Today was supposed to be our grand Jamaican adventure. I had found a local guide through TripAdvisor, and was feeling a lot of anxiety about putting ourselves in a stranger's hands for the day. We'd read and and heard multiple warnings about the dangers of Jamaica outside of resort grounds. Ken was highly recommended on TripAdvisor and had a Facebook page that didn't seem shady, so I was feeling hopeful for a good day!
We checked in with family via email and with the hotel front desk in the morning, sharing as much as we could about our itinerary. Our destinations were the well known and very popular Dunns River Falls and the much less known Blue Hole.
We had agreed to meet Ken at 9:00 am in front of the hotel. He pulled in a few minutes late, explaining that the bellhops get anxious if local guides show up early and loiter at the entrance. I had talked with him the day before about the weather, and we'd decided to go for it since it looked like rain, but at least no thunderstorms.
The morning started off sunny, taunting us with possibility...
A few clouds in the sky as we headed out of the Hilton Rose Hall main entrance and took a short detour up to see the Great House. The entire resort used to be part of the Rose Hall sugar plantation. There are some remains of the sugar mill, and the great house is still standing, surrounded by mystery about the lady of the house and her three husbands who preceded her in death. Spooky.
Once we got on the road toward Dunns River Falls, Ken started his almost unceasing narrative of the Jamaican sights, culture, politics, and history. It was fascinating to hear a local's take on things, and we saw so more of the "real" Jamaica than we would have if we had booked a tour through the resort. (Think: commercial tour bus with 50 other people, vs. minivan with just our family!)
According to Ken, when a Jamaican family gets enough money to start building a home, they will do exactly that: start. Even if they know they don't have funds to finish. All along the road, we passed houses that looked like they were in various states of repair when they were really in various phases of construction. If you can only afford one floor but want three, then start that floor and leave the rebar required for the next level sticking up for future use!
Ken hadn't gotten a chance to have breakfast, so we stopped on the side of the road while he had a shouting conversation across traffic with this lady selling buns from her car. In the world according to Ken, the buns used to have raisins in them but don't any longer because of the economy. We also heard commentary about real rasta men vs those who only cherry pick the dreadlocks and pot from the Rastafarian believe system, politics, Christmas trees, and more.
Ken said the second "L" was added after the owner received a letter from WalMart. I find it hard to believe that corporate WalMart would have been too concerned with this tiny shack tucked away in Jamaica, but who knows...
The blue skies and sunshine didn't last and soon it was overcast and pouring rain. I think Jamaica is a beautiful island, often filled with vibrant colors and amazing ocean vistas. However, we saw none of that. We snapped this picture during a brief respite from the downpour, but often we could hardly see past the roadside.
Once we arrived a Dunns River, we sat in the parking lot, weighing our options. We didn't have many, since there really wasn't much else to do! Once there was a break in the rain, we headed in. (Not sure why, since it was abundantly clear that it wouldn't last!) We figured we'd be getting wet in the waterfall anyway, so a little rain wouldn't hurt. That was mostly true, and the only real negative to the rain for this adventure was that the water was kind of a muddy brown rather than clear.
Heading in...not sure if you can tell by these expressions, but I think we were all feeling excited and nervous about what was coming!
Once you're through the gates, you make your way down the stairs to get to the bottom of the falls. Along the way, you have a view of what it is you're about to do. Notice the long chains of people holding hands? I'd read about this before, and it was part of why I booked our own tour guide. We had to follow in line behind these groups, but Ken was able to maneuver us up in our own little group of five, which was much more palatable to our group of independent adventurers!
At the bottom of the stairs, you find yourself on this pretty little beach.
At Ken's suggestion, the boys and I waded into the water to feel where the cold fresh water mixes with the warmer ocean water. The ocean water was noticably warmer!
From the ocean, looking at the base of the waterfall. Normally, all of that water is crystal clear rather than a soupy brown:
(I copied this one from the interwebs...notice how clear it is at the bottom?)
Ready to get started!
Ken was really great about factoring in a few little breaks and pointing out the different "activities" along the way: waterfalls to stand under, deeper pools to swim into...if it was warmer, I think we would have lingered even more.
Trying out the natural waterslide:
Trusting in our guide (and those who tried it before us!) for the backwards fall:
You can see the steel brush marks on the rocks. Every day, the management company sends employees out to clean off the rocks along the "path" up the falls.
Looking back at some of what we traveled:
Plenty of photo stops on the way! (Ken loved sending us to stand in the cascades!)
Big smiles!!
Big smiles!!
The end is in sight! The whole effort was a collaborative one; having someone to hang onto and help you up was key.
SUCCESS! Victory! We did it!
Before heading back to the van, Ken took us to the "Tranquility Garden." NO ONE else was here, and they missed out. It was cool to see how peaceful and quiet the river is before it goes cascading down into the ocean. There were also some beautiful flowers.
So - we didn't let the weather stop us, and Dunns River Falls was probably the highlight of the vacation! Next up was Blue Hole...
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