Martha Brae

The town of Martha Brae was Trelawny's first parish capital, before the mouth of the river silted up and forced the relocation of the port from Rock to Falmouth. Along with several other locations in Jamaica, Martha Brae is thought to have been the location of the first Spanish settlement of Melilla. Until 1790 when the first bridge was constructed across the river, a ferry was in service. Today, with the North Coast Highway, it's possible to speed past without noticing the river at all. Martha Brae is a literal backwater, with little to distract tourists as they pass through on their way to start the rafting trip or to Good Hope Plantation in the Queen of Spain Valley.

The Martha Brae River is one of Jamaica's longest rivers and is navigable for much of its 32 kilometers, extending to the deep interior of Trelawny, from where it wells up out of the earth at Windsor Cave. The river's name is an awkward derivation of Para Matar Tiburon Rio, which translates literally as "to kill shark river." Legends surround the Martha Brae, likely owing to its important role in the early colonial years, when the Spanish used the river to reach the North Coast from their major settlement of Oristan, around present-day Bluefields. The first commercial rafting tour began in 1970.

Just east of Martha Brae, straight inland from Falmouth, the Greenfield Stadium was built for the Caribbean's hosting of Cricket World Cup in 2007. The stadium is now used for sporting events and entertainment, becoming the venue for Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in 2010.