One of the most peaceful places in Jamaica: Ambassabeth Eco Lodge – Part 1

I left out later than I had originally planned, because I had to stop at the supermarket and get some extra items. When going to places like these, you are going to be at one with nature, and as such, everything has to be factored in, such as food.

For me, the journey to Portland begins at Temple Hall, where driving along the mountainside, the air gets thinner and the atmosphere is constantly moist. Sadly, for some, it’s also where the sinuous corners begin, and if they have motion sickness, this is a dreadful experience. If this is the case with you, take a stop at Friendship Gap and get some soup from one of kareemsquest.com favourite spots, Mergie. Keep in mind that the roads are also narrow, so you have to hug your corners.

Regardless of this, the smell of the environment, which is replete with trees like mango and ackee, is mesmerising. This leg of the journey was longer than expected, as I took my time to appreciate the experience, as I always encourage all the kareemsquest.com readers.

Next, I was driving along the coastline of St Mary and Portland, where vendors lined the streets with green bananas, breadfruits and custard apples.

Halfway to Port Antonio, I was feeling fatigued, so I stopped and bought a hand of banana, two breadfruits and some of the most beautiful carrots I have ever seen. After which, I took some alone time to admire the ocean, as the waves aggressively crashed against the dark sands in Boundbrook.

At this point, I had clocked about two and a half hours when I spotted my turn-off on William Street, to head to Bowden.

Old Country Road

An hour of this journey was spent on a smooth road, and the next hour on a parochial path with rocks and bushes. As a matter of fact, it is impossible to speed on this section, so I had to take my time and manoeuvre the Suzuki Vitara I was driving, as best as possible. In addition, there are lots of rivers that run through the area, hence I had to cross many bridges.

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Each district is about a half – hour drive from each other, and the community members are peaceful and tight-knit. The kareemsquest.com team noticed that the men are usually walking with machetes heading to their farms, or with their produce in hand, while the women are by the river washing clothes or in the shops serving customers.

SPIRITUAL WOMAN

Along the way, I passed a house with a red flag hanging on the outside, so I curiously asked a passerby, “Morning sir, why is that red flag there? ” He stopped, with a bunch of bananas on his head, and responded, “It’s a spiritual woman, sir, when there is danger, she puts up a red flag. But if tings cool, she puts up a white flag.”

I kept driving for another 30 minutes and when I reached my destination, it was nightfall. There was a little rain drizzling, with insects that many Jamaicans know as ‘peenie wallie’ lighting up the sky through a process called bioluminescence. There were also Tree Frogs (which KareemsQuest.com thought were crickets) stridulating, which made this a perfect place for kareemsquest.com as it reminded me of a place called Jay’s Guesthouse in St. Thomas.

The night air was chilling and unfortunately for me, I did not pack a sweater; however, when I got to my room there was a blanket. The caretaker, Cecil, who has two prominent gold teeth, jokingly said to me, “Don’t worry, boss, you don’t have to lock your door, nuh body live up ere. Yuh have to go another two miles to find people.”

I fell asleep within minutes, as the sound of the Rio Grande river flowed like the rhythm of a lullaby. By the time I woke up at 5:30 a.m., the rays of the sun were beaming through the cracked windows. Keep in mind, I am on the border of Portland and St Thomas, which is the eastern part of the island, where the sun rises.

When I got out of the room, I saw Cecil with his machete, who asked, “boss, yuh waan mi roast the two breadfruit for you?” To which I gladly replied, “Yes!” After I had breakfast in the conference room, which is about 800 square feet and is plastered with historical posters on the walls. Then I met the manager, Lloyd Wilks, who was clad in a long-sleeves shirt, a bucket hat, water boots and a machete, he looked at me and said, “You ready to learn about the land of your ancestors?” To which I gleefully responded, “Of course!” You can find the location of Ambassabeth Eco Lodge at the bottom of the page.

Check out part 2 (click link to read).