Aqua Duct
So here I am. A morning in Jamaica. What a novel idea it would be to just grab my camera and see what interesting things I could find to photograph. Of course the trick would be finding something I haven’t taken pictures of yet.
So what are the odds that someone would come along and offer to give me a personal guided tour of the best golf course in the Caribbean? As it turns out all you really have to do is approach the golf course with a camera. What happens next is that a friendly Jamaican local will show up asking if you want to see some interesting sights.
Rose Hall
View of our resort from up on the golf course.
It turns out my personal guide for the morning is a caddy for the golf course. This course borders the resort we were staying at and being that it was the view I saw every time I looked out my window it of course always made me wonder more about it. My guide / caddy didn’t have anything to do for a couple of hours so he was more than willing to help me experience some more of Jamaica.
Looking up towards the mountains.
First of all Cinnamon Hill is regarded as the best golf course in the Caribbean. Secondly, it doesn’t just meander along the ocean. In fact there are only 2 holes that are that close. The rest of the course climbs up the side of the Blue Mountains and is surrounded by tropical forest. Throughout the course there is evidence of aqua duct ruins that run far into the mountains. The course is also built around the famous Rose Hall where the ghost of Annie Palmer is said to still inhabit. Even Johnny Cash was fascinated by Rose Hall and its history. He wrote a song called The Ballad of Annie Palmer. He purchased a home on the island in 1972 and spent much time there. My personal guide / caddy has met Johnny and his family many times over the years.
Johnny Cash's home, Cinnamon Hill.
Apparently there are no large mammals that inhabit the island. No such thing as deer. And bird hunting is popular because they are so abundant. As we walked further away from the ocean and on up into the mountains it became obvious that the course is surrounded by a dense tropical forest. A couple times I could hear the giggling click click click of a mongoose just out of sight in the dense woods. Obviously a very common sound to my native guide as he mimicked it perfectly. Fortunately for us snakes are not abundant because of the prevalence of mongoose on the island.
View of a hole which was the location for a James Bond movie.
Jamaican Mango
Each hole we walked presented another amazing view of the ocean. It also gave me a realization of the vastness of the mountains we had barely ascended. I was really beginning to get a sense of the depth of the Jamaican wilderness, but on a completely different scale than I could experience from the oceanside. Off in the distance, probably a quarter mile away, a large hawk like bird appears as it takes flight from the forest and just as quickly disappears out of sight. It makes you wonder what else is in there that I can’t see.
Aqua duct ruin further up in the mountains.
The remains of a wheel from the aqua duct.
And as I walked along with my personal historian I suddenly realized why they are so free to share with others the beauty of their island. Tourism is their way of life. My guide has a family with 3 children the oldest being 21. He has been doing this all his life. As he puts it he has many “friends” who come back and visit. He even knows someone from Michigan who often returns. Maybe he gets as much out of meeting us as we do meeting him.
Banana trees.
They say that golf is a good walk spoiled. Fortunately for me I wasn’t actually golfing so there wasn’t anything to spoil my walk on this beautiful Jamaican morning. I felt very privileged to experience the history and better understand what it is like to be in Jamaica. I could see why those who have a choice choose to keep coming back again and again.
