Wharf Trace, St. Joseph

On January 1, some West Indian friends picked me up to take me to a dinner at a relative's home high up in the hills where there is no water and no electricity. The nearby cold and clear mountain spring is their source for water, as well as a full rain barrel outside the small 2 room concrete house that was built by the resident.

It was a lovely West Indian meal, all you could eat served buffet style, and many relatives and friends were arriving, eating and leaving all afternoon. The friendliness and gracious hospitality of the host and hostess could not be matched by the finest hotel.

The pictures I snapped en route do not adequately show the very steep incline of the mountainous rain forest. The incline down to their house is so steep that their aging car is left far above on the unpaved roadway. We even had to hang on to each other for stability in walking down from the road to their home! I certainly did NOT want to roll down the hill! The songs of many birds greeted us, and I could not stop breathing in big gulps the wonderfully refreshing mountain air. When it came time to leave, at dusk, truly it was hard to go....

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