It was a really, really awesome trip. I'm still so thrilled that Penn won it. It was my first trip to the Caribbean. I've been to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, and I've been to the Florida Keys (which I guess almost counts as the Caribbean) but I'd never been to one of the Caribbean islands, so it was a new experience.
As far as international travel goes, it was really easy. The entire travel time start to finish was only about five hours, so it felt bizarre to be bringing a passport for such a short flight. When we landed in Jamaica it was early Thursday afternoon. We had been warned by the internet that we'd probably get hustled, and we pretty much were immediately upon landing. We'd been told by the hotel that we could catch a shuttle for $45 to the hotel, but when we got to the Kingston airport we were told that there were no shuttles to Ocho Rios and that we would have to pay almost $300 round trip! It turns out that most tourists fly into Montego Bay, something we'd failed to research. I don't even remember why we flew to Kingston in the first place, actually. At any rate, Penn haggled with a driver (I HATE haggling) and got the price down to a more reasonable amount. It wasn't a big deal, really (mostly because the shuttle ride was the only thing we had to pay for out of pocket) and we had an enjoyable two-hour shuttle drive to Ocho Rios. In the end I was glad we flew into Kingston because we got to drive from the south coast of the island through the mountains all the way to the north coast. We saw a lot. The resort we stayed at was incredibly sanitized for tourists--there was pretty much no contact with the outside world--so had we not flown into Kingston we probably wouldn't have seen the real Jamaica. We saw some cool things: the Red Stripe beer factory, a beautiful tropical river in a canyon that we had to cross using a one-lane bridge with no guardrails (yes, it was scary), actual rain forests (we drove through a place called Fern Gully!), beautiful views of the countryside as we drove up Mount Rosser. We also saw some things that were more difficult to see: tons of homes made out of scraps of cardboard and tin, shacks on the side of the road that passed for makeshift bars, people pushing heavy carts up the same mountain that our van was struggling to climb, children panhandling in the street. I told Penn, "Don't you feel selfish for complaining to each other about how small a house we'll be able to afford in our city?" What right do we have to complain? It will be our own house, made of bricks with a real shingled roof. Spoiled Americans. There were also heartwarming things, though. I've never seen so many children outside playing. Everywhere I looked there were groups of kids playing soccer or cricket or swimming in canals (that can't be safe) or hanging from trees. I feel like that's something that just doesn't happen in the US anymore. Rarely do I see a group of kids out in the street playing. I see them in the park playing on organized rec league teams or riding bicycles, but either my neighborhood is completely devoid of children (unlikely) or American kids don't just hang out in their yards and play together. I realize that the Jamaican children are outside playing because they have few other options--the internet and the Xbox aren't readily available activities. Still, it made me happy to see so many kids having fun together. I was also really amused by the fact that livestock just wanders the streets. Goats and cows wander along the side of the road, seemingly at random. We even saw a huge boar at one point! Awesome! Fences are pricey, though, so I guess there is some other system for keeping track of the ownership of the animals. It was all really interesting.
We spent the bulk of our three days there at the resort. I'd never done an all-inclusive trip before, but I think I'm completely sold on the idea. I'd definitely do it again.* It was so nice not to have to carry cash around and to be able to eat and drink to my heart's content without worrying about whether or not the tab was going to be hundreds of dollars at the end of the night. I think even if we'd actually had to pay for our trip the all inclusive still would have been worth it. The hotel was nice. It was huge. It had an enormous open-air lobby and buffet area, two towers of rooms, three ala carte restaurants, a poolside grill, a nightclub, conference facilities, a gazebo where we saw three different couples get married during the course of our stay, five pools (one of them had a water slide!) and two private beaches. In other words, it was the perfect place to just pick a lounge chair and veg out for the weekend, although there were also tons of activities for people who wanted action. The first night we were there we explored the hotel and then went to dinner. Fortunately for us the dinner buffet was pirate-themed and being held right on the beach that night, so my first meal in Jamaica was jerk chicken and grilled fish eaten ten feet from the edge of the ocean. At sunset. I loved it, obviously. Penn and I befriended a mom and daughter traveling together from Britain and we hung out with them at the pirate-themed party that followed. Part of the entertainment was a man who put a snake in his mouth. It happened almost a week ago and I still can't get over how creepy that is. I mean, I like snakes just fine, but yuck. There was also music and reggae dance lessons and the whole time waitresses kept plying me with free fruity drinks. It was awesome!
Our room had a balcony that overlooked the ocean and the mountains. It was beautiful, and I could have stayed in bed all day just listening to the waves crash down below and looking at the view. Fortunately, I had the sense to talk myself into leaving the room during the daylight hours. Still, Penn and I mostly just lounged. We'd move from one pool to another and then to the ocean, taking time every once in a while to go down the water slide. We went snorkeling twice and saw all kinds of cool things: sea urchins, a weird sea cucumber thing, lots of beautiful colorful little fish, and, the weirdest thing ever, an entire school of inky black reef squid. Those mofos were frightening. They appeared to be staring at us! We definitely gave them a wide berth, even though I'm fairly certain they are actually harmless. One day a guy showed up in the afternoon with a donkey, two parrots, and two rabbits, so that was entertaining. It was an impromptu petting zoo! Only in Jamaica, I guess! We enjoyed the breakfast buffet every morning (fresh mango!) and ate lunch either at the grill or at the buffet. For dinner we ate at the restaurants. They had a Chinese one that was good, and a Jamaican one right off the beach that was awesome. I'm going to look up a recipe for jerk chicken for sure, although I bet it won't be the same.
Our room had a balcony that overlooked the ocean and the mountains. It was beautiful, and I could have stayed in bed all day just listening to the waves crash down below and looking at the view. Fortunately, I had the sense to talk myself into leaving the room during the daylight hours. Still, Penn and I mostly just lounged. We'd move from one pool to another and then to the ocean, taking time every once in a while to go down the water slide. We went snorkeling twice and saw all kinds of cool things: sea urchins, a weird sea cucumber thing, lots of beautiful colorful little fish, and, the weirdest thing ever, an entire school of inky black reef squid. Those mofos were frightening. They appeared to be staring at us! We definitely gave them a wide berth, even though I'm fairly certain they are actually harmless. One day a guy showed up in the afternoon with a donkey, two parrots, and two rabbits, so that was entertaining. It was an impromptu petting zoo! Only in Jamaica, I guess! We enjoyed the breakfast buffet every morning (fresh mango!) and ate lunch either at the grill or at the buffet. For dinner we ate at the restaurants. They had a Chinese one that was good, and a Jamaican one right off the beach that was awesome. I'm going to look up a recipe for jerk chicken for sure, although I bet it won't be the same.
Anyway, the whole weekend was nothing but fun and relaxation. I was bummed to have to come home, but I'm so glad we have such good memories of our "practice honeymoon." Speaking of which, the next time we travel internationally it will be to New Zealand for the real honeymoon! Less than eight months to wait!
*Penn and I both noted that the resort was full of families with small children, and they were definitely catered to very well. I've started a mental list of child-friendly vacations (since, money allowing I don't want to give up all travel when we become parents) and I think all-inclusive Caribbean resorts make the list.
No comments:
Post a Comment