After our wonderful tour at the bird sanctuary, we decided we were up for one more activity so long as it wasn’t strenuous, and no snorkels were involved. Our terrific guide, Omar (pontimetours@yahoo.com) said he had just the thing in mind – a bamboo raft float down the Great River, Jamaica’s longest waterway. He said the river flowed so slowly this time of year, that you could walk faster than a leaf would float. That sounded just about right. We drove another fifteen miles back into the Jamaican hillsides on a really narrow road. Cars were so close when the passed that another coat of paint and they would have touched – and they were all on the wrong side of the road. But we survived.
The Great River wasn’t all that great. It was about the size of the Tye River in Nelson County, maybe 60 feet at the widest places. It had gentle riffles and deeper pools, but the little river-that-could had spawned an industry of perhaps 200 Jamaicans taking advantage.
We noticed on our ride up the mountain that there many huge bamboo trees. So large, that you could stick a softball inside with room to spare. Bamboo trees are an invasive species. But not to the Jamaicans. They had hewn the giant stalks and crafted them into 40-foot rafts to portage thousands of annual tourists down the river for maybe a quarter mile, then back up. We negotiated the price of a short float to $60 for the two of us and it was worth the money.
There were Jamaicans selling trinkets and food in the parking lot and along the banks. There were Jamaicans poling the rafts up and down the river. There were Jamaicans whacking off sugar cane stalks for tourists to sample and there Jamaicans offering limestone rubs like in tropical spa. As I said, there at least 200 men and women taking advantage of a pristine river beneath a canopy of bamboo trees.
We were ultimately escorted to our own personal raft and managed to take our seats without getting wet or falling in. Our guide negotiated the raft through 50 or more other rafts and poled us gently downriver. We were offered opportunities along the way for fruity drinks, jerk sandwiches, and unique Jamaican relics, but we mostly declined. Finally, one never-say-die lady merchant convinced us to purchase a hand made Great River bracelet for five dollars. It was the only thing we bought in Jamaica. Nancy enjoyed a limestone rub (which is said to cure everything from arthritis to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever) on her legs, and so far she has not contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. We killed a couple hours on the river, turned around and our raft captain pulled and polled us back to our starting position. We had a great time except I didn’t think to use any suntan lotion and after a second day in the sun, my face was redder than Bill Clinton greeting new interns. But that’s another story.