“Dis isa good one”
My Reech Falls Story
March 22nd, 2006
The Day started with a bang at the window. A local Rasta had shown up at about 6:30 AM to deliver the wrong fruits I ordered the day before. Unfortunately he banged on the window in Kacia and Stephie room instead of mine. Startling them out of their sleep, and sent me scrambling for my keys. I was actually awake and was reading some scripture that morning, so I was able reduce the amount of terror they had dramatically.
We had decided the night before that our trek would start from the house in Duncans and take us around the island to Kingston where our host Ruddy awaited. I was more inclined to cut strait through the center of the island and save about 6 hours off of roads I had never driven on. Ms. Stephanie insisted that we were going to hit up a few sights along the north east coast of Jamaica so I obliged. After we packed up and grabbed some fruit, we were on our way. Again, if you are just joining this blog, Stephie was my German navigator and Kacia was our backseat DJ. (This is day 1 to a 3 day trip around Jamaica, please Pelican Bar blog for day 2)
Our first stop was Fern Gully. The lonely planet guide stated that their were over 600 hundred different types of ferns alive in that ecosystem. I have always been told it was over 2000!! Jamaicans can dream I guess… We shot through the gully and noticed the brakes were grinding now worse than ever. Fern gully is a straight shot to Kingston and my instinct told me to head that direction. I did not want not be a party pooper and felt we should just go…what ever happens will happen!!
After Fern Gully we continued north along the cost seeing the most amazing scenery. Jamaica is truly a beautiful country. It is sad to see the disparity in the faces of its citizens as they rarely get to appreciate God’s gorgeous creation. I guess they are no different than any of us though who take things for granted!
Our next stop was in Anutta Bay. This is where my mother was born and is a few miles from where my grandma lives. (See my Granny’s Story blog) After a quick hello, we continued to our first real destination, “Somerset Falls.”
Somerset Falls is a lesser-known tourist spot, but offers a unique experience. I was still a bit edgy as I was wading in uncharted regions of Jamaica for me. I had a cell phone, but if anything went wrong, it would not take long for the sharks to smell blood. I had to relax and let go. I did not want to ruin the adventure for Stephie and Kacia, but my angst was evident. I reluctantly agreed to go on the tour and leave the car in the unmanned parking area. The tour consisted of a boat tour guide who took us along a sequence of waterfalls. For the adventurers, you can swim portions of the tour, but over all it does not pack the same excitement punch of Dunn’s River Falls. They do have an interesting nature trail and offer a great reception area for those of you interested in something different.
After a Somerset we were back on the road. We had a quick lunch in Port Antonio and we off to the famous Blue Lagoon. Again on the way we witnessed the most breathtaking sights sites as we navigated our way up the coast. The Blue & John Crows Mountains painted a picturesque background for our coastal jaunt. The Blue Lagoon was featured in that 80’s movie with Brook Shields. It has now become a tourist trap of a grand scale. What is a natural mystery has become a national misery as tourist are constantly panhandled by locals for everything. I refused to leave the car and let Kacia and Steph snap pictures for me. I did not get the good vibes I had been feelin for the majority of the trip after Somerset and saw what these guys were up too.
The next stop was Long Bay Beach. This is the top surf destination in Jamaica and I immediately knew why. Upon arrival the waves here were 3 to 4 feet higher than anywhere else we had visited, and this was a calm day. The beach was amazing because of the waves and yellow/white sand combination. I really recommend this spot for anyone who wants a great beach adventure without all of the traditional tourist haggles. The local were friendly and the area is quiet and remote.
Our final stop was a place called Reech Falls. My spider senses went haywire as we drove deeper and deeper in what seemed to be a jungle. Even our Lonely Planet guidebook was very vague on a true description of this place as Stephie told us. In the spirit of adventure though we pressed on. My new fear was now the ever diminishing sunlight and our 2 ½ hour trek to Kingston we had ahead. It was already 5pm and I was having serious doubts about ability to navigate in the dark. We were off the beaten path were very few local travel nevertheless tourist. One wrong turn and we would just end up on the back of a milk carton somewhere. We ventured onward.
Upon arrival to Reech, it was worse than I thought. There are no facilities. The road was blocked off and you are forced to park in a make shift lot. The “tours” for these excursions are done by locals. Nothing official or legitimate was in sight…what have we gotten into I thought, if ever there was a time to break out, this was it. I smiled as we got out of the car I expected my female companions to catch the same vibe I was and quickly dart out of Dodge like nothing happened. (Never doubt the will of a determined German!!) Stephie had her mind set. We were going to do this even if it meant life and limb. Again, I conceded and quoted “We made it this far”. We changed as our tour guided ditched his bike behind some woods. He explained to us that it would be a 30 min hike up the falls and 30 min back down….”RIGGGGHHHHTTT” That little voice inside of me now had a megaphone and was using it to bash me over the head repeatedly. I put up another objection based on the sake of time but my request was overruled. We were doing this come hell or high-water!!
Our hike began as we traveled up a remote path. We did not see any other tourist or locals here.(which would have been a refreshing sight.) In the back of my mind, I had this music playing….chhhhhhh….ahhhhhhhhh…killllllllllll..chhhhhhhhh…..I shook it off and followed behind our guide hesitantly. At any moment we could have been took, an I would not have been surprised. I did not know what to think. I brought my camaera and cell phone just incase things got shaky…at least I could use those to barter for our lives. At the top of our hike our guide got more and more friendly. I actually started to relax until he told me to leave me bag and camera on the ground…..”RRIGGGHHHHHTTTT…UMMMMM….NO!” I am a sucker??. Leave it on the ground, then he said he would take pictures of us as we came down??? “Come Again??…Come down what” After a few unenthusiastic glances at my travel partners, I handed over my camera and travel bag. I could not believe this was happening.
We climbed up a set of rocks. He explained that we would crawl down this hole and then swim under. He showed up by example and then helped us in… (this is where the story gets weird) Once we climbed in we witnessed something that was unbelievable. It was like a manmade Jacuzzi with jets coming in every direction. It felt so amazing and was well needed at the time to reduce the tension. Our guide told us to stand in an area when he whipped out my digital camera!! “Um Sir…that probably should not get wet” I said...”Yes, mon yes mon, it aright” He snapped a shot on told us to swim under… the rocks!!
As we surfaced we were back on the other side of the rocks we had just climbed. This was turning out to be pretty cool. Our guide was legit, and we made the most of it. The hike down was half in water half on land. We swam great portions of it including two amazing dive points. The first dive point was of a small set of rocks. Our guide was there every step of the way capturing these moments like a professional photographer, and the entire trip not one drop of water touched me camera. (Boy did my feet taste bad!!!) He was a true professional as he took his time helping us along the way and showing us some really cool spots. The last dive was a doozy. It was probably on 10 –12 feet high, but it seemed like a leap of death. Not only were we jumping into the water, but also we were jumping over some rocks. Steph volunteered to go first. 1…2…3…Jump…No jump!! Kacia steps up!! 1 ….2…3…Jump….No Jump!! Then it was my turn. Our guide had already demonstrated the proper technique, and came back up to get the camera. After a brief, delay, I decided to finally put on a pair of “man” pants that I had back in Duncans. I jumped.
Shooting up from the water I felt like Mark Spitz in all his Olympic glory. Sure I did not win anything, and only 3 other people observed my squirmy dive, but we had conquered more fears than I could conceive on this little adventure. The ladies followed suit jumping in. Stephie was last to go and I caught it on video!!
Before we left we were all ecstatic. I snapped a picture of our tour guide with the ladies. I asked him to take one more picture of us with Reech Falls in the background. After snapping the photo he replied. “Did isa gooog one.”
As darkness began to fall and we were going to the car, suddenly my initial fears had departed. Time had no power over us and we were enlightened. Our spirits were high, we paid our guide double the suggested amount in Lonely Planet and he provided us with some star apples and fresh coconuts to drink on our trek to Kingston. We even bought a little breathing toy from the Rasta who was hanging out aimlessly by the car. This was an adventure like non other!
The sun was in its last hour and we had to reach the eastern most portion of the island. We blazed a path along the coast and by sundown we were well on our way through the eastern banana plantations and heading on a straight shot to Kingston. Once we got to Kingston it was dark and I ironically got very lost. I called our host Ruddy and we met him at a local shopping plaza. We were all tired but still puzzled on how the day we had would be retold to family and friends upon our returns. So many times you hear a story and the person says, “You just had to be there!” For this case, I can’t imagine that these words do justice to our trip!!
With all the lessons I learned on my trip to Jamaica my trip to Reech Falls stands out as a reminder that you should never judge a book by its cover. Following your instincts can sometimes make you miss out on the greatest adventure of all…. Life!!
