I saved this for last. For a moment when the stress of real life returned in full force so that I could go back to my photos and take a deep deep breath of beautiful St. Elizabeth in snapshot.
In the cool of the morning in St. Elizabeth my cousin Mac would take me down to the Lookout. We walked 20 minutes down and 40 minutes back up a red dirt road through the hills pregnant with crops taking pictures along the way.
Red dirt road to Lookout
We would pass the odd field, freshly ploughed and waiting for seed, smelling of bauxite (or what I would imagine bauxite to smell like) and the broken stems of plants.
Ploughed field waiting for seed
The tomato fields are bedded with straw and on one of our walks we saw a man weeding, using his machete to slide under the straw and break up running roots of creeping weed. As they start to change colour the tomatoes are picked because once the ripening begins it is a quick run to red.
Tomato and mellon often grow side by side.
Mac and I climbed to the Lookout point around rocks and cactus flowers to see the breathtaking view of the coast of South St. Elizabeth.
Climb to our favourite spot at the Lookout
CONQUEROR
From this perch the view is AMAZING! To the West is Treasure Beach.
Treasure Beach from Lookout
Much of the coast is uninhabited and anyone who has survived a hurricane can well imagine why. The wind against the face of these mountains can destroy like no force of man.
To the East of the Lookout we are able to see Lover’s Leap. The place is named for two slaves who loved each other very much but whose masters intended to separate them. They jumped from the place marked with the lighthouse at the top of the mountain.
Lighthouse at Lover's Leap
To the South we see the far fall or steep hike down to the Caribbean Sea.
Far fall to the Caribbean
On the way to and from the Lookout we would pass friendly neighbours and their animals. This little guy got my heart, bucking and bucking at his mom to let him near enough to get some milk.
Baby Billy getting his milk
And this dainty little one came pushing up toward me.
Curious Kid
We would also pass papaya trees,
Papaya tree loaded
gungo peas,
The Gungo Pea, also known as a Congo Pea, and closely related to the Pigeon Pea
rows of corn,
A row of corn by a tomato patch
carrots,
Carrot head just out of my shadow
rosemary,
Rosemary grown but not often used in St. Elizabeth
and thyme.
Used to cook just about everything in Jamaica, the Thyme plant is a must have in every St. Elizabeth garden.
There is always something small to snack on like the little tomatoes,
Little hands full of snacky tomatoes
and Star Apples, sticky and sweet in their tropical richness,
Star apple, not to be confused with the Carambola known as Star Fruit. Both are grown in St. Elizabeth.
and Strawberries. Who would have thought, right?
St. Elizabeth strawberries. There are two varieties in the family garden - these are the smaller ones.
What comes to the table depends very much on the season. In another season it would be Ortaniques (a unique orange variety), Star Fruit, Mangoes of every variety, Naseberries, Sweet Sops, oh my goodness I could go on but not without getting very hungry.
Aunty makes Bammy, a Jamaican cassava bread rich in fibre and mild in taste, to go with my lunch, a simple variation of the Jamaican national dish of Ackee and Saltfish – without the Ackee.
Handmade Bammy - I am truly blessed!
At the end of a blissful morning with a long walk to get my blood flowing, fresh air to fill my lungs, the sight and smell of crops and animals to give me a sense of peace, I sit down to a lunch of traditional Jamaican food, fresh off the land and out of the pot.
Lunch off the fat of the land
I hope you’ve lived vicariously and enjoyed my time in St. Elizabeth with me. It won’t be long before I’m back there in another season with other fruits and learning new things.
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