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BLACK RIVER |
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Although it's St Elizabeth's largest town, BLACK RIVER is a quiet
spot, and most travellers only nip in briefly to take a boat trip on the
river. It wasn't always this way: in the mid-nineteenth century the town
derived substantial wealth from exporting logwood , used to produce
black and dark-blue dyes for the textiles industry. For a brief period
the town was one of the most influential in Jamaica. But the
introduction of synthetic dyes meant the end for the logwood trade, and
today the only signs of those illustrious days are some wonderful but
decrepit old gingerbread houses. Buses and minibuses stop behind the
market, just off the High Street. Five minutes' walk away, the Jamaica
Tourist Board (Mon-Fri 9.30am-4.30pm; tel 876/965-2074) has a small
office on the upper floor of the Hendrick's building, 2 High St.
The nicest thing to do in Black River is to stroll along the waterfront
and check out the old wooden buildings, many with gorgeous colonnaded
verandahs and gingerbread trim and most in a perilous state of collapse.
The Waterloo Guesthouse , built in 1819, is reputed to have been the
first place in Jamaica to get electricity - installed to provide air
conditioning for racehorses kept in the old stables - and to have
boasted the island's first telephone. Nearby, the gleaming white
Invercauld Hotel , built in 1889, reflects the confidence of the town
during its heyday.
The main reason most people come to the town, however, is to take a boat
safari on the Black River , which, at 44 miles, is Jamaica's longest. So
named because the peat moss lining the river bottom makes the
crystal-clear water appear inky black, the Black River is the main
source for the Great Morass - a 125-square-mile area of wetland that
spreads north and west of the river and provides a swampy home for most
of Jamaica's surviving crocodiles as well as some diverse and
spectacular birdlife. The boat tour is a very pretty trip into the Great
Morass, although the term "safari" promises rather more excitement than
it delivers. You are almost sure to see crocodiles (albeit fairly tame
ones), and there are some marvellous mangrove swamps where you can
normally spot flocks of roosting egrets as well as whistling ducks,
herons and jacanas. To go on the ninety-minute tour (5 daily; US$15 per
person), turn up at the dock by the bridge or contact St Elizabeth River
Safari (tel 876/965-2374) or Black River Safari Boat Tours (tel
876/965-2513).
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