Weekend Escape: Make it a Sumfest road trip

Between July 14 and 20, all roads will lead to the highly anticipated 2019 staging of Reggae Sumfest. If you are leaving from Kingston, give yourself some time to enjoy the scenery as you head to your destination.

The Edward Seaga Highway, which starts from Caymanas in St Catherine and ends at Mammee Bay in St Ann, offers ‘dry land tourists’, like myself, an opportunity to fall in love with nature.

Make sure that you take a few selfies along the way to document the moments. One of the best places to do so is in the vicinity of Mount Rosser. The backdrop there can be amazing.

An equally cool place to capture images is as you make the descent into Mammee Bay. The sight of the pristine blue waters kissing the shiny white sand on the coast is worth being documented.

And, of course, if you decide against using the highway, and choose to use Flat Bridge and Mount Rosser instead, the sights and scenes are equally amazing.

Who wouldn’t want to capture a photo or two of the ‘vagina’ rocks in the gorge or relax in cool Walkerswood, St Ann, before continuing through the ‘craft village’ of Fern Gully, into St Ann? And once you are in the Garden Parish, the chill spots are many and you have plenty of opportunities to pull over and add some spunk to your road trip.

Just Coool, an establishment in Priory, St Ann, is one sure stop. This is where you will find Edgar Wallace, the Puddin’ Man, who serves up the best ‘hell a top, hell a bottom’ baked product.

Having downed a slice of Wallace’s pudding, you can continue on your journey to Sumfest, which is being held some distance away.

WARM SMILES

Before you get there, you will have to pass through Trelawny. The craft vendors there will surely catch your attention with their wares, and who can resist Anthony Walford’s warm smile as he welcomes you to take a look at his stall loaded with eye-catching beads, necklaces, footwear, and other keepsakes.

In between advertising his wares, he will readily share some of his fondest memories at the stop that he has occupied for the last 13 years.

“I used to run taxi in this area and after a while when the taxi ting nah work out, mi just decide to jam right here so. Right now is this little business mi used to buy my first car. Sometimes they will not buy anything but I never stop them when they want to take a picture or pose beside the items. I have made a lot of friends at this spot and there are even tourists who recommend me to their friends so that is how my clientèle increases,” he explains to THE WEEKEND STAR as he rocks to Bob Marley’s Satisfy My Sou l.

After leaving Walford’s spot, it will takes less than an hour for you to reach your destination in Montego Bay, but before that you will have an encounter with members of the security forces as St James is one of three parishes that are currently under a state of emergency. No need to worry though because the police and soldiers on the ground are super friendly. If you are travelling at nights, just keep your roof light on and roll down your windows once you approach the security officers.

Have a happy road trip, obey the rules of the road, and be safe, and, of course, enjoy your Sumfest experience.