Today W and I biked down coffee mountain! This morning, we headed toward Portland, Jamaica by bus to see the coffee plantations on Blue Mountain in the south of Jamaica. The bus ride allowed us to see the country and enjoy the intense generosity of spirit of the Jamaicans whom we have encountered. Once in Portland Parish, we began a steady incline toward the top of the 7,000 foot peak. The bus was as optimistically driven as any we have experienced in Asia or Central America. The road was only wide enough for one vehicle in many places, with precipitous ravines and constantly decaying slopes. Our driver, Cleeve, faithfully delivered us to the top, where we feasted upon coffee and thick donut like balls of deep fried goodness. The coffee was worth the risk of life and limb. Then we all mounted heavy, beach-style, cruisers that had both very poor breaking ability and an elegant dusting of rust. They were comfortable, however, and more than accomplished their task of delivering us down the winding roads to the waterfall at the bottom.
I'm unsure if we have ever encountered such extraordinarily kind and helpful people before (at least the men; the women still live under a strict code of pouty grumpiness).
We had a beautiful day which culminated in a cold and exhilarating swim in a waterfall -- we could swim to the wall, grasp the rock to slide our bodies behind the fall, and then push off and shoot out of the water. Very fun. Even though my toe came out of the socket as it likes to do under stress, it was very very fun.
I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas Eve. My love to all and my thanks for your generous time reading this blog.
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