He takes us toward the Blue Mountains that dominate the skyline north of town. We clear the city and start the sinuous route upward. The car crawls toward cloud-capped peaks. Somewhere in the mist and drizzle stands Jamaica's highest summit, which towers a cool 2,243 metres above the Caribbean shores. Flowers bloom beside the roadway.
Villages dot the hillside.
Most consist of a few shacks covered with stucco and weathered clapboard. All seem to be misnamed. In Irish Town, there is nary a Guinness to be found, and Redlight sports neither a traffic signal nor brothel. We stop at castleless Newcastle, now a Jamaica Defence Force installation. Below, hills plunge to a distant Kingston.