Jamaica, Mon!

As you know, Mark and I just returned from our FREE trip to Jamaica and, boy, was it great! We arrived at the airport in Montego Bay to be whisked away (well, after spending 45 minutes to get through customs and immigration) to the Sandals welcome center. They had little finger sandwiches, soda, and, of course, Red Stripe (hooray beer!).

We were then taken to our resort which was all of a ten minute drive from the airport. Since this vacation was "replacing" the one we paid for on our honeymoon and because we spared very little expense for our honeymoon, we again had a concierge suite. The biggest benefit to having this room is the check-in and check-out process. We were served champagne, beer, and rum punch in a beautiful, air-conditioned lounge while the concierge took care of everything and those guests who didn't splurge were left sitting outside in the humidity. After checking in we were given a tour of the resort and I was able to taste my first banana colada since our honeymoon (I'd been craving one for months!). We were then taken to our room where our bags were already waiting.
We quickly changed into our swimsuits and made our way to the swim up bar in the pool. As you can tell from the picture, it was slightly overcast but the cloud cover didn't put any kind of a damper on how excited we were to be there. The whole trip, we kept reminding each other how lucky we felt to be there and how wonderful is was that we got two honeymoons for the price of one! Dinner on Friday night was a Caribbean beach party theme right on the beach and they had all kinds of food - including Jamaican jerk chicken (yum!) and freshly cut coconuts to drink from.
After dinner, we hit the pub at the resort where we met a really nice couple from New York and ended up closing down the place with them. The guys who worked in the pub made our trip so much fun! The bartender was pouring drinks with bottles and glasses on his head, the servers had a dance off, it was a blast! We topped the night off with some flaming Bob Marley shots. They tasted like peppermint or cinnamon. Mark didn't get to taste his since his straw ended up melting! For future reference, this is the shot that made me make a new rule for myself: no shots.

On the way back to the room on Friday night, I tripped going up the stairs and woke up Saturday morning with a swollen, bruised, and scabbed left knee! And, boy, do I wish that was all the hurting I felt from our first night in Jamaica. But, those who know and love me know that I get the worst hangovers known to mankind. For those who didn't know this, being in Jamaica does not make you immune to such things. No sir. I did, indeed, wake up with what may possibly be the worst hangover of my life. :(

Luckily, it rained all day long. Literally, not one drop of sunshine. Thank goodness. I was in bed or on the bathroom floor until about 5:00 at which time we had dinner reservations. Mark (who was SO great all day - drawing me a bubble bath, bringing me food, and watching silly chick flicks with me) convinced me that once I got up and moving I'd be fine. Not true. Not true at all. We skipped our previously scheduled dinner and met up with our new friends from NYC at more casual place where I had to excuse myself numerous times throughout the meal. We ended up back at the pub and, honestly, just walking into the place made me sick to my stomach. I made Mark take me back to the room and, after emptying my stomach one last time, I finally felt like myself again. It was 10:00!!! At that time we decided to take a dip in the pool but not before grabbing our new friends from the pub. We swam and hung out in the hot tub and just enjoyed our new friends' last night in Jamaica. All's well that ends well, I say. But, what a day!

We woke up early Sunday morning to the knock of room service at our door (which we did EVERY morning on this trip) and had the front desk call us a cab to take us to Dunns River Falls. When the taxi pulled up, we found out that we had an entire 28 passenger bus all to ourselves!!!

We drove about an hour and a half to the falls where we had a great time! It wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. It wasn't difficult either but there were definitely some places where we couldn't see where to step and I almost fell on my face a few times. In fact, I fell onto a rock and banged up my good knee! At the exit of the falls was a small craft mart where local Jamaicans peddle their wares. We were in good spirits at first but, as we left with two necklaces, a wooden Red Stripe mug, a small wooden turtle, and a painted Jamaican couple with our names carved into them, Mark said all he wanted was to get back to the resort. His friend Toby had warned us that we'd be taken by those guys because we are both such softies and they don't all take no for an answer. Oh well. We have souvenirs!

After the falls, we stopped by the Dunns River Sandals for lunch and were very impressed with the place. Especially the beach. It was beautiful and beckoned to us to take a dip. So, after lunch and a quick swim, we started back to our resort.
On the drive back to the resort, our cabbie stopped at the side of the road for us to buy something they call ginnups or Jamaican sea grapes. You bite into the skin, pop the seed into your mouth, suck the juices off of it, and then put it back into the skin. Mark liked them. I tried it at least!

Our driver, Leslie, was great. He took us to the falls on one route, we even stopped at a local rest stop and bought Jamaican Red Bull and Vitamin Water (I know, not very "When in Rome..."). He then took us a different way home, explaining the sights to us along the way. Did you know that Jamaica is a major producer of boxite? We didn't.

Sunday's dinner was at the resort's french restaurant, Le Jardinier. One of the luxuries of going all-inclusive is that you can order one of everything on the menu. So, for appetizers we did just that. Guess what I tried? Can you guess? That's right - escargot!!! And, you know what? It really wasn't too bad. It tasted like chewy, buttery, garlic. It's a mind over matter thing though and I had to chew it and swallow it as quickly as possible but at least I tried it. After dinner, we went to a drumming/dancing show and then for our nightly dip in the pool. The pub is closed on Sundays.

We awoke on Monday morning to find the sun shining brightly and calling us to come bask in its warmth. We took a boat over to the resort's private island, previously known as Kokomo, and relaxed by the pool. When exploring the island, we found this sign: And, yes, we tried it. For about 10 minutes we were scrunched up in water that was about a foot deep. Until we realized just how public this "private" beach was. At that time, the pool bar had opened and we were in need of a drink or two. Unfortunately, they didn't have any bananas on the island so no coladas for me. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the mainland, in the pool, at the bar, and sleeping in chaise lounges. Ahhh, perfect relaxation.

For dinner on our last night, we took the boat back to the island and the resort's Royal Thai restaurant. Another new thing for me. It was delicious and romantic and a perfect way to wrap up our trip.

Because our flight back to L.A. wasn't until 4:50 in the afternoon, we were able to check out on Tuesday morning but then continue to enjoy the resort for a couple of hours. We swam and I had a couple of banana coladas one last time, we ate lunch, and then we were off to the airport.

To REALLY put icing on this vacation cake, we flew Air Jamaica direct from Montego Bay to LAX and not only were our bags free (Spirit charged us $15 each to take them there) but we recieved a hot dinner, complimentary champagne, free headphones, and an in-flight movie!

We really are lucky to have been afforded the opportunity to take this vacation. Had Hurricane Dean not "interrupted" our honeymoon, I don't know when we would have had this experience. Life is good.