In February 2017 we spent three nights in Zion Country, we had found that place in the internet. It gave us a completely different impression than everything that we had seen before during our trips through Jamaica fort allmost 20 years.
It is situated on a cliff with a great view to a beautiful bay. The wooden cabins are comfortable and clean, painted in nice colours, they are simple, but who needs more at such a place? The showers and toilets are placed in an outbuilding, they are clean and well maintained and there is a good lighting on the footway when you go there in the darkness. The cabins are built on the slope and surrounded by an amazing garden. You can relax in a hammock on the small wooden terrace und you see palmtrees and flowers around you and the calm and clear water of the ocean in front of you in a distance of only a few meters. That is really nice! In the night you have only the sound of nature – the waves and the tree frogs. And it is a place where you feel really safe.
The beautiful garden is the result of yearslong work, full with fine well arranged details and in the garden as well as in the cabins you can feel the european origin of the host Free-I. You can also see hummingbirds flying around the flowers near the cabins. Here we could make real good pictures from these birds for the first time ever. And during our stay we could also watch a Manatee in the bay lifting its head out of the water. Free-I told us that they use to come into the bay because of the fresh water from the river.
Atop of the place there are the main building and an area where the meals are served. From here you have an amazing view over the whole bay and the garden. Free-i-I is a cool guy and we liked to chat with him.
It was also impressive that this is a place where plastic and glass bottles are collected and brought to recycling. And they treat their animals with love. You could see three friendly dogs and an old cat fed well. They are very tame and obviously they have made good experience with humans. We had seen something like that only two or three times in Jamaica.
In the neighbourhood of Zion Country you can take a walk, the locals are very friendly there. They say there is much less criminality than in the big tourist areas at the Northcoast of Jamaica. There are some foodshops where you can get the usual chicken with rice but this is not comparable to the fantastic dinner which is cooked by Owen at Zion Country.
For little money we borrowed a little kayak from Free-I and paddled the river upstream coming from the mouth. That was very relaxing and a great experience, but the trip to Reach Falls, a beautiful waterfall surrounded by an amazing jungle, was really outstanding. We were accompanied by an young local guy who was very nice and relaxed. He took care of our rucksack with the dry clothes and helped us to make a lot of wonderful pictures from the area. Bathing in the fresh and clear water was a great pleasure. We recommend everyone who comes to Zion Country to make this trip.
Zion Country is a very special place in Jamaica where you should go if you want somehow to escape the well known touristic routes. You can really relax there and get unforgettable impressions. It was a great experience for us and we will come back for sure.