The Blue Mountains on a clear day, seen from Mavis Bank.

It was only a matter of time. One last bang and the vehicle would go no more. It needed a rest at least, so photographer Norman Grindley and I hopped out to look around and to figure out just where exactly we were. We had started out on quite a casual drive to Portland, but soon found ourselves crawling up the Blue Mountains. We had lost all track of civilisation some ways back, and now seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

When the vehicle screeched to a halt, it sent a cloud of dust right into my nostrils. I coughed and struggled to make out my surroundings. There was complete silence, but the view was spectacular. There were giant trees all around and we were so high up that it seemed like we were on top of the entire island. I couldn't see anyone, but there were a few homes with zinc and board fences along the way. I heard a shuffling noise and realised that someone was coming up the road behind us.

When the dust had settled, I realised that it was a short schoolboy dressed in khaki and carrying a knapsack on his back. When he was close, I asked him where we were.

"It name Penlyne Castle, sir," he said, and continued walking.

Piercing silence

So now we knew where we were, but there didn't seem to be anyone else to speak with. Nothing seemed to be going on. We decided to start walking up the hill to see if there was anything further north, though the piercing silence left me less than hopeful. After a few minutes of hiking, I spotted a lone figure in the distance. He was a dreadlocked fellow with very dark skin and a muscular body. He must have been in his mid-50s and was standing near some green bushes and a small tree. He was hunched over and seemed to be concentrating on something at his feet, but from where we were, I couldn't make out what it was.

As we got closer, the man turned to face us. "Hello," he said, dryly. We greeted the man and told him we were interested in learning more about the place. He chuckled. "Well, you not going to find much round here in Penlyne Castle right now. For is only pure coffee farmer like me live around here. Most man deh a bush right yah now still," he said, looking me up and down. I asked him why he wasn't 'at bush' like his fellow farmers.

"Well, me is a man do my thing different. Mi go from earlier and come in and cool off. Right now mi just a catch some water and mi a go back," he said.

It was then that I noticed that the thing at the man's feet that he was concentrating on was a small plastic bottle. There was crystal clear water trickling from the ground and the man was collecting some of it in his bottle. "This water is pure Blue Mountain spring water. You can bathe inna it and drink it. Is God make this water, so it must be good. Nuh badda feel seh because it a come from inna di ground it dirty. No man, is clean water," he persisted.

Coffee farmers

The serenity of the Blue Mountains. - File photos

He finally gave his name as Joe, and explained that most of the people who lived in the community were well experienced coffee farmers. "Even the young people dem that coming up take to di farming. Right now is what most people do around here. Is it dem use to make a living," he said.

Joe was interrupted when he realised that his bottle was full and he bent over to pick it up. "Well, I gone, you hear? I have to go dig off, for mi nuh done do what mi was doing. So you take care and all the best," he said as he walked away with a smile on his face. But before disappearing, he told us of a shop a few more feet up the hill where he said we would be able to find more people to talk with. We headed in that direction immediately.

Quiet and boring

Soon we could hear the faint sound of a radio and eventually we came across a tiny shop painted blue. It was a concrete structure but looked like it was made of wood. There were a few young boys playing marbles in the dirt just at the entrance to the shop. We passed them and walked inside. There, we met Pauline, the shopkeeper. Her skin was fair and she had piercings in the most exciting places. She was a chubby woman and seemed pleasant enough. We greeted her and asked about life in Penlyne Castle.

Climb and hike

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. It very quiet and sometimes boring. But we meet a lot of people who come here to climb and hike. Dem come from all over and so dem will come and stop and refresh themselves. Last week I meet a man from Germany. Yes, mi chile! Him say him want to married mi off, but mi tell him say him too ugly fi me. Hee hee!" Pauline seemed about to tumble over with laughter.

"Mi not going to married him, for mi not even know him. Maybe if him come and spend some time, but afta mi nuh idiot!" she said, looking cross.

"But Penlyne Castle is a little quiet place. I used to live in Kingston and since I come up here mi nuh have any more stress. Here, nobody nuh trouble you. Everybody live good. Di only thing you have to worry about is landslide and duppy. Di weather always cool and you always can find sinting fi eat. Dat is why so much people come from all over the world. This place blessed," she said.

- robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com