St, Bess & Beyond...

[swedishrasta]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

Love love love it. Thank you! What a lovely journey. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[mo_fire]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

I can't wait to hear your report on Mandeville! Another one of my favorite spots! I love the farmers market there! [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

Mandeville was supposed to be a "pit stop" - on our way to Little Ochee - as a couple of guys wanted to go to a restaurant they were familiar with. However, while we were still in Black River, our driver said we had to see the Waterloo Guest House (pic below). It so happened that this place was the first in Jamaica to receive electricity (1893) AND a telephone. The cool thing about this was that at that time, it is said that nowhere in New York city had either of those services. Again, I didn't know that.



The house is named after the battle of Waterloo with materials from England. It is said to have been originally owned by a relative of William Shakespeare. The remains of one of the brothers who "founded" the city of Black River, and that of his dog, are said to be on the premises.





Built about 1837 and has monuments to some outstanding citizens including Robert Hugh Munro and Caleb Dickensons, benefactors of Munro College and Hampton School respectively.

Below, on the streets of Black River.

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

On the drive to Mandeville, we passed the Alpart Jamaica. Our driver stopped so I could take this picture.



After sometime we got to the much talked-about restaurant (I can't remember its name), but to our chagrin, it was closed and wouldn't be open for another hour! I wasn't amused; breakfast had worn off, the sun was HOT, and one thing I do not handle very well is hunger. Those times, I'm not the best of company as I tend to get really quiet. So after some negotiation we decide we would find the nearest food court. It is said that when life gives you a lemon, you make lemonade, and with that in mind, we headed towards the shopping center.



After a bit of walking around, sure enough, we found a strip of food places. While the others debated what they would have, and from where, I headed for the first place I saw curried goat meat available. Did I say I go quiet when hungry? As far as I was concerned, a hungry man doesn't need a committee meeting to decide what to eat [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img] For drink, I decided to try Cucumber Juice, and that thing - mixed with Ginger - was GREAT! Loved it! I found out it is easy to make and the waitress was wonderful enough to tell me how it was done. I tipped her one Rhythm Juice for her efforts.

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

Having eaten, I was back to normal [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img] We talked about driving around Mandeville and checking out some places of interest, but I think "niggeritis" had started to set in and some team members weren't too eager to do this. The next day, Sunday, would be a long one for us and we had talked about getting back to the guest house by 4:00 p.m. Plus, we still had Little Ochie to go to.

First, after such a heavy meal, we had to get comfortable. We walked into a couple of stores, including one of the most varied Christian bookstores I've ever set foot in. Being a passionate reader, I was in 7th heaven and we stayed here for a while. We did check out some other stores during which time I captured the following images.

[DC]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

Cool pics [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img].. Cool report [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]
At one point, I thought you were gonna say that the Peter guy walked on water...

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

So after our pit-stop in Mandeville, and while some people still had their eyes opened, we set out for our next stop. Surprisingly the traffic wasn't heavy and we made pretty good time to Alligator Pond, the little district that was home to the renowned Little Ochie. When I first heard about the place, I thought it was a small "version" of Ocho Rios [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70361-embarassed.gif[/img] and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. There isn't a lot of "toursity" stuff in this part of JA. The community seemed to be a tough one, but judging from the full parking lot, this was a very popular spot. I was intrigued at the fact that it has been operating since 1989.



The first sign one sees...

This is seafood heaven with lumbered and thatched structures for eating





Below is where orders are placed.



You go in, pick and weigh your choice of seafood (served with festival, plus other things), pay for it (by the lb/kg), and go outside to wait while it is prepared. When ready, the food is brought out, each plate covered with plastic wrap. The wait can be long because the place is a beehive of activity, but very excellent service [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: DC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Cool pics [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img].. Cool report [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]
At one point, I thought you were gonna say that the Peter guy walked on water... </div></div>

[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img] good one. Thanks much; glad to have you on board.

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

While waiting for the food, one can enjoy the view around. Little Ochie "sits" by the sea, so when there is a bit of wind, under the thatched booths was fairly cool.



Covered under the blue tarp, protection for sun and sand, is one of the speakers used when it's time for music.



It wasn't just folks who wanted to buy food that came here, but being a Saturday, a lot of people came just to buy fresh fish. These guys were doing brisk business, after coming in with their boat. Here they are cleaning a customer's purchase.



This guy below really wanted to sell those two fishes as he wanted to go clean his boat. They were $250/lb and weighed 8 lbs, but he was willing to negotiate the price.

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

Our guys were still full from lunch and so our food was "to go". We chatted and traded all kinds of stories while we were waiting, and by the time our orders arrived, we were all suffering from full blown "niggeritis". The heat had taken its toll, and we just wanted to get back to the cool of our air conditioned rooms. We were still in good spirits though. No problem, mon.

On the walk back to the parking lot...

[Sinco01]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...



[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70458-applaud.gif[/img]

this is great ..

sorry you did not take more of the Mandeville skyline ..

[Diplomat]

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

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sinco01</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
sorry you did not take more of the Mandeville skyline .. </div></div>

It would have been nice, as I heard quite a lot about Mandeville going back to the days when <s>the late</s> Cecil Charlton was Mayor. Left to me, we would have toured around a bit, but as mentioned, others wanted to get to Little Ochie because of the time constraint. Maybe next time...

[Seveen]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

i'm still hanging on

good report

[Laurel]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/proud_jamaica.gif[/img]

me too ~

[Diplomat]

Re: St, Bess & Beyond...

(((Seveen))), (((LulaBell)))

---------

Once our food arrived, the group of exhausted road warriors wanted nothing more than to get indoors. Much mention have been made of the heat, and this was no exaggeration. For all its beauty and the wonderful stuff we had seen over the two days, being outdoors was physically draining. The lady for whom this was her first time in JA was gamely hanging in there, and by this time, we all were. A couple of us had started to get sunburnt. Personally, I found out that as long as I kept moving I was alright. Once I sat down and the adrenaline subsided, it was like I needed a tow truck just to get me moving again [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif[/img]

I had ordered three festivals (I LOVE them!) but for some reason, the serving young lady with the most generous of smiles gave me five. Despite telling her I had only ordered three, she insisted I take the five. I wasn't going to argue, so smiling back at her, I took it. It had been a good day [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif[/img]

Despite everything, we left Little Ochie with a sense of contentment. It had been a long but very satisfying week, and tomorrow (Sunday) would be another long day. We would be splitting up for services in different Churches, some would have just one service, others would have two (morning and evening); it was important for us to be rested. With that thought on our minds we got into what was now our mobile sauna, and headed to Southfield. In the next update, I'll tell you about Tyrone, the young man I met.