The natural environment and lush greenery provided a warm welcome to this hidden hotspot. The pond, about the size of a small pool, is a bubbling spring. According to Errol a.k.a. ‘Police’, caretaker of Fire Pond, the pond has healing benefits. “Scientists from all over the world have traveled here and take about 12 drum pan full of this water here. When they came back, they said it contains 24 different minerals. This water here cure sinus, fever, aches and pain, arthritis, sore throat…..”

HISTORY OF FIRE POND – (According to Legend)
One morning a long time ago, a young lady came to the pond to have her morning bath. She saw a cluster of ripe oranges hanging over the pond from a nearby tree. She decided to pick some but realised that there was a wasp nest on the oranges.

She decided to make a torch and use it to burn away the nest so she could retrieve the oranges. The stick fell from her hand and into the water. Immediately, to her fright, the water caught fire. She rushed back home screaming and told her parents that ‘duppies’ or ghosts were in the pond. Her parents later told her that no ghosts were there and that it was where slaves used to come for healing. Since then, she has been taking her bath in the pond from the time she discovered it. She was 20 years old then, and she is now 109. It has been called ‘Fire Pond’ ever since.

THE FIRE MASSAGE
I came to know exactly why the place was called ‘Fire Pond’ after a demonstration by Police. Sulphur in the water immediately ignited after Police lit his lighter near the peaceful waters, causing the water to literally ‘catch fire’. “Walk through the fire and sit in the water”, said ‘Police’ as I made my way down the steps and into the pond. While my feet were below the fire, they were massaged by a natural cavity in the bottom of the pond with what seemed to be a never ending source of bubbling water.

Now its alight … I guess I am going to have to get in…

I had some help getting into position…

I am happy to report that my experience can be summed up as: No burn – just warm relaxation.

With a wet towel made warm by the fire, a smooth rock as my pillow and the water as my bed, my fire massage started with a warm sensation on my shoulders head and hands. My back and feet were in for a treat as they were given a relaxing massage experience.

This unique massage uses heat to its advantage and leaves you feeling calm and relaxed. ‘You should not have a bath until 24 hours time ok?” said ‘Police’. That may be the only disadvantage for some personsJ.

FIRE POND… TO DI WORL’…?
Fire Pond has also been featured in two music videos, ‘Hail The King’ by Fantan Mojah and ‘Magic City’ by Buju Banton. “It deh pon all Travel Channel. I treat people from, all over the world with this water here. I drink seven handful of this water every morning and I even cook my food on it. This is not for a one man. Its for the community. Anyone who is having aches and pains, you just come to me and I’ll take care of you”, said Police’.

Fire Pond, despite the muddy exterior, is an example of one of Jamaica’s best kept secrets.

Location: Negril Spots, Near Little London.
How to get there: Get between Negril Spots & Little London and ask directions to “Jurassic Park” and “The dinosaur place”
Approximate Map: Click here to visit google maps

Located in the vacinity of Orange Hill, if you search hard enough, you will find the most unlikely of pets prehistoric. Pterodactyls to be precise. It wasn’t long ago that if you searched hard enough (or not so hard) in the hills surrounding Orange Hill you would find a different kind of colourful surprise hiding amongst the bushes. Marajuana to be precise. The police have since chopped down this inspirational (allegedly inspirational!) herb (illegal narcotic) and it is no longer to be found abounding – but a visit to the nearby Jurassic park might just leave you similarly inspired:

This wiered and wonderful collection of…I am at a loss to find the precise noun…let’s call it ‘garden furniture’ is all made by hand (and hand-held blow torch) on the premises of this small park. Ornaments range from the unexpected talons of dinosaurs and lurking comical figures through to the more practical 8ft candelabra and illuminating outdoor wall hangings:

The owner wasn’t around when we stopped-by, but his workers were extremely helpful in showing us how they crafted these grand designs – and quite rightfully, with great pride. Prices are available on request – but similar to some of the exhibits, aren’t for the feint hearted. But then again, why should they be – these lovingly re-created beasts are absolutely unique and if I had enough outside space at home I’d certainly want one to surprise peaking neighbours and entertain garden guests.

If you’re passing through this area it’s well worth a detour for half an hour or so – especially if you like surreal experimental travel.

There’s a small shop next door if you want a cooling drink. And more practical souvenirs for those travelling home from Jamaica by airplane (circa 40$ US).

Oh what fun we had. I last kayaked at a PGL adventure course back in the UK, back in 1984. Digital camera’s didn’t exist. And of course the internet didn’t exist either. But it would seem that this childhood course had still prepared prepared me perfectly well for this assignment – and luckily i discovered that kayaking is just like riding a bike. You never forget the basics. Like rule 101 – capsizing!! Ahem:

Maybe we were lucky with our choice of guides, but it was a great pleasure to spend the afternoon with the Chukka crew once again. This might be their ‘job’, their 9-5, the daily-grind, the kayaking equivalent of a ‘rat-race’, but I think they enjoyed the trip down the river even more than we did. Deftly maneuvering their kayaks to pull and push the paddling public from drifting into the surrounding mangrove, or being sucked along the wrong rapid, these guys were always ready at the same time with a smile for the camera:

Plus they always had an encouraging woop to give us all confidence as we splashed and bashed our way down the river and the half a dozen gentle yet fun foamy ‘white water rapids’. The trip takes a couple of hours all-in, so you really get immersed in the local water flora fauna…and ceiling of the forrest. You see – halfway down the river you park your kayak for a while and head for the tree-tops. Sunlight splashes through the wet dense overgrowth of mangrove and bamboo as you climb into your canopy harness and ready yourself for the next part of the adventure – flying through the trees at a height of 50 plus feet! See below (but don’t look down when flying!)

Then it’s back, your body buzzing, into the kayaks. To top-it-all-off there’s, an optional, second stop along this safari – in the form of a highly strung rope dangling above the river banks. You grab it. They pull you back. Way back. And then you are hurled forwards through the air, over the river bank, you let go, your stomach goes WOH-AH! for a second – and then SPLASH! into the cool cool water and gentle current below.

Back at the ranch, jerk chicken, rice and peas was awaiting. So we paddled-back to tuck-in, on the way meeting a local fisherman who had just pulled his lunch from the same water we were kayaking in. I think you can see why the staff are always smiling.

Please note: I would say that prior experience of kayaking is not mandatory – there are many gentle meanders – but you should be confident in water. In fact, I found the water so luring that I capsized again and again (Disclaimer: Don’t try this at home. Or at Chukka. OK?)

Duration: 2hrs plus
Price: Around $100 US – contact for group bookings and tour discounts
Telephone for bookings: (876) 953-5619
Official Chukka Website: http://www.chukkacaribbean.com/MontegoBay/kayak.php
Bring: Swim wear, shorts, aqua shoes or strapped on sandals. Sun block, bug repellant, towels, money (souvenirs and snacks for sale on site)

Now I don’t want to be pinickety but I am going to be. Roaring river is hardly roaring. And that’s even after a few months of rain. I’d say it’s gushing laudably. The fast-paced flow spins through small bridges and mangroves, along fields and eventually down into the small colourfully-wooden-housed-village below. There was a deep green-blue hue to the water when I visited and this cooling sight along with the occasional spray were a refreshing treat as we walked up the hot forrest steps towards the caves. It was hard to resist the temptation to throw myself back down into the beckoning stream – especially as a few people were already sploshing around in the current. Nature lovers get ready – this is an idilic setting.

A garlic leaf. Identical in aroma to clove garlic:

OK, so the river didn’t roar – but the caves are definitely cavenous. Our friendly guide had spent the past decade or so taking people deep into the mouth of these rocks and he was well versed in explaining how boiling volcanic lava had met with the icy water to produce such intricate and windy passageways into the earth below. Our luck was in as on the day we arrived an almost omnipotent ray of sun streaked through the opening of the caves and onto the cave floor. I’ll say no more and let you see for yourselves:

I don’t know what it is about caves that bring out people’s imaginations, but in each of the caves I have been in I have always baffled to learn that “this 4000 year old stalactite in India looks like Ghandi” or that “These ancient granite formations in Nottingham resemble Robin Hood” and so on and so forth. It’s as if the natural beauty of geology and ‘the science bit’ that explains the uncanny creation of rocks and air pockets under the ground, from molten liquid at a temperature of 1000 degrees centigrade, isn’t enough. So I wasn’t surprised to see Bob Marley and The Lion of Judah appear like a mirage on almost every wall. Let me share the excitement with you:

I even started to get good at the apparition thing myself – and proudly pointed out this mangrove.

After a good half an hour under the earth I was kind-of missing the beating rays of the sun and the tropical heat above. On our way back we rushed up and down and even had to crouch limbo style (well, it is a national dance of Jamaica after all!) to get back through the passages we had blindly followed our guide along…and as we surfaced once more into the light we were welcomed with this rather apt shrine to the sun from the caged exit:

Enquiries and directions, call:(+1) 876-979-7987 OR 876-979-7988 for more information.
Please take note: There are lots of tour touts at the entrance. Make sure you get an official guide from the office.

The journey there:

Make sure you get your tickets & tour guide from the official complex…or bargain extremely hard! The official grounds look like this:

Waterproof camera? Check. Life-jacket? Check. Sunglasses (for looking like Miami Vice)? Check. Safety procedure. Check? Ignition key? Check. Snorkle mask, flippers and breathing tube? WHAT?! Yes, yet again, Chukka puts the icing on the cake and adds under-water excavation to what would already be a fun-and-fuel-packed half day out. Our safari team zooped and swashplooshed (soon to be in the dictionary, or on Wikipedia if nothing else) up and down it’s own white-watery-wake, burning past tropical forrest and then way out towards the horizon.

My waterproof camera (these are great – get one by clicking here) is still a little fuzzy from the aftermath of the watery foam from the swashploosh – so please forgive the slightly blurry photo-report below while you enjoy the sights and smiles – and the Miami Vice style showing-off!

After whizzing along the coast and getting the hang of the speedboats, you are taken way out to sea for the snorkling. There is a multitude of fish, shell fish and marine vegetables to be viewed during the underwater tour but unfortunately we had to miss this part of the adventure – so we could squeeze in some all terrain vehicling and horsing around! I’d love to go back to do the whole sea safari one day – and I hope to see y’all there. On a practical note, you should aim to do a maximum of two of Chukka’s tours in one day – and make it a long one so you can enjoy their Jerk burger, chicken and pork feasts for lunch and supper.

For full information on each of the Chukka Tours please visit their official website by clicking here
All local hotels, as well as Sandals, have a Chukka rep – so rest assured you won’t be able to miss-out.
Contact info:
Phone: (876) 953-5619
Fax: (876) 953-5740
Email: montegobay@chukkacaribbean.com

Make sure you come back to www.go-jamaica.com/roundjamaica to catch Jermaine’s amazing video reviews!

Text and Photography by Oliver Wright.

Now, I am allergic to horses. It might have something to do with having been kicked-across a field by a stallion at the age of four. And subsequently breaking my right arm. Or perhaps it has something to do with falling off an old nag, only to have it temporarily paralyze my left arm by standing on my funny bone when it stood up (NOT funny, I assure you). Or maybe it’s from the 14 hour trek on a wooden saddle through the mounds of Mongolia with only salted yak butter tea to drink. Which paralyzed my butt and my gut. BUT – these horses were so adorable that I forgave them for making me sneeze and itchy-scratchy and got up close to bring you their friendly faces:

After horsing around with the camera and gee-gees I sped off in an All Terrain Vehicle (see link to blog entry on the right of this page) Jermaine however, pictured below with video camera in hand, took up the challenge and went horse-riding for the first time (I spared him my off-putting tales, instead saving them for you, lucky reader!)

After he cantered up the rocky and muddy hills and galloped along the grass the horses lept refreshingly through the sea up to their waste in water. With all riders still on their backs. Jermaine will be posting video footage some-time soon. It’s crazy crazy, so make sure you keep checking back at this site to catch it. Or better still – come to Chukka yourself. I’m sure it won’t be the first and last time that Jermaine does this trek. And it looks good enough that I think one day I might just put my sneezing behind me and go too…

Price: Around $US 75
In case you were wondering: Suitable for all ages and riding skills
Visit the Chukka website to make an advanced booking: www.chukkacaribbean.com
Or call their hotline: Mobay/Negril area Tel: (876) 953-5619 Ocho Rios area Tel: (876) 972-2506

Text by Oliver Wright. Photography by Oliver Wright. Horseriding by Jermaine Evans.

‘All terrain’ doesn’t just describe the type of four wheel drive quad bikes and ‘moon-buggies’ that this trip has on offer. A 2-3 hour adventure takes you and up to a dozen friends through the mud flats, field and jungle and way up into the hills, to terrain 2000 feet above sea level (other than the blue-mountains, this is pretty high for the island). Proving spectacular views down to the coast, you see it and ride it all. On the afternoon that we went a farmer was making a huge fire in the fields – and smoke billowed and blew, forming a blue-grey belt around the horizon of jungle.

The quad bikes are pretty easy to drive and have a suitably forgiving suspension as you bounce across rocks and down surprisingly steep hillocks. They are fast too – reaching speeds of around 60km per hour – so for petrol heads and adrenaline junkies alike, this is a trip that you will like. This wasn’t the first time that I heard the words “man, just wait until we tell the people that chose to go ‘horse riding’ instead!!! (Having said that – horse riding was to come, and like most things at Chukka, is full of surpassing surprises).

Visit the official Chukka Jamaica website, where you can also make advance bookings: Click here

Chukka resorts are all over the Carribean (Belize, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands). Checkout their global website

Oh, and in case you were wondering…you won’t ever go hungry at Chukka…

Text and photography by Oliver Wright

As you can see, the light flooding through the jungle, above the flooding river, is an atmospheric delight. It’s so delightful that every mosquito in Jamaica seems to have taken up root there… and it feels like they’ve been at the ‘root juice’ too (click here for blog post on ‘root juice’). Not to worry – a good mozzy repellent should do the trick and at Chukka Blue the guides were at the ready with spray if you forgot yours.

This has probably been the best of Chukka’s tours, if not the best tourist attraction, that I have experienced in Jamaica. Continuous wooping breaks the tranquil rustle of the trees and every Honeymooning American can be heard to exclaim AWESOME!!! as they fly up down through past into out-of above and below the rivers and trees. I would have to agree with them.

Safety rope smiles

Sailing through the air!

Welcome aboard the flying machine…

For more information and pricing, visit Chukka’s official website by clicking this link, RIGHT HERE FOR OCHO RIOS. Or RIGHT HERE FOR MOBAY/NEGRIL.

Text and photography and video by Oliver Wright

http://www.chukkacaribbean.com/MontegoBay/canopy.php

This was one of THE highlights of my journey around Jamaica. Which is interesting, as the walk up the hill at 1.45am was also one of the lowpoints. And not just of my trip – but possibly of my traveling life! I will explain. We arrived at the 200 year old Whitfield Hall at around 8 o’clock in the evening. It’s an enchanting wooden structure with shelves of books that possibly date back as far as the foundations and it houses a cranky old piano that certainly hasn’t been tuned since 1807. It’s a great place. The home-cooked food is rustic and lip-smackingly tasty. Perhaps it was the ancient atmosphere of the cranky house and the sound of crickets ringing in the forrest outside that took to my imagination – but the dinner of slow-stewed spicey chicken ‘n’ rice ‘n’ peas reminded me of hearty-dreamy-mountain-meals cooked-up by gnarly sherpas in the thick of the Himalayas en-route to Mount Everest. And we were still only 1000 feet above sea level, here in Jamaica.

So what’s was my ‘lowpoint’ problem you may ask? Well… a bottle of tonic wine (a good ‘base’ for climbing mountains I was told) and a full belly of food and Blue Mountain coffee later we decided to turn in for the night. It was probably 10.30pm. Now, for those of you that haven’t sampled Jamaican tonic wine – it’s not a night-cap! It’s more like a redbull fueled energy drink – at the very least! (I will upload a picture of the glinting and gold intertwined couple on the bottle at some point soon I promise). By approximately 1am my heart stopped racing and I finally drifted to sleep – for 45 minutes – before getting up to a quadrouple shot of blue mountain coffee meeting our guide in pitch darkness (so dark outside I couldn’t see my hands let alone see a new person) and clambering straight up the side of the mountain through what felt like potholes and scrub and small ravines and wet shoes and wet socks and caffeine and sleeplessness and mozzy bites and I JUST WANT TO GO BACK TO SLEEP WHAT AM I DOING HERE, BLIND AND FUMBLING, I CAN”T EVEN SEE JAMAICA, WHY AM I DOING THIS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT running through my veins.

Finally, we arrive: Croft of roof at the peak:

What a bright idea this was!

Hot Carribean or Cold Siberia?!:

So as you see, 3 hours later we got to the top. It was freezing. It was foggy. There was no sunrise. (We were also an hour early). I lay on the stony ground and let the resident mice and rats run-riot around me. And then (of course!) it started to rain. And did I mention that I was wearing just a thin cotton shirt and shorts. And that there was a sign saying that I couldn’t even set fire to myself to keep warm:

No fires:

Brrrr. Freezing fog (looking very cool):

We decided to make a run for it back down. OK, it was more like a hobble than a run – but then the fog started to fade. OH. MY. The hobble suddenly turned into a skip and the complaints and desire to sleep drifted away and away… as the light crept slowly through the trees the pitch-black landscape that we had unknowingly climbed through the night came to life…and we saw what we had climbed…starting as a misty episode from The Lord of The Rings the trail was enchanting as vines and dew enveloped the pathway…moisture dripping from the bark…and then slowly but surely the valley revealed a hue of blue-green fields and endlessly rolling mountains into the distance below. I hope you enjoy these pictures below as much as I enjoyed the walk down. It was like being on top of the world, deep in middle-earth. But if you don’t want to spoil the surprise – then don’t look at the pics below – just call this number, (Kingston) 876-927-0986, and organise your own trip today!

The dark leaves and light arrives…

…and if you wonder, where to wander….

…stay a while and dawdle at dawn…

…as light arrives so too does colour…

…red flowers adorn the ceiling…

…and like magic, blue mountains pop into view:

A final highlight of experiencing The Blue Mountains with Whitfield Hall was eating a breakfast of akee and salt fish lovingly prepared back at the cabin. Soft fluffy festival, blue mountain coffee, fried eggs, toast and jam.

Hitch a ride back into town:

Or stay a while and relax with nature:

To arrange a tour with Whitfield Hall, call: Kingston – 876-927-0986

Ian Flemming is famed to have dreamed-up 007 from this place. But the present day ‘reception’ on Navy Island looks a million miles away from the tidy scenes of Moneypenny’s office and Q’s futuristic armory. Moonraker? Well….the landing dock here today needs a pretty good rake of the old-fashioned horticultural kind- and that’s being kind. Having said that, it is a million times all the better for it. The ram-shackled, broken, abandoned rooms, shutters and stairwells hang heavy with atmosphere and it isn’t long before you are trying to grasp the ghost of Flemming’s inspiration from the same air. I often find it appealing to visit somewhere in the world that has spawned a global icon and the setting here did not disappoint – it’s as if the debris you find has lived multiple aftermaths of Bond’s battles.

Technically you are no longer ‘allowed’ on the island today, as it is private property and not open to the public. With this in mind we stayed only a few minutes – but could not resist taking a few snaps…(sorry)…at each move anticipating Jaws, or some other Odd Ball, to emerge in scuba gear from the surrounding waters.

Select scenes feature, and video footage below:

How to get there?

Island of Bond from ashore. Quaint.

Murals from a bygone era:

There’s something fishy going on here:

Atmospheric sight, through blinds:

Where is this? Show me on a map…

Intrigued? Want more? Watch the video!…

Article and photographs by Oliver Wright. Video by Jermaine Evans.