Ocho Rios,Jamaica, is now making the news since the havoc caused by Hurricane Melissa.
We were in the cruise port in 2012.
The walk of fame.
The walk from the port to the town is an easy jaunt. The weather is tropical. The coconut trees sway. Before we reach the town centre we walk towards Reynolds pier to walk over turquoise blue waters. Surprise, surprise! This is where Dr No ( a James Bond movie) was filmed! Even more Interesting, many of Ian Fleming's novels were written in his home just outside of town.
Noel Coward also lived in the vicinity.
Mixed impressions.
Nearing the town centre we see a Taj Mahal-like building. No marble here. Just concrete. Painted White and green. Just a shopping centre filled with jewellery and duty free shops. We are not in the least attracted by it. More attractive are the art and craft markets both outdoor and indoors with reggae music in the background. The best thing is we are not harassed by touts.
Mum and dad approach
All of a sudden pedestrian activity and vehicle movements become a little chaotic. School children are pouring out from every which direction. They are dressed in pinnafores and ties, very British like except that they take on the earthy colours of yellow and brown. The official language is English but Creole is widely spoken.
Some of the young ones address us as daddy and mummy while thrusting out their hands. They ask for money. We are a little unnerved by the experience. Calling males daddy and females mummy is local patois.
Somehow we are able to evade their approaches as we reach what looks like a sunken village with a stream and a pond. It is surrounded by ad hoc dwellings. This must be what remains of the fishing village that has now dramatically developed into a cruise port and a holiday destination.
Are we in British Colonial Asia?
We decide to walk to the hilly residential area that we had noticed as we entered the harbour. It is humid and we sweat up and down the undulating paths lined with houses, surrounded by mango, banana and morainga trees. Also hibiscus and bougainvillea. The building style and lush foliage is akin to that in Malaysia.
A final view
From up here we have a view of the pristine beaches ,brilliant blue waters and white sands of the many bays, including James Bond Bay where we are docked.
A doubt cleared
Are there really 8 rivers, for Ocho Rios is Spanish for eight rivers? no, there's only two. It seems it is a British mispronunciation of another Spanish word Las Chorreras,which means "the waterfalls". Of course there is a reason for this name. A short drive from Ocho Rios is the famous Dunn's River Falls. It is an iconic attraction for the multilevelled cascades which we chose not to visit.
We leave behind a port that has a bay, a trail, and an airport named after the secret agent.
We hope residents are resilient and are able to pick their lives almost totally destroyed by hurricane Melissa.
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