Technology and Facebook sometimes make me crazy, but there is one aspect I love – the daily Facebook memories.
Over the past few years I’ve been documenting my travels through photos, videos, and commentary posted to Facebook. Every day I get notices from Facebook about my memories from that day in years past. And sometimes, these post memories bring back the sweetest feelings from an outing with lasting impact. Such was the case this morning when I woke to a “memory” of a trip I took three years ago, rafting on the Rio Grande River in Portland Parish, Jamaica.
The rafts are made from bamboo canes lashed together with vines or rope. On the back end of the raft there is usually seating for two people while the raft captain stands at the front and poles the raft down the river. Once the rafts reach the bottom of the 6 mile ride, we disembark while another man takes over and pulls the raft upstream, walking in the water against the current, all the way back to the departure point!
The water is quite shallow, with small rapids in a few spots. Mostly, the water is calm, clear, mountain spring water with pebbles and stones, small and large, dotting the riverbed.
The deepest part of the river is said to be Lovers Lane – a narrow pathway between giant boulders that reaches around 35 feet deep at times.
Gary, our raft captain, explains the training he has had to undergo in order to claim that title. It seems quite extensive, including both safety training and historical/cultural/natural information to share with passengers. He says that the training for captains on other river rafting excursions (White River, Martha Brae, etc.) is not as stringent as for the captains on the Rio Grande.
We pass through areas inaccessible by car, and so quiet – the only sounds are the birds circling above and the pole splashing through the water. Lush vegetation surrounds us and it feels like we are miles and miles from civilization. At one point we pass a woman doing her wash in the river with children in tow. We witness a few laborers pulling rafts in the opposite direction – returning them to the starting point.
Gliding gently down the river, we arrive, mid-trip, at a clearing on the left side of the river. Belinda (sometimes referred to as Melinda or Brenda, so I’m not sure of her exact name) sets up her cook shop here daily, under a lean-to, with picnic tables, a wood-fired stove, and aromatic pots of fish heads, chicken, rice & peas, callaloo, cabbage, plantain, and dumplings bubbling on the fire. There are no roads so she must hike in with her supplies every day.
After a delicious snack, we resume our trip downriver, floating gently several miles to the ending point near the bridge, where we are picked up in a car and driven back to the departure point.
The photographs I took on this adventure are very special to me. One photograph of Belinda, taken with permission, has been juried into three international or regional photography exhibitions and was instrumental in earning me a 2022 Delaware Division of the Arts Emerging Artist Fellowship.
Another photo, Rafting on the Rio Grande, served as my primary promotional image for my very first solo exhibit at LaFate Gallery in Wilmington, Delaware, and also for my second solo show at The Mezzanine Gallery, in Wilmington.
If you ever get to Portland Parish in Jamaica, I highly recommend this trip – it’s a chance to see another side of this beautiful island. If you have visited the Rio Grande, please share your experiences in the comments!
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