Smooth running in Falmouth
Published:Wednesday | April 20, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Robert Lalah, Assistant Editor - Features
ON WEDNESDAYS when cruise ships come calling at the newly opened Falmouth pier in Trelawny, Arthur Lewars, from Duncans in the parish, gets excited.
He has spent much of his 56 years as a proud fisherman with a reputation for being the first one out to sea and the last one back on land. But since the opening of the Falmouth pier and the transformation of the seaside town into a tourist haven, Lewars has traded in his fishing nets for paint brushes.
"I do paintings of the town and sell them to the tourists," he said, walking along Duke Street last week. He was carrying four large paintings of the Trelawny Parish Church under his arm.
brisk business
Lewars is one of dozens of painters, sculptors and jewellery- makers who have been doing brisk business in Falmouth.
"Fishing is still my thing, you know, but right now things slow so I just give thanks for this painting thing so at least we can survive until things pick up again," said Lewars.
It was just after mid-day, and two cruise ships were docked at the pier. The passengers, some from Spain, others from sections of the United States and Canada, were walking all around the crowded town. Many were taking pictures of old buildings and from time to time asked residents for directions.
Lewars said he was likely to sell at least three paintings that day, even though, at that point, he was yet to make a sale.
"We have to just hope that somebody see it and like it, because we can't nag them," Lewars said.
That 'nagging' Lewars mentioned is what Chrishna Samuels was looking out for. Samuels is part of the courtesy corp, a team of specially trained men and women who patrol the area to ensure tourists feel welcome and safe.
"We try to just be here and watch everything to ensure there is no problem," said Samuels.
"When we see anyone who we know to be offenders, people who harass the tourists, then we make visitors aware, and let them know that it would be best to avoid doing business with them," said Samuels.
"If we see something happening, then we might walk over there and intervene. We don't get confrontational, but we will go over there and make sure that things don't get out of hand."
Samuels said that, so far, he has seen little evidence of harassment.
"A lot of this talk about harassment, I don't really know where it comes from. If you look around the town, you see tourists walking all over, even into people's yards, and all the residents do is smile and say hello," said Samuels.
"There might be a few times that you have to intervene just to ensure everything is alright, but all in all, everything in Falmouth is running smooth. The tourists tell me they are happy and they love the place."