St. Bess - The Return

[gullygirl]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

nice!.. very nice..

awesome pictures and report..

[QK13]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

Great report CEW.

Love the sunrise photos.

Love the story about the flood in the hotel. Something I'm sure I would have enjoyed. Just another adventure and a tale to tell.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: gullygirl</div><div class="ubbcode-body">nice!.. very nice..

awesome pictures and report.. </div></div>
Thank you; glad to have you along.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Q.K</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Great report CEW.

Love the sunrise photos.

Love the story about the flood in the hotel. Something I'm sure I would have enjoyed. Just another adventure and a tale to tell. </div></div>
Thanks Q.K! Thanks for dropping in.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

I had spent the morning packing, but there was one other thing I needed to do - I had a hill to climb. Some of the hotel workers had to do it to and from work, and seeing it every day challenged me. I had tried it before, with a backpack on, and at about noon, but only made it half-way This time I was determined to do it before the sun came out, so at about 7:00 I headed out and conquered that hill I did It wasn't as bad as I thought initially, but at least I had done it, and I felt rejuvenated. Life was good

Last year, MarieK (I think) asked about the Ocean View Bible Camp. This year, it was a stone's throw from the hotel, close enough that every day I could hear the laughter and noise coming from the camp buildings.


At 9:30, after exchanging goodbyes, the other team members left out. Checkout was at 11:00, and expecting my ride to Kingston to be there at that time, I settled in the lobby, exchanging pleasantries with the hotel staff. But this was Jamaica, where time is often a relative thing, and where &quot;I'll soon be there&quot; is also a relative statement. Sort of like someone saying such-and-such-a-place is &quot;around the corner&quot;. Well, on the Rock, 'around the corner' could be several miles and many corners later \0/ An hour passed, then two, and finally sometime after 1:00 p.m., my brother and sister bounded in. I love them dearly, which might explain why I momentarily forgot how long I had waited. We greeted warmly, a few quick introductions to a couple of the hotel staff, then we headed out. They knew I wanted to stop by Coyaba Gardens in Ocho Rios, but I had no idea how adventurous it would be getting there.

But first things first, I needed to eat! Hoping to have breakfast with them, I hadn't eaten, so it was a quick stop in Junction for more Chinese Food; this time, take out.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

Parting shots. For those of you who can remember my '07 experience taking some pics under a window, well, the same thing happened here as well. Must be something extremely amorous about the morning air in St. Bess









And of course, a couple of the Caribbean Sea. Here it looked much different after the tropical depression.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

Apparently, getting from Southfield to Ocho Rios is not as straightforward as I would have thought. I don't recall all the different places we went through, but what intrigued me somewhat was the absence of signage. &quot;Where are the signs?&quot; I kept on asking, which would be met with laughter from my siblings. Actually, there were signs, but all the ones I saw were pointing to where we were coming from! Well, what about where we were going???

Asking for directions was an interesting experience. We were in Alexandria (I think), and my brother pulled over and asked a young man how we could get to Coyaba Gardens in Ocho Rios. Thanks to a Jamaican dictionary I bought in the 'bookstore' at YS Falls, the conversation went something like this:

<span style="font-weight: bold">Young man:</span> Boss, yuh nuh deh anywhere near desso. Tun 'roun and goh dung a di junction, then goh up di hill and follow deh road deh. Yah go look fi go a Browns Town.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Brother:</span> Thanks man, nuh seh nutten.

I thought the guy was being helpful, so after we turned around I asked my brother why he had spoken to him like that. He laughed, and my sister explained that &quot;nuh seh nutten&quot; actually meant &quot;No need to say anything more, I got it&quot;! How the heck would I know that??? The phrase wasn't even in my dictionary!

Anyways, we did as the guy said and after driving a while, we came to a fork in the road. Again, signs pointing to where we were coming from, none to where we were going. Which way to Browns Town??? We pulled up to a group of elderly men at a shop and before we could finish the sentence, they all pointed right. No words exchanged, nothing, just fingers pointing. Sheesh, I guess people were expected to intituitively know not to stay left \0/

After quite sometime, we finally got into Ochi Rios. None of us knew exactly where the Gardens were, so again we had to get some directions. The first couple of people didn't know, then we pulled up to bus stop where a couple of young ladies in business attire stood. Rolling down the window, I made eye contact with one of them. This was the gist of the conversation:

<span style="font-weight: bold">Me:</span> Hi there, do you know how we can get to Coyaba Gardens?
<span style="font-weight: bold">She:</span> &lt;coming closer&gt; Where?
<span style="font-weight: bold">Me:</span> Coyaba Gardens. We're trying to get there. Do you know where it is?
<span style="font-weight: bold">She:</span> &lt;looking perplexed&gt; Mi don' andastand. Where you want to go?
<span style="font-weight: bold">My brother:</span> &lt;a little loudly&gt; Koyahba! Koyahba Gawd'n. Yuh kno' weh it deh?
<span style="font-weight: bold">She:</span> &lt;the lightbulb went off&gt; Oh, no. You haffi ask one of the taxi driva dem.

As we drove off, both brother and sister were laughing their heads off, but I wasn't amused. I said: &quot;What did you say that I didn't? I asked her the same question!&quot; Sister: &quot;Yuh sound too Canadian!&quot; I resolved there and then that I wasn't asking for anymore directions. From here onwards, they were the ones that would do the talking

More later...

[Q3210]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

Yu funny bad. It`s Ka-yah-ba Gah-dens yu did deh ah aks about.

&quot;Whey yu seh?&quot;

Cuh-yah-ba Gaw-dins yu mean.

[wandaweberg]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

CEW!!! lovely - thank you!

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Q3210</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Yu funny bad. It`s Ka-yah-ba Gah-dens yu did deh ah aks about.

&quot;Whey yu seh?&quot;

Cuh-yah-ba Gaw-dins yu mean. </div></div>
Aye sah... every time I remember that episode, I don't know if I should laugh or cry

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: WandabeinJa</div><div class="ubbcode-body">CEW!!! lovely - thank you! </div></div>Thanks, Wanda. Good to see you

[evanovitch]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

CEW CEW CEW, u aigght u hear mi...all di bit bout di outside movie theatre is so welcome to hear...come bak to wen we use fi rent flim from Regal an show a country....ah sah,u done good wid dis report...fi real

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">CEW CEW CEW, u aigght u hear mi...all di bit bout di outside movie theatre is so welcome to hear...come bak to wen we use fi rent flim from Regal an show a country....ah sah,u done good wid dis report...fi real </div></div>
Thanks, Vannie I'm trying to remember, wasn't there a drive-in theater somewhere in Kingston back in the early 80s?

[Q3210]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

The 1st Drive-In dated back from the 60s. The Boulevard Drive-In was located on the Washington Boulevard.

Afterwards came the Harbour View Drive-In which I think is still in operation, though not sure.

[Diplomat]

Re: St. Bess - The Return

Monday afternoon. So now we were in Ochi Rios trying to find the Gardens. We finally found someone who knew where it was, and despite the drive taking its toll, we were in good spirits. The road leading to Coyaba Gardens is not the best, but we bumped and humped our way along, finally seeing signs that were pointing to where we were going. At about 5:20 we turned a corner and there it was, the one place I really, really wanted to see



I had one concern however; there was only one car in the parking lot. Mmmm.... Not good, I thought. We parked, got out, and my sister went over to talk to the only worker that was standing nearby. Camera in hand, I started looking around; the place was beautiful. It was quiet, and there was enough light to last at least the next couple of hours. A photographer's dream. I noticed Sis was looking a bit distressed, and as I walked towards her and the worker, she spoke words that just about broke my heart: &quot;They're closed&quot;. I was shocked ! Looking at the man I asked, &quot;What do you mean closed? Isn't this a tourist attraction?&quot; Official closing time was 5:00 p.m. \0/ He was willing to show me around, but his drive would be there shortly. I felt like all the grace that was deposited in me during the week of meetings had started to leak out. &quot;Lord, give me strength&quot; I mumbled My personal mantra kicked in: when life gives you a lemon, make lemonade; no point in complaining about it. I quickly realized I could get as much pictures as I could while he was waiting. So while Sis and the man talked, my brother and I made our way into the Gardens. I had to be quick, but having come this far for this moment, I wouldn't be denied. I would take what I could get.