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Experience Negril up the Hill - Red Ground

The Village Community Shows the Beauty of true Jamaican Life

Jan 18, 2009 Dianne Lobes

The Jamaican coast used to be full of fishing and farming villages with community gathering on the beach and living tranquilly with nature. Negril still holds this past.

It's more difficult now to find the indigenous Jamaica of 50 years ago but not impossible. Walk down the main thoroughfare of Negril past the wealthy, mostly foreign-owned beach hotels and restaurants, past the many street vendors and hawkers, to the roundabout near the old and "new" supermarkets, the craft market and the newer mall in the middle of town, between north and south. Heading south, look to your left and you'll see a small winding road up the hill, past older homes and small family businesses and a small picturesque church on the right, where the road turns to the left again. This is the road to the real village of Negril, known for years as Red Ground.

The Hike up to Red Ground is Worth it

One can drive up, but it's more fun and sociable to walk, meeting Negril inhabitants whose families have lived there for generations. These are people who know and love their land, and who know how to live sustainably with it. Red Ground folks are friendly, chatty, and have a great sense of humor, and they can tell the stories of Jamaica that no one else knows.

Quiet and charming Village Life Awaits

Walking and talking with the Red Ground folks will impart information about lovely and locally owned bed and breakfasts where one can gradually awake in the morning with the sweet sounds of chickens and goats being fed and farm families greeting the day. It's a sensation unlike any other, and it's impossible not to smile as the quiet sounds meet the ear.

A particularly wonderful place is that of Manzie Myrie, MyrieView, up near the top of the hill. Manzie built his home himself, adding amenities over the years until now he has comfortable rooms for several visitors, some with an ocean view. His land has been in his family for decades, given him by his father, and Manzie well remembers the time when he fished in the ocean as his main source of income. Manzie knows the best places to get the healthiest and most delicious fish dinners, as well as everything else.

Be Sure to Go the long Way around

Walk past the old disco hall and on till the road begins to drop downhill back toward town, through the trees. The Red Dragon, a small village bar on the left, is a great place to stop for a Red Stripe beer and a snack, where one will be regaled with still more stories of Negril lore - stories one won't hear anywhere else.

The copyright of the article Experience Negril up the Hill - Red Ground in Latin Am/Caribbean Travel is owned by Dianne Lobes. Permission to republish Experience Negril up the Hill - Red Ground in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.