I was born in Kington but both my parents are from the Parish of St. Elizabeth, but I would visit my mother’s District more than my dad’s; the reason being that more relations were there than at my dad’s. I looked forward to those trips! That was the highlight of the summer holidays or even for a weekend!

The Country buses were a joy for me to see, the vibrant colors and names of these buses eg Samson, Sunbeam. Once I saw them, no one would be more excited than me! To actually get on the bus, utter joy.

I had to get the window seat, not only to be able to see outside but I suffered from motion sickness so my mom would stuff newspaper beneath my blouse (to date, I don’t know where she got that from but it seemed to work) to prevent me from throwing up.

The vendors, oh gosh, was the other part of the experience for e that I loved. My mom would get me Chippies Banana Chips, which I still do love, and there was this hard mint candy (the red and white ones) shaped like the candy canes we have now but much bigger. Don’t forget the patties now. It’s like nothing you would have experienced.

The smells, the noises, the music, the chaos all coming together was perfect. Then the men who “loaded” the buses, of both people and goods, were a character and great at their craft; when you saw how they would pack the goods on top of the bus and inside at the back, was a work of art!! Once we got going, the way the driver would tug on the horn to make music was amusing. The stops along the way, people getting on and off AND the conversations!

The trip could be tedious at times and yes, I would throw up some times but as much as that may sound “yuck”, it was part of my wonderful experience, on the bus, going to the country. Next time I will relate about actually getting there and all the things we did there.

Photo by Gocha Szostak on Unsplash