Jamaica’s stunning geography — a strip of coast lapping the feet of lush tropical highlands — does not lend itself to straight and level roads. Need to get somewhere? Fasten your seatbelt.
What ratchets up the adventure further are the roads themselves. They’re narrow, curving, pot-holed — and full of Jamaican drivers! For the last two days our MilesAhead.tv crew put our lives in the hands of Noel, our van driver, who somehow managed to avoid the goats and children wandering the lanes while dodging the speeding compacts weaving around stopped vehicles alongside streetside shops and shacks. Most of us couldn’t watch.
While at a project site, waiting to depart for our next location, I mentioned to Noel that I didn’t think I could do what he did for a living, and that it must take a lot of courage to drive all day.
He smiled and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I am very brave.”
We thank God that all the Miles Ahead teams have moved around Montego Bay safely so far, much to the credit of drivers like Noel.
