“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” ~ Lao Tzu.

When I first returned to Jamaica after an absence of some fourteen years, I had already begun writing, filling unruled journals (I did not appreciate the lined versions, which seemed too restricted, too dictatorial) with thoughts and impressions.  Cameras in those days were conveniently disposable, cardboard boxes with lens and film included, memories captured then developed in one simple package.  And since the photos themselves would not be reviewed and revealed until retrieved from the pharmacy, you would have no idea whether they had captured the reality or not.

Words on paper, although often inadequate to the task of giving a full description of happenings and impressions, helped to document the fact that I was home.  This trip, like so many others since the advent of phones with cameras, has been different.  The ever present, oh-so-handy phone is ready to snap, even from a moving vehicle, even while taking an early morning walk with a group of walkers who have had a commitment (around 6 days a week) for the past 28 years!

Like most of my intentions, my daily journaling lasted perhaps the first four days (and that may be an exaggeration).  To my amazement, I have even had a couple of visits with family and friends where we were so busy catching up that we forgot to take out the ever-present phone and capture photographic evidence of the encounter!

To say that Jamaica fills up your senses still does not capture the overwhelming ‘nuffness’ of every experience.  It is a land of so many contrasts and contradictions, that my mind is teeming with stories, impressions, images, vibes.

A word of caution.  Just because there is technology to assist you as you navigate around the island, do not be fooled.  Whichever form of GPS that you use has not been vetted or edited by the people who live in the area!  When Waze, or Google maps show you a pretty pretty road that will take you nicely from point A to point B, Be-ware! The road may have been more of a suggestion than a paved surface.  On a journey that took us through several parishes over actual roads which left much to be desired, we heard several gems of advice.  We overheard a driver asking for directions to a specific place being told: ‘Follow this road to the crossroads, and when you get there, ask again!’.  When we came to an intersection where the phones in the car were not in agreement as to whether to turn right or left we also asked for directions and were told ‘If I told you to take this road, you would call me wicked!’ even though it would have taken us to our desired destination!

We turned back, and then decided to trust the majority of our devices (which were 75% in agreement) and dubiously set off on more of a track than a road.  There seemed to be evidence that vehicles had used it, but it eventually deteriorated to the point that the driver, having left the vehicle to walk down further, decided that in a contest between road and vehicle, the road would win.  We carefully reversed to take another, less traveled road.  Fortunately we encountered a real live human being who told us he would show us the way to go, if we gave him a ride.  Naturally, our devices having totally betrayed us, we happily agreed.

In discovering that we knew people in common (my father-in-law being well known in the district), we also received this explanation.  We had been on a road, he told us, however, it was a walking road, not a driving road! Only in Jamaica, is a common expression.  But I see a business potential, a GPS navigation system edited and narrated by resident Jamaicans who take into account the condition of the roads, and perhaps also point out the juiciest fruit trees, or sightseeing stops along the way! I have a name for it already (perhaps I should copyright it!) FiWiGPS.  This is not a reversed WiFi system, in Jamaican patois, ‘fi wi’ means ‘our’ – as in ‘for us’. 

Of course, our experiences over the past week or so have encompassed some of the realities of travel in Jamaica.  Please trust me: when driving on a road where there are huge pools of water, do not drive through them.  There may be a tire-destroying pot-hole laying in wait for the one who splashes through.  Making sure you have a good spare; being sure your car is maintained and ready for all eventualities, these are essential in a country where you can go from smooth ‘barber-green’ paved highways to a road so filled with potholes that you have to choose your poison as you cautiously inch through (and PTSD makes you jump at every bounce).

In a land of such extravagant beauty, views which no camera can adequately capture, I have been given countless opportunities to count my blessings.  Last week I wrote of spending time with a young girl with a hearing impairment.  She has taught me many lessons and signs, so that we could communicate one way or another. But most of all she taught me the joy of being alive.  She dances, she sings (unfortunately both the words and the tune are unrecognizable), she takes such pleasure in simple things (videoing herself singing and dancing) that I was ashamed of any moment I have spent feeling dissatisfied with any part of my life. 

This week I have walked the challenging Mountain Spring walk (only once, but I hope to do it again); I have driven up to the cool, quiet village of Irish Town, nestled in the Blue Mountains, roads which drop off steeply on one side (and yet is that the roof of an elegant condominium hidden below?).  I have soaked in as many experiences as I can (whether of the wide variety of tropical flowers, or of typical Jamaican exchanges).  I have felt nerve endings come alive, remembering the texture of a sweetsop; the sharp tang of eskoveitch fish seasoning (and been driven from the room as the sauce was being prepared, the scotch bonnet pepper triggering mucous membrane reactions in everyone nearby).

This Friday morning, as I await another adventure, I hope I have learned some important life lessons: the importance of taking pleasure in the journey, even if you are on the wrong road; the reminder that we are not in control of events, but we are in control of how we respond to them; that there is pleasure to be found in any encounter, any situation.

Have a wonderful weekend, Family! And may your senses be tickled by something unusual today.

One Love!

Namaste.