Ja-makin me Smile

When Tom’s cousin Heather sent out an email in February inviting us on a surprise trip to Jamaica for her husband Liam’s 50th birthday, we didn’t hesitate to book and join the group. In addition to celebrating Liam’s birthday, we thought this would also be a nice way to celebrate Tom’s retirement from the military that was effective the 1st of October. There were ten of us on this trip (Heather, Liam, Uncle Dennis, Linda, Pete, Laurie, Alissa, Jacob, Tom and I). I didn’t blog every day, as with most all-inclusive beach vacations there isn’t much to talk about each day as most days involve lounging in the pool, reading a book, napping, and eating. Instead I’ll just write one, probably too lengthy, post.

This trip to Jamaica we are staying at the Riu Palace Jamaica in Montego Bay. Pros of the resort are that it is really close to the airport so we didn’t have a long commute upon arriving and departing, it is connected to two other Riu resorts (Riu Reggae and Riu Montego Bay) that we had access to and ours was located in the middle of the three, it wasn’t overly crowded so we never had to get up early to reserve chairs, the pool was nice, the entertainment staff were friendly and fun, and the food was decent. Cons of the resort are that the only walkable beach is between all three resorts which did not allow for “long walks on the beach” or treasure hunting, airplanes flew really low and loud over the resort due to it’s closeness to the airport, and there wasn’t any great walking paths for a good morning walk. Tom and I actually used the treadmills in the workout room twice on this trip to get our steps in (we walked for an hour each time!). On a couple of other mornings we did walk between all three resorts to explore and get steps, but it was nothing compared to the walks we were able to do at other resorts in the past.

As I mentioned the entertainment staff was pretty good and they got us involved in beach Olympics, Alissa and Jacob in a ladder golf competition in which Alissa won, trivia and bingo in the bar before dinner, and Pete and Tom in a dance competition one of the evenings. For the dance competition there were 10 people and each person had to say an animal and give a sound that the animal makes. Tom wanted to say cat but it was already taken, so instead he said crocodile. I’m not sure what sound a crocodile makes but Tom’s version was pretty hilarious. Pete went with bear which was equally as funny. Unfortunately neither one of them won, but it did provide much laughter for us. Another evening show that I thought was unique was a water ballet/synchronization show. We watched for a bit from the poolside, but then Tom and I went to our room where we actually had a better view from our balcony. I think each night we were back in our room by 10:00 after we had enjoyed a night cap of Bailys and Amaretto. One night we did play a game of Swoop in which I won.

Most afternoons were pretty chill and relaxing, however on Wednesday there was a foam party in the pool. The entertainment DJ got the party going with great dance music. The mood felt right to let the drinks flow and for us to jump in and participate. It really was a weirdly fun claustrophobic feeling being surrounded by the foam. The bubbles dissipated quickly and every so often the staff would generate more. When I asked Tom what his favorite part of the trip was he didn’t hesitate to say it was the foam party.

My favorite part of the trip was the excursion we did to Dunn River Falls in Ochos Rios. Pete, Laurie, Alissa, Jacob, Tom and I went on a snorkeling catamaran excursion to the falls. We had done a similar excursion back in Feb 2003 when we stopped in Ochos Rios on a cruise, but with it having been so long since we last did it, I was more than willing to do it again as I only had vague memories of the experience. The ride to Ochos Rios was not very enjoyable. We were on a bus that I think maybe sat 25 people, but when I say people I really mean seats for children. The seats are super small and close together. Two adults side by side is not comfortable at all. There were 19 of us on the excursion so that meant some people would definitely have to double up. When we were picked up there was already 5 people on the bus so we spread out one to a seat. We soon found out though that we were picking up way more people. Being the courteous people that we are we went to double up to make more room. Well lucky for the 6 people that joined us that the back of the bus was open and they were able to spread out one to a seat. Oh boy did we screw up. We should have over taken the back and let them sit double! It was a hot, cramped ride that took almost 2 hours! The catamaran was more than just our 19 and felt full, but not overcrowded. We took an extremely short ride (almost comical from where we left the harbor to where we anchored) to where we would snorkel for 30 minutes. Unfortunately they made everyone where life jackets around their waist so it took probably 10-15 minutes just to get everyone their gear and suited up and in the water cutting into the snorkeling time. The snorkeling was just meh, but I’m always happy to swim in the warm waters of the Caribbean. Leaving snorkeling it probably only took another 20 minutes to get to the pier where we docked to climb Dunn River Falls. We were put into small groups and given a falls guide to lead us up. When we did it in 2003 we went barefoot, but this time it was mandatory to wear water shoes. I can’t believe we did it barefoot in the past. Water shoes made 100% sense. We were at the front of the group which was nice. Also a change from when we did it before was being able to take our cell phone in a water protective case to take pictures. We still had a professional photographer/videographer along and Jacob kindly paid for it for our group. We got 96 or so pictures and a video, but I have to laugh at some of the pictures. He really could have just deleted them. They quality of his work was average at best. We all agreed however that climbing the falls was totally worth it. Once we were done at the falls we got back on the catamaran and had the booze cruise portion of the trip back to the dock. Again it’s not really a far distance so it was humorous when they took us into the harbor and sailed around it . . . probably to advertise to everyone on shore what a good time we were having. The last stop of the trip was to Margaritaville for lunch that was included with the tour. We had jerk chicken, rice, coleslaw, and a hush puppy. The food was very good. We got done eating with time to do a shot at the bar before we got back on the bus. This time we were more strategic and got on the bus first and claimed the seats in the back leaving the people who had gotten on the bus last to double up. Sorry not sorry. I think it’s only fair to share the uncomfortableness and poor Jacob who is 6’9″ didn’t deserve to be smooshed into a seat again for a couple of hours. He sat in the back so he could stretch his legs down the aisle. Although the excursion started out a little shaky, at the end of the day, the climb up the falls was worth the experience.

The resort we were at had 4 specialty restaurants and of course the buffet. On Sunday (Liam and Alissa’s birthdays) we ate at the Asian restaurant. The portions were served street food style and were meant to be shared. I enjoyed trying many different things, but I think I was the only one who really enjoyed dinner that night. The rest weren’t impressed. The second night we went to a restaurant that really wasn’t a specialty in anything. I had beef short ribs and Tom had sea bass. We both thought our meals were good. I really, really liked mine but others who had the same selection thought the meat was fatty. Maybe I just got a good piece or maybe I like a little fat. Wednesday Tom and I ate at the Italian restaurant. The menu had looked promising but it was my least favorite of the specialty restaurants. I had chicken parmesan and Tom had chicken alfredo. Thursday night we ate in the buffet where I had a made to order pasta (which was 100% better than the meal I had in the Italian restaurant). The last night we all ate in the Steak restaurant. For a resort steak, it was pretty good. It was no Flemings, but it was still very flavorful and possibly the best dinner meal. Tom and I skipped breakfast most mornings and we tried to keep lunch portions small.

It’s not unusual to see stray cats when we travel and this trip was no exception. There were a handful of stray cats that roamed the property, but one in particular was super friendly. When we first spotted it we didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl because we hadn’t seen it from behind, but when it did show itself he was clearly a boy! Tom exclaimed that he had some Big Balls and from that point forward the cat was named Big Balls or B.B. for short. What I liked about B.B. was that he was super friendly and would come to me if I called him. I did feed him scraps of chicken from lunch one day and gave him lots of pets. He always brought a smile to my face when I saw him. He was such a good boy!

Overall we had a great, relaxing vacation. Jamaica is not my personal go to destination, but I’m glad we had the opportunity to visit once more.

Stats of the Week

Steps: I have no idea. My watch died on the first full day. Time for a new watch.
Books Read: 1 (“The Next Best Thing” by Jennifer Weiner)
Movies: 1 (I watched “One Love” the Bob Marley story on the plane on the way there. I thought it was only appropriate)
Cost of Excursion: $170/person (prices certainly have gone up over the years!)
Rainy Days: 1 – Rained all morning on the day we left. Perfect timing!
Average Daily High Temp: 87 degrees