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The stretch of coast around Bluefields has a rich history. One of the three earliest Spanish settlements, named Oristan, which was initially based in Parottee, St. Elizabeth, and later moved to present-day Bluefields. Oristan was connected by road to Sevilla la Nueva, the Spanish capital just west of present-day St.
Bluefields Beach is a popular local hangout and sees very few tourists. It has fine white sand and is lined with vendors. Music is often blasted on weekends when the beach fills up.
Bluefields Great House, located about 0.4 kilometer inland from the police station, on the road to Brighton, was the home of many of the area's most distinguished temporary inhabitants, including Philip Henry Goss, an English ornithologist who resided in Jamaica 1844-1846, subsequently completing the work Birds of Jamaica, a Naturalist's Sojourn in Jam
The Peter Tosh Memorial Garden, where the remains of this original Wailer lie, is worth a quick stop, if only to pause amid the ganja seedlings to remember one of the world's greatest reggae artists. An entrance fee is assessed (US$5) when there's someone around to collect it. Otherwise the gate is unlocked and a quick visit usually goes unnoticed.
The Bluefields area is the perfect place for activities like hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and relaxing. Nobody is touting parasailing or Jet Skis, and the most activity you will see on the water are catamarans crossing Parker's Bay off the Culloden shoreline from Sandals Whitehouse.
Brian Wedderburn has a Roots Cottage (cell tel. 876/384-6610, US$30) at his yard in Belmont with a little fridge, fan, and bathroom with cold water.
Belmont Garden Cottages (contact Damian "Juicy" Forrester, cell tel. 876/425-2387 or tel. 876/955-8143, US$30) has six cottages, with private baths, one with hot water. All have standing fans, TV, stove, fridge, and microwave.
Shafston Great House is one of the few plantation great houses that you can actually stay in. Set on a hill overlooking Bluefields Bay, Shaftson has a large pool and rooms that range from basic with shared bath (US$140 d) in the side building, to suites in the Great House with hot water in private baths (US$180 d). Rates include meals and drinks.
Horizon Cottages (US$125/150 each cottage, nightly, low/high, three-night min) define rustic chic, with two waterfront cozy wooden cottages, Sea Ranch and Rasta Ranch on Bluefields Bay in Belmont.
