... "taliban" travelogue trilogy ... 2nd gear ... Cinchona ...

     it wasn't something I expected, summer in Kingston and a chance to do this again ...

     almost certainly wouldn't have happened if there was even the least chance of rain ...

     nearly went once as a youth but missed out on going to these gardens way up in the heights ...

    such is the trek to Cinchona, few attempt it ... most never lay eyes on those sights ...

     I had been to Strawberry Hill but this place was even higher than that ...

     five thousand feet up, a different Jamaica ... from the one you see on the flat ...

    so when Willy called and said his crew were on the go ...

    "can you be ready early o'clock?," there was never a chance I'd say no ...

     seven of us met up at Hope Gardens ... Doc had his 4x4 pick-up to join the convoy ...

    the terrain requires that type of car, so he drives, the rest of us have faith and enjoy ...

    true to form it took a while to get ready and of course we took off late ...

    wedged into the truckbed we were predictably one of the last out of the gate ...

    but that didn't matter 'cause y'dun know seh ... in Jah guidance we trust ...

    only thing, it was seriously dry and we all got covered in dust ...

    the scenery was breathtaking, watching roadside vegetation change ...

    the higher and further we made our way up, into the Blue Mountain range ...

    occasionally a driver would need to manoeuvre a turn, or accomodate nature's call ...

    this slowed everyone down, one or two wouldn't make it at all ...

     it was hotter than expected up there ... creatively I sacrificed my shirt ...

    it became mask and headgear ... inhaling through fabric would filter the dirt ...

  recent hurricanes felled trees en-route, and up at the top ...

    who'd been there before noticed changes when we finally came to a stop ...

    Fyahball, the caretaker, lent his facilities to prepare what we took ...

    most brought food ... we had sprat, veggie-rice and breadfruit to cook ...

     on top of the world, I couldn't help thinking,"man, this is it! - what a life!"...

    playing intense keep-up football we forgot all stress and strife ...

    even up here the world is wired for sound ... a DJ with generator was a huge bonus ...

    this is musical Jamaica after all, where riddim soundtrack is compulsory, must ...

     a wide botanical variety of trees, bushes and flowers ... not to mention the panoramic view ...

    makes it impossible for me, or any writer I've read, to give this place its rightful due ...

     it's a hard site to get to ... perhaps that's just as well, meet and right ...

    conventional wisdom tells us there's nothing good that comes without a fight ...