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Tourist town that it is, Montego Bay is within easy distance
of a glut of managed attractions. Most are on the roster of
tour companies, but all can also be seen independently. Most
popular is ROSE HALL, six miles east from Mobay and
site of the infamous Rose Hall Great House (daily
9.15am-5.15pm; US$15). It is said to be the former home of a
voodoo practitioner who ruthlessly disposed of her husbands
and still haunts the corridors.
Built between 1770 and 1780 by planter and parish custos
(mayor) John Palmer, the dazzling white stone structure is
set back from the A1 and surrounded by gardens, woods and a
swan-filled pond.
The rather mechanical 45-minute tours that run every fifteen
minutes make much of the vastly embellished legend of Annie
Palmer, the "White Witch of Rose Hall". As the house was
unoccupied and widely looted during the nineteenth century,
almost all of its current contents have been transported
from other great houses or from overseas.
You can combine a trip to the house with a dip at Rose Hall
Beach Club (daily 9am-6pm; US$6), an overpriced private
enclave five minutes' drive further east. It offers a pretty
beach, good swimming, and excellent watersports facilities
(jet skis US$60 for 30min; snorkeling US$25 per hour;
parasailing US$55; scuba diving US$40 per one-tank dive,
US$90 for resort course).
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Five miles east from Rose Hall, the A1 opens
up to a magnificent sea view at diminutive
GREENWOOD. Perched on a hill overlooking the sea, the
dull grey stone of Greenwood Great House (daily
9am-6pm; US$12) dominates the few houses and bars below.
Surrounded by luscious flowering gardens, the house has
managed to retain most of its original contents. Built in
1790 by relatives of the Barrett family of Wimpole Street
fame, Greenwood contains their original library and a
wonderfully eclectic collection of objects. The tour, which
ends in a bar set up in the original kitchen area, is much
more enjoyable than the breakneck run round Rose Hall, but
is soured by a rather cavalier attitude to the property's
slave history. |
Jamaica
Travel Guide
Montego Bay, Kingston, Ocho Rios, Negril, Blue Mountains, Portland
Caribbean Travel Guide
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