Green Jamaica
The Blue Mountains
 

The Blue Mountains form the eastern end of Jamaica's mountainous spine. The orange in the relief map shows altitudes over 7000ft. Blue Mountain peak is 7402ft (2256m) above sea level. The long mountain to the extreme right, parallel to the coast is John Crow Mountain. The photos were taken by me at Holywell, a park about 4000ft high.

The Blue and Johncrow Mountains National Park was established in 1990 to provide stricter guidelines for the protection of forestry and watershed areas. The conservancy area covers 196,000 acres (79,321 hectares) and includes much of the interior of Portland, St Thomas and St Andrew parishes.

The area represents a full third of that part of the Island which still exists under natural forest. Roughly 150 bird species make their home in this area, including 28 endemic species. Giant swallowtail butterflies are still seen sometimes and coneys, yellow boas and wild boar hide in the forests. Botanists say that roughly 40% of the flora found here grows nowhere else on earth.

As the Mountains are shale-based, landslides can be a problem especially in areas where timber was cut unrestrictedly before the conservancy was enacted. Large quantities of Blue Mahoe, Caribbean Yellow Pine, Mahogany and Red Cedar once grew below the tree-line but centuries of indiscriminate logging have destroyed most of them. For the past 30 years or so, the Forestry Department have been planting, mostly yellow pine, in a reforestation effort.  Another danger is caused by the antiquated "slash and burn" method of clearing land for agriculture. Park rangers have a very difficult job keeping this under control and the offenders are not always uneducated country folk.

Just about halfway up the Mountains lies the military camp of Newcastle. Established in 1851 for the troops who had been ravaged by Yellow Fever to recover; it is now the Training Camp for the JDF. In fact, the road which snakes up the hills crosses the Parade Ground and travellers often stop at this point to stretch their legs and stare in awe at the majestic views. Many a family snapshot is taken in front of the wall where regimental crests are displayed. Wood cabins at Holywell may also be rented from the JDF for the real back to nature experience. Read the history of Newcastle at the JDF's website.

Engraving by Boudier 1878

Our World Famous Blue Mountain Coffee is grown in the foothills of this beautiful range. In the 1720s, Louis XIV of France sent three arabica coffee plants to his colony of Martinique. Two plants perished and the third was given as a gift (or bribe) by the Governor of Martinique to Sir Nicholas Lawes, Governor of Jamaica, in about 1728. Plant, soil and climate created a perfect synergy and by 1737, Jamaica started to export coffee and the rest, as they say, is history. The designation, Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, is an internationally protected certification that can only be issued by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica. Altitude, geographic location, method of drying and roasting, size of beans, etc. are all rigidly regulated and monitored. Blue Mountain Coffee is never freeze dried, decaffeinated or made into instant granules. Some people think that there is a low caffeine content because the coffee is not bitter but in actual fact this is not so. The rich, smooth taste makes Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee one of the most sought after, and most expensive coffees in the world. Blue Mountain Coffee is grown at elevations between 3,000 and 5,500 ft. Above that is forest preserve and below does not qualify for the designation.

Places to visit in the Blue Mountains:

Holywell Park
Soon after exiting Newcastle you will arrive at Holywell (or Hollywell) Park. This park covers about 300 acres (120ha) and is 3250ft (990m) above sea level. There are picnic tables and wood cabins for rent. A dream come true for photographers and birdwatchers.

Cinchona Gardens
Established in 1868 and named after the trees brought there in the 1870s, Cinchona is possibly the worst kept botanical gardens in the world and has never fully recovered from Hurricane Gilbert 20 years ago. However this adds greatly to the wild natural charm of the place. Close to heaven both figuratively and literally at an altitude of 5000ft+.

Cinchona Gardens in the late Victorian era was the centre for botanical research in Jamaica. Study was done of both endemic plants and English plants brought from Kew Gardens. Cinchona bark produces quinine which is used for the treatment of malaria.

Flamstead
This once majestic Great House is now a ruin, most of it's lands subdivided and sold. This was once a grand country home where royalty and millionaires came to escape the heat of Kingston. However, before it entered private hands in 1751 it was THE strategic lookout. 

It was from here that Henry Morgan, in his pirate days, signaled his ships when a merchantman was entering Harbour. That maybe why soon after it became Port Royal's Naval Lookout. From here Lord Nelson had a perfect view of Kingston Harbour and any potential threat from enemy ship. A giant telescope kept watch and an elaborate system of mirrors sent signals to Port Royal. Supposedly it was also from here that Dikkers, a Nazi spy, sent signals to German submarines at the start of World War II. In fact there is even evidence that the Tanios or Arawaks, Jamaica's aboriginal people, used it as a look-out in pre-Columbian times! It was also here that the infamous highwayman, Three Finger Jack was captured in 1781.

However, Flamstead's claim to fame might be even more important for it was here that longitude was set. Eighteenth century sailors had great difficulty working out time at sea. Navigation was by the stars and there was always the possibility of going off course. In 1714 the British Parliament offered £20,000 (millions by modern standards) to anyone who could invent a device that could accurately tell time at sea and therefore the exact longitude of a particular place. In 1762, John Harrison invented the H-4, a small chronograph which was secured on the "Deptford" which sailed from England to Jamaica. In Portsmouth, England and at Flamstead on 26th January 1762 two astronomers from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich calculated the time and distance and determined the exact distance and therefore longitudinal position of Jamaica, thereafter lines of longitude could be set on maps and globes. It took John Harrison almost half a century to collect his £20,000 as the judges at the time had a falling out among themselves. It might be because of this that the property was supposedly named after John Flamsteed (1646-1719) Britain's first Astronomer Royal.

In latter years Ambassador Peter King founded the Flamstead Heritage Society, however since his untimely death this organisation has been at a standstill.

NB Most of the Flamstead information, though also in public records, was told to me by dear friends who owned the property from the 1950s on.

Mavis Bank Coffee Factory
The Jablum brand is produced at this 2 century old coffee plantation owned by the Munn family. The life's work of a former minister of Agriculture Keeble Munn. He helped to form the Coffee Industry board in 1950 and was instrumental in regularising the systems which govern coffee production. Mr Munn died only months ago (April 2008) but his devotion to coffee will always be part of our country's history.

When camping or hiking DO NOT go without a guide, it is easier than you think to get lost, fall or come face to face with a wild boar!

And remember:
Take only photos, leave only footprints