Port Antonio, Jamaica
Yah Man, we are still in Jamaica. Yah Man, music blasting 24-hours a day, Yah Man, the same tunes, same rhythm... Respect Man, food is spicy, jerk pork, jerk chicken, curries...spices melt and mingle in our mouths - a big change from the Raoul’s country! It’s lush here, green folliage and flowers of incredible colours everywhere… Blue Mountains just step away. This place was made famous by the actor Errol Flynn, who said Port Antonio was more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen – hmmm…maybe he really didn’t look around that hard, it has it’s charm, but… Still, it is the safest parish of this country and it’s free from tourist crowds. This was a thriving banana shipping port, even as far back as 2003 when we stopped here, but now due to global competition this industry is gone. Port facilities here are modern and guarded around the clock. We took advantage of their new yard and pulled Nikan out to see what’s going on with the keel coating protection. Surprise! - the damage was more extended than we suspected. We had to redo the entire underwater protection, 6 days, 14-hours a day working under the blaring sun, 30+°C – not an ounce of fat on J-P’s body left. Can’t say that about my aging middle age figure! There is always something to fix or maintain. Like one of the fellow sailors said: “People think we are retired and on vacation, but man, this is work.” and I have to agree, although now we should be good for a while…till something else goes. We had a great day rafting on Rio Grande. Rafting here means sitting on the bamboo raft with a guide and gently flow down the river with a stop for a beer, home made lunch on the river bank. After a month here, we are slowly getting prepared to head towards Boca del Torro in Panama, about 600 nautical miles from here, which should take us between four to five days. As they say here, later….
Yah Man, we are still in Jamaica. Yah Man, music blasting 24-hours a day, Yah Man, the same tunes, same rhythm... Respect Man, food is spicy, jerk pork, jerk chicken, curries...spices melt and mingle in our mouths - a big change from the Raoul’s country! It’s lush here, green folliage and flowers of incredible colours everywhere… Blue Mountains just step away. This place was made famous by the actor Errol Flynn, who said Port Antonio was more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen – hmmm…maybe he really didn’t look around that hard, it has it’s charm, but… Still, it is the safest parish of this country and it’s free from tourist crowds. This was a thriving banana shipping port, even as far back as 2003 when we stopped here, but now due to global competition this industry is gone. Port facilities here are modern and guarded around the clock. We took advantage of their new yard and pulled Nikan out to see what’s going on with the keel coating protection. Surprise! - the damage was more extended than we suspected. We had to redo the entire underwater protection, 6 days, 14-hours a day working under the blaring sun, 30+°C – not an ounce of fat on J-P’s body left. Can’t say that about my aging middle age figure! There is always something to fix or maintain. Like one of the fellow sailors said: “People think we are retired and on vacation, but man, this is work.” and I have to agree, although now we should be good for a while…till something else goes. We had a great day rafting on Rio Grande. Rafting here means sitting on the bamboo raft with a guide and gently flow down the river with a stop for a beer, home made lunch on the river bank. After a month here, we are slowly getting prepared to head towards Boca del Torro in Panama, about 600 nautical miles from here, which should take us between four to five days. As they say here, later….
