2002 was our second trip to Jamaica. We went there in 1998 with my whole family; Dad and Mom who were on their 50th wedding anniversary, my two brothers and a sister and their families, me and my son Simon and Robin, who I wed while there. In all we were 10 adults and 5 kids.

While there we at stayed the Hanover House at Round Hill. This mansion located high on the mountainside above the Great River about 7 miles west of Montego Bay was a wonderful place with 360 degree views and a huge private pool. The house had a "live in" staff and their families. We had our own driver and he took us over to Negril and back across the mountains, and ferried some of the group to Dunns River Falls and the Martha Brae River. We all had a wonderful time!

Naturally when our thoughts turned to a new trip for my fiftieth birthday we remembered the island fondly, and we decided to go back, and this time to get a little more "out on the island" as they say. It was September when we started looking. We searched the internet to find someone who could give us advice for doing what we had decided to attempt, which was to hike and camp on the top of the highest mountain in Jamaica, Blue Mountain Peak at 7400 ft. We had seen that this could be done through a couple of articles in Backpacker Magazine several years ago and now we were set on doing it ourselves.

Information was sparse, but it was "out there". We did find a few outfits offering trips to the summit, but all either were much too expensive or failed to respond, all except one. That was the proprietor of Silver Sand's wonderful website at Silver-Sands.com. Prem responded via e-mail that he had gone to the peak several times in earlier years but hadn't been there in decades, and that he had placed the bit about a Blue Mountain Expedition on his page because of his interest in possibly going again. Alas he needed six people to justify the trip and split expenses, and he had had no other interested parties.

Undeterred, we decided to "go it alone". We found information placed on Mountain Biker sites about Blue Mountain Peak, it seems those guys go anywhere for a good "single track" ride! These little travelogues gave us a good idea of what the trail was like. We read several other accounts from visitors to the two lodges / hostels that are near the summit, and those were discouraging, and just a bit scary, but still the adventure seemed "do-able". We discovered we could book a "bunk" at Whitfield Hall, and summit the peak from there, and that they would pick us up and bring us up the mountain roads in a four wheel drive vehicle from Mavis Bank as part of the price (around $15 - $20 per person + meals). If we should elect to stay in a tent instead of our bunk? "No problem man". When we asked about camping on the summit we drew long silences and some "don't know" responses. I guess that's what adventure is all about.

Now we began the process of determining how to get to this little dot on our new road map of Jamaica, Mavis Bank. Buses run there, but we decided we weren't that adventurous, we looked into renting a car, but our previous experience being driven around in Jamaica had left us unprepared to fight the narrow roads, left hand driving and heavy traffic. Our best price tickets we found on Travelocity ($390 each) were to Montego Bay (Mobay), the opposite side of the island from Mavis Bank, so we searched for drivers that might take us and pick us up at Mavis Bank from Mobay. We soon discovered that drivers on the north coast would rather "take a beating" than drive to Kingston, something unavoidable when going to Mavis Bank from Mobay. We now contacted Prem once again to see if he could help arrange transportation, and this time we decided to look at Silver Sands as a destination in itself. What a lucky decision that turned out to be!

Our original idea had been to circumnavigate the eastern end of the island, to go east from Mobay along the coast all the way through Ocho Rios and past Port Antonio and around to Kingston and Mavis Bank. We found no options for doing this without renting a car ourselves. We looked at going to Kingston and staying there, but Kingston is a scary place in many ways and we wanted to get in some beach time, not really why one goes to Kingston. At last we looked at various places on the north coast. There are many options, from all-inclusives to large hotels, to small inns and bed and breakfast type establishments. We quickly lost interest in the all-inclusives (like Sandals, Beaches or the more localized and quaint Starfish etc) and the big Hotels. The little Inns looked neat, but transportation was a problem.

Silver Sands offered an alternative, a rental property, our own "cottage by the sea". They offered pick up and return transportation to Mobay and other transportation packages for guests. It wasn't long looking through the extensive selection of properties available on that wonderful web site before we fell in love with a cottage called the Nutshell.

Not only was the price excellent for our tight budget, but the house included (as all Silver Sands properties do) a housekeeper / cook. This meant we could avoid expensive restaurant food by buying groceries at the market and having home cooked meals prepared for us, all in the "down home" Jamaican way. Now that's a wonderful treat we had come to love at Hanover House. Silver Sands was also far from the tourist centers and crowds. It didn't take long for us to decide and determine to make Silver Sands the "home base" for our adventure.

That decided, we still were working on transportation. Prem said that normally none of his drivers were willing to go to Kingston, but he agreed to speak to some of his "more flexible" drivers to see what could be arranged. That's where we left it for a month or so, but then Prem e-mailed back to say he had considered the whole thing, and since he would be in Jamaica the same week we were there (he lives near Bristol in England), he was wondering if we would like to split the costs with him and he go with us to Blue Mountain Peak. We jumped excitedly at the opportunity to go with somebody who had been there before! Now all was set.

We gathered our gear, decided on what to take and prepared as we counted the weeks, and then the days and finally the hours until departure. With an ice storm looming on the weather reports just ahead we took off from home at 6AM on Dec 3rd and flew to Charlotte where we changed planes and headed for Montego Bay.

>> The following input on my PDA done "live" at the time

Jamaica again! 5:00 PM Dec 3d

The first indication that we were back in this wonderful land of fantasy was at the immigration gate. The man ahead of us in line was standing with a girl from New York (complete with a stud in her nose). When called for her turn to present a passport the official asked if she was with the man, and she said "heavens no". At that point our fellow traveler turned to me and said that his wife wouldn't like them trying to "hook them up". When his turn came at the counter he repeated the sentiment to the official who at first had no idea what he was talking about. As realization dawned on her she laughed and passed the man through. Robin and I then approached and I made comment that the fellow before was a "character". Her reply was that he was must be a "hillbilly". I asked where he was from, and she looked back through the forms and said North Carolina. I suggested that this was "my neck of the woods" and she just smiled and decided to let another "hillbilly" pass.

The ride from Montego Bay

Trish (Trusha) and Michael picked us up at immigration after we were motioned on through customs with hardly a glance, although the mostly disinterested official asked us what was in the bags to which Robin replied camping equipment and back packs. He said "pass through" so quickly I didn't even hear him and was ready to resort to a lengthy explanation. It wasn't needed.

After leaving the busy airport we told our escorts we wanted to stop for essentials (red stripe and rum) so we stopped at the grocery and bought four six packs and a liter for $21. Change was 700 j dollars.

After a typically hair-raising adventure up the coast road past the multitude of all inclusives and then through the back streets of Falmouth, all claustrophobically hemmed in by ancient rock walls, we arrived, down a particularly pot holed and rural side road, at Silver Sands.

At several points along the way cows ventured into the road and Trish informed us that cows in the road were called "true Christians" because they "never turned back". When a goat later ventured in our path, and a quick blow of the horn caused his retreat I suggested that goats might be called "backsliders".

Settling in 8:00 PM Dec 3d

We spent a while looking around Silver Sands. The house was wonderful, I told Robin it reminded me of a beach house like the family used to rent at North Myrtle beach in the sixties. A high ceiling and jalousie windows were complimented by a hot tub on the front porch next to a nice umbrella table and surrounded by a garden of tropical plants and flowers.

The beach was directly across the narrow drive and the surf on the white sand rolled in providing a wonderful and relaxing backdrop for our vacation. We walked out to a gazebo from which the sunset was magnificent. After dark we returned to the house.

>>

When we entered, the aroma of chicken & rice filled the kitchen. The house's cook had left us Fricassee Chicken with rice and fried plantains. It was so wonderful to have a home cooked meal waiting for us. We didn't have to "dress" for dinner we just set the table on the porch with the settings that were on the table in the dining area. As we were eating we were joined by two cute little kitties. They are calico/Persian with blue eyes & beige blonde with short hair. They enjoyed the chicken with us.

>> By Robin

We spent hours in the hot tub before bed. All night the tree frogs serenaded us while the surf pounded the darkened shoreline.

Morning has broken ... 6:00 AM Dec 4th

I was up before daylight and soon was followed by Robin. We walked back out to the gazebo to watch the sunrise and it was spectacular.

Shortly we went exploring, across Silver Sands and out the security gate we went, down the road to the public beach. Here was a collection of small huts, each with a proprietor standing by each door.

Here at the fisherman's beach we met Sonny. Sonny is a twenty something carver and general businessman. He has the first hut on the left as you get down to the beach. In the hut of Sonny you'll find a wide variety of face carvings, fish and walking sticks rendered in a multitude of woods (he says he doesn't do the ever popular giraffe seen in most roadside stalls, but he did eventually show us an elephant he was working on). One walking stick with three faces embedded attracted my attention, it turned out to be ebony, and it weighed about 10 lbs at least!

For several hours we hung out at Sonny's. We met his brother, his cousin and several neighboring entrepreneurs. A grey-bearded man was busy behind the hut with a fire and so I wandered back to see what was up. Cansell was cooking fish dumplings which he offered up to me in a bowl made from a gourd. The taste was excellent, but I wasn't prepared for the bones in the fish, so I spent a while picking them from my teeth. I was kidding around and in jest asked him if he was a Rasta man. He proudly whipped off his hat and his three foot long dreadlocks fell across his shoulders. "Yah mon" he exclaimed.

At about that time the skies opened up and a short period of intense rain began. We took shelter in Sonny's hut and while the rain pounded the tin roof, and I told the captive audience of my Grandmom's carving. They had never heard of "folk", Robin had to spell it for them, and I tried to explain that such arts as carving were considered the traditional but disappearing skills of a bygone time.

Sonny was particularly impressed when I told him how Grandmom and I would walk through the woods when I was a boy, and she would spy a piece of wood and tell me things like "I see a bear in there". He delighted in my telling him how Momma Dot said carving was the act of "freeing" the occupant of the wood for all to see. He said that was exactly how it is for him.

After the rain I spoke with John for a while. He was a man of fifty, over six feet tall with a sparse and graying beard and a huge stocking cap on his head. He told me he was a Rastafarian and he extolled the virtues of his vegetarianism. "No beef, no pork, no fowl.. But just a little fish." he said. "Jah (God) didn't put the creatures on this earth to torture and kill at our discretion". John didn't drink alcohol but he did smoke ganja and as we talked he brought out a huge "spliff" which he lit and drew on deeply. The pungent aroma filled the air and soon others wandered over to partake of what a Rasta man calls "the sacrament"

After several early morning showers were done we made our way back to Silver Sands. Along the way Robin attempted to befriend one of several cows that were spending the morning grazing the road's shoulder. She found them to be skittish and a bit unfriendly, so completely unlike the natives.

The beach ...

Silver Sands is a fairly old community strung along the hillsides above really nice stretch of white sand beach. The beach trends to pure flat sand to the eastern end, near where big cliffs of coral drop into the surf, walling the area off from what ever exists to the east. Off to the western end is a stone and concrete jetty which protrudes probably 400 feet into the turquoise waters. The jetty is terminated with a beautiful Victorian gazebo which provides a wonderful perch for contemplating the orange flaming sunsets over azure waters.

The remainder of the day was spent in blissful abandon often at a cafe table that sat on the brink of the beach on Silver Sand's "social center", the Patio. Here was a matched pair of rusted and appropriately barnacled cannon aimed out to sea, as if to threaten any power from across the sea that might dare to interfere with the affairs of Silver Sands.

>> End the PDA segment

History Lesson, Jamaica, Trelawney 101

The cannon were of extreme interest to us of course. We consider ourselves somewhat of "cannon coinsures". Later we were to discover several distinct examples of cannonry around Silver Sands beyond those two mounted at the Patio. In the corner of a small yard high up the hill we were to discover a flower covered howitzer of the late 19th century, and several more cast models of the traditional design. Those two in front of the tennis courts had worn coats of arms and inscriptions that might have indicated a British origin in about 1821, and a third on the ground had an insignia that was worn beyond recognition.

The history intertwined with this section of coast probably goes back to the coming of the Awaks, the original inhabitants of this fair island. They came from South America in dugout canoes 10,000 years ago and fought for centuries with the sea faring natives of the islands to the north, the Caribs, for ownership of the island. The Caribs came from Cuba, only 90 miles to the north over the Caribbean. The brave Awaks never imagined any force could cause them to give up the land, not until the fateful year of 1492. Columbus not only discovered "America", he also discovered Jamaica. In fact in 1494 he sailed along this coast on his second voyage to "America" from west to east, on his way back to Spain. In a storm his ships were damaged on the reefs off Silver Sands' stretch of coast, and he put in at Discovery Bay, about 25 miles east of Silver Sands, and he and his men spent about four months as castaways, repairing his ships.

****************************************************************
>> History Continue

Silver Sand's own history, which can be found on the Silver-Sands.com web page, went back to the days of some of these cannons. The jetty now capped by the gazebo was originally built in the days of sailing ships as a wharf for the shipment of sugar and rum to England. Originally it was called the Derby Wharf. This area before 1838 was one of the prime areas for the manufacture of those two important substances, over 90 plantations operated nearby. In 1838, with the abolition of slavery, the plantations fell on hard times, and by the mid 19th century, hurried along by the advent of steam ships which drew too much water to use the port at Derby, the jetty had fallen into neglect.

The man-made expanse of stone extending off the coast had become the author and agent of its future use however, as it began to capture the white sands that flow up and down the coast and deposit them on either side of the jetty as beautiful beaches. Soon these wonderful sands and turquoise waters began to attract attention as a prime swimming spot, known by the end of the century as Derby Beach. Although much of the sugar industry was gone and the area around today's Silver Sands was not fit for agriculture there were still enough people around who loved the beach that by the 1920s the owner was charging a small fee to swim there. In the late 20s several small buildings remaining from the wharf's heyday were renovated into simple cottages for rent, and they soon became wildly popular with the local Jamaican's of European descent.

In the early 1940s a man from Trinidad, Robert Huggins and his Grenadian wife Joy, "horse breeders and some of the most formidable racehorse owners in Jamaica" bought the property, and then remolded the old warehouse adjacent to the jetty into a home for themselves. Huggins discontinued the fee charged for swimming at the beach and made friends with those that continued to swim there. It was not unusual for he or his wife to invite the bathers to join them in Rum cocktails at their home. Legend has it that those who enjoyed the Huggin's hospitality wished to repay their hosts for such kindnesses and so eventually convinced them to start a beach club where they might offer to reciprocate. With that the Silver Sands Beach Club was born. Soon they had a clubhouse, and half dozen new cottages had been constructed as rentals.

In 1953 Silver Sands gained some local notoriety when Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh stopped by for lunch and a swim during their official tour of Jamaica. The Duke was quartered in one of the cottages and the Queen in another, and to this day those cottages retain the name of Queen's Cottage and the Duke's Cottage.

The 50s and 60s became the heyday, at least the next heyday, in its' history. It became very popular for the business, well healed and colonial Jamaican's to own "cottages" at Silver Sands. Soon there were dozens of these charming structures spread across the hills surrounding the beach and its' popular club. Movie stars and other notables from England and America flocked to Jamaica, and spots like Silver Sands were the "finds" they talked about in Miami, Cannes and Brighton. Sugar was now gone, but down the coast not too far from Silver Sands Ian Fleming was writing his James Bond stories and Alcoa was discovering Jamaica's only exportable resource, other than Good Vibes, that ore of Aluminum, Bauxite.

******************************************************************************

>> Insert the exploration of Silver Sands