchgirl]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

<span style='font-size: 11pt'><span style="color: #990000">Egrets - a nuh dem dem call Gawling (sp)? Yuh know di bird dem weh use to pitch pan cows an pick ticks. </span> </span>

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess &amp; Beyond...

PapaMark, schultz: Thank you, both. The pleasure is mine; glad to have you aboard.

Green_Biscuit: More to come so not to worry [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]

Kia: That 'gator was George. Interestingly, though we could touch him if we wanted to, they can be very dangerous, especially when hungry. Peter mentioned that a couple years ago one of them leaped out of the water and 'grabbed' a woman (who was out fishing) before disappearing into the river. That was the last they saw of her. He did say the workers made sure they were fed and all, and that there was a special way to touch them but I wasn't interested in knowing what that way was.

SweetSsop: Maybe packages were sold at the hotels, but where we were there weren't any packages we knew of. I didn't mind the way we did it though because we were able to stop and go as we pleased. A team member fell in love with what she called "the natural Jamaican ripe bananas", and so we did stop at a couple of market places trying to get her some.

Seveen: This was the first time in many years that I actually was seeing this side of JA. Prior to migrating, we did the North Coast several times per year, and as stated earlier, my Dad did excursion tours and I sometimes tagged along for the experience. I haven't felt the need to be back home every year but despite going to other places, I have to admit that so far, there really is nowhere like JA. For sure, being away from it for long stretches enabled me, on this visit, to really appreciate the things and places I saw. Big up the little guy for loving the sugar cane. My jaw did hurt, but it was great [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: churchgirl</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style='font-size: 11pt'><span style="color: #990000">Egrets - a nuh dem dem call Gawling (sp)? Yuh know di bird dem weh use to pitch pan cows an pick ticks. </span> </span> </div></div>

I have no idea. Only someone from Dalvey would know that [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

[Laurel]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

**sigh** for the sugar cane ~

after SO SO many reaches - I am finally bringing some of my family soon ... and I want to do this YS / Little Ochi day tripping with them - can HARDLY WAIT to get to share this splendor ~

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

This was taken after Peter (in the forefront wearing Jeans) backed-up the boat for this picture taking moment. These guys were on the boat with us (they were in JA for the cricket) and would have given Oliver Samuels a good run. They were simply hilarious. They actually invited me to take this picture, so [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img] to those guys



Immediately below, others enjoying their Safari

[churchgirl]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CEW</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have no idea. Only someone from Dalvey would know that [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img] </div></div>

<span style='font-size: 11pt'><span style="color: #990000">I shall refrain from answering you. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif[/img] </span> </span>

[gullygirl]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

your photos are amazing!..

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess &amp; Beyond...

Somewhere about here was where the safari ended. The boat had stopped, the engines turned off, just so we could enjoy the moment. Here the area was shaded, the wind cool, and the only sound was that of the water kissing the side of the bobbing boat. From somewhere, someone said "WOW" and as if on cue, the buzz started about how peacefully serene it was. Here we could momentarily forget the real world and fantasize about perfection. I thought if Adam lived in a place like this, then he had a lot of explaining to do as to why he gave it all up.

Alcoholic drinks were not allowed on the boat, so Peter pulled out a bottle of island fruit punch and we toasted to the moment. Once we were done, he jokingly asked that we returned the foam cups so he could wash them out for his next trip. The guy was funny [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]



Before turning the boat around, he reached into the river and filled a clear cup with water. Much to our surprise, the Black River's water was actually crystal clear. So why did it look black? Because of the peat at the bottom. I didn't know that.



Peter explaining it all...

We then headed back to our starting point, and as we came through "Mangrove Boulevard", I captured this gorgeous scene.



In the distance is the Cockpit Mountains. I understand that in that area lived a community of Maroons with their own system of government and so on. What was intriguing to me was that in Coptic, “mountain,” tooh, can also mean. “monastic community,” and it made all the sense in the world that these folks would be separated from mainstream society. Two persons on our team had been in this community, and as they shared their experiences, I figured the next time I was in JA, I wanted to go see Accompong Town.

ETA: History of the Accompong Maroons

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

gullygirl: Thank you; glad to have you along for the ride.

churchgirl: Hush [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

Just over an hour after we started, our Black River Safari adventure ended. We thorougly enjoyed it, and as is the case on trips like these, tipping was encouraged [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img] Our captain and guide did an outstanding job so no problem with tipping him at all. If you have an appreciation for nature and island beauty, this is one experience not to be missed.

As we exited the boat, I couldn't resist this "shot" of the bridge in the distance



And outside in the parking lot; blame it on the child in me [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]



Time to get to Mandeville. There was supposed to be a wonderful restaurant there that we could do lunch. It had been a long time since I had been to that part of the island, and so I really looked forward to it. With the thought of lunch in mind, we headed out into the merciless heat and this being a Saturday, the maddening traffic.

[Laurel]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

CEW - this is such a pleasure ... [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[Sinco01]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...



spellbinding ..

keep it coming ..