Sharing an article that was published in the Observer

Http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/South-Coast-attractions-to-be-upgraded---Tourism-Minister

"South Coast attractions, such as Alligator Hole, Guts River, Little Ochi, Lover’s Leap, Treasure Beach, Fort Charles and Great Bay Beaches"

Hmm. I visited all of these on my last trip in April of 2013. Alligator Hole and Guts River could use some facilities (bathrooms, perhaps, or a boardwalk of sorts), but the road to them is...well..not terrific. Lover's Leap was pretty nice as it was. The beaches and "Treasure Beach" as a whole...I wonder what they mean by "upgrades"?

Little Ochi is a private business so I am not sure what the UDC would do.

Got to have my say. Can I point out that the place is named GUT RIVER, not GUTS RIVER.

Named in the sense of a strait or narrow passage and nothing to do with internal organs or bravery! Please look it up on a map or a Jamaican reference book and you will see.

Incidentally, my experience of the place is not good and, at the time, qualified as being somewhat unsafe.

I added a comment to the article, and it's been published.

It had been an adventure through the years getting to Gut River, swimming with the manatees in the Alligator Hole River to the beach, lingering over God's Hole Caverns on the way to Milk River Mineral Baths for the healing waters & a relaxing massage.

With all the weedy-macca vegetation oft taking over the roads your vehicle might get a few scratches and require some scrappy maneuvers over marl-filled road "depressions", but the entire Canoe Valley is such an awe-inspiring view of untrammeled J'ca, its worth the attempts...prompting the anticipated new road. Hoping the "leave it wild--off the beaten track" atmosphere maintains.
There have been attempts to create PartyTime (sound system wailing) in the vicinity.

Note to the Road Engineers: It would be so aesthetically/soul-pleasing if the road & bridge, above the Gut River Blue Hole, were diverted somewhat inland so that the experience of basking there might be upgraded to "sublime".

Here's a Report from some travel companions who really got into the spirit of A Sense of Place (with a hearty shout-out to Treasure Tours which got them Here-There & Everywhere!):

Travels In Jamaica Link:
www.travelsinjamaica.com/2013/05/8-along-alligators-spine-to-gut-river.html

Images of Gut River:
www.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=gut+river+jamaica&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&sa =X&oi=image_result_group&ei=_EvlUsuvCPOisQSA-IDQAQ&ved=0CC4QsAQ

Hope they do not `clean` these places. That would mean cutting trees and shrubs and burning the resulting biomass in a pile.

Cement or asphalt may follow.

oh Liz; Thanks for the memories,I spoke with my children over the holidays about their grand father the late Neville Reynolds, who was the Headman on the Fort Charles road building project over 60 years ago as I recall. I visited that site with my Tata aka PT aka Dasy Clark Smith.I still am astounded by the local skills and still remember the roasting of fish in the roots of felled trees.I still remember the delightful swim in a small bay and gathering tambrinds from a near by tree.Oneof the goals I recall was to connect to Black River via Forth Charles.