Apparently it’s extremely lucky for 2 rams to be born together, so they say in LIme Tree Village. Mother & kids are doing fine & our head of security JET LI(Dog) has gone completely mad!!

For more countryside experiences contact me at charlie@limetreefarm.com

BLOG by CHARLIE

Scilia, Smoko & Joshy

I was recently forwarded an article in the Financial Times written by Ian Thompson. The former guest of LIME TREE FARM who forwarded the article & I agreed that the article did not do justice to one of the worlds more magical places.

Thompson tries to paint a picture of Cinchona as an oasis surrounded by theives & devestation – yes the Blue Mountains have suffered terribly from 5 hurricannes in 5 years but their beauty has been untarnished & is there for anybody who can be bothered to make the journey to see.

As for thieves – I know the odd Orchid Bloom is taken by a visitor but theft is NOT a big problem. Thomson also paints the”RASTA” picture – another favourite for journalists looking for an “angle” – Stamp the manager is not a Rasta & although one of the workers there is the others are not & do not spend their time lying about smoking “weed” – the beauty of the gardens is testament to their loving care, just talk with Albert or “Broke-up”, 2 of the gardeners & you can’t help but feel their enthusiasm for the place.

The Observatory House is not a victim of vandalism rather it has suffered from years of neglect by various Jamaican governments notorious for ignoring Jamaica’s rich heritage not to mention the hurricanes.

WHY is it that when journalists write about jamaica they can’t help but sensationalize the crime problem here – yes we have a social/crime problem here but then so do parts of any country in the world – London, New Orleans etc etc.

Cinchona Botanical Gardens are so far removed from this problem they might as well be in the North Pole & I’m afraid that the FT article has tainted the pure magic of Cinchona which can easily sustain an article in it’s own write without resorting to the normal sensationalism associated with Jamaican Press.

If you would like to see what I’m ranting about & feel the pure magic of Cinchona Botanical Gardens check out our website – www.limetreefarm.com – I’d be more than happy to take you there & show you how far removed from Thomson’s article it really is!

Blog by Charlie

Contrary to public belief Jet Li is not chinese at all but has a German father & a Jamaican mother of German descent, he has signed up for a 10 year contract which has not pleased Alex & Tyrone the cats at all!

Welcome JET LI to Lime Tree Farm……

Cinchona Botanical Gardens is one of my favourite places in the world in any weather & our guests were not disappointed, one of the highest botanical gardens in the world(5200ft) it is spectacular in it's isolation, huge trees which have survived the numerous hurricanes of recent years & many different flowers from around the world attract birds of all types, many of them endemic to Jamaica. The orchids were in full bloom & we ate our picnic lunch in the warm winter sun as the hummingbirds performed for us!

If you world like to visit Cinchona check out www.limetreefarm.com – one of the few places that offers tours of the gardens.

BLOG BY CHARLIE

Oranges, Grapefruit, tangerines & Lemons abound & of course the odd Lime! If you feel like spending our winter with us sipping freshly sqeezed oranges & watching the hummingbirds feed contact me at charlie@limetreefarm.com.

Mark & Nicky were married on the lawn of Lime Tree Farm in front of a moddest crowd of about 25 people on Christmas Eve 2008. Mark & Nicky have been coming to Lime Tree since 1991 & at the moment hold the world record for number of visits to Lime Tree Farm. They have seen the place develop from bush to our present guest house & are very special friends of Suzie & myself & everybody else in Lime Tree. We all wish you all the best & look forward to seeing you back in 2009!!

For a small intimate wedding with no hassle you can contact me charlie@limetreefarm.com for details.

BLOG BY CHARLIE

Accompanied by a fellow adventurer & return Guest to LIme Tree Farm, Harry Monk, we set off at about 11am for what we thought would be a reasonably easy 5-10 mile hike upriver to Magans Coffee Farm. Undetterred by all local advice – "nobody been that way for years" – "road bush up bad" we found the trail & started moving up stream very slowly because,"road bush up bad" & nobody had been this way for years"! 

After 5 hours we had only moved a couple of miles & started to realize that we would be lucky to reach before nightfall, going back was not an option, so we fought on against thorn bush & heavy grass alike( the views from 500-1000ft above the gorge were spectacular) – darkness started to descend – no cell phone reception – we had visions of a search party plunging 1000ft into the abyss as clearly they must if they came looking for us in the dark. Just as we had accepted defeat & started to contemplate a night huddled together in the bush we stepped out of a heavy thorn bush onto a well cleared farm road & a mile later arrived at Magans Farm in moonlit darkness.

The Yallus River Trail was one of the hardest hikes I've ever attempted(leg cramps for day afterwoods!). There was something strangely satisfying about rediscovering a trail which had been reclaimed by the bush & walking in the footprints of history. Harry Monk I salute you & look forward to your next visit & mission into the unknown!

For adventures & hikes in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica checkout Lime Tree Farm.

We would like to send a message of regret out to our brethren in Haiti & Cuba who have suffered miserably with considerable loss of life -  when will the worlds super powers realize that"Global Warming" is causing considerable damage & hardship to some of the poorer people on this planet & make some serious commitments to at least slow it down?

 Blog by Charlie

The worst thing is our road which appears to have been washed away.  Hopefully the road has suffered less of a slide further down the mountain, then it would be affecting food crops too, but we'll be out there soon getting this repaired though so don't despair about not being able to get to Lime Tree Farm for your holiday! Just keep your fingers crossed for us, there is another storm building down by Barbados.

This is a difficult blog for me to write but ZULU our 120lb mastiff was well loved by many visitors & friends to LIME TREE FARM.

ZULU  died last week, a victim of circumstances beyond his control. In recent weeks livestock in our area have suffered attacks from a pack of dogs from outside of our community, in total about 7 Goats have been killed & a few more injured. As you can imagine this upset the owners greatly & many people set poison for the dogs – this may sound drastic but as a farmer I understand how important your livestock becomes to you, anyway to cut a long story short ZULU ate some poison & that was that.

Dog owners will understand how attached you can become to a dog , ZULU was one of our family & well loved he will be greatly missed & well remembered by our guests at Lime Tree Farm for his friendly early morning wake up calls & gentle nature.

Blog by Charlie