The Week of Enjoy

Sr. Luis Rojas enjoying la cama

This week we didn't update the blog much. Mainly due to the time issue we have here, as time seems to not exist, yet it passes. We have not yet philosophized enough on the subject to understand it. The week was a total of about 18 hours, 6 of which we slept. Nights at Pantrepant are bliss. Lots of fat soft pillows. Low tropical temperature. Fan. Exhaustion. Good dinners. Reggae. Maybe a beer if we are lucky. etc. etc.  Sunrise shines through my window, eliminating the need for an alarm clock. Sometimes, always, getting out of bed is not a pleasure. Enough about beds.                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Today we had to gather different vegetables for The Caves Hotel in Negril. We will have the honor to escort these vegetables and herbs (Calalu, Spinach, Tomatoes, Salads, Arugula, Okra, Basil) to their final destination tomorrow morning. Our trip starts at 6 a.m. when we leave Pantrepant with our valuable cargo, proceeding to wait under a bridge under the highway to get picked up by Charlie. Or so we think. From there we go to Negril and visit the hotel and its beaches. This will be our first excursion into Jamaica. Update and pictures on Monday.                                                                                                                         

Today is payday, so work ended early to get to Falmouth and stand in line at the bank. We dont like lines. So we are thinking of staying on the farm and maybe go fishing and re-setting our shrimp trap. Or just go swim in the river.                                                                                                                                                        

Mr. Macdonald in an education magazine

On Wednesday we went to visit Stephen Macdonald, a psychologist, farmer and commnity activist. He has a very intense past. Serious stories and important knowledge and ideas. We visited him in hopes of gathering information about the local Cockpit Mountain endemic medicinal treasures. He was setting up a project with the University of the West Indies to reproduce and distribute endangered or threatened plant species to minimize their native extraction. Sadly, the money dissapeared on the way to Bunkers Hill (Pantrepants nearby town and where most of its workers come from every day). He introduced us to another local rasta, who we visited in his organic plot in the middle of the bush, with more knowledge on medicinal plants. We got information and saw smelled touched many of these plants and their local names, in order to correlate the local knowledge with UWI studies.                                                                                                                   

Well, this weekend we might sleep in a pick up truck or in a 53 star hotel, we might eat in a romantic candle-lit cave wishing we where with our girlfriends and not with each other.
We'll keep you updated on this topic.                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                            

Enjoy.