Honored to be a guest speaker, in Jamaica at the Healing the Nation event, facilitated by Shalshani, founder of Shalshani Mineral Cosmetics; I was determined to explore the land of my birth.
Healing the Nation, a holistic event was birthed through the loss of Shalshani’s brother Anthony, who lost his battle to cancer.  Being a breast cancer survivor, I was determined to educate, share my story and bring awareness to cancer and all other chronic diseases. With all honor, I was delighted to revisit  the land of my birth; Jamaica.

Thanks to my cousin Terrio, my escort (because I personally dare not drive in Jamaica). Mi too fraid!
Shalshani knew I was in search of strawberries and referred Fitzroy.
T’was an amazing experience, as we embarked on our journey through the hills and valleys on our route to visit Fitzroy in Gordon Town.
The excursion seemed to be never ending. We were so high up in the mountains. I felt as if I was touching the heavens. The winding roads and honking the horn to alert oncoming traffic seemed routine. I even got a little discouraged because I thought we would never arrive at our destination. But y’all know how food excites me, so we kept going.

My cousin Karlene drove behind us with her daughters. When I told her I was going to a farm, she was just as excited and wanted her girls to experience the farm as well. She said they’ve never done anything like this before.

I called Fitroy repeatedly on the phone, wanting to know how much closer we were. I really had no idea we were going to the top of Jamaica (at least that’s what it felt like). He advised us to park, remain in the car and he would come down the hill to get us. Then he explained that we would have to walk up the hill to his house because it was slippery and not suitable for cars. I asked how long of a walk and he said about 5 minutes. I told Terrio to turn the car around, that I didn’t wanna go anymore. Terrio wasn’t listening to me. I wouldn’t either. The man done drove damn near two hours (is what it felt like) and now that we had arrived he was not leaving.
We sat in the car and waited for Fitroy. That man was so friendly and upbeat and bubbly. I told him I wasn’t getting out of the car because I’m not going to walk five minutes up nobody hill. He assured me it wasn’t five minutes and that his house was about the second or third house up the hill. His spirit seemed jovial and he won me over, so I went.
AND DAMN I’M GLAD I DID!

As I transition into a more holistic lifestyle, earth foods mean everything to me and mother earth has been absolutely amazing to my overall health and well being. Living in the USA, Hollywood farmer’s market has become my regular stomping grounds. What I love most about the farmer’s market in California, is that, all the produce are from certified farmers. They can’t sell it unless they grow it. And because the produce are seasonal, the taste  is unbelievably d’luscious! The fact that they were   recently harvested is an added bonus that my palate can’t seem to get enough of.

This is another section of Fitzroy’s farm. Isn’t it lush?

This beautiful scenery invokes nostalgia. The misty air; so refreshing and invigoration. My lungs felt recharged as I inhaled and exhaled the natural beauty of God’s creation.
According to Fitzroy, next door was Blue Mountain. Can you believe I damn near drove to the top of Jamaica? No wonder it took us forever to get there.

This is my cousin Terrio and friend Diana. She’s got a bunch of herbs in her hand and Terrio is eating one of Fitzroys banana.

Here’s Fitzroy and my cousin Karlene. She got loads of bananas too.

And of course, I’m holding onto my Emmy award (these bananas) with Fitzroy.  Yes I’m beaming with glee because each time I connect with mother nature,  it’s such a heartfelt and rewarding moment for me. Greedy yes, but loving the abundance of produce that my creator has and always will provide for me.

I didn’t realize that I hadn’t taken any photos of the juicy oranges, pumpkin: flesh pretty bad, fragrant lemons and basil that I purchased. We ate all the strawberries on spot. I’m anticipating a ton load of those sweet strawberries on my next visit.