Chat-bout.net - Ocho Rios Does Not Have Eight Rivers

Ocho Rios Does Not Have Eight Rivers

‘Ocho Rios’, does not have eight rivers and the town's name has nothing to do with rivers. Surprised?

Jamaica was a Spanish colony for close to 150 years, until the English bruck fight wid dem over wi (because dem know say wi nice) and the English won.

Because of the long period of Spanish colonization, we still have a number of Spanish place names. The Spanish language has several words for waterfalls including ‘cascada’ (think cascade’) which is more like a little trickle, and ‘las chorrerras’, which is usually a bigger more powerful waterfall. What do you know to be the most prominent feature of the town of Ocho Rios? Dunns River Falls.

Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios

So the Spanish named the town ‘Las Chorreras’, and over the years, with the permutations, and worse when di English come and never ketch di name so good, it became Ocho Rios.

If you look at very old maps of Jamaica you will see the name of the town on the North Coast written as Las Chorreras. So when yuh find di eight river inna Ocho Rios… tell Chat-Bout.

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