We’re back in Chicago at the Ramada for the night. I’ve got several posts and some photos to put up, but I’ll do it later. I have a feeling I’ve missed a lot while we were gone. All I’ve really heard about recently are the Olympics and the port management contract going to UAE.
All good things must come to an end. We’re just passing over Cuba on our flight back to Chicago. Unfortunately, our honeymoon had a pretty lackluster finish. We woke up yesterday morning to rain and this time it didn’t dry up quickly. It rained most of the morning and stayed overcast until early evening. The worst was the wind, which forced them to close down all water sports for the whole day. Since we had planned on snorkeling in the morning, the weather pretty much blew our entire day.
We did end up meeting a few older couples in one of the hot tubs, and I wound up playing sand volleyball with them for most of the afternoon. It was fun, but I definitely would have preferred to be doing something else and I’m sure Amber was bored just watching.
The way our schedule worked out today, we had time to go snorkeling this morning, but because we had to have our bags packed and be out of the room by 11AM, it just didn’t seem feasible to keep out swimsuits and a change of clothes. We spent most of the morning watching other people have fun.
All in all, it’s been a pretty sweet trip, and we’re definitely looking forward to going back sometime in the future.
The second tour we chose involved a jeep excursion followed by a trip up Dunn’s River Falls. The tour was operated by the same company as the canopy tour, and this one didn’t disappoint.
Our jeep seated eight people total, plus our guide, Peter. Fortunately, he’s one of the few Jamaican’s we encountered off the resort who spoke clear English. After we picked up some other people, Peter took us up into the mountains, through some small communities and onto a large cattle ranch. Along the way we stopped several times so he could explain Jamaican history and culture, as well as show us specific plants and landmarks. He also took us off road at unexpected times. The roads themselves are bad enough, so we’ll probably be stiff tomorrow.
Some of the things we learned:
The last part of our tour involved climbing up the falls. I’m not talking about hiking to the top for a nice view, but climbing straight up the middle as the water swirls around you. The guides made everyone form a human chain which is helpful at times, but mostly just annoying, because a lot of the people weren’t as nimble as we were. It was pretty fun, but a little chilly. Since we didn’t have anything but flip flops, we had to rent nasty aqua shoes out of some ladies car. That sucked, but it wasn’t enough to tarnish the rest of the trip. All in all, another really fun tour, and well worth the extra cost.
Today we headed over to Sandal’s Ocho Rios. There’s a free shuttle about every hour and we wanted to check it out. It was nice, but definitely not as nice as Dunn’s River. They have seperate little villas as part of the resort over there so things are a lot more spread out and a little more secluded. Here, most everything is located just off a large central plaza with two pools and lots of lounging space.
While we were over there we took a spin on a Hobie Cat which was pretty fun, so we’ll probably try and do it a few more times before we leave. We also had lunch at a buffet over there, but it wasn’t much different than anything here. Unfortunately we lost our chance to go snorkeling today by going over there. We’ll have to make time for it either tomorrow afternoon or Saturday.
Anyway, after seeing what the other resort was like, we were really glad we ended up where we did. It seems to be a slightly younger crowd (we’re still some of the youngest) and it definitely seems to fit us better.
Wednesday evening the staff set up a guest and staff talent show. There’s a team of people responsible for entertainment, so they were the main acts, but there were a few other members of the staff from behind the scenes and a few guests that performed as well. There was one really good rendition of Collide by Howie Day; it was pretty strange to hear those sounds coming from a Jamaican band and singer but it was very true to the original. One guy played a pretty mean sax, and there were a few guests who had some singing talent.
There was one act that just stuck out as the worst of the night. This woman willingly got up on stage and totally butchered At Last. A don’t think she hit a single correct note for the whole song, yet her friends were all cheering her on to be louder and crazier. The worst: when the song finally ended and everyone felt obligated to clap and cheer when no one in their right mind could have enjoyed her performance. A few more drinks and I might not have noticed. Despite the low point, it was a fun evening and one of the only events setup by the staff that we’ve attended.
We had initially dismissed this idea because it wasn’t cheap, but after further consideration we decided we just couldn’t pass it up. This tour is kind of hard to explain, but definitely a once in a lifetime experience. When I first read the description, I assumed they had rigged up some rope bridges and things between the tops of trees and you just walked around above the ground – it turned out to be a lot cooler than that. They had multiple platforms attached to the hillside and some trees, but to get between them we rode ziplines.
First, we got in a bus and rode the majority of the way up a mountain which was somewhat of an adventure in and of itself. We got to a little pavilion and the tour crew outfitted each person with a harness, helmet, and some caribiners and pulleys I don’t know a name for. After a short hike down we had a safety briefing and we were off to the first platform. There were about six guides on the crew, so a few went across to the next platform, while others stayed back to hook up each persons equipment to the cables. Since they did everything for your, there really wasn’t much chance of any problems.
There were a total of nine sections, with one really steep part, and one vertical drop. Amber was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but after the first and second sections, she was feeling a lot better about it. Then we came to the steepest drop, which was a little scarier than the rest. The way they had things rigged up, they could easily control the speed of our descent. Amber was third and she made it down with just a scream. When it was my turn, though, I don’t think the guy below was ready for me. The platform was wrapped around a tree and wasn’t very wide, so I ended up hitting the trunk pretty hard. Luckily, I had my legs in a good position to absorb the impact with my feet. It was a pretty good jolt, but I wasn’t hurt. I think the guy felt pretty bad because he asked me if I was OK about four times before he let me go.
The vertical drop was pretty funny. They let the first few people down nice and easy, but when Amber got up there, they let her free fall the majority of the way and caught her a few feet above the ground. After watching her go, I was ready for it.
The last section was something over 600 feet and even though the ride only lasted a few seconds it was pretty sweet. I was able to snap this picture of Amber as she came down the line.
They snapped a few pictures of each of us, and put them on CDs along with a video of what a trip down the line is like. Here’s a taste. Anyway, the other people in our group all agreed the whole thing was pretty crazy, but totally awesome. One couple even bought us each a bear when we were finished!
Edit: Pictures in the Canopy Tour set.
We’re finally here in Jamaica, but the trip here wasn’t exactly smooth. After waking up at 3:30 to head to the airport, our flight finally left Chicago around 7AM. So in just over 3 hours we should have been landing in Montego Bay.
As we came close to cruising altitude, the flight attendants started running around attending to something. It wasn’t long before I realized something was going on with a passenger across the aisle from us. Pretty soon they got on the PA and said, “If there is a medical doctor onboard, please identify yourself by pushing the call button above your seat.” Crap.
They moved this guy to the back of the plane and continued to run around. He didn’t really look sick or anything so I couldn’t figure out what was going on. The next thing I Know I felt the plane tilt slightly in the way that can only mean we’ve started a descent. Since they hadn’t announced anything I wondered if maybe we were just changing altitude for some reason, but at the same time I started to get kinda pissed off because I was pretty sure it meant we would be making an emergency landing.
Sure enough, a few minutes later they told everyone that there was a medical emergency onboard and in the interest of the passenger’s safety we were diverting to Atlanta. Double crap.
Keep in mind, we were supposed to be getting breakfast on this flight, and though we’d been in the air about an hour, nothing was served (except first class) because all the attendants were trying to figure out what to do about this guy.
So we finally landed in Atlanta. They told us the passenger needed to deplane and the plane needed to be refueled. So we sit and wait. And wait some more. The passenger gets back on (!) and we wait some more. A refueling truck finally found the plane and around 9:30 we get off the ground.
Around 10AM we finally got our breakfast – 3 hours after we should have been eating and almost 7 hours after we got up. The delay was due to the “health” concerns of one passenger, but after he got back on the plane he seemed to be fine and explained to a few people that he just started to feel really weird and was having trouble moving part of his face. What?
So basically, this guy freaked out at 30,000 feet (was this his first time in the air?) and decided to delay 100 people’s trip to Jamaica for a few hours.
Anyway, after all the waiting, we finally landed in Montego Bay, figured out how to find our transfer flight and made it to Sandal’s Dunn’s River. Still, I’m not really sure we saved anything by spending another $200 to fly closer to the resort rather than take a 2 hour bus ride.
Now it’s Tuesday morning, and we’ve slept for 11 hours and just finished our room service breakfast. We’re about to head down to orientation and figure out what to do with the rest of our day.
Parts I and II done, just III to go. (That’s photos, ceremony and reception.) See you after Jamaica!
The low last night in Albion was -7°; now it’s just after 10AM and it’s still 0°. We’re headed for a forecasted high of 10° tomorrow. So in the spirit of the cold weather, I thought I’d post some pics from the Calvin and Hobbes Snowmen tribute. Then I realized that all the pics I had are on my desktop at home which is shut off because we’re gone for two weeks. So that link will have to do. (I’ll try to post the full set another time.) Enjoy!
Edit: No, I’m not nervous. Just tired of waiting around.
Writing from Des Moines. Three days ’til the wedding and five ’til Jamaica!