There are a few changes that you have to make during a visit to Hagley Gap. Most circle around the slower pace of life. This impacts  everything from the early rising (yes, the local roosters do not seem to know when the sun rises as they start crowing at 3 am and one goes off at 4 pm in the afternoon) to the way you move up the hills.

Days are generally 11 to 12 hours long all year round, due to the closeness of Jamaica to the equator. Days can get warm quickly and there are no lights in the fields, so many choose to do their heavy tasks early leaving the afternoons free for conversations with friends or less physical chores. Rain also impacts the work day as people are reluctant to work outside in the wet.

The heat and humidity slow you down, as do the hills. When they first arrive, many Americans tend to charge up the hills in the Gap like they are in race with a magnificent prize at the top. Granted the Square is interesting and a cold drink awaits but if you watch residents of the Gap (other than the little children who tend to bounce up the hill like young lambs until they tire and get a free ride to the top in the arms of their parents or an older sister), you will soon see a better way up to the top. A slow, deliberate, and steady pace frequented with stops to pass the day with friends and neighbors gets you to the top without all the sweating and loss of breath.

Slow and deliberate reflects many things in the Gap including reception to change which should be reflected in the way that the Blue Mountain Projects works in the Gap.

If you would like to join a team that is so energetically making a difference please check out www.bluemountainproject.org or contact me at ed@bluemountainproject.org