Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 -- Mattie died 120 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2007. Mattie attended Peter's office party and one of the founders of the company has a husband who looks just like Santa. Though Mattie never wanted to go to the mall and sit on Santa's lap (because he found the whole notion scary), he was intrigued by this real life looking Santa. I snapped a picture of Santa and his reindeer together because I thought they made a charming pair. Mattie loved attending the party and he particularly loved the secret santa Christmas present exchange. Mattie came home that year with a light up gingerbread house and this item became one of his favorites to always display over the holidays.

Quote of the day: Empathy, the capacity to feel with another in his suffering, is born first of awareness, then of sympathetic connection. ~ Daphne Rose Kingma

Christopher Columbus set foot on land in Ocho Rios in 1494. Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean, and Ocho Rios is located on Jamaica’s North Coast. The origin of the name Ocho Rios remains a bit of a mystery. Directly translated from the Spanish, it means “eight rivers,” but since there are not eight rivers in the area it is more likely the name was derived from the words, “las chorreras” (the spouts), because of the nearby waterfalls.

The first stop on our tour today was Prospect Plantation. Beginning in 1936, Prospect Plantation produced pimento (allspice) trees and limes and was overseen by its Scotland born owner, Sir Harold Mitchell. After his death in 1983, the 1000 acres were transformed into an eco-destination to inspire visitors and offer a true Jamaican plantation experience. However, the Plantation is still owned by the Mitchell family.

On the grounds of Prospect Plantation, small plaques mark the trees which were planted by visiting guests such as Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Noel Coward, Henry Kissinger, and Drew Barrymore. I want to call your attention to three things in this picture. First, this is a royal Poinciana tree (it has a leaf like a mimosa tree and pods which when opened have beautiful red colored beads used for jewelry and maracas) and was planted at the Plantation by Drew Barrymore. Second, you will see our tour guide, Jackson. Jackson was very entertaining and taught us the Jamaican phrase…. Ya Mon! Third, what I like about this picture however is it shows you this large brown mound embedded in the tree. This brown mound is a termite hive. It is huge, and actually there were many around the plantation. Termites build their homes in trees rather than the ground, to protect them from the hot sun. Look closely at the picture because you will see brown trail lines up and down the tree trunk. This is how the termites travel around the tree and do not get exposed to sunshine!

We had the opportunity to hold and smell the leaves of a lime tree and a pimento tree. The lime tree has a citrusy smelling leaf which we are familiar with since we have a Meyer’s lemon tree growing in our living room. But the pimento tree was an experience. Pimento or the allspice tree has very fragrant leaves. Three spices are captured in the leaves…. Cinnamon, cloves, and pepper, which is why the tree is call ALL-SPICE.



The plantation was very beautiful and lush and we traversed it on a jitney being pulled by a tractor. Jackson drove the tractor, however, there was another man standing on the tractor at all times near Jackson who never introduced himself. During the tour my dad inquired about this man. Jackson explained to my dad that this man standing behind him was a security guard for the bus. This helps to put crime into perspective, especially since we appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, on a 1000 area plantation.

Jackson stopped the tractor, jumped out, and explained to us about the production of sugar cane. Sugar cane leaves are apparently hard to touch, cut, and work with. So once the sugar cane has matured and is ready to be harvested, they burn down the whole crop. After the burning is complete, the only thing remaining is the stalk of the sugar cane plant. This is where the sugar is located. The stalk is SO tough it is completely unharmed by fire. As you can see in the picture, there was a 17 century sugar cane mill machine there on display. At one time, a harvested cane or stalk was placed in the machine and horses would be tired up to this mill to make it turn, which would grind the stalk and produce sugar juice. The juice is then boiled to produce molasses. It is from molasses that sugar and rum (VERY popular in Jamaica---- so much so that they were giving out free samples on the tour!) are made.

The plantation was filled with glorious butterflies. We had many Mattie sightings today. Peter captured this beautiful one!

Jackson selected me from the group to attempt to climb the coconut tree! As you can see I did not get very far. There seemed to be no place to grip onto or to place my feet!

Then Donald, who works on the Plantation, showed us how to climb a coconut tree. By the way he did it in bare feet!

At the Plantation we got to see a coconut demonstration! Peter was paying close attention, since NO saws or electrical equipment were used at all. Though I have to admit, this is the component which made Peter’s coconut opening demonstration at Mattie’s preschool and kindergarten so entertaining. The kids loved seeing and hearing the saw and hammers!!!

However, notice the wooden spike on the ground. Donald literally hit the coconut with its husk on it right onto this spike. He then easily peeled the husk away and with your average kitchen butter knife, he used the handle to knock at the coconut shell and split it apart. He made it look SO SO easy!

Donald gave us fresh coconut water to drink and fresh coconut. Apparently Jamaicans like to eat coconut with sprinkled sugar in the raw on top of it. It was delicious!

The house that sits on the Plantation grounds belongs to Sir Harold Mitchell and his family. They bought it in the 1930s. The house reminded me a lot of Mt. Vernon in layout. This family was clearly very wealthy. They owned properties all over the world and knew all the English royalty and dignitaries. This was very evident from the pictures framed throughout the house!

Peter snapped a picture of the first floor of the house. I want to call your attention to the picture of the woman sitting on the piano. This is a picture of Mary Jane, the Mitchell’s only child. Mary Jane died at age 39 from brain cancer (before dying she had two boys and they now own the property). The story of Mitchell’s only child dying from cancer affected me. A great sadness came over me, despite the fact that they were clearly wealthy and lived a magnificent lifestyle. I have to imagine to some extent at the end of the day that did not matter, their lives were permanently affected and in that sense it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor. Nonetheless, I observed that the majority of the people in the room with us today had not personally experienced the devastation of losing a child. But it was that information that truly made me feel united with the Mitchell’s.

As you walked out the back door of the house, it opened up onto a beautiful patio that overlooked spectacular gardens. In the distance you can see a fountain that came from Italy. The fountain was said to bring luck and good fortune.

Within the fountain were exquisite water lilies and frogs. Peter captured a frog that poked his head out of the water. This was another sighting that reminded me of Mattie.

One of the last stops at the Plantation was to visit the camels. Peter and I had a lovely camel encounter. He was a very sweet, docile, and affectionate animal.

Our next stop on the tour today was to Dunn’s River Falls. I could have done without this stop altogether. Our tour guide at the Falls was terrible. She never did a head count and was simply surly. However, what truly bothered me was over 1000 people were visiting the Falls today, which made it super congested, very uncomfortable, and certainly not a beautiful and tranquil experience. Here is the description given to us of the Falls……………………



"Dunn’s River Falls is one of Jamaica’s national treasures and the most beloved attraction in Ocho Rios. It is a dramatic 600 foot drop of cascading water which dominates a tranquil rainforest setting. The falls are a living phenomenon, as they continually regenerate themselves with deposits of travertine from the river that cling to the falls, replenishing the rocks. A climb up its limestone tiers and a swim in the sparkling pools is a delight, although, a walkway built into the forest environment allows you to experience the spectacle without getting wet."

As you can see from the picture, the water moves at quite a clip and over some steep rocks. To be quite honest I am not sure how the park avoids accidents since there is NO restriction as to who can participate in the climbing of these Falls. Though we did not get in the water to experience the Falls, we did climb all the steps to walk out over the Falls.

Here is a picture of my mom and I by the Falls. As we were boarding the bus to leave the Falls, three older women were missing from the bus. Our bus driver was going to leave them behind, since he told us they probably decided to climb the Falls and he would come back for them in an hour. However, I knew NO ONE from our bus got into the water to climb the Falls and I basically told him he shouldn’t leave without these women. In fact, one couple on the bus was mad at me for speaking up. But seeing the physical strength it took to climb those Falls, I knew those three women were bright enough not to attempt that. The Park was congested and our Park guide was awful. Therefore, I deduced these women got lost in the Park and were trying to figure out how to get to the bus. Guess who was right?!

After the trip to Dunn’s Falls, we were dropped off at a shopping area. OH MY WHAT AN EXPERIENCE THAT WAS! Basically nothing was affordable, even after haggling down prices. One store owner told us that the philosophy many Jamaicans have is that US citizens are ALL privileged and wealthy and therefore they are entitled to charge us these exorbitant prices. That notion did not sit well with any of us on the tour bus and therefore nothing was purchased.

Before embarking the Ship, Peter snapped a picture of the Island Princess. Since tomorrow we are at sea the entire day, we will not have a chance to see the outside of the ship again until we arrive at port in Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday.

I end tonight’s posting with a picture of a smiling Mattie Moon over the Caribbean....