Rasta, rum, and reggae!

Day 1 – Our flight to Montego Bay allowed us to enjoy the music blaring from the headphones of the guy sitting next to us.  It was seriously good stuff!  I couldn’t help myself, and asked what he was listening to.  His response? “The classics.  R. Kelly and Bob Marley.  Welcome to Jamrock!”

Day 2 – Beach! Pool! And Sunday Football?!

Day 3 – A key tip in traveling is to be flexible.  I didn’t plan translating the events of our 10 hour excursion to a French speaking couple.  But, I did! I knew all my years of studying French would pay off!  We climbed Dunn’s River Falls (another tip – don’t wear bikini tops to Dunn’s River Falls! I lost mine… 3 times…), visited Bob Marley’s Nine Mile, and took an evening swim in a lagoon that glowed the more you stroked.

Day 4 – More Beach and pool time!
Day 5 – Remember that tip about being flexible?  We were able to put that to practice today.  Our trip to Negril started with us being the only English speaking couple on a bus of Spanish speakers.  Although we learned nothing about the areas we traveled through, we were given the opportunity to unexpectedly spend 4 hours sitting at Margaritaville.  Finally, we left on the catamaran cruise and things began to pick up.  Rick’s Café was a blast and the rain clouds dissipated enough to show off an amazing sunset.  The cruise back was full of rum punch, new friends, and learning to newest Jamaican dances.

Day 6 – The pros taught us authentic jerk cooking and how to chat Patois.  Jamaicans have a lot to say in a little time, so they drop parts of words and combine them.  In America we say, “What’s going on?”  In Patois, that becomes “wah gwan”.  See how they get that?!  We ended the day with a beach party and, of course, a request for a copy of the DJ’s playlist.

Day 7 – Flexibility is key when traveling, right?  We loaded on to a bus for a 3 hour bobsledding adventure, and stopped while the driver filled up with gas before we set out on what was really another 10 hour day… To make the best of it, we swam and had drinks while enjoying a view of Ocho Rios.  As an afternoon storm rolled in, dodged almonds that pelted the ground as they fell from the tropical canopy.  The bus ride back to Montego Bay was complete with authentic Jamaican patties and a full blown fight in the street between our bus driver and a man blocking the road. The end was in sight as all the other people had been dropped off, and we were next on the list, but then the bus got a flat tire! At that point, all we could do was laugh and accept the offer of a ride to our hotel from our tour guide, who was gracious enough to answer all our questions about Jamaican culture.

You just never know what a day might bring, but in Jamaica the one thing that is certain is that everything is “no problem”! Yeh mon!