Pastor Brown's Artistic House

The view of Pastor Brown's house and park taken from the main road

Several weeks ago on my way to Portland I again saw one of the most unusual houses I've ever seen, a site I normally see while traversing the route between Kingston and Port Antonio. However, as I had the time and my trusted camera in hand I decided to stop, for the first, to take a closer look at what seems like a prominent landmark along that route.

Some of the structures in Pastor Brown's attraction

Another view of the museum/park along the main road

A photo of Pastor Brown's throne

Wooden animal figure in Pastor Brown's park

I pulled over on a somewhat narrow soft shoulder long the narrow winding road of Black Hill district in Portland, and went over to investigate the very colourful house across the valley and the equally colourful and interesting structures and signs that lined the roadside in front of the house. There were several colourful items in what seemed to be a mini museum with many colourful creations including a colourful bench, wooden figures depicting different animals, an impressive structure that looks like a combination of a throne and a gazebo, several other unusual pieces, seemingly cryptic signage and of course two Jamaican flags.

Pastor Brown posing in his throne structure

Pastor Winston Brown posing proudly beside his photo that he took at the Royal Palace in London

While I was there looking and taking a few photos I heard a voice beckoning to me from one end of this makeshift roadside museum. It was an elderly man clad in a light blue bush jacket and dress pants with a full head of grey hair signifying his crown of old age. He introduced himself to me as Pastor Winston Brown and proceeded to give me a tour of his mini park and tourist attraction. The 81 year old man walked me through his handy work like a proud father as he explained his masterpieces to me and told me of his journey to London England where he met the Queen during his younger years. He was especially proud of his prominently displayed photo which documented his trip to London and the Royal Palace. But the tour didn't end there!

A view of Pastor Brown's unusual house from the foot bridge

Pastor Brown's colourful and unusual house

After showing me some of his art work and posing for a few pics beside them, Pastor brown invited me to take a closer look at his very colourful and unusual house. So a bit apprehensively I followed him down the valley and crossed over the small spring on a narrow foot bridge that he himself built. The unique house sits on the opposite side of the valley and overlooks his mini park and the main road. This impressive two story building is reminiscent of a castle and is adorned with many colourful tiles, drawings, including one of a rainbow and other decorations which set this house apart from any other house I have ever seen! He also introduced me to his wife who was sitting on the veranda of the house looking on. They were both kind enough to pose for a photo while they told me more about their fascinating place of abode. 

Pastor Brown and his wife posing with two of his photos

After giving them a "smalls" I told them farewell and left behind a true testament of pure Jamaican creativity, however eccentric it may be. So if you are on your way to Port Antonio be sure to look out for this striking house along the Black Hill main road, it shouldn't be hard to spot!

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Strawberry Hill Explored

The View of Kingston from the Poolside at Strawberry Hill

If someone should ask me to tell them of a place with lush beauty and a breathtaking view of the mountains and of a distant city, only one place would come to mind, Strawberry Hill Hotel and Spa. Strawberry Hill Hotel and Spa is nestled in the beautiful and lush mountain range called the Blue Mountains, dubbed by that name due to it's blue appearance when viewed from a distance. This unique location offers a breathtaking view of the majestic blue mountains on one side but also a splendid view of the the entire city of Kingston and St. Andrew below. This wonderful view that Strawberry Hill offers, gives a gentle reminder of the modern city life that rests below it's feet yet it shows how far removed you are in the mountains experiencing peace and tranquility.

Breathtaking view of the Blue Mountains

An amazing view is not all that Strawberry Hill Hotel and Spa has to offer. The hotel boasts a rustic, yet refined appeal with its nicely constructed wooden buildings. The old Georgian architecture complements the remote and scenic location an both blend well to create the atmosphere of Strawberry hill. It's the kind of environment that takes you back in time and gives you that real sense of being tucked away in a rural cabin far away from the anxieties of the modern world. Each cabin and even the main building are all build with balconies that boast views that are nothing short of wonderful and relaxing. But Strawberry Hill is by no means cut off from the conveniences of modern life as it offers visitors the means to stay connected to the outside world with cable television and wifi high speed internet for those who just have to stay connected. Another amenity that this hotel offeres, is one of its trademarks, the gorgeous infinity pool that overlooks the entire city of Kingston and St. Andrew that sits below the edge of the pool. Now apart from getting a massage to calming music and  relaxing aromatic scents in a relaxing atmosphere, chilling in an infinity pool in the mountains overlooking the city way below is the next best thing!

Famous Strawberry Hill infinity pool overlooking Kingston

No hotel or resort would be complete without what all of us crave, delicious and appealing meals that tantalize our tastebuds. Strawberry Hill Hotel and Spa offers a variety of such tastebud seducers that are a mix of local, international and dishes fused from the two. From chef prepared and appealingly plated meals to mouth watering morsels fresh from the smoke on the grill, the hotel offers a range of dishes to supply the hungry guests with tasty meals to satisfy their cravings.

Culinary delights served at Strawberry Hill

The view of Kingston from Strawberry Hill at dusk

Old Georgian architecture of the buildings on the property

The relaxing view from one of the many balconies at Strawberry Hill

Strawberry Hill is just what the doctor ordered if you are in need of rest and relaxation in a calming, peaceful atmosphere or if you are looking for that wonderful serene location to celebrate your nuptials with your family and friends. Scenic views, an old time Jamaica charm, relaxing atmosphere and good food, all that is needed to make you appreciate life a little more.

For more photos of Strawberry Hill please visit the album HERE and remember to "Like" my page!

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JTB Bloggers Linkup: The Finale

Wow, it seems as if it was just yesterday I was enjoying the luxuries of Secrets Wild Orchid and thinking about which of its restaurants I should have dinner! But time certainly flies when you are having fun as that was a whole week ago. Alas, all I can do now is just reminisce on the time I spend at the resort and mi fun filled weekend on the north coast of Jamaica. So now let me do a flashback to the last two days of the trip.

I would like to refer to Sunday as the winding down day, after all the excitement of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It was the first day I could fully enjoy the plush bed in my room at Secrets Wild Orchid, yes I could sleep late as there were no activities planned for that day. It was also the day where I could really indulge in what the facilities had to offer. So after reluctantly pulling myself out of the very comfortable bed I started off the day with a hearty breakfast. However, I detoured from my normal omelet route and went straight for the Jamaican breakfast. I was certainly not disappointed with the ackee and saltfish, steamed callaloo, and fried dumplings as they had a Jamaican flavour to them! Yes I could feel and taste the lovely sensation and flavour of scotch bonnet pepper in the callaloo; the food did have the taste a true Jamaican cooking. Something surprising for a north coast resort!

The beach at Secrets Resorts

After breakfast I decided I would see what the beach at Secrets Wild Orchid was like as it did look quite inviting. Unfortunately though, my time in the warm Caribbean Sea was cut short by ominous clouds that threatened with lightning. Nevertheless, I did enjoy my five minutes on the lovely beach at the resort as I managed to swim and dive a little before being chased out of the water by the inclement weather. As a result I did not get the chance to try out the water crafts that the resort has. I retreated to the safety of the lobby where a few other bloggers where hanging out at the bar and after enjoying a tall Dirty Banana I ventured out once again as the weather seemed to have tamed itself a bit. I spent a few hours chilling the pool then had some delicious lunch, jerk chicken pizza. I then heard the call of the bed in my room, which of course I heeded.

Jerk chicken pizza

After a short nap it was time to check out that beautiful spa I toured on Friday morning. This was my first time sampling a spa, so I was looking forward to what it had to offer. My scheduled spa treatment started out with 10 minutes in the steam room, which took some getting used to! Both the heat and the steam made breathing difficult for me at first, but after getting accustomed to it I relaxed and let the sweat flow in the heat. But if I thought I was sweating in the steam room I was wrong as the sauna made the steam room look like a walk in the park! I sweat like I have never sweat before, as sweat poured from me like the Niagara Falls on crack! I could feel my pours open to release the toxins. Next it was off the the water treatments which consisted of hot and could showers, relaxing massages from jets in two different hot pools. This was then finished off with a dip in ice cold water and a walk through a shallow hot and cold water pools. After the treatment my skin was feeling tingly clean and refreshed while my body was beaming from the relaxing massage of the water. By the time the spa treatment was done I was running late for the final dinner as I had lost all concept in time while pampering my body!

Aesthetics of the spa

The sauna

The water treatment pool

The hot tub

Dinner was hosted at the Seawind Beach Club, which is a part of the Secrets Resorts, but is open to the public and not restricted to guests of the two resorts. The restaurant sported a warm inviting colour, high roof and had a open air design to allow the natural breeze to flow through. However, the beach club is more than a restaurant as it had a pool, a beach and several tent style gazebos which were illuminated with coloured lights. A nice environment to have a relaxing dinner with friends. After, a wonderful dinner the live band that serenaded the guests upped the tempo and it was party time! The guests danced to the live music while some guests had to jump in the pool to cool down after dancing up a storm. It was a nice way to bring down the curtain on a lovely, fun trip.

Seawind Beach Club

Bloggers dancing to the music of the live band

The following morning was time to get ready to leave and after breakfast we bid farewell to the wonderful Secrets Resorts Wild Orchid and the many activities the Jamaica north coast had to offer.

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JTB Bloggers Linkup: Day Two

Live band at Secrets

On Thursday night the staff of Secrets Resorts Wild Orchid, treated us to a nicely presented buffet style dinner on the beach and serenaded us with music from a live band. This gave us a chance to replenish ourselves and start the process of mingling and meeting the other bloggers who we would be exploring the North Coast with for the next few days. After the short mingle and food I was beat from the travel down to Montego Bay and retreated to the comforts of my luxurious room to recharge my batteries for the next day. But what would the day have in store for this eager set?

Buffet style dinner

Guests mingling

It seems everyone suffered from a bit of jet lag or was way to comfortable in their rooms as on Friday morning as we got off to a really late start. It seems I too was one of the guilty parties as I did not have breakfast until almost 10:00am due to the fact that I got up late. The breakfast buffet was made for champions as it offered a wide variety of international breakfast items as well as local breakfast combinations to start our day off right. Our late start to the day however negatively impacted us as we encountered a time constraint which forced the abandonment of the Chukka Caribbean Adventures ATV Tour and our trip to Mystic Mountain. Both of these events I was eagerly looking forward to, so you can just imagine my disappointment when I heard I would not get to enjoy those two activities. Nevertheless I was still determined to make the best of it. Now what was there to do apart from these two activities?

Breakfast buffet

Omelets being prepared

My breakfast!

We still made our first stop at Chuckka Caribbean Adventures, but not for the ATV tour, it was a new activity that they are now offering, a Dog Sled ride! Yes you read right, a Dog Sled ride! This was something I have only seen on TV and in the northern snow covered regions, not in the warm tropical island of Jamaica! This was something I had to see and at least try. The Chukka Caribbean Adventures team gave us a brief introduction to how this activity got started and its background, which led into a full interaction with the guests and the dogs. Next it was time to see what this ride was all about and after a brief demonstration on a single rider sled the guests as well as the dogs were eager to go! I gave the ride a try and made it on the second leg of the ride which was indeed a unique and new experience for me. The ATV tour may have been more exciting to me, but this ride sure did offer me a short thrill and fun. Five of us huddled together in the cart led by several dogs running to the command of the driver along the path. For a first hand view of the ride check out my little video below!

Gordon meets a new friend

Dogs are ready for the Dog Sled ride

Chukka staff prepping the dogs

The Dog Sled Ride!

First person video of the ride!

We later departed from Chukka Caribbean Adventures to get some fuel for our bodies and the place of choice was Scotichies, a local Jerk centre in St. Ann near to Ocho Rios. We all indulged in a mixture of jerked chicken, jerked port, festivals, roasted sweet potato and corn accompanied by our drink of choice... which in my case was a cold Red Stripe. The meal seemed to had score a hit with some of the guests who were having this kind of Jamaican food for the first time.

Pork being jerked at Scotchies

Lunch

My lunch!

Our final stop of the day was at the famous Dunn's River Falls, where the majority of the bloggers on the trip had a ball climbing the falls. They started from the bottom and worked their way up, climbing the face of the slippery rocks, resisting the forces of the powerful cascading waters while still finding the time to pose for photos along the way. After a victorious climb our tired travelers were ready to head back to our rooms at Secrets Resorts Wild Orchid for some food and rest, as there was more to come!

Bloggers climbing Dunn's River

Tim and Frances

Stopping for a break

The climb continues

By 11:00 pm the bus was ready to leave and so were the eager party animals! It was time to hit the Hip Strip in the Montego Bay city centre to sample the clubs it had to offer. The first stop was at Blue Beat where Latin music reigned supreme. Several guests tried moved or at least tried to move their bodies to the music, myself included, as I did a brief attempt at dancing the Merengue with the aid of my partner Frances. Next we hopped over to the famous Margaritaville which was playing a serious mix of early 2000 Dancehall hits and kept the crowd moving to to the groove. The club hopping ended at Pier One which was in full swing upon our arrival.

Bloggers enjoying the music

Dancing the night away

After our club hopping most of us went back to the resort to rest up for another promising fun filled day ahead, while a few remained and partied until the sun came up. But little did we know how much fun was still to come...

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JTB Bloggers Linkup: The Beginning

Our Travel Bus to Montego Bay

On Thursday June 15 Over 25 bloggers and travel writers converged on on the second city, Montego Bay, to explore what the Jamaican well known resort areas has to offer. This is not the first Bloggers Linkup ever to be held in Jamaica as several Caribbean Bloggers have has such an event twice before in  Kingston Jamaica. However the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) Bloggers Linkup is the first of its kind, a corporate sponsored Bloggers Linkup, and definitely the first of such a magnitude. The Bloggers Linkup is an initiative by the JTB to use the information highway, the internet, and its fast growing social media such as blogs, travel websites and twitter to not only introduce, but promote what Jamaica has to offer. This medium allows independent writers to have a Jamaican experience which they can share to their readers without the promotional skewing needed by an agency such as the JTB. Such bloggers and travel writers would be in a position to describe Jamaica based on what they have experienced and in their own way of writing, a reality marketing you may call it.

Secrets Resorts Wild Orchid

Included in this contingency of travel and writing interests, are Jamaican bloggers who were invited to participate in this project, yours truly included. We all departed from the JTB head office in Kingston at approximately 11:00 am destined for our accommodation in the country;s second city, Montego Bay. They JTB certainly knows how to choose a resort, as they chose one that certainly would impress even the most avid luxury hotel traveler! What hotel could be so impressive? Well, it is a relatively new resort in the Jamaica resort market, but it certainly not new to impressing! "Welcome home", is how they greet you to this splendid resort called Secrets Resort and Spa Wild Orchid. From the warm welcome, friendly staff and cold damp towel accompanied by bubbling champaign the guest is wooed without even a second thought! But that was just the beginning of what the hotel has to offer!

The Resort lobby

I was escorted to my room, but as I left the beautiful lobby I couldn't help wondering what my room would look like. This though was put to rest instantly when I opened my door and saw the luxurious room that I will be spending my 5 day 4 night stay at the Secrets Resort and Spa Wild Orchid! I would attempt to describe my accommodations, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so the pictures below will give you a more vivid idea of the splendour of my room.

For more information on Secrets Resorts you may visit there website secretsresorts.com and you may also follow them on their Facbook Page and Twitter @secretsresorts. The rest of the property is amazing and I will endevour to explore as much of what it has to offer over the next few days despite the busy schedule I have. Yes, I just said busy schedule! We will be touring the north coast for the next few days ranging from St. Ann to Negril in Westomoreland. So stay tuned for my adventures on this extensive North Coast JTB Bloggers Linkup. You may also follow me during my entire stay on this trip by following me on twitter @Stunnerj as well as the experiences or the other bloggers by viewing the hash tag #oneloveja.

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