So, who knew there were a bunch of underground caves in the hills high above Jamaica? I sure didn’t. I would have expected it in the Blue Mountains but not hidden beneath farms in St Elizabeth.
This excursion was quite a random happening and although I nearly died more than once on the same hike I’m SO happy I decided to go! It’s not every day I get to sit under the earth in the hills of Jamaica. The two young guys I went with are friends of mine who live in the quiet beach town of Black River but originally hail from a tiny community far up in the rolling farm hills of St Elizabeth. The town is called Brighton and it was actually pretty easy to get to considering you have to zoom to microscopic proportions to find it on Google Earth. The drive up was only about 45 minutes from the seaside in Black River. And the road going up is so narrow that God forbid someone is coming down at the same time.
Once we arrived in the tiny town I parked the car in the middle of some farm land and we set out on foot. I had no idea what the hike was going to be like but about ten minutes into it I really wish they’d told me that flip flops weren’t the best option. But then again, even if they had told me it wouldn’t have helped. I don’t bring anything to Jamaica besides flip flops.
Our hike started out beautifully up a long grassy slope and through acres of green farmland. It was so gorgeous up there I almost forgot I was having a heart attack from the climb. I’m not that out of shape but when it’s 33 degrees Celsius and quite muggy it feels stifling. I marveled at the fact that my two chaperons weren’t dripping with sweat like I was….and one of them was wearing a woolen hat!
Here are a few pictures of my amazing surroundings on this hike. In the photo right below, waaaaay off in the distance is the southern coastline.
As we continued to walk the brush started getting more dense and difficult to navigate. I felt like I was in a jungle movie which was kind of cool. Here I was high up in some deserted hills with two machete-wielding Jamaicans who laughed their heads off when I told them this would be a great spot to chop up a body and hide it. But thank goodness they had their machetes. It cleared the path and got me some fresh sugar cane to gnaw on while I hiked.
Finally, after tripping over my own flip-flopped feet a hundred times we reached the mouth of the cave. I was pretty shocked this thing actually existed and even more shocked that beyond the tiny mouth to this cave was a pretty huge place to stand, sit and chill.
So just beyond the entrance you kind of have to crouch to get through and down a little narrow passage. But once we were fully inside it was amazing! It was damp with cool water dripping off the stalagmites onto our heads. There was a lone bat curled up in a corner on the roof in the cave and there was another cavern that went DEEP under the earth to where they say is a water pool. However, the only way to get there is to not be claustrophobic. I’d never do it.
Here’s a short video inside the cave. I’ll explain why it was short after you watch it unless you can figure that part out yourself.
Inside the cave we had planned to sit and rest and enjoy it for much longer than we did. On the hike the boys were chopping and gathering dried banana leaves to light the fire. Big mistake, as they soon found out. Dried banana leaves only burn fire for a short time and then they start smouldering and sending flying ash through the air. It also got pretty smokey and a bit uncomfortable after a while. I distinctly remember telling them, “You know in house fires it’s rarely the flames that kill people…..it’s the smoke.” We all had a good laugh over that and decided that the tourist should at least make it out of these hills alive. So sadly, our cave stay was cut a little bit short. I could have hung out in there all day!
The boys asked me if I thought other tourists would like a half-day excursion such as this one and I was like, YES! There are plenty of people out there who love hiking, adventure and hidden treasures! The only precautions I mentioned are that they should carry torches from now on rather than lighting a fire, and they should make sure to tell people to wear good shoes. You simply can’t do it comfortably in sandals and I basically took one for the team to figure that out.
So with all that being said, if you have an adventurous spirit and love hidden treasures I can definitely put you in touch with these two! It was an awesome way to spend an afternoon and an even better way to ensure you have a solid sleep the same night LOL.
