Many of you know I gave up my apartment in Ocho Rios after nine months of having my own “home” in Jamaica. The way it went down was quick and I didn’t know I was giving it up the last time I left the island so of course I kept it intact thinking I was coming back to it. I was in Canada at the time I had to pack up and clear out of the place, which made it difficult. Luckily I had a good Canadian friend who was in Jamaica at the time and a best Jamaican friend who’s always around when I need him. They packed up my place together and the Jamaican friend moved everything into his little house in Steertown and is storing it for me.
So a few weeks ago was my first return to Jamaica after losing my apartment and the Steertown friend said he has extra room and I could stay there free of charge. Sweet offer. I hitched a ride with some people from the airport and had them drop me at a gas station on the highway and my friend met me there and took me to his house, which I’d seen years before while it was still being built. Never seen it finished.
You can’t really tell in the photo above because no camera can catch a 270 degree panorama, but he has a billion dollar view of the ocean on three sides of his house. It took my breath away because the first time I came here years earlier was in the dark and I never saw the view! I don’t know how many hours I sat on this veranda writing and just taking in the view and watching all the happenings in the street below. His house seems to be the only one on the street built up onto the hill and you can watch everything from one end of the street to the other.
We went into the house and immediately I started to notice little things that really touched me. Since he had all my things from my apartment he did his best to have what I needed already out and ready to use. He moved a bed into the living room for me to sleep on, had a dresser set up with all my toiletries and girly things on it, a little table with my coffee maker ready to use, my Ipod speakers set up and ready to use, and my giant fan pointed straight at the bed. It was so thoughtful it put a huge smile on my face, how sweet!
Sorry but in the following pics my junk was already all over the bed LOL.
The funniest thing ever was when I glanced over towards the bathroom and it looked oddly familiar. My shower curtain was hanging in his shower and it made me laugh to myself that he’s using it. I guess someone might as well since it’s a nice one and I only got it at Walmart. Better hanging in his bathroom than in a storage bin. It made me feel right at home.
The first night I was beat from my flight and was getting ready for bed (in the living room LOL). I glanced up at the wall and noticed a giant roach but for some reason it didn’t bother me at all. I just asked my friend if that was his best friend up on the wall watching me change. I didn’t even give it a second thought when I hit the pillow.
The next morning was only a little awkward because everyone was up early getting ready for work. Since I was sleeping in the middle of the house they just did their thing around me. As you saw in the pictures the kitchen is about ten feet from my bed and the front door was right beside my head, but so be it. They went about their business and I went about my sleeping, and when I decided to get up I used my own coffee maker. I had my coffee on the veranda with my friend before he left and I decided I’d go make use of my shower curtain.
That evening I discovered not only did he have that billion dollar ocean view, he also gets to enjoy amazing sunsets from his house. Steertown isn’t far from Ocho Rios but it’s all north coast and the sun sets in the west. You never get the full view but you ALWAYS get the beautiful after effects of the sun going down. Here’s a shot I took to the west of his house.
At this house the top level is like most top levels in Jamaica….unfinished. His hope is to one day put the second level on the house and either use it or rent it out. Until that time it makes a spectacular look-out point with a view even more stunning than the veranda below. My friend nailed together some old boards and built a ladder so we could climb to the roof. I should have taken pics or filmed the ladder because it was hilarious….put together with rusty, bent nails and old, splitting wood. I always made him climb first just in case it breaks, I figured I don’t want to be the one impaled. But the ladder never crumbled under our weight and we spent nuff time just sitting on the unfinished rooftop chatting and looking at the view. I’m telling you, if I had the money right now I WOULD be the one finishing the top level for myself.
As we sat up top watching the happenings in the street many people waved as they walked or drove by. I found an old set of binoculars on the roof but the glass was missing in the lenses. Too bad because it would have been awesome to use them up there. I figure I’m going to buy some new ones and bring them down next time I go.
Over the years I’ve heard a lot about Steertown from this friend and other people I know who’ve spent time there. It’s been getting a lot worse over time and often is under curfew by the police. But being there for me, was like being anywhere in Jamaica. Kids playing in the yards and streets, nice and friendly people who say hello when they pass, VERY quiet at night. In fact this is one of the quietest neighborhoods I’ve ever stayed….and I’m not joking about that second level on the house! When money comes.
Leave a Reply