Wow, ‘mon! What a trip! We got back last week from a fun filled vacation to Jamaica. Let me start off by giving shouts out to our parents for keeping the kids while we were away. The inlaws split the difference on keeping the kiddos. We KNOW what you’re dealing with! And we thank you!
Jamaica was a blast. We actually split the trip between 2 separate places. The first place was the blue cave castle. It’s basically a castle that was built on the cliffs that are past 7 mile beach. We were in the “penthouse”. We had a ball there. There are only about 11 rooms in the whole place, 4 of which had guests. So we got to know some really neat people during our stay there. There was a chef onsite named Teddy. He cooked some amazing meals for us. There were some standbys as well as the ‘food of the day’, which he’d recommend. The food was delicious and even included some new stuff (at least to us) like curried conch. For some reason, even the bacon he cooked at breakfast was better than any I’d ever had.
Since blue cave wasn’t all inclusive, we didn’t feel an ounce of guild venturing out to have meals at other places. We went to a little place called 3 Dives and also had dinner one night at Rick’s. That night was a little special for us since Laura and I met at a joint called Rick’s when we were back in school. And our honeymoon was SUPPOSED to be in Jamaica until Hurricane Ivan nearly wiped it off the map 2 days before we got married.
One of the things that was really cool about the blue cave was the cliffs. There were steps carved into the rock that you could both walk down and dive from. I did a couple dives from one that was 30-35 feet up. What a rush. I felt like a 6 year old girl standing up there before I jumped. I’d almost get my nerve…then step back down. I finally did it, though.
The worst thing about venturing out of the castle was the local ‘hustlers’. We went to a craft market one afternoon and told our cab driver to be back in an hour. After about 20 minutes we were done with the craft market. The market was nearly empty of tourists, but all the locals with the booths were still there. Apparently, it is the low season, and the locals are hurting for money. We felt bad for them, but Laura never felt better about herself. The vendors kept referring to her as “boss”, and were telling her that she had pretty hair, pretty teeth, pretty eyes, pretty skin, pretty clothes, pretty legs. Everything was pretty. I happen to agree. 🙂
After 20 minutes or so in the craft market, we couldn’t take it anymore. We walked down the street and sat in a Burger King until it was time for our cab to pick us up.
The second half of the week was a Couples Swept Away. I’d say it is just about the exact opposite of everything we experienced at the castle. Tons of people, a bazillion different things to eat, air conditioning, lots to do and see. One thing we’ve learned is that there isn’t a lot of differences between most all inclusives. Rooms are all similar. Food is good, but is the type of food that you get when the chef has to cook for 200. There were some cool things about this one that set it apart from some of the others we’ve been to. We did a glass bottom boat ride, snorkeled on a reef, water skied, made a hat from coconut leaves, made a basked and tie dyed.
One of the BEST things about the resort was an ice cream station. All you had to do was walk up, grab a cone and make you a soft serve…ANY TIME YOU PLEASED. My record was 6 ice cream cones in one day. We even got a few of the other guests involved and turned it into a competition.
Coming back home was bittersweet. We were ready to be home…to see our kids, to sleep in our own bed. But we will definitely miss the time hanging out with just the two of us. There’s always next trip…
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