We start a new day in Jamaica and wait at the door of the hotel for the arrival of the bus to Montego Bay. Once on the bus, we started our way to Montego Bay, also known as Mobay. I was able to enjoy the landscape that I already saw upon my arrival, but this time in broad daylight. And continuing with the tonic of the island, it turned out to be very beautiful and striking.
It was interesting to cross an area where suddenly we find huge houses, which could be considered mansions. These mansions belong to celebrities such as Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey, who come to this part of the island to spend their time in anonymity. The road is short between the hotel and Montego Bay, and without hardly realizing it we were already there.
We went to another hotel to pick up some colleagues and buy ice for the refrigerators. We begin the tour through the tourist streets of Mobay, heading towards our first destination of the day. We saw the Rastafarian community and at the entrance we met the hotel tour operator and some hotel guests, with whom we were going to share the visit.
We enter the community and a Rastafarian called First Man welcomes us and explains a series of rules that we must comply with. He warns about things like photos or videos. We could only take pictures of the landscape or ourselves, and not anything else or locals without permission.
Once those small points were cleared, he welcomed us again and began to tell us how the Rastafarian current arises and what it consists of. After that interesting introduction we left on foot towards the village. To get to the village we have to take a good walk. We have to cross a river on foot (before crossing it we have to give thanks to a goddess).
We continue with the walk among coconut trees and fruit trees, until you reach the entrance of the villa. Once inside, we receive the boss or the head of the village, and it is he who continues to educate us about the Rastafarian movement. I will not explain because it is very extensive and complex, while very interesting.
I recommend to everybody that you inform yourself a little about this topic because you will like it. They gave us coconut water. They said a phrase that is very beautiful that Coconut water is the only water that passes through the heart. After we split it in half and we could eat the coconut meat, just delicious.
Before getting further into the village, we purified ourselves in a garden that they have on entering. There was also a bonfire (where there is a Rastafarian there is always a fire) in which they threw coconut shell and gave off a very pleasant and very intense smell. Once purified, they went on to show us the fruits that were on the community land.
They gave us to eat pieces of fruit in a bowl made with half coconut and a tea of herbs good for digestion. The fruit was exquisite. What I liked the most was the banana, with an intense, very fruity and sweet flavor. Later they show us the labyrinth, and explain what it consisted of. They invited us to enter it and reflect on our life or on where we wanted to go. Then, we go to see the garden where they grow their medicinal plants, which they use as a way of prevention and not as a cure.
They had everything unimaginable, plants for all kinds of ailments, intense flavors (one tasted mint, good for breath). There was another very interesting called mimosa. When we touched the plant, the leaves get closed and the stems get marked. Actually the plant fell asleep and returned to its natural state after about 10 minutes. And of course, there is the incombustible plant of marijuana or ganja.
The Rasta woman stirred it a little and we cannot imagine the intense smell that came off, very intense. We finished the walk through the village and ended up in the big palapa, where we were singing Rastafarian songs to rhythms of drums and timbales, something very ethnic and very beautiful.
They thanked us for bothering to leave the comforts of the hotel, leave them aside and go to meet them, see how they lived and learn something of the Rastafarian culture. The visit to the Rasta village was very long, but very cultural and interesting. I learned many things.
After the visit to the community, we started the long road to Ocho Rios (Ochi for Jamaicans), with the inevitable visit to the Dunns River Falls. On the way to Ocho Ríos we stopped to eat. This was very clean and neat, beautiful and ready to receive the tourist.
They offered us to eat Jerk Chicken or Jerk Pork, and I chose the pork. Both the pork and the chicken was served accompanied by Festivals, which is a kind of fried bread making a bow. The truth is that it was all delicious, and as always, the ultra spicy jerk sauce!
After finishing the meal, we resumed the journey to Ocho Rios. This time I liked the landscape a little less. It was still nice, but I liked the interiors much more. We went almost all the way along the coast, seeing the sea. We passed through the Discovery Bay, until finally we reached Ocho Rios and went to the famous waterfalls of Dunns River Falls.
There were many Jamaicans spending the day in a picnic area on the beach. The waterfalls were longer than I thought. The water descended between the rocks to end up on the beach. We left everything inside the bus. When we arrive at the entrance to the waterfalls, a guide picks us up, who is the one to help us climb the waterfalls. We go down a corridor parallel to the waterfalls to the beach. Once down, the exciting and fun climb begins.
We climbed among the rocks, refreshing ourselves with the cold waters that descended with great force. During the climb we found some natural pools among the rocks. The ascent was really fun. At first, I was not very attracted to the idea of visiting the Dunns. Everyone said that they are very crowded and there are always many groups of hikers.
As we arrived almost at the last minute, we were practically the only ones making the ascent, which allowed us to enjoy it to the fullest. Once refreshed, we went to the craft market of Ocho Rios to make purchases and souvenirs. We buy everything from dreadlocks (tams), wood carvings, Bob Marley backpacks, to paintings. There are countless things.
The night was falling, and it was time to return to the hotel. It was the moment just to make the visit to the Glistening Waters, or what is the same, the Luminous Lagoon. Glistening Waters is located in Falmouth. It is a lagoon that connects with the sea, and they have set up a restaurant. We arrived at the terrace of the restaurant, where the jetty is located, and while we waited for the boat to be ready we were invited to a drink.
We embark and enter the lagoon in the most complete darkness of the night. We were discussing the phenomenon that occurs in that lagoon (and that only occurs in 3 other places in the world). The phenomenon is due to a microorganism that lives in the water and that during the day captures the light and at night, with the movement of the water, it detaches it (as if it were a firefly). It is still unknown why this phenomenon occurs.
We started to get a little deeper and the water began to shine, to give off a blue neon color. It really is a completely amazing thing. It is one of the most beautiful and interesting things. We could see the fish swimming in the darkness because of the trail of light they left behind. The most apotheosical moment was when we threw ourselves from the boat, and see our body surrounded by that beautiful light. We get out of the water and see ourselves covered by a layer of light.
It is a pity that it is so difficult to capture the effect in a photo, and practically impossible to record it in video. Once the bath is over, we continue back to the hotel, to rest for the next day, with the memory of the water shining in the mind, and the back full of memories of Ocho Rios. We arrived at the hotel and had just enough time to shower, change our clothes, go to dinner at the Asian restaurant, have a few drinks at the bar.
There was a stage with a reggae band playing, as always Bob Marley songs. In the end, we cheered and ended up dancing reggae in front of the stage. With that beautiful ending that was going to be our farewell to Jamaica. Jamaica loved us, and we loved her.
