i suppose when you go into something with no expectations, you cannot be disappointed. i was not.i need to start by saying that i am not an extensive traveler. in fact, the last time i was even south of virginia was 16 years ago when we traveled to mexico on our honeymoon. to some who do travel a lot, my journaling may be a bit boring to you or uninspired; believe me, no matter what we did, we met this one couple who had experienced it *all before* but we didn't let it diminish our experience. this is simply going to be an honest account of our two day/two night experience of jamaica. i'll probably do it in two or three parts because i want to show you my pictures, too :)
DAY ONE/EVENING ONE
from the riches of an all-inclusive resort to the reality of abject poverty - we were only in jamaica for three days total, the first day being washed out from travel delays and circumnavigating storms and turbulence and rude customs woman at the airport who didn't typify the people of their country, thanks be to God. we were greeted, once we made it through *immigracion*, with incredibly dark faces contrasted by incredibly white smiles; their warmth was penetrating. we felt welcomed (finally), exhaustion from traveling aside.
warm, humid air, spicy food and what seemed to be an endless supply of rum-flavored blender drinks ushered us into our first evening. even with the aforesaid, i strongly doubted my ability to relax; i prayed about it prior to falling into bed and into a deep sleep by 8:30 p.m., our first night at "sandals mobay."
DAY TWO, NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER
we were up at 5:45 a.m. as we didn't want to have a single minute go to waste. breakfast was served at 7:30 a.m. but we didn't want to appear anxious so we waited until at least 7:35 to dine. i won't bore you with our food details (even though i am sure some of my gastronomic pals would be interested in the fare...), but i've walked away with a fondness for ripe guava, fresh pineapple juice and a cocktail known as a "jamaican smile."
- we went out on a glass-bottomed boat which rekindled my "i want a tropical fish tank" interest from when i was 14...what an incredible earth God made!
- drank rum drinks, blender ones because it wasn’t quite noon yet…
- went tubing. felt like a kid.
- drank rum drinks, still blender ones. they’re sort of like chips, can’t have just one…
- ate food, maybe had a glass of water. maybe. i can't recall, really.
- what is this feeling i am experiencing? am i relaxed??
- went on a tour, which i will write about more extensively
- played pool for first time in years. can stick kick it, even though drinking rum drinks.
- shopped for the kids. my husband bought himself two cookbooks and a mixed drink book ~happened~ to make its way into the pile. my eyebrow raised as my *i'm strictly a beer man* husband would no sooner be seen in public ordering a "froo-froo" drink than he would be, say, shaving his legs...must've been the heat...
- drank rum drinks
- ate food
- maybe had one more drink. i believe i did, actually, come to think of it.
believe it or not, these drinks had no effect on me at all. it's like the sun sucked all the alcohol out of you on the beach. did not feel even a slight buzz, which made it extremely easy to drink these blender yummies quickly, save for the brain freeze i'd experience if i was over-zealous. moderation is key to anything you do. i swear it.
End adventures o' day 2.
DAY THREE: THE NON-ADVENTURE.
being as it was an early check-out (11:00) and a 6:00 p.m. flight, we were able to take advantage of the "departure room" wherein you do all the air jamaica check-ins on property, leave your stuff, and hit the beach until the bus comes to shuttle you to the airport. no need for worrisome check-ins -- "no problem." (did i mention NOTHING is a problem whatsoever here? they are unflappable, these people!!) we basically ate and drank and drank and sat on the beach until about 2 or 3ish until we had to shower and ready ourselves for the flight out. it was hassle-free and arriving in philadelphia was pretty much hassle-free, save for the security guard that was snappish at one of the customers and i thought "gee, welcome to philadelphia," but then thought of the woman in jamaica who greeted me in much the same manner; i shouldn't judge the entire town on one person, right? (don't answer that if it is in regard to philly please, tyvm...)
so we're home and in a separate thread, i'll blog about the people and the tour we went on. it was very humbling.
i trust everyone had a wonderful Easter - i need to gad about the blogs to see how all are doing and will be back to post pics and links to pics and all that stuff - if you want, here's a preview from my flickr account...this was taken from richmond hill inn, montego bay -
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