Amazing Quest: Stories from Jamaica | Somewhere on Earth: Jamaica | Free Documentary

[Music] so [Music] today somewhere on earth is going to drop anchor in jamaica the third largest island of the antilles a land of majestic tormented landscapes in the north there's more than 200 kilometers of coast open to the caribbean rollers and the trade winds the jamaican mountains harbor an unspoiled world steeped in the strains of reggae music adam is a real powerhouse he draws his energy from the most remote corners of the island a veteran caver and tireless hiker adam likes nothing more than exploring the surprising treasures of his island howard the river rasta lives in the blue mountains fisherman farmer and singer he invites us into his world a realm of dusky forests and bright mornings necklace came to jamaica about 10 years ago born in lebanon in the middle east he couldn't imagine his life without the sea nearby from his war-torn homeland he brought to jamaica his passion for freediving being in a water to reflect to me a little bit mother nature just being in this liquid that holds you like like like a mother will hold hold you and have her arms around you so uh it's it's it's an experience that uh that to me i cannot live without [Music] jamaica is one of the largest islands of the caribbean christopher columbus landed on these idyllic shores in 1492 he discovered a wonderful island inhabited by natives the tainos [Music] jamaica in the middle of the caribbean sea was an ideal port of call for european navigators [Music] this is a land of impenetrable valleys and mountains that reach to the sky [Music] in the taino language jamaica means land of wood and water the island furrowed by countless streams and rivers is hidden by a dense humid layer of vegetation far from the beaches swarming with tourists we discover another jamaica mysterious and unexpected [Music] foreign sometimes man and nature are perfectly in tune adam got up in the middle of the night he has a five-hour hike ahead of him and is aiming to reach the roof of jamaica before dawn [Music] adam's in luck this morning he's been doing this ascent to the island's summit at over 2200 meters for more than 20 years adam can feast his eyes on the most breathtaking spectacle jamaica has to offer [Music] [Music] it's magical especially when you come up at night and you don't see the forest you know you just you're just focusing on the trail and then when the sun comes up as it is now and the forest comes alive it's a special place a special place [Music] as jamaica awakens it's a call to adventure adam alone on his mountaintop can savor the light and sounds that drift up from the forest [Music] up here you know you feel that you can do anything you can accomplish all [Music] you know when your head clears and you start to make sense of why you're here you know your purpose here [Music] i'm a son of the soil you know it gets into your spirit you know whether you're you're up here in the mountains or on the ground in a cave or or at the beach i mean the spirituality is i think all around you just need to listen you know you'll pick it up yes it was in these mysterious landscapes where sky sea and mountain confront each other that the myth of the pirates of the caribbean was born in the 16th century seafarers from the old world landed on this tropical paradise that sometimes lapsed into a hell on earth the coastline and waters off jamaica are the theater of murderous boardings and bloody battles piracy rules the region [Music] hundreds of spanish english french and dutch ships sail the warm waters of the caribbean their holds bursting with precious cargo and treasure pirates free booters and buccaneers set up their headquarters in jamaica the island becomes a hotbed of piracy [Music] the new world colonies of spain are nearby and jamaica is on the root of the warships and trading ships that sailed these seas [Music] pirates like blackbeard and the bloodthirsty captain morgan the most famous of them all were the masters of jamaica morgan became a privateer then was appointed governor the island would make him a very rich man [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] jamaica in the heart of the caribbean was an ideal base a pirate's lair operating under the skull and crossbones [Music] [Applause] [Music] adam was born of a canadian mother and jamaican father an artist inspired by the natural force and riches of the island adam has strong memories of his childhood where nature played such an important role this nature that has shaped jamaican culture into an authentic way of life and thinking our culture is very very vibrant very expressive um you know the people like to live as one with with nature so it's a very special place very magical place you know the energy here not only in the environment but in the people very strong very powerful and that makes us jamaicans [Music] adam is going to meet up with his friend wayne in the thick of this dense vegetation [Music] wayne is taking part in a study organized by american scientists on the king of the forest the jamaican yellow boa an endemic species many times i've dreamt about it at night as a little boy wanting to explore the forest like the early adventurers a number of boas were fitted with miniature radio transmitters and wayne has to localize them in order to study their movements their habitat and their hunting grounds when it comes to homing in on the invisible king of the forest no one is better than wayne [Music] if i turn it this way i don't get any signal at all in this direction i get a signal but it's pretty weak so the snake is not down there it must be higher up here [Music] it's pretty close yeah it could be anywhere hey i see him he's stretching out stretching he's moving now i can see him breathing yeah you see him over there you can see the little eyes and over here so this is it yeah so how many times have you phoned her i found her several times but it's been about two months now since i've seen any boas at all with all this data collected they'll learn more about the territoriality of the jamaican yellow boa and so be able to protect it this boa doesn't need a vast amount of space to hunt feed and reproduce but still we have to grant this endangered species the place it deserves in the forest adam is going to plunge even deeper into the heart of his island beyond the last roads and villages cockpit country is a world apart secret nearly inaccessible there are thousands of caves here most of them yet to be explored here we're just on the periphery of the copper country entering it now i mean if you look you can see the conical hills starting the big limestone masses this is the beginning of it of the the primary forest cockpit country is a wilderness it looks like a myriad of giant tortoise shells as far as the eye can see thousands of limestone hills worn smooth by time this is jamaica's last virgin territory millions of years of erosion have carved out this unique landscape populated by rare plant and animal species living side by side [Music] cockpit country has another name in the form of a creole saying mino sen you know come a clear warning that strangers are not welcome [Music] this is the entrance to potus hall this cave has a special place in adam's heart adam discovered this shaft with a friend one morning in 1994. the two cavers began exploring this previously unknown cave a special moment in a man's life but two whole had a surprise in store for them and adam will never forget that day [Music] even today he's one of the rare cavers to visit portugal its entrance is 30 meters below ground [Music] [Music] i am in another world even though it's you know people think it's scary and it's a hard sport but it's it's so rewarding you feel you're at one with the earth you know it's a bonding takes place when my friend and i came back here to explore the cave we felt yes we are the first you know only to discover these magnificent drawings that have been here thousands of years before us so we were not the first and it was a very humbling feeling we felt small but but at peace and and and in awe you know a little scary too you know but it was a very emotional experience so my passion really started from reading books and and seeing these wonderful pictures of of caves around the world i must have been about 10 i read a little national geographic magazine of a little boy in france who slid down a hole with the candles and discovered these beautiful carvings and and pictures of bison and animals from back in the ice age that story inspired me so much i wanted to find my own and ever since then i've been exploring caves thanks to portugal adam's dream has come true this is his underground lair where he's directly connected with his own history and this is what he discovered that first time [Music] these drawings were done by the taino indians the first inhabitants of jamaica thousands of years ago when columbus came here he found them here they were here living on the island [Music] you couldn't help but think what life must have been like then you know what what brought them down here to what what religious meaning to these drawings have so it is it is still open for interpretation but i believe it's a religious site [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i love the nature in jamaica it has so much to offer you know it's it's pristine it's beautiful you really get to feel at peace when you're out in the environment with nature [Applause] [Music] it's a very special place i've been to other countries and all the islands and i always want to come back home and not just because i'm jamaican but the diverseness of the place you can be 2000 meters up and then at sea level in a matter of an hour so the sun the sand the sea and the mountains and the rivers everything is packed together in one little island [Music] [Music] in the blue mountains the streams and torrents have only a few kilometers to go to reach the sea this is where swift river takes its source water and forest marry to open a path into a peaceful realm where time alone passes howard is the swift river rastaman here in this valley that looks like a sort of fantasy eden is where he was born 40 years ago the rastafari culture carries the weight of slavery and the memory of the men and women torn from their african homeland [Music] story yes rastafari and see we are no no way in the 1930s jamaican blacks turned their hopes to africa haile selassie had just been crowned emperor king of kings selassie claimed to be the direct descendant of the biblical king solomon and david for the rastafarians he was a living god jump over the moon and they surround our is coming soon can't just lyrics are with the pandey move yes rastafari went [Music] rastafarianism is rooted in these valleys shrouded in clouds that are dispersed by the winds every night [Music] we howard has been living in these mountains for 40 years he lived for a while in kingston the capital but he remembers that as a time of frustration in the city bullets fly making shadows in the sky why keep walking the dusty streets when the forest can give you what you need living on the banks of the river howard has salvaged a part of his childhood happiness well my first memory at the river is right here where i'm sitting now my mom sent me to full the water and i see the raft and i go on the raft and i pitch off and wet up my clothes so we go home you know and they say what's your job so we went up laughing yes sir that's my youthful day as a member at the riverside until now [Music] is [Music] hey [Music] the stream is like when the river came down it's like you hear a stream like somebody playing music you hear the storm go boom boom boom lots of kids phrase of it but we don't afraid of it because we know what it's all about because the river come heavy and when the river come heavy no one can cross over it neither the bird want to fly over it so easy because she is very terrible [Music] [Music] jamaica is the central place of the earth because we're surrounded by water and this is like our ship jamaica is just like a ship to me because it it's just a small island still but it's very solid you know so i know i'll say it's a blessed place i was born in the hills i'm just a part of nature that's why i burn in the hills if i was not a part of nature i would barnes in the hospital or somewhere you understand so i have to burn where the nature is so i love nature so i communicate with nature nature communicate with me sometimes i sit down and i say oh i need something from the bush i go and dig a piece of yam i are planting and come and cook and that's natural from nature howard the swift river rasta man has a very simple mystical relationship with the natural surroundings of his birthplace in the rastafari culture the earth produces plants and food it allows the tree of life to thrive and people to progress on a spiritual path [Music] it's raining and i have to catch fish but there is no fish today but i hope we catch some [Music] the force of life and the spirits hover over swift river howard respects the past and carries his destiny in his heart like an unshakable force [Music] for three centuries jamaica prospered thanks to its sugarcane plantations where tens of thousands of slaves toiled the blue mountains howard's mountains were their refuge when the first slave revolts broke out the slaves that escaped from the plantations were called maroons they were perfectly at home in this steep inhospitable terrain where white men dared not venture [Music] the maroons set up self-sufficient communities in the eastern part of jamaica they were fearsome invisible warriors the wars which lasted over 150 years would eventually free thousands of men and women from their shackles at the end of the 18th century there were 300 000 slaves in jamaica [Music] [Music] almost nothing remains from that period in the heart of the blue mountains only the stories linger on in the swift river valley near howard's place there's a ruin lost in the forest the villagers call it the slaves house these people they work so very hard to be what they want to be understand and to survive so they will do anything to create a house just to have their shelter and to get away from the certain trouble because his trouble was all around he understands so they want to get away from certain troubles so they bring themselves and eye themselves up here you know this evening howard is waiting for the darkness of an almost moonless night yeah it's a good night for fishing because there is no rain and the sky are very blue so beautiful so the water is nice too but it's a little bit chilly but don't mind from you go inside the water and you get warm and used to the water you don't feel cold again [Music] howard can pass entire nights wading up the streams that feed swift river he could name every corner of his valley [Music] he's scouting for what nature has to offer [Music] with his bamboo torch he's on the lookout for the slightest movement in the water he's looking for little glowing red dots crayfish eyes [Music] so [Applause] howard never sells his catch like all rastafarians he takes only what he needs fishing means above all communion with the river this is what gives meaning to his life when you feel lonely and you want some company and there is no friends around you can come to the river because lots of friends because you could hear the rolling of the river and the sun is like a lots of friends talking you understand so if you go to the deeper part of the water it's silence but if you come to the where the stone is it's like a lots of people got water just rushing between the stones you know and making that beautiful song [Music] there's a little place where i [Music] [Music] with them shining guns [Music] to survive well when my family leaves the world so we fight to stay alive [Music] to sleep [Music] okay [Music] free diving is not your ordinary sport you have to dive and hold your breath for long moments for nacle this is like playing a piece of music written in his soul [Music] invitational [Music] people always want what they don't have they dream of exploring the ocean floor and breathing sea water instead of air after a three minute dive at a depth of 30 meters it's time to surface and come back to the world [Music] here [Music] [Music] peace water is so important in our life that we can not live without whether it is to drink it or to enjoy it within the sea or the river and i work all around the island and when i get the chance to go in the water i will and sometimes i will come here just to be in a wild and listen to the river just hearing and being in the water it's just a relaxation for me personally [Music] when nachlay gets the urge to reconnect with the earth all he has to do is leave the beach and head up this river water is his element and it flows everywhere here in jamaica i feel very safe underwater more than on the road or in bed on the water i feel like the safest although for certain people it's something that is very dangerous but to me i feel very safe that's why it's a need for me sometimes it's a refuge like i will go it's a rapture just to have your moment with nature and connect with it at some point all children wonder what's on the other side of the sea ever since the dawn of time people have crisscrossed the ocean searching for adventure and sometimes in hope of a better life it was the chaos of war that brought nagle to jamaica about 10 years ago he and his family had to flee their native land lebanon he went to europe first then spent a few years in canada before dropping anchor in jamaica [Music] the forests the rivers the people the sea he was captivated by it all the caribbean has given meaning to his life jamaica has given him a peaceful new life with the local fishermen and his musician friends [Music] [Music] so we fight to stay alive now first you're right to sleep not a rock coming like a earthquake from i'm very young i was brought in really in the sea and my father used to take us to the sea and we have learned so much from it that is part of our life no it's a passion for me i don't think i can live anywhere far from the sea uh i have traveled a lot and it's a part of my life part of my passion but that is a need for me to go for me i have to concentrate into listening to what my body tells me everybody i go to the sea it's an experience a new experience so i'm just looking forward to go in the water but at the same time i have to relax myself because it's a sport where you need to relax and you need to concentrate on all all your body because in the water it's a different thing [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's very important that you have a connection with the water you understand you can feel the vibration of the water listen to the wind listen to the sea uh it's it's very important because to me it's a passion and the only way you feel comfortable in that environment is that you you really relate to the water [Music] when i dive the whole experience start from i set my mind into going to sea and then when i'm in the water it's a different world [Music] being in a water to reflect to me a little bit mother nature just being in this water that is this liquid that actually holds holds you like like like a mother will hold hold you and have her arms around you so uh it's an experience that uh that to me i cannot live without [Music] sometimes i close my eyes i am in sense of all of everything that is happening around me just gliding through the water diving down looking at the at the floor at the sea floor the fish everything it kind of talks to me in a way that i'm looking and i'm seeing like traffic and a lot of things going on where people don't really realize such a life and and this feeling it's fulfilling for me and this is what i'm always in search freediving is an inner voyage holding his breath for long periods allows him to leave the worries of the world behind baudelaire speaks of the alliance between man and sea man no one has sounded the depths of your being oh see no person knows your most hidden riches how strange the secrets you preserve so jealously [Music] diving is a rendezvous with solitude here the sky and sea stretch to infinity which gives a different perspective of the world around us they both attract people with a thirst for adventure and the absolute for knackly the sea is a strict task master who doesn't tolerate complacency he knows that it's not easy to come to terms with it necklace is a child of lebanon uprooted by war in jamaica he has made a new life for himself through his encounters with nature the sea still nourishes him as on the day he was born he draws his life-sustaining force from it [Music] jamaican fishermen are among the caribbean's poorest not far from kingston there are even fishermen who take to the sea without a boat bart is two miles out at sea he's been letting himself drift since daybreak notley often meets him when he's out diving hey necklace how are you doing how are you doing buddy not too bad what you're doing now i cut two fish catching two fish so using your fins to balance yourself before going out i checked the weather report on the television if it's good i come out if it's too bad i don't come okay i don't have a life jacket a boat dropped me off it'll be back this evening there are two of us we watch out for each other if there's a problem we help each other out nakhla's passion for the sea has also given him a vocation for five years now he's been working for a humanitarian organization that finances the construction of fishing boats for the island's poorest fishermen for him it's a way of giving back to others what the sea has given to him [Music] when you start to work with the fishermen you actually start to come close to them to the family to the community and you start to integrate yourself and they start to look on you differently and listen to you and learn from you and you learn from them a lot and the lifestyle that they have because the most important part that we're doing is actually improving their livelihood through fishing sustainable fishing it's very emotional to me because i love the sea and i love the people and we're trying to make the two of them work uh in um in a way that two of them can survive for and and have a better future nclay with his organization has been working with 17 fishing villages they have financed the construction of 78 boats quite a little fleet if you can see the yellow and blue boats those are part of the project of food for the poor uh we come here and give them training in sustainable fishing to improve their livelihood and part of the project also we installed a solar light as you can see this light so they have solar system here in the night they have lights before they go to see or when they're coming to see at night naklae and the jamaican fishermen have a common mission fishing with respect for the environment and humankind a vital issue for all the island's inhabitants it used to be was a place full of love and harmony and i pray that it'll come back [Music] on [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 446,880

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), somewhere on earth, amazing stories, amazing stories from jamaica, amazing quest, jamaica

Id: P6uYS16GqeI

Length: 52min 6sec (3126 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 24 2022