Bath Mineral Spring, Saint Thomas

The rural community of Bath in St. Thomas is teeming with history and beauty, home to Jamaica’s oldest botanical garden and a mineral spring by the same name. Legend has it that the bath was discovered in the 1600s by a runaway slave with leg ulcers. He stumbled across the spring, used it to wash his wounded limb then noticed the next day that his leg was rapidly healing. He shared the good news then stories of the fountain spread, soon attracting visitors from islandwide. 

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle23 Comments

Bath Botanical Gardens, Saint Thomas

Established in 1779, the rural community of Bath in Saint Thomas is home to the Caribbean’s oldest botanical garden after the botanical garden in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Two and a half centuries later Bath Botanical Garden may not be as well-kept as it once was but it’s certainly a beautiful national treasure worth visiting. Many foreign plants which we have since made our own were first planted here. These include flowers like the croton, jacaranda and bougainvillea, and foodstuff like cinnamon, ackee, otaheite apples, jackfruit and breadfruit– the delicious Jamaican staple which I couldn’t imagine our cuisine without! Jamaica has four public botanical gardens. Last year I visited Hope Gardens’ newest addition of the Harmonious Enjoyment Garden and also explored Castleton Botanical Gardens, Jamaica’s second oldest botanical garden. Thus, Cinchona Botanical Gardens in the hills of St. Andrew is my only garden left to visit.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle6 Comments

Lyssons Beach, Saint Thomas

Lyssons Beach is one of Jamaica’s better public beaches, a prime jewel in Saint Thomas near its capital Morant Bay. Lyssons Beach features a white strip of coastline which has two sections but the best part is that they’re still both free in 2022! One part of Lyssons Beach is managed by the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA), a government arm charged with maintaining Jamaica’s shoreline. The other is owned and operated by the University of the West Indies (UWI) for its students. My experience is based on the UWI portion of Lyssons Beach, but the coastline and views are the same.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle18 Comments

Reggae Falls, Saint Thomas

Reggae Falls, a.k.a. Dam Head, is a jewel tucked away in the hilly rural community of Hillside, Saint Thomas (what an aptly named district!). This waterfall is not entirely natural as many years ago, the Johnson River which supplies it was being developed to power a hydroelectricity station. The project suffered some damage from a hurricane early in development, leading to its abandonment. However, its aesthetic appeal has not gone unnoticed by residents of the community nor dry land tourists* like myself, who are its main patrons. My only visit thus far was in January 2016. Its waters are touted to have healing properties due to its sulphur content. It is currently not commercialized and I hope it develops, once its ownership remains in local hands.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle10 Comments