Jamaica in a week

December 16, 2005
6:03 AM -- Traveling Insomniacs

It has almost been 2 days since I’ve left home in Burnaby. Work, dinner at parents, a pick up of a dump load of gifts and a night stay with Aunt Beth and Uncle Ernie in Seattle made way for a relatively smooth travel thus far to Philly city of dumpy airports, pricey food and brotherly loving Marriott security guards.

A couple of notables of the trip would include:
n Seattle rush hour surprises with Aunt Beth
n “Damn foreigners” guy in boarding tunnel
n Seat 19C and the crusty Canadian
n Scoring 47 of 50 in the name the state and 82% accuracy in "place the state"
n Figuring out how to transport 200+ pounds of luggage being too cheap to rent a cart
n Staying up all night talking to Bev from Penn State,
n Bob “Here comes trouble” the dancing security guard
n No sleep (mind is slow but still there, I hope)
n Navigating the airport which was masterminded by an architect with ADD or no concept that people would like to transfer from domestic to international
n The overwhelming no sleep adrenaline rush of “Where is my passport?!?” ANS: in the one pocket of my 4 bags in didn’t security at 5AM.
n Hanging out with Nat (not writing this only because she is reading over my shoulder right now)
n The spiritual encounters and conversations over the course of the trip thus far

T – 5 hours until Emese time!



December 19, 2005
12:03 AM – Crafty Marketers Present and Manic Taxi Drivers Present…

Over a third of my way through my Jamaican adventure knowing the remaining portions will fly by just as quickly.

The Airport in Jamaica was incredibly smooth, maybe it was bad because of my past experiences or just that I was bracing for the worst.

What a delight to see Em’s face light-up as Nat and I past through the line of taxi drivers. Between sharing stories and updates I found myself taking in my surroundings. Jamaica was far more “developed” than I had originally expected, a nation evidently living off of the tit of its frivolous neighbors to the north (I ain’t talking about Cuba).

*ASIDE*
Jamaicans top three industries are:
1) Tourism
2) Bauxite (Unprocessed Aluminum)
3) Money Transfers – forget the official name people working outside of the country sending money to support family and friends.

I know this is supposed to be a relaxing mind numbing vacation but I just don’t do that well. I have trouble lying to myself. I get lied to enough already. To really experience a culture and environment you need to escape the walls of the resorts and no exception is found here in Jamaica.

On the outskirts of the resorts are the smoother and politer than the Gambian bumsters. The locals have already pulled me into buying some generic hand made crafts (which are suspiciously similar to those of any other developing world craft shops) and being a more affluent society they can clean any green out of your pocket lining better than a jug of Tide ultra with bleach.

Sorry, I really shouldn’t be that bitter about it, my pride just hurts to know that I have been had. Sometimes I wish I was just ignorant and could let it all fly over my head.

But then it occurs to me these people live like this because their options in life are few. I’m quite sure they enjoy tactfully selling me stuff as much as I like buying it. They need to eat just as much as I do and I have always been fortunate not to ever need to worry about it. But enough about this, I’m moving on…

The first night we arrived they had their Christmas banquet. A great crash course to the things that have been going on in an introduction to the students and staff. The group here is quite diverse. Students range from green out of high school to 40 year old mothers of two, Island locals to Germans. The randomness is quite something. It is also one of the first Christian banquets were alcohol was on tap… no doubt from an orange Gatorade cooler labeled with messy enough handwriting to allow literate children to drink it with a clean consciousness.

Being too tired to endure the entire nights randomness I had to retire. I woke up to discover the night had concluded with a marriage proposal involving Shania Twain. After of brief period of morning the loss of such a social experience, we grabbed a cab and headed off to the tourist beach. Apparently the YWAM crew only goes to this beach to avoid dangers and hassles of the other beaches. For the $2.5US fee you receive limited security and some floaty trampolines planted out in the water.

On the return we walked through the local’s district of Mo-Bay to get some groceries. Crowded streets, dancing vendors and load distorted music brought me to a flashback of Gambia with a modern sophistication. Everyone seems to think Jamaicans are laid back, a Gambian could make a Jamaican look like a workaholic with a stress problem.

We even had a taxi driver turn on us. First he wanted to marry Em then Nat, then he couldn’t stop cursing us as he went back on the clearly agreed upon price. Really a standard bill to run into in these countries, however, I had never experienced a man turn so quickly and harshly. The situation never got out of hand but it sure wasn’t pretty. Poor Em was shaken an embraced that we had to experience the whole deal, however, I’m glad I did. It was a sobering reminder of the challenges that she faces on a daily bases just to live here. The very people she has a heart to help are trying to degrade and wrong her. It would so easy to develop a hatred towards such people, Em prays for them.


December 23, 2005
7:30PM --- Flying Jamaican Style

Well, the last 5 hours have almost spawned a Christmas special (I’ll make it home for Christmas. It all started when I checked our fight 4 hours before it was scheduled to leave.

“Flight not found” replied the website.

Hmmm. Lets try that again.

That is funny the only flight leaving with US Airways is leaving in 20 mins. There must be a mistake… And just guess where that mistake was, our itinerary. Starting with a small panic a few calls it quickly grew into a mad dash to the Mo-Bay Airport at 2:20PM to catch a flight to Charlotte NC the last US Airways fight out today. Arriving at 2:45PM they refused to hold the plane for Nat, myself and two other travelers. The plane left at 3:20PM. The next hour was spent trying to contact a our travel agent (who conveniently closes at 3:30PM) we also discovered that toll free numbers don’t work in airports. All the numbers we had where toll free.

While I was looking at every possible flight to the states .Nat was amazing and somehow remember her CIBC work number in Vancouver and got on the phone to some one who could ‘help’.

“Get yourself home honey”

Air Jamaica was the choice: $550US each for a one way to Philly @ 6PM (same cost as our entire trip. The plan is to catch our next flight with US Airways out of Philly. So, that leaves us here in the airport waiting for the pilots to get flown in from Kingston. The board has it slated to leave close to 8:45PM now.


December 24, 2005
1:06AM -- Back at the Marriott

Flight from MO-Bay was nice and empty; two meals, a row of seats all to me, and a live safety presentation.

Figure I should catch up on the last week of adventure.

Tuesday we squished on a bus to Negril via Whithorn. My first winding mountain road experience was mild in comparison to ones to come, however, concerns of safety always take a back seat to the simple pleasure of riding with the locals. Squeezing thought narrow passes, climbing over meadows of sugar cane and crossing rocky streams of white Toyota van was determined to overcome the thrill and beauty of a Disneyland Ride.

At Negril we stopped at Rick Café. A tourist trap built around a picturesque ocean coastline with a lighthouse and cliffs to jump off of. The big one for the locals was a 37ft platform. The lifeguard/drive team however would climb another 30-40ft to a plank sitting in the trees overhanging the cove. Depending on the tip they would do handstands and pull-ups in the branches before gracefully dropping to the waters below.

The water was clear and inviting on such a warm day. With each jump the mind and body would fly deeper into the arms of the blue. Before we knew it we were calling a cab to take the coastline 130Km/h taxi drive to Lucea where we caught a bus to Reading for some delicious home made pizza.

The plan for the next day was to head towards Blue Mountain. The Island’s highest peak 7402 ft above the ocean.

This trip for me was the highlight of the trip. No doubt the most uncomfortable and scariest traveling I have experienced and I don’t get spooked very easily. Blind downhill corners with cliffs on either side got the adrenaline going enough to forget I had a 35 pound pack on my lap. After a mild city bus ride to Picatine then squished into a hot mountain going van heading for Mavis bank. At this stage we almost lost Nat, she was really close to having a nervous breakdown. I was far behind until we started over into the blue mountain range.

The beauty and wonder of the valley surpassed the pain of my legs contorted legs and soft head hitting the ceiling. 30 mins later we were told to get to out at the police station to meet Gerome from Montreal who quickly became a traveling partner.

T.B.C. need to sleep.

December 24, 2005
9:55AM EST Somewhere over the Midwest – More Blue Mountain


We decided to hire a 4x4 to carry us to Whitfield leaving us with a shorter hike. After a couple hours of waiting a Toyota pickup shows up along with Andy the Rasta and Nicolas the European tourist whose mind had turned to glue. The Rastas were staying the night in Whitfield so we pressed on to the Ranger station. The hike was scenic with views of the surrounding peaks and vistas into the lightly populated valleys below.

We were greeted at the ranger station by 6 local teenagers wielding big knives and machetes. Unsure what to make of our situation, we thankfully discovered they were boy (and one girl) scoots. I played card games with them and later we tried to build a fire with the moist wood we could find as it was quite cold this high in the mountains.

We left camp at 2AM after an hour or so of actual sleep. The goal was to watch the sunrise from the summit. Hiking by headlamp we arrived at the summit and huddled awaiting the sun’s arrival. It was a little cloudy and so we were unable to see Cuba however the view was incredible.

At 7AM we packed up and headed home, all the way. We manage to run into the ranger who called for another ride. Then we hitch a ride in the back of a pickup said our goodbyes to Gerome (a real treat to have along) then jumped on a city to catch a overcrowded Juta bus back to Mo-Bay. We were spent.

The next day we decided to take it easy and got a ride from Dave and Debbie to Ocho Rios to be tourists for a day which included dinner at a nice restaurant a despite the rain it was a real nice way to cap off the trip. On drive back we reminisced about adventures of the past and talk with Em about things at the base.

All-in-all the trip was an amazing experience and a real blessing for the three of us. Not restful physically but maybe more so spiritually. Right now both Nat and I are exhausted (as you can most likely tell from my unexciting writing) sleep has been illusive. But I’m going to start trying for some so I can drive home safely for Christmas. :o)


Post note:

Nat and I blew a tire on our way home. Big thanks to Wallmart for being open Christmas eve and selling tires.


Pics -> http://www.flickr.com/photos/20559662@N00/79451041/in/photostream/