Come Back, Back to JAMAICA!!

Oh, what a fun vacation!! By now I should have all my pictures uploaded so now I am just waiting for the rest of the pictures to be emailed to me and then they will be added as well. So... please check out the link!!

It was so beautiful the whole trip!! We got into Jamaica on Wednesday and were at the resort by 1:00pm (Jamaica time). It didn't take long and we found everyone in the dining room getting some lunch. Right after lunch we all went on the Booze Cruise, out into the ocean. There was water splashing up everywhere so no pictures were taken during the cruise, but we went out quite a ways and the water was so blue and clear it was amazing!! It was so pretty to see the island from the ocean as well. Then on the way back they anchored the boat and we were all able to jump off and go swimming!!

Later that night four of us went to Ocho Rios to go to Margaritaville. It was the best bar I have ever been to because there was a waterslide in the middle of the bar! Of course us girls had to warm up the slide... we were the first in the bar that night to go down the slide and then we went down quite a few more times!! There was also a swim-up bar that we went to!! So FUN! I am waiting on the pictures from this part of the trip yet... I saw them still on the camera and they looked good!!

The next day was the wedding... CONGRATULATIONS ANGIE & KEVIN. A lot of pictures were taken and quite a few of them are already posted.

In the morning we all ate breakfast together and then after breakfast I went snorkeling for the first time... and I really didn't enjoy it too much because I was having a hard time with the snorkel... I couldn't breathe out of it very well and kept getting salt water in my mouth (not too tasty)! But we did not leave the shallow water (I could stand at any point without a problem) and there was a lot of coral and fish to look at it was still quite fun!

Mid-afternoon was the wedding which was on the beautiful, sandy beach!! It was very pretty!! Check out the pictures, they explain it much better than I can! Then at night we all went to the Italian restaurant for dinner, it was very good!!

There was another resort that was affiliated with the resort that we stayed at that was quite close so Thursday night we took a taxi ride over to that resort. Lets just say it was a little more... risque... than the resort we stayed at and it was considered to be a "couples" resort. I liked the fact that this one had a water slide in it (which ours didn't have) but it was turned off by the time we got there. It also had a pool table inside the pool... which I found quite cool!

When we got back to our hotel there was a piano bar that was still open and there was another wedding party singing karaoke to the piano music so we sat there for quite a while and listened to the music. It was so much fun to sing along and listen to all the singers!! There were some people who did a really good job!

On Friday morning, after breakfast, we went snorkeling again and this time I had a lot more fun! I was starting to get a handle on the snorkel so we were able to go out a little further and see some more fish! It was so pretty and so relaxing to be out there with all the schools of fish swimming around the mounds of coral!

In the afternoon, Stucky, the taxi driver, took us to Ocho Rios to see the shops and Angie got her hair braded. It is much different shopping there than in the States. First, the small shops are all in a gated area with guards at the entrance. All the workers are willing to bargain with you and everyone is going to give you "the best deal." By the end of the shopping trip we got tired of people following us around... but we did get some good deals on Jamaican merchandise!! There was one really funny story from the shopping trip though...

While shopping I really needed to use the restroom, so I found the ladies room and went in. I was first I was impressed with the cleanliness of the restroom itself. I then picked a stall and went in but when trying to lock the door I was having a hard time. So, I thought I would just leave it unlocked, but that didn't work because it would swing wide open. I finally was able to move the door so that I could get the lock in.

After I was done and I went to flush the toilet with my foot but it would not flush. There was a sign on the back of the stall saying "Please Flush Toilet" so I assumed the problem was it was a hard toilet to flush so I pushed a little harder. At that point the entire back of the toilet, where the handle was, broke and water started flying everywhere!! It took me a second to realize what was going on and then turn around. Remember how much work I put into locking the bathroom stall door... well, it was just as difficult to get it unlocked!!! By the time I was able to get the stall door unlocked and out of the bathroom the entire back side of me was soaked!!

I ran out of the bathroom and I was laughing so hard!! Cliff was standing outside the door waiting for me and he actually had the camera out and took my picture as I was laughing. He asked me what I was doing and as I started to tell the story water came pouring out from under the bathroom door!!! We quickly left and went to the first shop to tell them what had occurred. Luckily the manager of all the shops was standing right there and she went to stop the flood! Needless to say I smelled awful but was able to find a new (much better smelling) skirt to buy and wore that for the rest of the shopping trip!!

After we got back from shopping I needed to take a shower so I did that then took an afternoon nap. I forgot how wonderful an afternoon nap can be!! We all met up again for dinner that evening at the buffet. After dinner four of us played pool for quite a while and then the people who had to leave the next morning went to bed. The rest of us went to the beach, sat on the chairs, looked at the stars, and listened to the waves until we fell asleep. It was an amazing way to fall asleep!!

Saturday we all ate breakfast again together and then most people had to take off to the airport. The 2 of us that were left went snorkeling again!!! This time we went out quite a ways, to where there was approximately a 40 foot drop, mountains of coral, and beautiful, brightly-colored fish everywhere!! It was the most amazing sight!! Being in the water like that was so calming but seeing all that beauty was exhilarating. I think I could get used to eating my breakfast by the ocean and going snorkeling every morning!! We were out there for about an hour before we started getting tired. We made our way back to the beach to relax but only stayed there for a short time before deciding we needed to go back out again! We did the same stretch of coral but being that it was later and there had been a few boats that had gone by it stirred up the sand and it wasn't nearly as clear... but it was still beautiful!!

After all that snorkeling we were so exhausted that a relaxing nap in the hammock was required. I have decided that I want to get a hammock for at home!! It was a nice nap to take. The hammock was in the shade and I wanted to get some more sun so we went back to the beach and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon either relaxing in the water or relaxing on a chair. It was the perfect way to spend the last day in Jamaica! Yeah mon!

At night we got dressed up and watched the sun set on the beach (I took quite a few pictures of this and they turned out beautiful) and then went back to the Italian restaurant for dinner. I thought the food there was very good! After dinner we changed and went back to the beach and spent the rest of the night looking at the stars and listening to the water again. We fell asleep out there again!!

On Sunday morning we had to have our bags outside the room by 8am and we had to be on the bus by 9am so we got up at 7am. After getting packed up we had breakfast and then went on the beach until it was time to go. The bus ride took quite a while because we stopped at a couple other resorts on the way to pick up additional passengers, still we got to the airport and got checked in with a couple hours to wait but there were a lot of little duty-free shops to look around in so we had fun doing that!!

The flight back was very uneventful but the same can not be said about the time in the Atlanta airport. We got off the plane and had to go thru customs and show our passport. Then we had to go to the international luggage claim to pick up our bags. Everyone had to get their bags at the international luggage claim even if they had a connecting flight. So we waited, and waited, and waited for over an hour before the bags started to arrive. Once we got our bags we had to go thru customs again to have them checked and then drop them back off to go thru the metal detectors.

Once we got thru all of that we got on the airport shuttle to go to the second baggage claim but when we got on an announcement came across stating that the train was broken but would be fixed shortly. We sat there for a few minutes, then debated walking the mile or so to the terminal but during the debate the train started working again. We finally got to the luggage carousel but our luggage wasn't there yet. We waited, and waited, and waited some more. By the time we got the luggage, got to the bus, and got to the car we had waited longer in the airport then it took us to fly! But, I guess you can't feel too sorry for us, I mean, it's a small price to pay for an excellent vacation in Jamaica!!

IRIE!!