Into (And Up) The Blue Mountains
On previous trips we have spent time in a remote tribal village in northern Thailand, in a mud hut in the Sunderbans mangrove swamps way beyond the reach of roads, and, in Albania, miles from anywhere in the wonderfully named Accursed Mountains. Our new location in Jamaica feels at least as remote and wonderful as those places….
This is without doubt one of the most breathtaking, peaceful, remote locations in which we have ever stayed, where exotic hummingbirds feed from the bottle bush trees and the occasional echoing bird call is all that breaks the silence. The hulking mountains loom large across the valley, darkened against the sky, brooding in a silence so intense that it is a sound in its own right.
Closer to the clouds than it is to concrete, buried deep in the forested mountains, the tiny community of Lime Tree is beautifully detached from the rest of the world, way up on top of the island and within sight of Jamaica’s highest peak. This is a truly isolated community, difficult to reach and one which can be cut off for six weeks at a time when the rainy season brings landslides.
The journey here is fantastic. Picking up the hire car and heading out of the city, we hit the foothills of the forested mountains less than a mile after once more passing Bob Marley’s iconic statue. Within minutes the road is broken and potholed, crumbling where mountain water run-offs cross its path, twisting around hairpins and diving into hidden dips.
Gordon Town is the last village of any note as we seemingly leave civilisation behind and climb to our prearranged meeting point at Mavis Bank – prearranged because from here it’s no longer a road and only a Land Rover or 4×4 will do. In the case of Rodger our host, it’s the former. Leaving the hire car in a secluded corner of the forest, we’re in to the Land Rover and on to an assault course track which is so “off road” that it takes over half an hour to climb the five kilometres to Lime Tree from where we have left our car. All the way, every glimpse of scenery is a feast for the eye.
Lime Tree is little more than a handful of shacks nestled among the trees: trees which are heavy with fruits both familiar and unknown. Beyond the dwellings the track rises to the top of an impossible ridge way above the world, the visible tyre tracks of Rodger’s Land Rover leading to the very end of the ridge where the land just drops away on all three sides. And here, between the land and the sky, is Lime Tree Farm, our home for the next few days.
As we sit sipping our first Red Stripe looking at this incredible scenery, birds are all around. The spectacular swallowtail hummingbird, known locally as the “doctor bird” and Jamaica’s national bird, hovers and takes nectar so close by that Michaela captures numerous terrific shots. Hawks hang around for the kill, vultures scour the land for the already dead.
Coffee. Aficionados will know that Jamaican Blue Mountain is ranked as one of the world’s finest coffees, especially from the beans harvested above 3,000ft. Picture a coffee plantation and you think of the regimented lines of plants rather like a vineyard; that’s not how it is here, where the coffee plants mingle with fruit trees, eucalyptus, banana palms, pine trees and others in these intensely green mountainsides. This terrain makes “regimented” impossible.
At Lime Tree Farm, the delicious coffee is of course made from the beans harvested within yards of the house – but then so is pretty much everything we eat here. When you live this far from civilisation, maximising use of your own produce is essential, and apart from the fish just about everything is sourced just outside the door.
Rodger talks eloquently about this area and its history, and about Jamaica as a whole, over our first sumptuous dinner, describing how most Jamaicans have never been up here in the Blue Mountains and how only 1 in 10,000 visitors to the island ever experience this. There are no other guests here yet in the five rooms at the farm, it’s just us, Rodger, his wife Tifony and their excellent cook and all round helper Keisha.
Next morning we are joined by Max from “just south of Atlanta Georgia” who will join us on our hikes here. Before we reached Lime Tree, we had decided that climbing to Jamaica’s highest point was not on the agenda; once we are here though, the sense of challenge coupled with Rodger’s encouragement, sells it to us and, despite ourselves, we decide to take it on.
After a practice run along a ridge known as the General’s Bench with Rodger as guide and Black Ops the dog alongside, the next day brings a 5am pick up and an assault on the Blue Mountain Peak Trail. It’s a 4-hour climb with an elevation gain of around 3,000ft to reach the summit, Jamaica’s highest point at 7,401ft – no guide or friendly dog this time. By the time we’ve made it back down to the trailhead, it’s been a six-and-a-half hour long, testing hike, and the three of us are pretty tired by completion.
Rated as “challenging”, the uphill climb definitely lives up to that description, partly due to the unrelenting steep incline and partly due to the tree cover which restricts the stunning views to occasional glimpses of the amazing country around us. Given that we had resolved not to do this hike, it turns out to be quite a toughie.
To even reach this hike, the journey to and from the trailhead at Abbey Green is 90 minutes of the roughest, bumpiest, boneshakingest, headbangingest dirt roads you can imagine – 90 minutes to do what must be considerably less than 20 kilometres. After completing the trail, the return journey with aching legs crammed into minimum space is another endurance test in its own right, made slightly better by the fact that, as we travel home, England are stuffing three goals past the Welsh to progress to the next stage of the World Cup.
Chatting with Rodger really brings home the isolation of living up here. Imagine having to plan a 4-hour round trip to buy petrol (gas) and diesel, let alone some basic provisions. Imagine having to live off the land when the rains come. Imagine being cut off for six weeks without power, without water until you yourself repair the pump at the natural spring. Imagine being cut off until you and the other villagers clear the fallen trees and debris from the dirt roads.
To run a coffee farm with accommodation on site in a location as remote as this, you’ve got to be pretty capable. Who else but you is going to repair the water pump/pipeline/broken gate/Land Rover/generator/washing machine? Rodger is clearly very capable.
Yet here’s the thing: Rodger wasn’t born here, he’s English. Originally coming out here to help his mate Charlie build the farm on untamed land, the pair of them set about building the place with their own hands. Rodger ended up buying Charlie’s half, marrying local girl Tifony. Everything from the delightfully comfortable cottages (which we referred to as “rooms” earlier) to the dining table where guests dine, the plumbing, the wiring, the viewing terraces….all Roger’s, and Charlie’s, work. Rodger’s been here nigh on twenty years now. What an amazing, unconventional lifestyle this man has chosen.
As we pack up to leave here, we are a little sad to be going so soon. The peace, the silence, the clear air, the views, will all be missed. One more day relaxing from yesterday’s strenuous hike and breathing more of this mountain air would be perfect. Chatting more with Rodger, Tifony and Keisha, who is another one blessed with that gorgeously infectious Jamaican laugh, is incredibly appealing and we can’t shake the feeling that we’re leaving too soon.
But, as ever on our travels, there is so much more to see….
29 Comments
Nemorino
What a beautiful — and isolated — place to stay!
Phil & Michaela
Absolutely
Mike and Kellye Hefner
What a fabulous adventure! Such stunning views and gracious hosts at Lime Tree Farm. We would like to sit down with you over drinks and a meal someday and have you tell us how you plan your trips. You guys travel right by getting off the beaten paths and digging down into a place. We love your courage to do that. Happy, safe travels.
Phil & Michaela
Ha we can do that! It really was a special place to stay, so pleased to have been there. Sometimes getaways like that are one element of what travel is all about, isn’t it. Thank you for your comments once again, they are always very much appreciated.
grandmisadventures
My goodness, it seems you found an ideal paradise with incredible views and lovely people. I don’t think you could have asked for a better spot to stay. 🙂
Phil & Michaela
It was truly wonderful, Meg. Fabulous isolated place.
Steven M Berger
This is really a “Wow!” post. What an experience. Thanks for sharing a view of Jamaica I’ve never seen.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Steven, it certainly was a great experience.
Heyjude
Stunning photos. What an amazing place you found.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Jude, yes it was very different and very special
Lookoom
To read you, you came for the view and you fell for the people. There are unlikely encounters that impress and you know how to foster them so well.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you so much – yes it was a wonderful place to stay.
Andrew Petcher
Great trip and write up, I enjoyed it.
WanderingCanadians
It’s always nice to travel off the beaten path. The Blue Mountains look stunning. I had no idea that it was famous for its coffee. Congrats on climbing to the highest point in Jamaica.
Toonsarah
What a fabulous place to have found! Some elements remind me of the wonderful B&B we stayed in just outside Ocho Rios (the food, the family dining, even the doctor birds), but we didn’t get views like that of course, nor the sense of isolation. As Kellye says above, you guys really do seem to find some amazing places to stay in when you travel!
Phil & Michaela
I’m pleased that we managed to convey how special it was there Sarah. So peaceful, really wish we’d had one more day there.
Monkey's Tale
Sounds like the perfect place and so much different from our idea of Jamaica! Great find! Maggie
Phil & Michaela
Yes indeed – a million miles away from the all-inclusive resort places (which we’re not intending to explore, by the way!
Alison
What an amazing experience for you both. You’ve both got so stamina and you find such incredible places to visit. Those views are magical.
My little hike today of just over an hour pales in comparison 😁
Phil & Michaela
Magical is the right word!
Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle
Rodger is certainly capable. I love the country and its remote mountaintop villages, but I’m not brave enough to leave behind my city comforts.. at least not yet. For now, I’ll visit ever so often and admire the brave people like Rodger and Tifony who live there every day. It’s a lovely life but our annual heavy rains and even hurricanes can be devastating. I’m glad you enjoyed your visit to Lime Tree Farm. Another lovely piece and I eagerly await the next
Phil & Michaela
Loved it there. Lovin Jamaica so far xx
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
Muy hermosa!
wetanddustyroads
We love places like Lime Tree Farm – it’s just so beautiful and unspoiled! And well done on climbing Blue Mountain Peak – I suppose not many visitors will do this!
Phil & Michaela
It was a special few days
leightontravels
A proper adventure indeed. The views from your balcony… you really seemed to have found a special place (and people) at Lime Tree Farm. Love the bird shots and, oh lord, I’m not sure I had heard of breadfruit.
Phil & Michaela
Foods-we’ve-never-heard-of is a bit of a theme here, Leighton….in fact there’ll be a bit more on that in the next post
rkrontheroad
What a wonderful place to be, just be – the landscape and forests, the birds, the fresh food, and the quiet. I have been places where I have vowed not to do a particular thing, but am talked into it, so kudos to you for doing that challenging hike!
Phil & Michaela
So gorgeous up there, so relaxing, so wish we’d stayed a day longer.