Found this on Treasure Beach.
And no duppy stories, that I am aware of...
The room is beautiful and overlooking the beach.
A private balcony with table and chairs to enjoy breakfast.
It feels like home!
Next week, we will explore St. Elizabeth's!
Until then...
Bear with me.
Aisai returned that evening to let me know no one would be willing to drive me to The Duppy Church at night.
"Mi ask everone mi kno...not a gud plac wid duppy dem."
I'll just rent a car and do it myself...I exclaimed.
He looked at me as though I had just lost my mind...or claimed I would sail in a rowboat to America.
Horrified.
After much protest on his part and many rules...he agreed to drive me.
The stipulations included
No camera.
We would not park in the churchyard, but on the side of the road.
We would not be leaving the car.
...his concession was to open the windows, which he loudly protested, but I won...
We would not attempt to interact with The Duppy.
We would not stay long...and if he decided it was time to go...it was time to go.
I am pretty sure he heard me mutter superstitious fool under my breath.
I am sure I heard him shake his head and say "Crazee whi' woman".
The sun was beginning to set...and we were fortunate to have a large full moon to see by.
...or so I thought at the time...
I have had hours, now, to process what we saw...heard...and felt. It is still unsettling and my mind tries to come up with clever ways to dismiss all of it...and comes up empty.
I have no rational explanation.
It happened.
We arrived a little past midnight.
If the place looked uninviting in the daylight...it was completely formidable at night.
Deathly still.
Long shadows cast from the full moon.
...later I would try to explain away some of the things I saw as these shadows...
They were not.
Aisai did not have to tell me not to leave the car.
It was unthinkable.
He heard the music first.
I was focused on the chattering voices like a congregation talking amongst themselves.
Then I saw him.
The pastor.
In tattered clothing...a white shirt...brown pants...and above the shoulders...nothing.
...a trick of the shadows and light I rationalized...squeezing my eyes tightly shut....
But when I opened them...he still stood there, in the doorway, with arms raised.
Then he returned to his duppy congregation.
Eyes adjusting to the light...looking around the graveyard I saw them.
Black shadow-like forms.
Some big as adults, some small like children...and the feeling of a hundred eyes on me.
...you know the feeling when someone is standing just behind you...but you haven't seen them...yet you know they are there...
Thousand yard stare.
Reproachful.
We weren't suppose to be here.
Intruders.
I looked at Aisai, and he was crossing himself.
Maybe it is time to leave...I whispered.
...the relief I felt when the engine roared to life was a moment I'll never forget...I half expected it not to start...
We were silent on the way back to the guesthouse.
There wasn't anything to say.
And I'm through with Duppy for the rest of my Jamaican trip.
Friday Morning:
When I opened the guesthouse door this morning I saw the article (left presumably by Aisia).
It was a clipping from a month back...a story of four twenty-somethings who did not believe in duppy and were camping at The Duppy Church overnight.
Like many young men, they had brought beer, arrogance, mocking, disrespect, and exaggerated confidence.
The article said that in the morning three were gone...although their tents and possessions remained untouched. Their whereabouts unknown.
Like they had vanished.
The fourth was found in his car.
Doors locked.
Windows tightly shut.
The autopsy report would call his death was a cardiac event...but the chilling detail noted by the medical examiner read as follows:
...swelling of the vocal chords and the larynx consistent with prolonged screaming...
He had screamed, it seems, until his heart had given out.
Of fright.
And it is.
And I am....whining...that is...
When a local looks at me and says
"Dere is a Duppy church near...gwanna see?"
What?
"Di Duppy Church ober fiv' mie. Duppy mostly nite dem ."
"Big slav grvyrd, too."
Not completely sure what I've just signed on for...but it sounds more interesting than the Roxborough Museum which touts his and her pit toilets (think out-house) as a drawing feature.
And we're off...
My guide's name is Aisai (roughly meaning: My father is a gift.) and as we drive he tells me the tale of The Duppy Church.
When slave owners from The Lyndhurst Estates owned this land they permitted the slaves their own church/graveyard in 5 Mile Gully.
The slave, James Knight, eventually became their pastor.
Most of the religion at the time was a mash-up of traditional folklore...Christianity...and Haitian/Creole Voudou.
Unforgivably...Knight began to speak of freedom...not for the body...but for the spirit and soul.
The slave-owners decided this must stop...and an example must be made.
Pastor Knight was beheaded...and his head placed on a pole outside the church.
The remaining slaves were forbidden to continue services there.
The church crumbled and the graveyard surrounding it fell into disuse and disrepair.
Weeds took over.
Much later, there would be reports of apparitions...strange happenings...organ music...people whispering or praying loudly...dogs who refused to go near the property...trespassers disappearing.
Even today some locals refuse to go onto the grounds or into what is left of the church.
The Duppy are active at night...and it is completely avoided then.
Warnings of
"Mind di duppy dem run out pon yu!"
And when his stories end, we arrive.
And I get my first sight of The Church.
An inexplicable coldness brought goosebumps to my arms and I could feel the hairs raise on the back of my neck. Outside, it was 94 degrees.
Still, we stepped out of the car.
He insisted we must be out before dark.
Duppy Church and Graveyard
https://youtu.be/Wz37yIKaho0?si=UBVixRPPXvW6Ga7H
As Aisai said...the daytime was fairly uneventful...although I did not see a dog, cat, bird, or any living thing on the grounds...not even a butterfly...which I found odd.
By the time we left I realized I HAD to come back at night and see for myself.
Aisai refused...but says he will try to find someone who will bring me back.
Until then....
I had Angelfood cake, strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream.
Tux had an audience to work, and he was in his element.
Unless you've been in a closet all weekend, you know by now that Taylor and Travis have tied the knot.
And we've been watching the bears...
The brown bears at Katmai in Alaska.
So many new cubs this year!!!
And a few surprises.
Grazer emancipated Biggie...who sat forlornly watching her mom from a safe distance.
Holly (with a new cub of her own this year) invited Biggie to join their little family unit...which she did...
Now everybody is happy.
https://youtu.be/obqgYNR7w-g?si=WZYL7JM0OT-n6gt_
A few of the bigger boars are back...and the jostling for power has begun.
Bucky appears to be The New Sheriff in Town...but the season is still early.
https://youtu.be/LHZTBV32bAk?si=6mAZUK2VpPFdLvEH
In Tasmania...it's the Season of Neil.
He returns twice yearly to his birthplace.
His favorite napping spot is in the middle of the road...and they have a rolling electric light-up sign for night-time.
In the day they surround him with orange traffic cones.
At full growth, they estimate he will be around 6,000 pounds.
Wonderful news about John!!!
He is now eating and enjoying almost everything.
No more discomfort.
Driving short distances.
Gaining weight!!!
...up from 144 to 172.2....
Soon to be discharged to his regular therapy...and even has a Euchre Game planned!
We've turned a corner!
Started the day with Angel food cake, whipped cream and strawberries...it just doesn't get much better than that!
Stayed up late last night and watched the ball drop in NYC for the 250th Anniversary of the USA.
Ball Drop
https://youtu.be/blZ7jGBOhM8?si=CNDBo9c8hYtD81iI
Also caught
Fireworks over Mount Rushmore
https://youtu.be/sbtYTuSyUYI?si=AC54WUfnzeunR-5z
And the
Fireworks and Drone Show in Texas
https://youtu.be/BFVe2vKhwRw?si=6NKP5it_iBRaIJxg
Proving that maybe EVERYTHING is bigger there.
NYC/Harbor Tall Sailing Ships Parade
https://www.youtube.com/live/8MXJV6HHi90?si=Qo7yMY_XoWVDKA1t
https://www.youtube.com/live/79xoRCVQCn0?si=mVnFli784miukx8r
Gatlinburg Tennessee had their MIDNIGHT Parade
https://youtu.be/Y-liiTr0bQk?si=JKtSFs-kCgw_ujss
And the Las Vegas Sphere was lit up
https://youtu.be/ZZ5w90cabWQ?si=j8pAVRYLU1aIfpBB
Some celebrations were more personal...
https://youtube.com/shorts/XroUEyFT5nk?si=ksQfr_ZRYuTPSmdc
And Disney is celebrating for 3 days...
https://youtu.be/CogZztOZxzw?si=GNec6msAHZmKoH3N
https://youtu.be/10N2-_OXG1U?si=UK8XIXU0jpIHKx1U
with Epcot and the Magic Kingdom.
Philadelphia has Big Boy...the World's largest steam locomotive restored and running for our 250th...
https://youtu.be/TtlfG0FYroM?si=zqLMJ40oIs0JA1O9
as well as 5000 red,white and blue cupcakes to share!
https://youtu.be/4q_mOL6-Gpk?si=GIbetoNF9iO5svV_
and lines of people to see The Liberty Bell.
https://youtu.be/7bzq_SlYK5o?si=SqmDnAxGUE5uF-zI
So much more...and we will be updating this until morning!
Fireworks over our Capitol
https://youtu.be/3RdQuTD3KuY?si=oTQb4tVavms_vzdj
Jeff Dunham's Special for 250th
https://youtu.be/otgAnPfaahs?si=_dEeFM5DVSIJ5Znj
It is tiny...well kept...beautiful.
The legacy of prominent Jamaican, Cecil Charlton.
History of Cecil Charlton
https://youtu.be/SoaUGUSDzy0?si=X0NYr-XG917Prq-w
The Park
https://youtube.com/shorts/sza6TKQwl9M?si=TGiG2P6q8XprBP1K
https://youtu.be/JP_mRiXOpzA?si=CHGlY18mrKR4lLcp
The Aerial View
Summertime is here with a vengeance. Every day this week is 90+ degrees...even the birds have gone quiet.
Getting the house down to 70 degrees in the early morning seems to keep it comfortable most off the day without the air con on 24/7.
Taking today to finish the cleaning and such before my sister and her grand-daughter arrives Friday.
She is bringing lunch and I will be doing dessert...something with fresh strawberries.
John is doing much better...increasing weights during PT...driving a little...very positive.
So....I thought life was complete when McDonald's announced they had brought these back
But it was a cruel tease.
Although it was wonderfully crunchy (...like all things fried are...) it was not the fried apple pie of my youth.
(...sad emoji...)
Surface of the sun hot.
Blissfully crunchy.
But the filling has been modified...very little actual apple and a lot (too much) of cinnamon goo. Very cinnamony goo.
So close...but so far.
They did release a baked blueberry/cream cheese pie that smelled delicious and was fairly serviceable.
The FREEDOM 250 (State Fair) has already been pretty much a bust...with Trump making it basically a MAGA rally and things breaking down.
(...who would have thought he would try to make it all about HIMSELF...)
But the Reflection Pool Memes have been lit...and even created a new drink.
Very creative.
Locally, we have fireplugs painted random patriotic symbols...
And they have 250 Celebration at our nearby park and a fireworks display.
