Jamaica 2016 Day 6. Treasure Beach

I didn’t sleep very well. I was staying in  grandma’s house, but grandma lives in a different house, and this one seems to be used by cousins, nephews, and grandsons as a convenient home away from home, so I was woken several times by people turning on the light and moving through. I solved the temperature problem by keeping the door open, but that just encouraged further foot traffic. Nor surprisingly I woke up rumpled, sticky, and a bit grumpy. There was no easy source of water from washing up, so au juice I went for a morning walk around the village. I have to say that this was the highlight of my acquaintance with the friendly people of Jamaica. I stick out like a sore thumb, but everyone greeted me like an old friend, and I felt that the village as a whole had taken me as a welcome visitor.

Down the mountain I came, into the hot coastal plain, just in time to take the Crocodile Safari Tour in the Black River. It was OK. The crocodiles we met are clearly used to the tourist boats, and gladly come out of the mangrove to eat the chicken that the boats feed them. They are fine looking animals that apparently do well in their semi-civilized surroundings.

The estero of the Black River is otherwise not very rich in wildlife. We saw a rookery of herons, with an obliging croc ready to eat all the chicks that fall from the nests, but otherwise saw nothing of turtles, frogs, or any other birds. The day was pretty hot, and it was already 10 am, so maybe it was just too late, or we were just too loud.

I was hot, stinky, and in need of a bath, so after stopping at the bank for the third time Jamaican dollars flow like water), I decided to head out to Treasure Beach, which is much touted as one of the best beaches of Jamaica. I got there at 1 pm, at the peak of the midday heat, and was glad when I finally booked a room, took a shower, and took a nap under the cooling effects of a fan. I dozed on and off until 5 pm, when I finally got the energy to go down to the beach (the beach is OK, but really nothing spectacular), followed by a log-updating session. By sunset I had a delicious dinner of fried fish, rice and beans, and veggies, and felt at peace with the world.