“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” ― Maya Angelou
Scattered Fall has been on my list of places to visit for years ever since I read simplylocal.life blog post about how amazing her experience was at The Land of Oshun.
She visited two waterfalls, a cave, ate organic food and woke up to a beautiful sunrise.
The view behind the bus stop
I wanted to experience it all but NonSuch Fall, Fsh Dunn Fall, Chepstowe, Reach Fall, Turtle Bay, Cascade Fall and other amazing places in Portland got the best of me.
I sent simplyllocal.life an email after speaking to her on Instagram. I told her about my plans to finally visit Scattered Fall and she was ready to book my tour.
I cancelled after seeing a YouTube video of Scattered Fall stating the entrance to the fall was free but you can donate if you wish.
I decided to visit without booking my tour with simplylocal.life because I could visit another destination with the extra cash. So I decided to visit The Land Of Oshun another time.
Bobo and I ventured to Portland on August 8, 2020. We took a Portland coaster bus that is located beside the transport centre in Half Way Tree on South Odeon Avenue across from Burger King.
We traveled on Constant Spring Road,.Old Stony Hill Road, Stony Hill, Golden Spring passing the Brandon Hill Community onto the winding Junction Road.
We passed Castleton, Ugly River and the Westmoreland Bridge, Annotto Bay, Hope Bay, Buff Bay into Port Antonio. The drive was around two hours at a cost of JMD 450.00 per person.
Our stop was at the Port Antonio bus stop on Foreshore Road across from the Texaco Gas Station.
We then walked to Blake Street onto William's street where we got a taxi to Berridale. Our journey to Berridale took us on Simon's Town Road, Breastworks, Wain Road, West Retreat and Grant's Level Road.
Our driver was Ras Indian and the fare from Port Antonio to Berridale was JMD 150.00 per person. Taxis are frequent in this area so we didn't take his number to secure back to Port Antonio.
We were asked by a few rafters if we wanted a tour guide but we said no because of the video I saw on youtube. Also, we had a budget. The less we spend, the more places we can visit.
We rafted across the Rio Grande at a cost of JMD 250.00 which was just a donation.
She appreciated it so much she gave us specific directions to Scattered Fall.
We walked for about ten minutes then stop to take a picture of the Rio Grande that had a beautiful view.
We then heard a guy approaching. He said he was responsible for the area and he will be our tour guide to the fall. We just accepted his offer.
This is why I insist on getting a tour guide when entering a community if you are not a part of it. We had various conversations about the community.
He was nice to us regardless of his demanding behaviour when we first met. He picked a Pineapple and Limes for us which was kind of him.
We walked for about fifteen minutes. When we got to the fall, it was fenced up and the gate was closed. We had to crawl under the gate to enter a property.
He said the owner has the key and he's in Kingston. He also stated if we are asked by anyone why we are in the property, we must tell them John permitted us. He charged us JMD 2,000.00.
I didn't believe one word he said from the start of the journey. But I wasn't going to let him spoil my visit to Scattered Fall because I paid him just to walk for fifteen minutes and I have been waiting for years to see the beauty of Scattered Fall.
I felt uncomfortable and disappointed because I trespassed on someone's property and I paid someone to help me do so. Luckily no one came and we had the waterfall and a mini pool to ourselves.
The view of the waterfall and the surrounding was spectacular. I had a blast taking photos but the sun made it a bit difficult to get the pictures next to perfect.
We spent a couple of hours and went back through the banana fields, crossing the Rio Grande on a bamboo raft onto a taxi to Port Antonio.
We offered to tip the rafter and he refused. He said it was ok. I was surprised and glad at the same time. This led me to think rafters are paid to carry community members across the Rio Grande.
We laughed about our experience at Scattered Fall on several occasions after our visit. We saw our mistakes and laughed at how we crawled under a gate to see a waterfall.
Would you crawl under a gate on any adventure or would you find another attraction to visit?
An amazing view of the Rio Grande
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whatta Gwaan!
You've discovered my blog. I'm delighted you're here. Maybe it's destiny. I'm Doreen Lillian Scarlett welcome to Nature's Sweet Escapes where I go on the far side of Instagram to document and share my adventures.