Many of you have only been to Jamaica from a cruise ship port stop and feel that you have experienced Jamaica. But you haven’t. Not judging that was me too. I have been on several cruises and made stops in places like Ocho Rios, Jamaica, but that is usually the only port that ships visit. Most of us climb up the Dunn’s River Falls, and so did I.
But this last trip to Jamaica, I flew there and stayed for about 11 days, and felt like this was the first time that I’ve really been to Jamaica. And still don’t think that I’ve ventured out enough. Because even in that time frame, I was mostly staying at gated resorts in Negril and Montego Bay.
For this blog post, I might have trouble finding photos. Because for once, I wasn’t concentrating on capturing every beautiful scenery that I saw. I was, for once, really just enjoying the moment. Talking to the locals, appreciating the wonderful food and drinks, listening and dancing to Reggae music. Love their slowed pace of life. If you always have to be in a hurry. You should probably come here and stay a week, and hopefully you will break out of that bad habit of always rushing.
Well, being retired has taught me to relax and stop rushing through life. It will end eventually soon enough; not sure what trying to get from Point A to Point B faster than the person next to you is supposed to earn you. Unless, of course, you are a contestant on the reality show, The Amazing Race.
The People: (Friendly, handsome men).
The women there are also friendly. I just didn’t take any pictures with any of them. Everyone is in permanent “chill” mode, and it was a lovely and refreshing change of pace.
The Food:
My first time having fresh coconut water. It was so refreshing. Had it on a private island where our group was served a grilled lobster lunch. Forgot to take a photo of it. I was probably happy to just dig in (eat my meal).
Not sure why I didn’t take pictures of my Oxtails and Curry Goat dishes that I had at Queen G’s inside the Seacastles Resort in Montego Bay. It was delicious. Maybe because I always ate outside in their courtyard at night (for the nice sea breeze), and the tables were lit with candles and the patio string lights above. So I probably thought it was too dark for the photos to come out. I might have just been so happy to get wonderful, authentic Jamaican dishes. Queen G’s Restaurant is at: Seacastles, Rosehall, Block G, Main Road, Montego Bay, Jamaica. Please visit this place if you are in Montego Bay, and their staff is so friendly. I even got to meet and talk to the owner, Mrs. Queen G., but she didn’t want me to take any pictures of her although she is a lovely lady. Food was delicious, service was fast, and the staff was friendly.
The Beaches:
Culture/Traditions:
The group I traveled with one day took a party boat Catamaran trip to Rick’s Cafe in Negril. I didn’t realize this is the famous place where people jump from a cliff into the water below. I just noticed two platforms to dive from, and they both looked very high to me. So I didn’t do it because I couldn’t tell after you jumped how far you had to swim to come out, or if there was a ladder or something in the water to help you get out of the water. After I returned home, I researched and seems there were four (4) platforms to dive from. One at 30 ft. above sea level. Then 25 ft, then 5 ft. and 2 ft. I thought most people said they had jumped from 10 ft. So maybe they were mistaken. Well, I didn’t do it. Plus it wasn’t clear how long our group was staying there. And I had to try to order my food from the bar and that turned out to be a little chaotic. Just think, the bar staff was overwhelmed. On hindsight, I would have sat at a table (which was hard to find) and tried to get a regular waitress to take my order. Thought ordering at the bar would save me time. But it was more confusing for the bar staff trying to serve drinks and take food orders. Again, when we went, our group was very large, and it seemed there were other groups of people there. It was packed, but a fun memorable experience. Maybe if I return, I will do the jump. Give me something to get my courage up for.
Next visit, I think I’m going to go to their Raggae SumFest in July in Montego Bay, and experience that. I just learned about it on this trip when I was staying in Montego Bay. My private driver told me about it. Reggae Sumfest is Jamaica’s biggest music festival, and it takes place in Montego Bay every July.
Shopping:
Bought too much on this vacation. But at least most of it was things I could eat or drink. Or consume in some way (e.g. sugar scrubs, hot sauce, rum, rum cake). Love my new beach towels and beach bag.