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Blue Mountains of Jamaica

Life in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica.

What’s it like to live at the end of a bad road in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica? We live on a side of the mountain bordering St Thomas, the roads are in extremely bad condition – starting off as you depart Kingston as potholed, broken pave, gradually decaying to rutted mud tracks. That same bad road affords us beautiful unspoiled scenery, total peace and quiet, free from mass tourism ( crude guess, much less than 1% of foreign tourists visit the Blue Mountains ) – on the flip side, troublesome logistics, additional work and extra expense. We pump our own water from a spring, have frequent power cuts and have to run generators, service and fix our own vehicles ( constantly being battered by the rough roads), maintain and build our own infrastructure – community road days to patch a decrepit strip of dirt. Hurricane season ( June to November ) is a nerve racking time, even a system passing close by will result in days of torrential rain, washing away roads, dwellings and power lines – we can be cut off for weeks without electricity. Extra stores are laid in – fuel for the water pump and generators, freezer full and plenty of tins, extra rice, flour – and a bottle of rum! Most things are more difficult, logistics are more complicated, harder work to fix and maintain machinery, services and buildings – this ultimately means less time and money – a little more tired and a little more broke! Still, we have all we need, and we are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Near zero light, noise, air and people pollution. We feel it is worth it to live in the ‘old Jamaica’.