Jamaican Vacation

Upon arriving in Montego Bay, Jamaica we grabbed our luggage, went through customs, and loaded a bus to our resort. Everyone was really excited for the fun to begin! As we drove through towards the resort this is what we saw....



Our first impression of the island....

Quite the difference between the left side where all of the resorts were and the right side there we shanty houses like this.  

Santa greeted us as we

 arrived on our resort

That first night we got settled in our rooms, grabbed a quick bite to eat and then started mapping out our week.

  

This was my room, it was beautiful and the
best part was the amazing balcony



My own Mini Bar.... Unfortunately since I was working I wasn't able to take advantage of it.

 

Our path to the ocean from our rooms. It was SO beautiful and the water was so inviting.

 

On Wednesday we headed to Bob Marley's childhood home and final resting place. On our way there we were lucky enough to take a ride through the mountains. It was super scary because not only were we driving on the "wrong" side of the road we were also bobbing and weaving around pot holes, avoiding oncoming traffic,and dodging crazy people that were walking along the road. Our driver kept telling me to calm down but for some reason I just couldn't relax... (can't imagine why!) The roads were SO narrow!

He showed us the workings of a sugar cane farm and explained how it all worked. We saw fields that were close to harvest, recently harvested, and those that needed to be harvested. The vegetation was just amazing there. I was amazed by all of the green that surrounded us.

I am not sure what I expected but for some reason everything was different from my mind's eye.

We also saw lots of different mining crews that were diggin up the "red dirt" or bauxite that Jamaica is famous for. Apparently it is used to make aluminum and is a huge export business for the island. They call the dirt something funny (which of course I don't remember) and it basically means it stains everything. There were giant holes ALL over the hills that were several feet deep and several feet wide. It was really interesting learning about those two things....

an example of one of these holes. It wasn't being used anymore and had been semi filled with limestone.

Captain Crazy and me in Bob's childhood bedroom.
Apparently that is his bed he slept in when
growing up.

Finally after about 2 hours in the car,  we made it to the Bob Marley "tour" where we were met by our very eccentric tour leader. THIS was quite an experience! We walked into a bar/ restaurant where the majority of people were smoking big ol' blunts and getting their drink on. Now with a group like mine, this wasn't the most comfortable experience for me.

Captain Crazy was our guides name and it definitely fit him. He was feeling good during our tour and made sure that everyone knew it was ok to be feeling as good as he was. So awkward!

There were also people all around the fences of the property trying to get us to by their "special" stuff. It was really sad actually......

On the flip side they only wanted $10 for the "good"stuff.  

They had what looked like marshmellow roasting sticks with seed packets full of the "special" stuff. Though it was interesting to hear about Bob Marley, I am not sure the 2 hour ride was really worth the hour long tour.

View from the lift

On Thursday we got up pretty early and headed to Ochos Rios which was about an hour and a half away from our resort. Our first stop was to "Mystic Mountain" where we rode a ski lift to the top of the mountain. We saw a large cruise ship come in to the harbor and SO many beautiful things. I took tons of photos but it doesn't do it justice. It was really a sight to see.

Afterwards we headed to Dunns River Falls which is a very popular activity when in Jamaica. They are waterfalls you can actually climb and they are beautiful. It was a lot of fun to check out but unfortunately I didn't get to climb them. Only one of my group members would even get in the water so it wasn't really worth the struggle of trying to get them excited. I did get in and do a little swimming and messing around to see how it would be but that was as far as I got. Hopefully I can go back again someday with my hubby and we can do it together.


I am standing on one of the docks along the falls. It was so pretty and looked like lots of fun!

Our last night on the island our group enjoyed a nice dinner and a little bit of a comedy show before we called it a night. I think everyone was a little sad to go to bed as we knew we would get up and head north the next day. It had been in the 80's most of our time there so it was gorgeous!

Our Group with the Jamaican flag

To be honest, I really have shied away from buying much for souvenirs when I go with LEEP groups because I don't really need anything from those places. I do come home with something usually, but it typically ends up being for someone else. This trip however, I got myself something! TWO things actually!

I saw the statue on the left  the first day I was there. It is a mom, dad, and child all intertwined and beautiful if you ask me. It just struck a chord and I had to have it. The only problem I had was, I wanted a bigger one! So, it was my mission to find one that was bigger than 6 inches tall but, unfortunately, there weren't any around.

It worked though because after I found that one, I  found the other one! I LOVE that one too. I don't know why they were something I HAD to have but I did..... I love them. They made the perfect addiction to our living room decor and I am glad I got them.

I would say that our trip to Jamaica was one that is full of memories. There are many more stories I have of my trip but this post has already gone longer than I planned. I hope I get to go back someday because I saw so many things I want to do/try but didn't get the opportunity. If nothing else, the break from winter weather was WELL worth it!