tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5887859761831391252024-03-19T16:03:30.464-07:00Jade's WanderingsJadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-7524496924483295062010-03-15T11:51:00.000-07:002010-03-16T12:27:09.390-07:00Final thoughtsA lot of people have asked us what we thought about the length of the trip. Was it too long? Were we dying to get home? Didn't we get bored?<br /><br />The trip was long, as far as vacations go... the longest we've ever had... and I did miss friends and family. However, if we could rent the whole place out and include our closest friends and family, and have the ability to deal with work obligations as needed, I could easily stay there a month or more.<br /><br />And no, we did not get bored. I think the inclusion of day trips to other parts of the island spattered in amongst beach days did help to break up what could have been a long stretch of only staring at white sand. In addition to that, though... it was actually a relief to have a real vacation, with no detailed agenda... no electronic distractions (save for a little blogging) and just total immersion into the surroundings. Even G - having the attention span of a typical 8 year old - never said "Mom, I'm bored." When we were at 3 Dives we talked with a couple who were there for a long weekend, and they had commented how nice it would be to have a longer stay, because just as they get in and settled into the laid back nature of the area, it was time to pack everything up and go right back home. I knew what she meant almost immediately... as around day 3 or 4 I had noticed a distinct change in the way I carried myself.<br /><br />I recall at the beginning of our trip we were walking past a gift shop on the road, and I had gone back to it a little later to pick something up. The clerk inside asked me if I was late for the airport, and I said "No, actually we just got here. Why?" and she giggled a little and said "I saw you earlier, you were walking so fast, I thought you were late." By the end of the trip I had reduced my pace considerably, to the point where our first day back to the bus stop it felt like the neighbors were running as I meandered my way back to the house.<br /><br />For this trip, for this time, I believe the length was just right. We were able to get in the tours and exploring we wanted to, with a sense of ease knowing that we'll likely be back in the coming years. We were able to be lazy on the beach and truly kick back without a care in the world. And we were able to enjoy the time together with new friends, and the time alone... just being.<br /><br />Nicknames from the trip...<br /><br />When we told one of the staff at Tensing Pen G's name, he said "Oh Gayle, like the wind!" and from that moment on, she was known as "Gaylewind" at Tensing Pen.<br /><br />On our way to the Black River Safari we were talking to Tyrone about wanting to get photos of real crocodiles in the wild, and as he described the river and talked about how we'll find D a crocodile he said "We'll get one for you mon... we'll call you Crocodile Dan. Oh! Crocodile Dan D.! That's your name!"<br /><br />I was not given a specific nic-name, however many of the vendors we repeatedly spoke to tended to call me "Baby", and when I did give my name the response was "Oh... that's like a boy's name here!" Yes... it is in America too.<br /><br />What I take away from the trip...<br /><br />I have not yet fully adjusted back into "regular life", and I'm hoping that I never really do. The relaxation, the sense of "don't worry about it, there's time... and if there's not time today, there's time tomorrow" is something that I would like to keep with me on a day to day basis for all the little things... house work, yard work, work-work. Life happens, speed bumps appear on what you thought would be a smooth ride - you can freak out and race over them, or take them for what they are... take a moment to slow down and get over the bump, and back onto smooth pavement.<br /><br />Yet at the same time, I walk away from the trip energized to take on more. We have an 8 year old daughter who not only travels well, but is eager to explore and experience life - and we need to take advantage of that while we can. I want to get through the "have-to's" that are necessary in day to day life, and get out to the "want-to-do's" more often. As the weather turns better I want to be out more - hiking, boating, exploring. I want to continue to push through my limits and fears and do more kayaking, and learn rock climbing.<br /><br />And I want to shoot more.<br /><br />Which reminds me of a funny conversation I had with one of our new friends about photography... we had discussed camera types, styles of photography, and film vs. digital. I mentioned I had brought a 16GB flash drive with me to back up my SD cards, just in case anything happened to the camera itself. He told me about this online storage that would save me from having to bring a flash drive, and talked about how quick and easy it is to use.<br /><br />"Yes, but the internet here is pretty slow," I said.<br /><br />"It's not that bad for photos," he said. "How many photos do you have?"<br /><br />"Over 8 gigs so far," I replied.<br /><br />"No no," he responded... "I don't mean total. I mean just for this trip this week, how many photos do you have?"<br /><br />*pause*<br /><br />"Over 8 gigs so far."<br /><br />(For much of the scenic stuff, I shoot RAW format - in case you were wondering - hence... it takes up a whole lotta space.)<br /><br />Back to my goals... I not only want to shoot more, but I want to make a concentrated effort to finally put a book together. It has been a goal of mine for many, many years... but I never felt I had the quality or quantity of material to put something publishable together. However, given the relative ease of self publication on the web these days, I feel it is a worthy and attainable goal. And fits in nicely with my desires to just be out living more life.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-89842550503303043042010-03-13T21:36:00.000-08:002010-03-13T23:05:29.460-08:00March 5 - bumpy journey homeOooohhh... the journey home.<br /><br />I began my day around 4:30 a.m. east coast time, when I woke suddenly and was entirely unable to get back to sleep. I tried, but gave up around 5:30 and decided to get moving on the packing. The night before I had gathered items into categories thusly:<br /><br />Pile A) MUST go in checked luggage<br />Pile B) MUST go in carry-on<br />Pile C) Fill in the gaps<br /><br />This method seemed to work pretty well. After a couple hours of careful consideration, we managed to arrange everything to fit reasonably within all our bags - using our spare shoulder bags as new carry-ons, and having to check a couple of our rolling suitcases.<br /><br />Having our bags lined up and ready to roll, we headed down to Chill Awhile for a last breakfast. I had a quick bowl of porridge, D ordered ackee and bacon (which he shared with me) and probably two pots of coffee between the two of us. After breakfast, our friends walked us up to the front of the hotel, where Tyrone was loading our bags into the van. I checked us into our flight on the hotel's computer, and we gave hugs to the staff at Idle Awhile and our friends, and piled into the van.<br /><br />The drive to the airport took roughly an hour and a half. G and I watched the countryside whiz by while D talked to Tyrone about foods, cooking, other places on the island to visit. Ty invited us to come to his house the next time we visit, we'll have a day where we hang out and cook good food and just chill.<br /><br />Just after we had hit the road in Negril, D started getting calls on his cell phone. He didn't check the voice mail until we were within reliable cell coverage, about 5 minutes outside of the airport. It turns out the calls were all from the airline. Shortly after I had checked us in, and verified our flight information was up to speed, our flight had been canceled.... and we were now scheduled for a flight 4 hours later. This would put us into Charlotte sometime around 10 p.m., possibly staying overnight before flying on home. <br /><br />Though I've never actually had a flight completely canceled like that on me, this is one of the reasons I was glad we were coming home on a Friday. Even if we were delayed overnight, we'd still have the weekend to recover before jumping back into routine. It's not like we weren't going to make it home... it was just going to be delayed and reworked.<br /><br />As we approached the line for the ticket counter, the airport guy unloaded our bags for us up next to the front, where I stood to wait while D went to the back of the long line. Many people in line were looking tense - we had all been scheduled on that flight, and the employees were scrambling to get us all home in some other manner. D wasn't in line for more than two minutes before he was approached.<br /><br />"You are flying to Seattle? Come with me, we need you at the front of the line to get you on a flight right away."<br /><br />Wha?!?<br /><br />Most of the American's we've encountered in Jamaica came from the east coast. Jamaica is a quick jump for them - a hop down the coastline to paradise - so it is a popular vacation destination. We have yet to meet anyone from anywhere further west than Chicago on that island. As such... the long line of people in front of us were all waiting to be booked on later flights, running up along the east coast in various combinations of connections through east coast ports. We, on the other hand, were the only people from the flight trying to eventually get out west, so they had a different option. Rather than wait 4 hours to get a flight to Charlotte and stay overnight, we can put you on a flight running through Phoenix that leaves in 30 minutes.<br /><br />All in all, it would put us in Seattle about 2 hours ahead of our original schedule, which was fantastic... but it meant a mad dash through security, down the hall, and directly on to the plane. No time for planned lunch or last minute shopping. No time for a bathroom break. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.<br /><br />Luckily, security had light traffic, and we got through and were waved past the secondary "paw through your bags" search, and onto the plane.. where we discovered there were only 38 passengers total.<br /><br />So we were now getting home 2 hours early, with the longest leg of the flight on a plane that was so empty we had the option of each having our own row to stretch out and sleep in. On the surface it sounded ideal... but I've seen too many disaster movies... Our flight was being switched at the last minute - not even enough time to alert family and friends to the change of plans, one of the flight attendants had never been on that route before... and the headline began to flash in my mind:<br /><br />"We didn't know they were in the crash until days later... they weren't even supposed to be on that plane"<br /><br />I didn't want to alarm D or G with my paranoid thought tangent, but I did quietly insist that he PLEASE text someone in his family about the flight change, so that someone would know. Somehow that made it much better for me.<br /><br />The flight itself was turbulent at times, but in general was quiet and laid back. The plane was so empty that snacks were served immediately, and we were given full cans of drinks at a time. G and I played games, curled up and napped, worked on her homework... and once we were over land I spent a good amount of time watching the landscape change out the window. <br /><br />We touched down in Phoenix at gate B25. Our connecting flight was at gate B27. We were ushered through the doors, down a ramp, to an underground area of the airport to go through customs and immigration.<br /><br />This airport was laid out differently than Charlotte. Though the process is the same: Immigration for passport stamping... pick up checked luggage... customs for passport check and questions answering... recheck luggage... security... gate: the stretches of walking in between processes were vastly different. In Charlotte everything is located in one narrow area - once you get through immigration and customs, you are brought through a tiny security area just for incoming international flights, and back into the airport. In Phoenix, we wound our way through underground tunnels, hitting every stop along the way, and once we had rechecked our luggage we followed the hallway where we were led OUT of the airport - to the parking garage - and had to come back in through the main security area. The lines for security were extremely long, and once we made it through that we hoofed it all the way back through the airport to the gate for our next flight... D stopping for airport pizza on the way, because it was the only thing we had time for as a dinner.<br /><br />The funny thing was, we sat to eat our pizza not more than 5 feet from the doors we walked in through... and it took us nearly 2 hours to get to that door.<br /><br />The hop from Phoenix to Seattle was relatively short, and we landed home at last... a couple hours ahead of schedule, luggage all accounted for. We had arranged for a shared van shuttle to take us home, which we piled into and G fell asleep on my shoulder almost immediately. <br /><br />Once home, we stepped into the freezing cold night... greeted by the bright lights of the house, the smell of pine trees in the air. G went right upstairs to bed while D and I lined up our bags and checked things over, pull out the items that might need to go in the fridge, and hit the hay ourselves.<br /><br />It was a long day of travel - but we made it home safe and sound.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-18638322909169324942010-03-08T17:30:00.000-08:002010-03-13T21:36:15.999-08:00Thursday March 4 - The Last Day (dum dum duuuuuuummmmm)On our last full day in Negril, D had one more breakfast spot to check out... Selina's, a good clip of a walk down the road. We woke early, slathered on the usual layer of sunblock, and hopped out for the 20 minute trek down the road.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSIwYWT6AfrJnofXXNE-hw_8uJMBLtzHJcdfo2lPLKhNqbuEmqdgTgqoRkRo0K6nyhRXdnE0be0cfGV3w9PwWOelvRpAbC2zFlFjBNhHkqz18kp3CVSgRDvGNroGRmgPMInFpj979Nx0/s1600-h/IMG_1077.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSIwYWT6AfrJnofXXNE-hw_8uJMBLtzHJcdfo2lPLKhNqbuEmqdgTgqoRkRo0K6nyhRXdnE0be0cfGV3w9PwWOelvRpAbC2zFlFjBNhHkqz18kp3CVSgRDvGNroGRmgPMInFpj979Nx0/s320/IMG_1077.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448355175550790722" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsh20E8fHepStVG67b_ViVezQSr9F_IxMEHnH1GIeTurFEQ_Kkri03nFRENL-9BqA4UCLIXQUtP6HvdoPC7-2gE4teVd-9apFO3SUPsWjhpnhRWPbWkYf0B75ZCQXf6sPKAs6Mm6ceW9Q/s1600-h/IMG_1073.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsh20E8fHepStVG67b_ViVezQSr9F_IxMEHnH1GIeTurFEQ_Kkri03nFRENL-9BqA4UCLIXQUtP6HvdoPC7-2gE4teVd-9apFO3SUPsWjhpnhRWPbWkYf0B75ZCQXf6sPKAs6Mm6ceW9Q/s320/IMG_1073.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448355271012379010" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Selina's is an open air bar/restaurant with some high bar stools, a handful of tables, a few bamboo benches, and a couple of resident cats (who are very entertaining to watch as they try to catch lizards) I decided to go light this morning, ordering toast with jam and the fruit plate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxSZH9xs466jkCFYV9YZQ306l7SIAxbbfbd2p2u_oYHudPdIgTcp-YPaBv0vr_hXDIPBCJzVCEJkMru79Dw0rc0Cf7EonQSLyChZLn9H2HcdNDQNvK7NvjPW6Vyd995t2ZMZcrT7qTXE/s1600-h/IMG_1084.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxSZH9xs466jkCFYV9YZQ306l7SIAxbbfbd2p2u_oYHudPdIgTcp-YPaBv0vr_hXDIPBCJzVCEJkMru79Dw0rc0Cf7EonQSLyChZLn9H2HcdNDQNvK7NvjPW6Vyd995t2ZMZcrT7qTXE/s320/IMG_1084.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448355080012333698" border="0" /></a><br />I love the tower of pineapple. <br />The oranges were super juicy sweet, and the papaya was good when mixed with the banana or pineapple.<br /><br />After a great breakfast we made our way back down the road to the hotel, to set up our beach chairs and soak up the sun and salt air for one last day. The water was a bit too rough still for G to swim, but we did play in the waves lapping up on the shore, dig in the sand, search for shells, and generally laze away the morning into the afternoon.<br /><br />As lunch rolled around, D went across the street along with our new friends, and picked up a few foil pouches of jerk chicken from Best of the West. We ordered some side dishes from Chill Awhile and gathered a couple tables together for a picnic lunch.<br /><br />The afternoon was much like the morning. We wandered the beach seeking out shells and visiting the Waves market, took a trip down to the store for some coffee to bring home, and played in the sand and water. D spent a bit of time at the bar with King playing dominoes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAQmxUmb2zJ-_3M3j1SJHw87WI7XjrNUYOeAngLl7pUQll_Iixb10vOdhXhMvv9dpG1_NSjyVj3E0BgaLJrgG69aMsA6kZCUgkSbEafQXxY1tPL_EwC7hhhOYl50TSnM1MKXFWLYtC9A/s1600-h/IMG_1086.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAQmxUmb2zJ-_3M3j1SJHw87WI7XjrNUYOeAngLl7pUQll_Iixb10vOdhXhMvv9dpG1_NSjyVj3E0BgaLJrgG69aMsA6kZCUgkSbEafQXxY1tPL_EwC7hhhOYl50TSnM1MKXFWLYtC9A/s320/IMG_1086.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448354993556801810" border="0" /></a><br /><br />G loved collecting these "shakers" - they are large bean pods that grow on trees around Negril. They shake like maracas, but unfortunately as they are technically an agricultural item, we were not allowed to bring them back to the states with us. We took this picture of G with her favorite giant shakers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMx8A3k6ELXyz6VMS5SXgYpWqzR36ifdOi0F_ZnTTqBQve_Wjf6I-5kfKMaUAxO1Kv34gkdMV3BRoC4Ja6opChZR6Ln3Xw9BqSGaEy69oRh0K7-DfmOQN9eG-NCrKbBq8m737Gm8Tsyc/s1600-h/IMG_1099.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMx8A3k6ELXyz6VMS5SXgYpWqzR36ifdOi0F_ZnTTqBQve_Wjf6I-5kfKMaUAxO1Kv34gkdMV3BRoC4Ja6opChZR6Ln3Xw9BqSGaEy69oRh0K7-DfmOQN9eG-NCrKbBq8m737Gm8Tsyc/s320/IMG_1099.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5448354906410200066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />For dinner we decided to stay on the grounds of the hotel, as we needed to begin the sad job of packing up to head home. We ate dinner with our friends, the kids lined up at the bar and us adults around the nearby table. I ordered a seafood "platter" - a half lobster tail, grilled, along with shrimp rundown and some rice and peas and veggies. I had my last Jamaican rum punch for the trip, and we stayed up into the night discussing all sorts of fun things from photography to day trips to other potential vacation destinations. In the end, though, we had to call it a night... and begin to put my years of Tetris to use finding a way to condense all our belongings into the luggage for the journey home.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-80097055397748846922010-03-07T21:18:00.000-08:002010-03-07T21:43:23.959-08:00More Movie TimesStill trying to recover from the travel home and get my brain and body back on west coast time... but for now I've managed to use my super speed connection at home (read: 5 minute upload vs. 2 hours in Jamaica) to get the other videos online :)<br /><br />This is my attempt at capturing the middle of the night thunder and lightening storm from our balcony. It's mostly dark, but I caught a few good flashes and a boom of thunder. The white noise in the video is the massive downpour of rain.<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8688R9fUYyQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8688R9fUYyQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />Here is a video of us loading up for our day trip around the southern coast of Jamaica. You can see the front parking area of Idle Awhile as well as our friend and driver, Tyrone.<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nmXwcj0iYlg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nmXwcj0iYlg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />This is a longer bit, showing the last ten minutes or so of our boat ride on the Black River safari, including egrets and a big ol' crocodile. Woo!<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-MTnerBPFQg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-MTnerBPFQg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />On Friday nights Chill Awhile includes a buffet and live band - D captured of a bit of the evening.<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iy25B8oFNwo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iy25B8oFNwo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-21149061841010760822010-03-04T08:07:00.000-08:002010-03-04T09:11:28.208-08:00Small computer glitch, and much time in the water and sand, kept me from updating the last couple days... so I'm playing catch up with a 3 day post.<br /><br />Monday dawned with puffy clouds in the sky, a bit of wind, and wavy water. We made our way next door to Coco La Palm for breakfast... the vegetarian plate again for me, and fresh squeezed orange juice. After a good breakfast and a bit of wandering through the gift shop, we settled into our chairs. The waves didn't look too bad from shore so I attempted to get myself out past the breaking point... however my timing was off. Logically I know when a wall of water comes at me I'm supposed to dive *into* it, and I tried, but I unfortunately leaned back to launch forward too late, and the wave managed a good smack in the face hard enough to shove the mask right off. I did recover my mask, but that was it for the water for me that day.<br /><br />As I emerged from the water one of the beach vendors was passing by and asked me if I wanted to try a jet ski... I laughed out loud and said "oh HELL no!" He laughed back "waves to big for you today?" I nodded, still sputtering.<br /><br />D was fearless, swimming straight out to the buoy line and floating along with the current, while I stayed busy on the shore jumping over incoming waves with G. We jumped for a solid hour, if not longer, which was great fun for us (though tiring)<br /><br />The morning passed to lunch time, which had us wander down to Niah's again - this time I tried the ackee and calaloo patty, which was excellent and filling. I also glanced over the tables of crafts again, determined to find some kind of crocodile carving. As luck would have it, D found a necklace with a crocodile carved out of shell which was absolutely perfect for me.<br /><br />As the day progressed the waves calmed enough to play in the water a bit more, and we decided to stay on the property and have dinner at Chill Awhile. I had what is called a "Shrimp Rundown" - which is shrimp in a papaya cream sauce. Excellent - amazing flavor. I'm not a fan of papaya by itself, but blended with other ingredients it really adds a great element of flavor.<br /><br />A family from New York checked in late Monday evening, two kids ages 4 and 10, staying right below us. The kids bonded immediately and decided the had to sit at the bar together for dinner.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW9vJu_bQuOTqxGd3kZPcSPI3k6X22Axc8DLjKuKPioh5TakvA4gzlhNgBj8i74wlRvLDapHr2odZCpGtLv4YJMs-F7erILts_VNehhHs-5z6S7TgYqs24qCO2kYSwhm1tfGEEVCWDrI/s1600-h/mar1+dinner+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUW9vJu_bQuOTqxGd3kZPcSPI3k6X22Axc8DLjKuKPioh5TakvA4gzlhNgBj8i74wlRvLDapHr2odZCpGtLv4YJMs-F7erILts_VNehhHs-5z6S7TgYqs24qCO2kYSwhm1tfGEEVCWDrI/s320/mar1+dinner+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444812325587407650" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here I am with my new crocodile necklace.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAZdRwOfMsh6pxkJThjHfH5ynyvF7KTE8gQRpjU09jurwQlL03nLbZelVoGwo1HtJxx_VZkHeOG4b_HppKQAelvVBCnqPbsrlMU-2XW4E-RevGe611zDYf1B8vpHLjHd8ehqKHcaQpL0/s1600-h/mar1+dinner+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAZdRwOfMsh6pxkJThjHfH5ynyvF7KTE8gQRpjU09jurwQlL03nLbZelVoGwo1HtJxx_VZkHeOG4b_HppKQAelvVBCnqPbsrlMU-2XW4E-RevGe611zDYf1B8vpHLjHd8ehqKHcaQpL0/s320/mar1+dinner+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444812228859347954" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Tuesday morning we woke to blue skies, sunshine, and calm water. We spent literally all day on the beach, either in the water or snacking by the chairs. After a quick breakfast at Chill Awhile we just parked ourselves in the water, with the kids flipping and snorkeling and buzzing about.<br /><br />About mid-morning I bought a "jelly" at the bar - which is a big chilled coconut with a straw in it - incredibly refreshing cold coconut milk. When you're done drinking the inside, they'll split it open so you can scrape out the coconut as a snack. It's called a jelly because the coconut on the inside is still soft, like jelly, as opposed to the hard dry stuff we get in the states.<br /><br />In addition to that, I picked up some hard coconut from one of the beach vendors. Hard and broken into pieces, the coconut is similar to eating a very large almond.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPN0921erhLl7cwxJWHYKsje4LfQSuLmR442EhyANFd7XdWnVzonwz-4IrJ9y2qzpZ8LvnkI2P6fGsrYeayhc9L1V07PFxjYP9a7bWx4UdNXpuwIEV5hVTITvr3btkvMfVWvDMWm6g0M/s1600-h/mar2+beach+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPN0921erhLl7cwxJWHYKsje4LfQSuLmR442EhyANFd7XdWnVzonwz-4IrJ9y2qzpZ8LvnkI2P6fGsrYeayhc9L1V07PFxjYP9a7bWx4UdNXpuwIEV5hVTITvr3btkvMfVWvDMWm6g0M/s320/mar2+beach+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444812106073608370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />For lunch we headed up the beach to Chances again for a quick pizza lunch. About mid afternoon we walked back down to Waves to check out the vendors. D started talking to one of the woodcarvers.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileqi5jXZFStNFdWvKoYP4rMHpm5cV1cR8ZVBLKCQZUS7rJv0NMPJFxiWvaT-2358zp20osBO78jA-SYhnkZzVy4pQ-G0FjPO_byQP2H54PmHIWb-FTi_1LFgz_pxhoLynKUbvDtojlks/s1600-h/mar2+carving+3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileqi5jXZFStNFdWvKoYP4rMHpm5cV1cR8ZVBLKCQZUS7rJv0NMPJFxiWvaT-2358zp20osBO78jA-SYhnkZzVy4pQ-G0FjPO_byQP2H54PmHIWb-FTi_1LFgz_pxhoLynKUbvDtojlks/s320/mar2+carving+3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444812005513182258" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSEOxZFSIrP8P0Qoxmd437s5jYvzaXCdxYyJ7bEqA4Lv2Pu0DrKe7H0jlLoBnYAA32bRFFk0yC7lw_JJle71cIiW2rDdkdUbGlX8jG8W6hZqMyuLnvlxLBSXLZAwYik4CcmZNzqd-euM/s1600-h/mar2+carving+2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSEOxZFSIrP8P0Qoxmd437s5jYvzaXCdxYyJ7bEqA4Lv2Pu0DrKe7H0jlLoBnYAA32bRFFk0yC7lw_JJle71cIiW2rDdkdUbGlX8jG8W6hZqMyuLnvlxLBSXLZAwYik4CcmZNzqd-euM/s320/mar2+carving+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444811873028154274" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Later in the afternoon the tide began to shift and pull seaweed up the coast - the water was still calm enough to play in, but we had to run through about 2 feet of seaweed to get to the clear part. We heard great things about Charela (the hotel on the other side of ours) so after getting our complete fill of sun and salt water, we cleaned up and slipped next door for some dinner.<br /><br />D and I shared an appetizer of shrimp natural - which is extremely peppery peel-and-eat shrimp... and for dinner I ordered shrimp in garlic sauce (I know... I'm eating my weight in shrimp on this trip, hu?)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71yKXY0V_QgItqQWC5TO1XImIHxTBtCJKXHHc1Ro64-rbDmJCjc4u6rXQUfqJGYC5Qo-3yfB921hcagdxk1wg1EizdgCWvi_oBJ4NFMvjjjf-wXo4za79_R1TA6JHVRpanrnuhWeqF9A/s1600-h/mar2+dinner.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71yKXY0V_QgItqQWC5TO1XImIHxTBtCJKXHHc1Ro64-rbDmJCjc4u6rXQUfqJGYC5Qo-3yfB921hcagdxk1wg1EizdgCWvi_oBJ4NFMvjjjf-wXo4za79_R1TA6JHVRpanrnuhWeqF9A/s320/mar2+dinner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444811745806880546" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sometime around 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday we were woken by the pitter-patter sound of an incoming rain storm. The wind picked up and we listened to the wooshing rain and water hitting the roof. The skies were dark as we made our way down to the deck for breakfast, and we figured today would probably be a day for finishing up our shopping agendas. Walking up the beach one direction we found some guys working on fixing the buoy line in the high waves.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKzbEjkiVulE_vRfyEjn_MBm4h8luRTDivIJ4RRRdFlhm99ArsQWGdKeyogBvh-2vJTo-y03oco3nfsviOoAHqRI1sFm1FSYvbMivx-JqBS6wlclMX2E_fgboRN-uO42hyphenhyphenJL2csd0ctg/s1600-h/mar3+bouy+line.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKzbEjkiVulE_vRfyEjn_MBm4h8luRTDivIJ4RRRdFlhm99ArsQWGdKeyogBvh-2vJTo-y03oco3nfsviOoAHqRI1sFm1FSYvbMivx-JqBS6wlclMX2E_fgboRN-uO42hyphenhyphenJL2csd0ctg/s320/mar3+bouy+line.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444811624270537890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We also ran into a vendor selling independently roasted coffee on the beach. It smelled really good, so we decided to sample some and get a picture with him.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzk_zWveNuV_TdYEfFSz6aF-ERlnp_tVg7zR6KSWNK4gV7cMNXZihQ0oEmJrFB_BBkzdB9qFswyqtTy3unnjlMimt2nuJgj9Os1L2uEQQoztq4gU6ECT70FRjDqZ32xGr_tabgr653ec/s1600-h/mar3+coffee.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzk_zWveNuV_TdYEfFSz6aF-ERlnp_tVg7zR6KSWNK4gV7cMNXZihQ0oEmJrFB_BBkzdB9qFswyqtTy3unnjlMimt2nuJgj9Os1L2uEQQoztq4gU6ECT70FRjDqZ32xGr_tabgr653ec/s320/mar3+coffee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444811513240216802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The clouds had burned off quickly, and the temperature was really nice, but the waves were still too big for me to play in. I was content to wander the property a bit and look for photo ops.<br /><br />Just off the deck here at Chill Awhile there's a hole in the wooden step. Most of the holes are filled with sand, however this one is hollow and is the home to a giant crab. I've seen him poke himself out just to the edge of the hole, and then scurry back into the depths of his caves whenever I aim the lens at him. Today a much smaller crab was hanging out (literally) on the little hole, while the larger guy tried to play peek-a-boo with us. I managed to lay on the deck and get right up close to the little critters.<br />(you can see the giant claws of Mr. Crabby in the background if you look closely)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURKq6d1VNCil96Fu6_Qw-eHVYsCZPriEJcuTfH6nNUQtuQUPrXnK_XGOYsoo90lqTcgJ4GTtAay5OEi5YD0IMOGQQrppxoP2mixla9kaaKqNiL5nMwEwV35ycSIGUYri1dnxJAJvBK7s/s1600-h/mar3+crab.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURKq6d1VNCil96Fu6_Qw-eHVYsCZPriEJcuTfH6nNUQtuQUPrXnK_XGOYsoo90lqTcgJ4GTtAay5OEi5YD0IMOGQQrppxoP2mixla9kaaKqNiL5nMwEwV35ycSIGUYri1dnxJAJvBK7s/s320/mar3+crab.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444811402794919154" border="0" /></a><br /><br />For lunch we took a cab into town and picked up some Juici Patties and brought them back to our porch for lunch. For the afternoon we wandered up and down the beach, checking out some tables and visiting gift shops along the way. The wind still had some good gusts now and then, which allowed for some nice pictures.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHAWOqbvqRLljVehouEtsuwrwKkxG0oIBwX-T3QROAZQ6QO0b6dD2eA4bnvpuEB1FYluYWayphaVkygSBQq9WqvGBhFUQHmx_-RNtXYXpKDKACtwYzQ_2-8kdtrXRcMBC6MxeurkY_js/s1600-h/mar3+tree.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwHAWOqbvqRLljVehouEtsuwrwKkxG0oIBwX-T3QROAZQ6QO0b6dD2eA4bnvpuEB1FYluYWayphaVkygSBQq9WqvGBhFUQHmx_-RNtXYXpKDKACtwYzQ_2-8kdtrXRcMBC6MxeurkY_js/s320/mar3+tree.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444811243768608066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />For dinner we joined the neighboring family for a trip back to the cliffs to try Xtabi. I had... (wait for it... wait for it...) Shrimp! This time shrimp scampi, which was prepared with onions and those Jamaican green peppers that are nowhere near as vile as the ones we have in the states. D had some grouper that was described by our waiter as "blackened, but not the way you think of it in the US". The coating on the grouper was more like a BBQ sauce than the blackened rub we'd get in the states, and had kind of a sweet smoky flavor that went very well with the fish.<br /><br />Here's a shot of my shrimp - with potatoes and veggies.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ40_ZqkHlun-VxOxavXNgatToe0SQ3BULE7-TSI5ZPzhj3k-1bJYSoEmFLyf49jOK3iiYnbt2jtxZTT7DPSNvFD-mx-mdNGP7gkpC7iHRgZPa5tTqT-LatHFGFDHq1jUA8z-ypqdVas/s1600-h/mar3+dinner.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ40_ZqkHlun-VxOxavXNgatToe0SQ3BULE7-TSI5ZPzhj3k-1bJYSoEmFLyf49jOK3iiYnbt2jtxZTT7DPSNvFD-mx-mdNGP7gkpC7iHRgZPa5tTqT-LatHFGFDHq1jUA8z-ypqdVas/s320/mar3+dinner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444826384325831170" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Though we have another day at the beach, we knew the next day was Needle's day off, so we hung out at the bar until closing, chatting and getting a few pictures.<br /><br />Here I am with Needle (on the left) and Kingsly (on the right) <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNjvDYByuAZ-JwDwFPx4ZpdCqe0pgogmPetY1wXbDMbAhl4WGbUvB5Adt78mcOjvT-i_A-B8oxkLIos7quYcnpCGSF72k7Vicr745z3ke06zW1WmtkvRrkpX8wj7T5JmCqQXEEI3h_Hg/s1600-h/mar3+night+2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNjvDYByuAZ-JwDwFPx4ZpdCqe0pgogmPetY1wXbDMbAhl4WGbUvB5Adt78mcOjvT-i_A-B8oxkLIos7quYcnpCGSF72k7Vicr745z3ke06zW1WmtkvRrkpX8wj7T5JmCqQXEEI3h_Hg/s320/mar3+night+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444826296087992034" border="0" /></a><br />I really don't understand why Needle insists on crouching, I assured him that everyone knows I'm short. :)Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-73226802807973943582010-03-01T05:28:00.000-08:002010-03-01T15:06:52.505-08:00February 27 and 28 - Beach WeekendAs the weather improved, and Friday had been so packed with adventure, we decided to take the weekend to stay mainly on the beach.<br /><br />For the last few mornings I've made a routine of waking up first and swinging in the hammock on the deck, enjoying a small pot of coffee and watching the birds in the treetops as I work on the laptop. I'm not naturally a morning person, and it's highly unusual for me to be the first to rise without an alarm clock... I suppose my body's idea of "island time" is a little strange.<br /><br />Once everyone else is up, we head down to Chill Awhile for breakfast. Eric, one of the groundskeepers, has already been busy cleaning up leaves and seaweed from the night before, and setting up chairs for the guests.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjbGnQZt0Xptw12u3j26dxqtqjW4bKSbtYXnNkgDU-2pbb_haQpJZx2okhqzZewzXHVq_ng3F3edxJllxxBL6SDu_5y6NP13QPypQ2gFFmLtjQYIaDHf-7otOm2W8VWJ6jlKZJqFTkzw/s1600-h/beach+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUjbGnQZt0Xptw12u3j26dxqtqjW4bKSbtYXnNkgDU-2pbb_haQpJZx2okhqzZewzXHVq_ng3F3edxJllxxBL6SDu_5y6NP13QPypQ2gFFmLtjQYIaDHf-7otOm2W8VWJ6jlKZJqFTkzw/s320/beach+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443660007607053986" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is our view from the breakfast table.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_XFdEiXhxp_FPDXA-7x_G3w4jfmIR-2crn4RBTvCP1zGejWUC_mCxkdjLeD9xXcVHsWyI1ABETxgsNEbnwq0uPEaN-1B2tWbwGrsg5YJed-Np7CGwLeV08DqbvRzPc5pgpe5xEOuxR4/s1600-h/beach+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_XFdEiXhxp_FPDXA-7x_G3w4jfmIR-2crn4RBTvCP1zGejWUC_mCxkdjLeD9xXcVHsWyI1ABETxgsNEbnwq0uPEaN-1B2tWbwGrsg5YJed-Np7CGwLeV08DqbvRzPc5pgpe5xEOuxR4/s320/beach+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443659890845442594" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As we enjoy breakfast, the vendors start walking the beach. The women selling fruit tend to balance their offerings on their heads as they walk.<br />(sorry for the lighting on these shots - not a lot of editing I can do here to clean them up)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1aXD9JaTIlIHwk-OG6jS5_UuICzR6LNRg2yjSExSeruGbJxIt0Fg77U67m-uei7qqyc36C9uEZMiwBJ4BokCF9vgH5B9z2hh6Q7iDqNcXraC-3OFGgVx1yyCyeHLlkS02JXOmGdjkuw/s1600-h/beach+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1aXD9JaTIlIHwk-OG6jS5_UuICzR6LNRg2yjSExSeruGbJxIt0Fg77U67m-uei7qqyc36C9uEZMiwBJ4BokCF9vgH5B9z2hh6Q7iDqNcXraC-3OFGgVx1yyCyeHLlkS02JXOmGdjkuw/s320/beach+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443659788858250626" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZQvLv7K9avuTlD1AIGpdDIJYgPDyIycMVF4Dsxp2GC971iI9qcgipTydt_sqWW-EInGM67dR3NhwhkhsaDdct73uC5_doXi1fSBRI2t6quWJaqr2k33F6PglHmqUDXcmiWJ6S8LaPgk/s1600-h/beach+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZQvLv7K9avuTlD1AIGpdDIJYgPDyIycMVF4Dsxp2GC971iI9qcgipTydt_sqWW-EInGM67dR3NhwhkhsaDdct73uC5_doXi1fSBRI2t6quWJaqr2k33F6PglHmqUDXcmiWJ6S8LaPgk/s320/beach+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443659629390180578" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The storm had washed up an enormous amount of seaweed, so we poked through the piles of seaweed on our afternoon walk down the beach to find lunch.<br /><br />D found a sea cucumber. eeeeeewwwwwwww....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwbqSq8S0C2ibrOiGmD6cShJQHuuY4WxyoLIiDVWMtMazAUMRqtfqtXT6ME-lWCTUFE3FQEp-QA49RETmrizNIVH-78oo3W03BgXifrWjB6KoI1wGE88lID-3IbtfB9ffszNCL4yFKTE/s1600-h/27+combing+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpwbqSq8S0C2ibrOiGmD6cShJQHuuY4WxyoLIiDVWMtMazAUMRqtfqtXT6ME-lWCTUFE3FQEp-QA49RETmrizNIVH-78oo3W03BgXifrWjB6KoI1wGE88lID-3IbtfB9ffszNCL4yFKTE/s320/27+combing+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443659494684946290" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There were several starfish washed up along the shore, and a few craftsmen collecting them to clean them out and dry them to sell. I spoke to one who emphasized the importance of preparing them, not just taking them as-is off the beach, and I said I was just interested in photos anyway, so he stepped back and made space for me to shoot before picking the rest of them up.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ohUgG5_9RZTXgbLU0_0TVW9Kv2DGF_hClfqJ1e-S4UzdLlstnKSIwGHpixgiFei6U2baNlLJY9lYvBWZ_PoGqcZNMQDmNI4DcQxTe7Mta52xHVM3xUnoCDmTQO8S892rg5eWJ4h_6ls/s1600-h/27+combing+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ohUgG5_9RZTXgbLU0_0TVW9Kv2DGF_hClfqJ1e-S4UzdLlstnKSIwGHpixgiFei6U2baNlLJY9lYvBWZ_PoGqcZNMQDmNI4DcQxTe7Mta52xHVM3xUnoCDmTQO8S892rg5eWJ4h_6ls/s320/27+combing+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443659400052648946" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There were many conch shells rolling up as well - a couple whole empty ones rolled right up on the shore in front of me! D found a couple shells with the gua'old looking creatures still inside, their claw-like feet stuck out and wiggled around, trying to dig away from D. Super creepy looking. He gave them to the man working on the starfish.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfEmD5uhLXk6G9qrbZ2wnyOIPxZsqyeB7ffxkJU37lKVPE_G3QUEeNsEDvfjcnIanFPN5VOR0Ca1rViezZZYv8vwPEWSOKClg81MN2KbkeZ901R4plfvKHP7ev1GgpdY7RD0yugjYGAI/s1600-h/27+combing+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfEmD5uhLXk6G9qrbZ2wnyOIPxZsqyeB7ffxkJU37lKVPE_G3QUEeNsEDvfjcnIanFPN5VOR0Ca1rViezZZYv8vwPEWSOKClg81MN2KbkeZ901R4plfvKHP7ev1GgpdY7RD0yugjYGAI/s320/27+combing+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443659292781099490" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is the underside of another starfish.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0t9oLpKlavXog5f9gntJQRPzNZXZteZWCFccbLirT0WuhlGH_x9CrwsXKuhisdPcvXfjD1hrhxh_aP_n5aXkwe02HePeB70t00nHZMd4Qhei2Zzlitdo81SHHX7-Bxey0xpeJuhgiZiw/s1600-h/27+combing+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0t9oLpKlavXog5f9gntJQRPzNZXZteZWCFccbLirT0WuhlGH_x9CrwsXKuhisdPcvXfjD1hrhxh_aP_n5aXkwe02HePeB70t00nHZMd4Qhei2Zzlitdo81SHHX7-Bxey0xpeJuhgiZiw/s320/27+combing+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443659185566977762" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We walked through a marketplace that had a lot of tables set up more towards the beach. I recalled this area having the more aggressive vendors and I was right - they were the same this year as they were last. As we walked down the beach they would call to us, ushering us in to see their tables, see what they make. As I do a lot of my own beading for fun I'm not generally interested in beaded necklaces, but I've been looking for some kind of crocodile pendant or carving, so I'd stop to look for that. Not seeing one on one table, I'd move on to the next.<br /><br />What I didn't like about these vendors is that they would try to put things on G - "Let's try it on the baby, see how nice it looks" and I had to continually shake my head. The vendors in the Waves marketplace never pushed more after one "No", but the vendors right on the beach would reach out for her as if they didn't hear me. I finally took her hand and said to D "Let's go... I'm hungry and I need to eat" and walked away.<br /><br />I'm grumpy when I'm hungry anyway, so that didn't help matters... but in general I'm more inclined to buy something if I'm given the time to look without being hounded, and far more inclined to pass up things that I might even want if I don't like how I feel looking at the tables.<br /><br />Today we opted for Bourbon Beach for lunch - jerk chicken with super spicy sauce. On the way into the restaurant we noticed a fresh fruit stand on the beach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRx7iEo7430mgQP4YEBaYpqRlODHdOKh-92ZyUXpMl2ZwZ-wh7WEViwU8Dl6TuRiNekAVb_3q1zX7SjCJe-OgkCXx627dj1tgrWbqlCwAQ2_FzvHXl_UfRm4Hc5sMm8TNpUDCZV2gN7kI/s1600-h/27+lunch+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRx7iEo7430mgQP4YEBaYpqRlODHdOKh-92ZyUXpMl2ZwZ-wh7WEViwU8Dl6TuRiNekAVb_3q1zX7SjCJe-OgkCXx627dj1tgrWbqlCwAQ2_FzvHXl_UfRm4Hc5sMm8TNpUDCZV2gN7kI/s320/27+lunch+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443659046390902930" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Fruit stands with a variety of offerings are fairly typical.<br /><br />On to the super spicy chicken...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9D4gZNhbTup_M3E24Ry23m8MMuSL6NHH_TDeMeL0TKqIAvf_xZbRC1QMc6Oj4r9aF-dcy35Miq2OuNLOsmz8CxY_N1uhkzxDEPjbMriR_jG3TrDQET2_5z29NstZjzfDw_-94e_taB0/s1600-h/27+lunch.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9D4gZNhbTup_M3E24Ry23m8MMuSL6NHH_TDeMeL0TKqIAvf_xZbRC1QMc6Oj4r9aF-dcy35Miq2OuNLOsmz8CxY_N1uhkzxDEPjbMriR_jG3TrDQET2_5z29NstZjzfDw_-94e_taB0/s320/27+lunch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443658936203482994" border="0" /></a><br />Jerk chicken and sauce, rice and peas, and "festival" - which is a fried bread-like side dish made with cornmeal.<br /><br />Last year I ate the sauce straight on my chicken, and drank about 3 liters of water through lunch. This year I opted for the wimpy way and mixed a bit of ketchup with the sauce to dilute the spice.<br /><br />Wandering back down the beach to the hotel we cleaned up and spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the sand and reading. As the sun set I wandered down to the water's edge to shoot some photos.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-ZtLql9PjKk8OzCvT-JAylPOmB73qeCDB2fK30NYDhoGhryGgmHLKw-OJbEJ7p49dk2qIJEn4ZOtvkWX1khGnyHTemGsSp68wI_lPMjl9WSmVTBUlgiz9hkrVUfzar21zshckf7xLHw/s1600-h/27+sunset.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG-ZtLql9PjKk8OzCvT-JAylPOmB73qeCDB2fK30NYDhoGhryGgmHLKw-OJbEJ7p49dk2qIJEn4ZOtvkWX1khGnyHTemGsSp68wI_lPMjl9WSmVTBUlgiz9hkrVUfzar21zshckf7xLHw/s320/27+sunset.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443658669727364690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Dinner Saturday night was not worthy of writing about, but for the sake of the journal I'll make a couple quick notes. D had read about a buffet and live music show going on at the Sea Star on the cliffs (across the street from Tensing Pen, actually) They offered a shuttle and we managed to get in on a ride within 5 minutes of calling. Unfortunately, we shared a ride with an asshole American "tourist" (in quotes because he's actually been living here for a while, so it's not like he's fresh of the boat, but he's still not a citizen) After the ride and listening to his assholishness from Assholeville we decided he must have been on something (crack or something equal) The driver was eternally patient and apologized to me as we got out of the van. The buffet was meh... the customers were so messy that half the offerings were contaminated with an egg-containing sauce, and we were just no into the type of crowd that was there anyway. We ended up turning almost immediately around - and though the shuttles out weren't supposed to leave for another hour, the driver offered to take us back. I supplemented my dinner with some left over pizza - which was fine and actually sounded good that night anyway.<br /><br />Sunday morning dawned with dark looking clouds, so I settled into the hammock with my coffee and camera card. The wind picked up and I noticed this pigeon-like bird clinging to a palm leaf, riding it like a roller coaster up and down. After some time in the wind he hopped down to the berries on the trunk and began to snack. I've been trying to get a shot of one of these guys since we arrived.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCjkg1rrlbBFVfHIffn23fkKQeLVpTKwwRzRPNJzNaSnuhHR9cAEGXfj5g83zXjwz8G0dxbGWUGxQ1wkWcVqiDT77MOQoIiUbfJlkPwCiI7y4pgetYpFea2rOlnTUHcNi6xFvm4nHHww/s1600-h/28+bird.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCjkg1rrlbBFVfHIffn23fkKQeLVpTKwwRzRPNJzNaSnuhHR9cAEGXfj5g83zXjwz8G0dxbGWUGxQ1wkWcVqiDT77MOQoIiUbfJlkPwCiI7y4pgetYpFea2rOlnTUHcNi6xFvm4nHHww/s320/28+bird.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443658565514992706" border="0" /></a><br />He's a bald something-or-other, I need to look it up when we get back. (Tyrone told me the name of these birds, but I only remember "bald" and he also said they are seasonal)<br /><br />The dark clouds soon blew out, and by the time we were ready for breakfast the sky had pretty well cleared. It was still a bit on the windy side however, and the waves were too big for me to swim, so we settled into the chairs to let G play in the sand. This morning we opted for chairs under a different tree, closer to the sign, where we could pop forward into the sun when we wanted to.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglSpdmXc5amu2DJz8X_Ldo8P8-zZAHKbwSqjM4L0nyzt6j8kgvKw88diz9x3ltvf86Ip2CENyqdDLgg-3P5sat05pSnyVGhoKaxWWFHnm__-2gsFNikJmcJ5GdNuJe64L3jyqZxJqRJY/s1600-h/28+beach.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglSpdmXc5amu2DJz8X_Ldo8P8-zZAHKbwSqjM4L0nyzt6j8kgvKw88diz9x3ltvf86Ip2CENyqdDLgg-3P5sat05pSnyVGhoKaxWWFHnm__-2gsFNikJmcJ5GdNuJe64L3jyqZxJqRJY/s320/28+beach.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443658367621209234" border="0" /></a><br /><br />One of the fruit vendors came by as well, so we picked up some honey bananas and coconut to snack on.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_G4X9LQqcaq-FJwlTY5Nl1rKx_LoHc0xv5MAc3bXwlISdmwanetm-9IJ8BSfv5Gtbe0HlMKwDEZPcPQf8_xG6hqcAaQUaug13FwJYI5Iz02Y5GXJfcxe1s-5hbQlQs1JMrUIKY7l2s4/s1600-h/28+vendor.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ_G4X9LQqcaq-FJwlTY5Nl1rKx_LoHc0xv5MAc3bXwlISdmwanetm-9IJ8BSfv5Gtbe0HlMKwDEZPcPQf8_xG6hqcAaQUaug13FwJYI5Iz02Y5GXJfcxe1s-5hbQlQs1JMrUIKY7l2s4/s320/28+vendor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443658193714347090" border="0" /></a><br /><br />G in her Chiquita Banana pose.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUmK6lBEsOMLrsGHeF-l8OuwX8n937DDc8zuCGxt0hO8UcHRXm6F0rkX6E-I4wLoU43d7yklzO6e00T37J3i1zI7zZOO9MRk2GWCvw_iX84CXO5t3Xjajy4_bpeQZyFdc21OamSkf0Ug/s1600-h/28+beach+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUmK6lBEsOMLrsGHeF-l8OuwX8n937DDc8zuCGxt0hO8UcHRXm6F0rkX6E-I4wLoU43d7yklzO6e00T37J3i1zI7zZOO9MRk2GWCvw_iX84CXO5t3Xjajy4_bpeQZyFdc21OamSkf0Ug/s320/28+beach+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443658002037565314" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Not only do we have vendors walking by throughout the day, but every so often there are musicians who will come by and sing a few songs.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzlAAozSfJg2k8u7jrJelLnB8VmLy9BXz5Skt0esGNwLEU50ptZynGCHp5jKlMeEEGdZ4Uvcq75QbtGvj_K2i33FnrPZL0rb6Dg0tcfS2RZqlOXI9LxS_xDGAnRvtpd3V5fHVAp_-C24/s1600-h/28+beach+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzlAAozSfJg2k8u7jrJelLnB8VmLy9BXz5Skt0esGNwLEU50ptZynGCHp5jKlMeEEGdZ4Uvcq75QbtGvj_K2i33FnrPZL0rb6Dg0tcfS2RZqlOXI9LxS_xDGAnRvtpd3V5fHVAp_-C24/s320/28+beach+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443657868204849074" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />For lunch we walked up the beach to "Chances", both to check out the vendor booths in that direction, and to add a little variety to our pizza testing on the trip.<br /><br />Chances has a bobsled out next to the gift shop where you can climb in for a photo op.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoD4HJ0-crEPHStvfBAlj3eVPTCv4Psk-TX7aYnntTqCJc7LXdSKqPWiZolV3_4Bq39JJuLNVUEAGY8pbCbWK7J-WZjJPkvvgu56fbKUPBKoMyRK93LsH_d6Z0XnEUfBwMpvtdXHrWvQ4/s1600-h/28+lunch.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoD4HJ0-crEPHStvfBAlj3eVPTCv4Psk-TX7aYnntTqCJc7LXdSKqPWiZolV3_4Bq39JJuLNVUEAGY8pbCbWK7J-WZjJPkvvgu56fbKUPBKoMyRK93LsH_d6Z0XnEUfBwMpvtdXHrWvQ4/s320/28+lunch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443657518706773154" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Later in the afternoon - after more fun in the sun sand play and book reading, we are visited by the ice cream vendor. G hopped over for some pineapple mango swirl ice cream.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobxj4F4L-LbAg6Ymaau5qIp1XnrPI-iQ0ZQsQ2LxBmBUjXeT6hTuUfwSxM65EZNqubHSvXun9YjnSFKZa2-V1u-qONBcCcgwJs19ftz08mLCAz-APyeqnIqM3Mxfeljc75ZbVNe3dnJk/s1600-h/28+beach+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobxj4F4L-LbAg6Ymaau5qIp1XnrPI-iQ0ZQsQ2LxBmBUjXeT6hTuUfwSxM65EZNqubHSvXun9YjnSFKZa2-V1u-qONBcCcgwJs19ftz08mLCAz-APyeqnIqM3Mxfeljc75ZbVNe3dnJk/s320/28+beach+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443657690933282338" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We cleaned up and headed out for dinner prior to the sunset, so that we'd have the time to walk on the beach side. Dinner tonight was at Kuyaba Resort. The front of their place looks fun (similar to Adventureland in Disneyland actually, complete with a tree house look-out spot with a dining table, bamboo ceiling fans, and a couple of resident parrots in gigantic cages) The interior was just as pretty... large gas lanterns lighting the pathways, swinging rattan chairs at the bar... we can tell a lot of time and money has gone into decorating this place to be an island oasis. After ordering dinner we played some with the camera.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOzUQafSJcR15Ixp8_cZSg-Hsc3V-xKROXcp1th-L1psEW8W8q76NE-HaXnegz7LUHYnNMw-AoBwH-kfUJ2uLFIsmfVN9O6GOQKb5dHXxtlX4d77YHsxyFQZ-jzhAEhR8257R6kYJ5u8/s1600-h/28+dinner+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOzUQafSJcR15Ixp8_cZSg-Hsc3V-xKROXcp1th-L1psEW8W8q76NE-HaXnegz7LUHYnNMw-AoBwH-kfUJ2uLFIsmfVN9O6GOQKb5dHXxtlX4d77YHsxyFQZ-jzhAEhR8257R6kYJ5u8/s320/28+dinner+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443657335591469410" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrZwWifKayINZfKizUmD-GHqgvqvnOraRYapuwVQX9DPaz-oUJE4u0IUuP-WJvto-4snsuijKJjEBZpt9dwiloB8n0fZcv2J1X4Y6TMkWbGb14AYsMNz9_zZU7e65O49J5udGemYp09Y/s1600-h/28+dinner+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrZwWifKayINZfKizUmD-GHqgvqvnOraRYapuwVQX9DPaz-oUJE4u0IUuP-WJvto-4snsuijKJjEBZpt9dwiloB8n0fZcv2J1X4Y6TMkWbGb14AYsMNz9_zZU7e65O49J5udGemYp09Y/s320/28+dinner+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443657220608265042" border="0" /></a><br />(Is it obvious I've been drinking rum punch? A very strong rum punch? *grin*)<br /><br /><br />D and I ordered the same thing - the snapper with coconut milk calaloo, rice and peas, and vegetables. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bHmbGcNZFneiC2R1JD4ilE1dUheXb0dlNVkXH1rkfAyusMYDvtzsvpVw5_hqPLgB4fGwTy-jFLVR73xuJaqu8zhRMyhUVpXGkE-xyu-YszYdR4vTOTweTfC3qiccYm02WhN2zI4gAsk/s1600-h/28+dinner+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bHmbGcNZFneiC2R1JD4ilE1dUheXb0dlNVkXH1rkfAyusMYDvtzsvpVw5_hqPLgB4fGwTy-jFLVR73xuJaqu8zhRMyhUVpXGkE-xyu-YszYdR4vTOTweTfC3qiccYm02WhN2zI4gAsk/s320/28+dinner+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443657107744742546" border="0" /></a><br />The pile at the bottom of the plate is two fillets of grilled snapper smothered in a calaloo made with coconut milk. It was AMAZING - best fish of the trip thus far. Cooking with coconut milk adds an amazing amount of flavor. We discovered that last year when we learned how to make rice and peas, but I hadn't thought about using it in other applications. We have several Jamaican cook books at home that I'm going to need to dig into for the summer. I'm looking forward to trying to imitate some of these recipes when we get home - perhaps I can mix spinach with swiss chard to get a calaloo-like flavor going on.<br /><br /><br />We walked back to our hotel on the street side. It was a very pleasant night, perhaps 72 or so degrees... the coolest night we've had on the trip, but my light blue shirt has worked as the only "jacket" necessary.<br /><br />OK at this point we were just being silly... the position of the arrow on the sign really cracked me up. I thought it was just the rum, but I still snicker when I see it.<br /><br />Only 50 US dollars a day!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsriDl-e8fI0JKBiSQqGMHNy7BE_eWIajVrgIIkRciuwGEIFWUAjpA9Sj9zq7CLlT3zkIKGVzBVpvTFfENcsqAho3tQrTF_GGBkujrlE6vq_2z6sNDz77JILWnwdCOHHwljsk3YwkkMNI/s1600-h/28+dinner+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsriDl-e8fI0JKBiSQqGMHNy7BE_eWIajVrgIIkRciuwGEIFWUAjpA9Sj9zq7CLlT3zkIKGVzBVpvTFfENcsqAho3tQrTF_GGBkujrlE6vq_2z6sNDz77JILWnwdCOHHwljsk3YwkkMNI/s320/28+dinner+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443656962692640322" border="0" /></a><br />(I just need to photoshop out the "car" on the sign)Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-18750737295804442802010-02-28T04:54:00.000-08:002010-02-28T09:43:16.830-08:00Friday February 26 - Adventures in the JungleWe had planned ahead of time to spend today on a tour of the southern side of the island, and it turns out it was the most perfect day to do so. The morning dawned with mostly clear skies and nice sunshine, but cooler temperatures and high waves, which made the beach not as fun for swimming anyway, but meant that inland would be a nice day with low humidity and no rain.<br /><br />We started our morning with an early breakfast. This is what I have just about every morning here on the beach... oat porridge, toast, and coffee.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5GocpO7pa8f31O_uZMFSqmgyGjhuRO-7AjMpureFyx8XTWcnMy_lntQs6rTPWNQgr0Owf9zWu5uNMILQ41XGM_9MziyE5kT3zUN99PFoP7E1lA2Qfh6qcEyBjtkIH4iHHU1-P4Oq45U/s1600-h/breakfast+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5GocpO7pa8f31O_uZMFSqmgyGjhuRO-7AjMpureFyx8XTWcnMy_lntQs6rTPWNQgr0Owf9zWu5uNMILQ41XGM_9MziyE5kT3zUN99PFoP7E1lA2Qfh6qcEyBjtkIH4iHHU1-P4Oq45U/s320/breakfast+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443286538957087058" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After taking in our fill of breakfast, we loaded up our stuff and climbed into Tyrone's van for the day. The plan... Black River Safari, YS Falls, and a tour of the Appleton Rum Factory.<br /><br />Traveling with a familiar driver made the tour feel more like a personal hang-out day with a friend, rather than a formal tourist ride. As we rode along he told us about where he grew up, where he hung out as a teenager, his time in the States, and peppered in little facts and trivia about the island... who lives in which village, which city had electricity first, where to get the best peppered shrimp. We zipped along the southern stretch of the island for a while, then turned inland towards the hills, and he described the circle we'd be taking to hit all 3 attractions in one day.<br /><br />First stop - Black River Safari.<br /><br />This trip had been on my personal agenda on our last journey to the island, but we ended up not being able to squeeze it in. I'm actually kind of glad of that now, because the drive was so much better with Tyrone taking us, and the weather last year was miserably humid on the day that I had wanted to go.<br /><br />There are several companies that operate on the Black River (named so because the pete moss on the banks of the river make the water look black) The main tour company has large flat pontoon boats, the interior is very similar to what you see in the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. There are smaller pontoon boats that can go further upriver as well, and it sounds like there are even canoes you can take with a guide (though I personally would not opt for that) When we arrived at the front office, Tyrone set us up with the tour guide for the next large pontoon ride, and we headed down to the dock to load up.<br /><br />Immediately as we set off, there were snowy egrets just about everywhere...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVHmqZ2vQvkLx6Yly2qb2VT39RtwejVOQb2Oruo2B12TBNBpKvFS-Ey9But9zupD99aOuokznDcGCFMbJecofQPGW5sIf2hZXRevTINQJy8yVpedV6Jg31GczTCFyeMnqtzGF38OhC8Y/s1600-h/br+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVHmqZ2vQvkLx6Yly2qb2VT39RtwejVOQb2Oruo2B12TBNBpKvFS-Ey9But9zupD99aOuokznDcGCFMbJecofQPGW5sIf2hZXRevTINQJy8yVpedV6Jg31GczTCFyeMnqtzGF38OhC8Y/s320/br+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443286255988357442" border="0" /></a><br />... They seemed to mostly be on the opposite side of the boat from me, but there were a few on my side that I managed to capture on film.<br /><br />These birds seem to be pretty common around major waterways... there's a river in Negril where the bushes along the banks are absolutely covered in these birds, though the bridge is by a busy intersection so I'm reluctant to hop out into traffic to snap a shot.<br /><br />The captain of our boat stayed slow and steady through the beginning passageway, pointing out birds and plants along the way, and then we headed further up river. I settled into the front with G next to me, opting to sit on the floor of the boat with my lens sticking out under the railing. Here is the point where three rivers come together.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3piLztdPpiMSUqupwRU3M8JRwGCnvciBObYh57YZTQsf0LjNaa9AelFfiEoq51hr9vPafXdK5Te5IS2Rmh8pv29H3bgI5nR3somppqEuMbSshkPtCapbzBHBIaF3QzAver1DMdrOmkU/s1600-h/br+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd3piLztdPpiMSUqupwRU3M8JRwGCnvciBObYh57YZTQsf0LjNaa9AelFfiEoq51hr9vPafXdK5Te5IS2Rmh8pv29H3bgI5nR3somppqEuMbSshkPtCapbzBHBIaF3QzAver1DMdrOmkU/s320/br+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443286004056974082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As we slipped into more dense vegetation, the captain had us keep an eye out for crocodiles. I spotted this guy sunning on the banks to our right, so he steered the pontoon boat towards the bank and held us there long enough for everyone to get a turn photographing the beast. I stayed sitting on the ground and snapped away happily.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKSuX1ROwgFMLgDCcmrQnHY1XIKG91EXhsfMn0gY_MjRHUA5GvvFb8g5bNQvc27pfy6oiDd_4zDEEggTn8ss8Fzf8vHeoXQamc76cEngp4nK9zCbEkkcafitiO1EbdPOuwbr6tuXIFHg/s1600-h/br+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKSuX1ROwgFMLgDCcmrQnHY1XIKG91EXhsfMn0gY_MjRHUA5GvvFb8g5bNQvc27pfy6oiDd_4zDEEggTn8ss8Fzf8vHeoXQamc76cEngp4nK9zCbEkkcafitiO1EbdPOuwbr6tuXIFHg/s320/br+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443284075563290050" border="0" /></a><br />This image was my other major goal for this trip (the first goal being the leap into the ocean) I wanted to shoot a live crocodile, in the wild.<br />And I did it! WOOT!<br /><br />I really don't know what it is about reptiles in general, but I find them absolutely beautiful, and fascinating to look at. I always have (even though they creep me out just a bit) This amazing beast was resting amongst the mangrove trees.<br /><br />Side note: one of the greatest compliments I've received on this trip was when a couple of the tourists next to me asked if I worked for National Geographic, because I kept switching lenses and shooting just about everything in sight. I answered "I wish" - and one of them said "You just watch... you're going to be published and we're going to say HEY! I was sitting next to her on that pontoon boat!"<br /><br />This was our view as we meandered upstream, mangroves on either side of the bank.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimX8ijbzzAGDVc66lsohLKk5lFaRNTzSHQwysvLoslcszs6cCtZLpGC2kpBOmvi8vR1K7JO1JkM1xrLBhkLVgcgP_i5Evl_aGs7TQFQ2X7vz94FWBTS-VlcU1747Gy8jAXaMG1NzGw2mg/s1600-h/br+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimX8ijbzzAGDVc66lsohLKk5lFaRNTzSHQwysvLoslcszs6cCtZLpGC2kpBOmvi8vR1K7JO1JkM1xrLBhkLVgcgP_i5Evl_aGs7TQFQ2X7vz94FWBTS-VlcU1747Gy8jAXaMG1NzGw2mg/s320/br+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443283857875998146" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Our captain called this the "rasta trees" because the roots look like dreadlocks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWs9iH4oSLBW37grKliwIsrfWO1zGlAcOjltr1xpq9V1Z61OXmJx_JBpgWiCn3Sugqir5XDLdmbO2_km2vAFeqpruYANwHyHW8KJ3DRhDoni7SvnjNJOG3irhNqxxe7_GNn6twA6-Lxig/s1600-h/br+05.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWs9iH4oSLBW37grKliwIsrfWO1zGlAcOjltr1xpq9V1Z61OXmJx_JBpgWiCn3Sugqir5XDLdmbO2_km2vAFeqpruYANwHyHW8KJ3DRhDoni7SvnjNJOG3irhNqxxe7_GNn6twA6-Lxig/s320/br+05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443283697488593442" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There was another crocodile sighting - a wee "baby" - and then we stopped upriver for a little drink break. (there are many, many more photos to share... I can hardly wait to get back and properly edit them!) Heading back down the river at a good clip, we came up close to the dock back into where the egrets were buzzing back and forth.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyDYaEpgtZw5nxHsEEgHDWpuDrkrLuk5V1TWlEEvfaQDqW6ptuPpS6-QTBS9kFvRlq8vK2rwGP-o6GG7TTMA3v6SxN6U4jIeRhJ03S2eV54koFTd33vWh8vIUl8JbnilkehADjLS3eUk/s1600-h/br+06.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyDYaEpgtZw5nxHsEEgHDWpuDrkrLuk5V1TWlEEvfaQDqW6ptuPpS6-QTBS9kFvRlq8vK2rwGP-o6GG7TTMA3v6SxN6U4jIeRhJ03S2eV54koFTd33vWh8vIUl8JbnilkehADjLS3eUk/s320/br+06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443283499501991634" border="0" /></a><br />This guy zoomed right in front of my camera. As I followed his flight path, my eyes landed on the bank across the river - to where this guy lay out sunning himself.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LMGhOSjM0A-5ijscueT4ckPuxL69u8RAc4el1PiTTmkWpdiX2N9OlICYj0sl1X8vcvIAL1Ak0gaFTezx6Wj4RuJcaVZsUPTQCAPx1zHstFGm-g68xHUYT5uC4gtZwf4Sii41OehC25U/s1600-h/br+07.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7LMGhOSjM0A-5ijscueT4ckPuxL69u8RAc4el1PiTTmkWpdiX2N9OlICYj0sl1X8vcvIAL1Ak0gaFTezx6Wj4RuJcaVZsUPTQCAPx1zHstFGm-g68xHUYT5uC4gtZwf4Sii41OehC25U/s320/br+07.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443283325187798450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />He opened and closed his jaws several times while we all pointed our cameras, and the captain patiently held the boat steady for us.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcmaqFtx1lGluzYKyDxz8-7OclQOM1rP6jfVKY0h9Z6qApidb3SSCRYWKH2xWOzJlI037xxq_XlYFVApB4rHVXNF1krZdBRpoH7ysncEsVJBDvuy0kdWn_MHhjWEDU5Bn0leYa4PVT8c/s1600-h/br+08.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcmaqFtx1lGluzYKyDxz8-7OclQOM1rP6jfVKY0h9Z6qApidb3SSCRYWKH2xWOzJlI037xxq_XlYFVApB4rHVXNF1krZdBRpoH7ysncEsVJBDvuy0kdWn_MHhjWEDU5Bn0leYa4PVT8c/s320/br+08.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443283163187908018" border="0" /></a><br />Just as we pulled in, I managed to catch this elusive heron hiding just out of view in the bushes along the bank.<br /><br />While we were on our safari, Tyrone had kept himself busy visiting people he knew in town, and picking up some fresh fruits from the market. This is what ackee looks like when you buy it fresh - the bag on the top is the "garbage" (the outside of the fruit) You can see the outer shell as well as the black seeds. The bag on the bottom is the fruit itself, picked out of the skins and put in a separate bag. You can see how the shape of it wraps around the black pits and tucks into the odd shaped skin.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AYXIlOTwNxnQEJXWsB3HA1abeMygPWdiAB_FDRFrpbdLHF1rgA7oPaCndSLrEZ6B-AF5Yt0loWSuchgw5RPmFQuU78o0K1u39-tC9A0jQsuQ2bC-OOZOtDZLrKxR90XnLYNCGvBMYmg/s1600-h/lunch+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AYXIlOTwNxnQEJXWsB3HA1abeMygPWdiAB_FDRFrpbdLHF1rgA7oPaCndSLrEZ6B-AF5Yt0loWSuchgw5RPmFQuU78o0K1u39-tC9A0jQsuQ2bC-OOZOtDZLrKxR90XnLYNCGvBMYmg/s320/lunch+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443282961507438450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The combination tour of Black River and YS Falls usually includes lunch, but Tyrone had them leave that off the price - he had a better place to stop along the way.<br /><br />This is a fairly common sight here - roadside stands with food cooking over an open fire. Here we are hopping out of the van to go take a look at what they have to offer.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMHRA704hq_ogLmVaWSgTIgoO9Pijy2UY_3seC_4x3K9Uvr8xgwztNVJ1oTfwrfpIYTi19KqrSSPFQdQBSBYzTHSWA5PQWvveaNEINQ1cEHd9qu7rbkFexYcVw2GD8mwFkyjTD8336Iw/s1600-h/lunch+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMHRA704hq_ogLmVaWSgTIgoO9Pijy2UY_3seC_4x3K9Uvr8xgwztNVJ1oTfwrfpIYTi19KqrSSPFQdQBSBYzTHSWA5PQWvveaNEINQ1cEHd9qu7rbkFexYcVw2GD8mwFkyjTD8336Iw/s320/lunch+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443282787947962098" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />This is the outdoor kitchen, several pots of food to choose from. There is almost always rice and peas, and some kind of boiled or steamed vegetable mix, and a couple of meats. This stand also offers a pea and pumpkin vegetarian soup (which is why Tyrone likes to stop here) Here is the chef serving up a cup of soup.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6BoA8gTlRS_AP71bqw1egZaZe0JF8w5R6kLD5gXLK5yI9UlRzGrn4ip03aQY94GBCPcX9wC6mV4NORGzcybolinO8iCSfZx8lxLcloylbLJs2-OzCZWotNjkAAsAjOBNT6MZRyla2ac/s1600-h/lunch+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6BoA8gTlRS_AP71bqw1egZaZe0JF8w5R6kLD5gXLK5yI9UlRzGrn4ip03aQY94GBCPcX9wC6mV4NORGzcybolinO8iCSfZx8lxLcloylbLJs2-OzCZWotNjkAAsAjOBNT6MZRyla2ac/s320/lunch+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443282577987419538" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I opted for curried shrimp - which came with rice and peas and the veggies. This was an amazingly flavorful and filling lunch. I swear, these little stands on the road consistently have the best tasting food on the planet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPi9By1kLZZNp1UTtPTfF1F2frYuLPNOIN6CEdSAS3dslSFCyObLefENWpMhyphenhyphenu0P5xUXQpyoqBbGVdi-8t40f_7rIPe2xC2AOopmJHQygEZVhZ6Hjyx5p3qOq3FPDD_S9vVMAI3sJ058/s1600-h/lunch+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoPi9By1kLZZNp1UTtPTfF1F2frYuLPNOIN6CEdSAS3dslSFCyObLefENWpMhyphenhyphenu0P5xUXQpyoqBbGVdi-8t40f_7rIPe2xC2AOopmJHQygEZVhZ6Hjyx5p3qOq3FPDD_S9vVMAI3sJ058/s320/lunch+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443282410385804242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Back in the van and up into the hills further, we came around to YS Falls.<br /><br />Now - on our trip last year we went to Mayfield Falls which was described as a "hike up the falls" and was literally a hike up the middle of the falls. All water, with some points being deep pools to swim through - so I could not bring my camera. YS falls is quite different. YS falls are steeper steps of falls up the river, so instead of hiking through the water you actually take a gravel path up to a staircase that runs along the bank.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFqRoTj4oCqbYHgLKTbjz0-b0zHK3GOB9jeQ2Z4SEUus7ueKzQvdv0woM6q8gPqTwUXneKxwB6D9IkZWkamgt1ljirhYjuzaU96RjGCK8bHOrnddmEyOo0wLfy0TrUS3Src1bp3Mx5OY/s1600-h/IMG_0826.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFqRoTj4oCqbYHgLKTbjz0-b0zHK3GOB9jeQ2Z4SEUus7ueKzQvdv0woM6q8gPqTwUXneKxwB6D9IkZWkamgt1ljirhYjuzaU96RjGCK8bHOrnddmEyOo0wLfy0TrUS3Src1bp3Mx5OY/s320/IMG_0826.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443282104852040946" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Had I known this prior to getting out of the car, I would have brought my big camera and my Holga... but looking back on the day, I realize I also would have spent too much time shooting, and we would have missed out on the rum tour - so it all worked out for this trip... but next time I would dearly love to spend an entire day at the falls with my camera and tripod shooting. But I digress. We did have the waterproof camera with us, so we have some shots from that.<br /><br />We walked up the steep steps to the top of the falls. Along the way there are several places to step off the staircase and swim in the pools of fresh spring water. This is the uppermost pool, though it was closed for swimming today due to a strong current from the storm just prior to our trip.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2ULEARh9967j_bQ8a6xvmAncjt-yUXVg9T9xIVXZGobo6pP7IgktbCElfWQQ_EoDSpg6TbrzSzliL4l6o632eKiqPeLcL0XgK6k-MoazaEd_UaH8G8P1MLZXEm9nDmGIOLLhY2OANvc/s1600-h/ys+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2ULEARh9967j_bQ8a6xvmAncjt-yUXVg9T9xIVXZGobo6pP7IgktbCElfWQQ_EoDSpg6TbrzSzliL4l6o632eKiqPeLcL0XgK6k-MoazaEd_UaH8G8P1MLZXEm9nDmGIOLLhY2OANvc/s320/ys+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443280831413619698" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next level down was an open pool, so D and I stepped in and waded around. D took off to the deepest part, just under the waterfall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkhf5-fkV35jCV04pY53omMhy5sSK3bxO3T-AYEOMsa8fM2J1Bvpk0RWNcg9TPmoIDQTFgBPHTS_YHpbRGDb_WE4uDDMmiE7PnJ3oLAUdUPhcdRlw1twQ8K7bv8CndRZw1q7AkWKFL4sc/s1600-h/ys+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkhf5-fkV35jCV04pY53omMhy5sSK3bxO3T-AYEOMsa8fM2J1Bvpk0RWNcg9TPmoIDQTFgBPHTS_YHpbRGDb_WE4uDDMmiE7PnJ3oLAUdUPhcdRlw1twQ8K7bv8CndRZw1q7AkWKFL4sc/s320/ys+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443280648280037138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I didn't feel comfortable swimming into the current, so I found a nice sturdy rock to lean on instead.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONTJ-w51YplAqocy0_cfvVADOGqFWC1Cfv8VkW2sM-722wTbzHno7rmXoCJghALgMbBCXhTTuCcii6SOuIa0tOSrL7vcOXghq4EfzkosUS9pWD_ZYoqRD5dZ_pvVk2_Zmvbn75kzk9j0/s1600-h/ys03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONTJ-w51YplAqocy0_cfvVADOGqFWC1Cfv8VkW2sM-722wTbzHno7rmXoCJghALgMbBCXhTTuCcii6SOuIa0tOSrL7vcOXghq4EfzkosUS9pWD_ZYoqRD5dZ_pvVk2_Zmvbn75kzk9j0/s320/ys03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443280445296549138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />At the bottom of the falls is a freshwater spring pool that stands about 4 feet deep. The bottom is all gravel, like the bottom of a fish tank. We swam around here for a while, enjoying the fresh cool water.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5K5PbCEPL7MbbnKLE9RDVTJeaGemg4SxEI8eSxrk_LbuPW24HnFVqbPYVUdLUBx6Y7HfTp7b_IDcC6Kgbu4Z-ougqP6anjsxO985lq0T2CMih-QgJC-KhLUgcu9W70F4iAVydhjeRg3E/s1600-h/ys+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5K5PbCEPL7MbbnKLE9RDVTJeaGemg4SxEI8eSxrk_LbuPW24HnFVqbPYVUdLUBx6Y7HfTp7b_IDcC6Kgbu4Z-ougqP6anjsxO985lq0T2CMih-QgJC-KhLUgcu9W70F4iAVydhjeRg3E/s320/ys+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443280229437242162" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We were cutting close to closing time at Appleton, so we quickly dried off, changed clothes, and caught the tractor shuttle back down to the parking lot. From there we were on our way to the last stop on our journey... Appleton Estate (aka D's Mecca)<br /><br />Appleton was accepting it's last tour group at 3:30... we arrived at 3:45. The parking lot was full but quite... the front gate was locked. As we approached a security guard came out, and Tyrone started talking to him rapidly in patois. I understood very little of what he said, other than "buy some rum"... the guard walked into the building and emerged a few minutes later, opening the gate and allowing us onto the grounds. In the main lobby of the building Tyrone walked back and forth between two people, and within about 5 minutes he had us set up on the last tour of the day.<br /><br />Have I mentioned that Tyrone rocks?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgCHP3L17BkDkV4MYnAAccmQITQDNW5LaLUDBuqMgd98YZHMEcZFzB8OPH4JlW2sUP_NQ0YqcKDfC3IEBZSNCs-tmeymzrgJTEb3E934YunPfIJfP3yVdHWNV8-2U-Nnk04DvNDxaN0s/s1600-h/ae+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgCHP3L17BkDkV4MYnAAccmQITQDNW5LaLUDBuqMgd98YZHMEcZFzB8OPH4JlW2sUP_NQ0YqcKDfC3IEBZSNCs-tmeymzrgJTEb3E934YunPfIJfP3yVdHWNV8-2U-Nnk04DvNDxaN0s/s320/ae+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443280050937845954" border="0" /></a><br />D started to lift his left leg into the Captain Morgan pose, but stopped just as I started shaking my head. Wrong rum company.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4Kr_c9KndXfxApJ8Bb-zkyEhrW5yCK_NMwt2goYUGc1xeEpydiNWqOOnKTuOrLo4-V6eY9427uPuUg3UZLVnT8dU6o6ZBbViajjzyjfbU9LTqOGqRjPPlqmI8zvh8gs8CXAsVY0vn1g/s1600-h/ae+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv4Kr_c9KndXfxApJ8Bb-zkyEhrW5yCK_NMwt2goYUGc1xeEpydiNWqOOnKTuOrLo4-V6eY9427uPuUg3UZLVnT8dU6o6ZBbViajjzyjfbU9LTqOGqRjPPlqmI8zvh8gs8CXAsVY0vn1g/s320/ae+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443279913691699938" border="0" /></a><br />I found the position of the barrel with the most signatures underneath this sign to be highly amusing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8LmhVvHTA5tUXFVl-7dub66-bvTnpSej09dl-tSlH3U8ANE8X_XRYgRAbeDHCihTeSyAuuMYKqERGuYCPP2b_ly7crGfFExlEiZj9GdToXl4m8wMxM-enIe6foiqMisTnjVQamYPTtQ/s1600-h/ae+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8LmhVvHTA5tUXFVl-7dub66-bvTnpSej09dl-tSlH3U8ANE8X_XRYgRAbeDHCihTeSyAuuMYKqERGuYCPP2b_ly7crGfFExlEiZj9GdToXl4m8wMxM-enIe6foiqMisTnjVQamYPTtQ/s320/ae+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443279707216433858" border="0" /></a><br />The aging house is a huge cavernous which the public is locked out of, aside from this front shelf of barrels. Apparently on a hot day the interior of the aging house feels cooler and cooler as the alcohol evaporates. It's also possible to get drunk by hanging out inside on a hot day for about a half an hour, just from the absorption of the vapors.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXxAQ_iCQR-FfoSgPkqQBDcoixOjoxeh47Q6fhdtGZAr2SXR5Q5Lsp_qTVvT6VhvnhRuf0LuokT5kt5XS_KnqQi1Z35ZSnX8hvJ3MA3fua2nlKxnzBAzXEKpoGGPG5yWbU4DsxqUrtRg/s1600-h/ae+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXxAQ_iCQR-FfoSgPkqQBDcoixOjoxeh47Q6fhdtGZAr2SXR5Q5Lsp_qTVvT6VhvnhRuf0LuokT5kt5XS_KnqQi1Z35ZSnX8hvJ3MA3fua2nlKxnzBAzXEKpoGGPG5yWbU4DsxqUrtRg/s320/ae+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443279513863522930" border="0" /></a><br />There were signs throughout the property - this one talks about Blue Mountain coffee. I learned that there is a difference between "Blue Mountain Coffee" and "High Mountain Coffee" (the latter still being from the mountains, just not *the* Blue Mountain)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpof3N4WX2pQ-u8F69UsQU1vxGZPcM2cGyPuZI_WvyKQnNBLmAKG1LDblwY-aARNVqnZy9i2uo86N9eqzcL-u2CvGyD_WYAvmWGcDat1ebMAR5G5GhagJCWRcyLMPVNijQakBsZ3zPk2E/s1600-h/ae+05.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpof3N4WX2pQ-u8F69UsQU1vxGZPcM2cGyPuZI_WvyKQnNBLmAKG1LDblwY-aARNVqnZy9i2uo86N9eqzcL-u2CvGyD_WYAvmWGcDat1ebMAR5G5GhagJCWRcyLMPVNijQakBsZ3zPk2E/s320/ae+05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443278840841727906" border="0" /></a><br />One of the many pretty scenes on the property of Appleton Estate.<br /><br />The tour was entertaining - they talked us through the manufacture of rum, how it used to be made, and how they make it now. I was amused by how often D would ask a question just before the tour guide was about to explain exactly what D was asking about. In between stops on the tour, D walk alongside the guide asking specifics about the coconut rum - where is it made, how is it blended, do you make your own coconut extract here or buy it somewhere? In the end we did not come out with proprietary information, but we have a better understanding of why Coco Mania is the best coconut rum in existence.<br /><br />The tour winds down back into the main lobby, where there are tasting rooms. As D enjoyed his taste tests and decided on what to bring back with us, I wandered the grounds outside with G looking for photographic opportunities.<br /><br />Appleton has a few resident peacocks and peahens wandering the grounds and as I followed G around the lawn she found a large male who was fond of showing off his feathers. He turned this way and that, shaking his feathers and looking extremely important. I managed several shots with my Pentax and Holga alike.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2PMR7oOxMctCFrwZqgwRI3OvLHxp4EGMpArb-zhLAaZjA014Bbc6RccTYJN9VuN90uSGXIxeHRZvhnDzkiOh5_2sSLjLcx6jHjwL0YGs-hdmHAANBP0BPqqu_UXu2WyFkkWa7ByUmki4/s1600-h/ae+06.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2PMR7oOxMctCFrwZqgwRI3OvLHxp4EGMpArb-zhLAaZjA014Bbc6RccTYJN9VuN90uSGXIxeHRZvhnDzkiOh5_2sSLjLcx6jHjwL0YGs-hdmHAANBP0BPqqu_UXu2WyFkkWa7ByUmki4/s320/ae+06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443277985094116178" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Fully supplied with rum to take home, and some to enjoy at the hotel, we piled back into the van for the ride back around the island to Negril.<br /><br />Part of the journey included driving down Bamboo Avenue.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_P7LpJaJEsSf3A68M6nSE6AfccvX-BGCj84oa4eROBPUiN4q2PawE-v3m5sybR4ryXWDV8zAtjUi5rIev5uJ4fdH9-XRk_ec7F-HMuQpoiNXoubQkctANMHZGfn2xzLCVg_DTK2aLa0/s1600-h/ae+07.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_P7LpJaJEsSf3A68M6nSE6AfccvX-BGCj84oa4eROBPUiN4q2PawE-v3m5sybR4ryXWDV8zAtjUi5rIev5uJ4fdH9-XRk_ec7F-HMuQpoiNXoubQkctANMHZGfn2xzLCVg_DTK2aLa0/s320/ae+07.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443277780073725906" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Tyrone pulled off the road to let me hop out and shoot a few pictures, and before getting back in I turned and got a shot of one of the sugar cane fields behind us.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81ZytOBqZQEMeIdgNQErtrYgvCufM5ouOfsZh7aly7hN0dztGux1JBWbjO3qCaRPSaK47UEO_GSeg9dF2v_cvIOGXO4oDjAS08dftMFzHyRfEP93cJucm5FRaAI_HcELBQD4eH3D91rg/s1600-h/ae+08.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg81ZytOBqZQEMeIdgNQErtrYgvCufM5ouOfsZh7aly7hN0dztGux1JBWbjO3qCaRPSaK47UEO_GSeg9dF2v_cvIOGXO4oDjAS08dftMFzHyRfEP93cJucm5FRaAI_HcELBQD4eH3D91rg/s320/ae+08.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443277511902201954" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It was a very long day, but full of adventure and fun. G was a real trooper, enjoying all the tours, talking with the other tourists and guides alike, and generally just going with the flow and soaking it all up. About halfway back to the hotel she laid her seat back and zonked out, bouncy and squirrely drive be damned.<br /><br />Friday nights at Idle Awhile now include an all you can eat buffet and live music, and we arrived at the hotel just in time for the music to start. D grabbed us a table and we settled in - ordering a regular dinner for G and D and I making several trips to the buffet. <br /><br />This was possibly one the best buffets we've ever been to - mainly because it included lobster. Tails and tails of lobster perpetually on the grill, along with curried shrimp, rice and peas, vegetable mix (green beans and carrots this time) a potato dish of sliced potatoes and onions, and grilled beef. The only thing on the buffet I had to worry about with my allergies were a couple of salad dressings, which were well contained in bottles. I've rarely been to a buffet where I was so free from worry, so I indulged.<br /><br />What I loved, too, was that after we had our fill of dinner we were still able to enjoy the view of the live music from the hammock on our balcony throughout the rest of the night.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-4226288429408898862010-02-27T12:11:00.001-08:002010-02-27T13:06:34.388-08:00Thursday Feb 25 - beach browsingThis morning we walked next door to Coco La Palm for breakfast. Last year we had a dinner there that was among the worst of our meals, but we were there on a dead night in the off season, so we thought we'd give it another shot when it was busier. I'm glad we did, breakfast was actually quite good.<br /><br />I veered away from my usual porridge and opted instead for the vegetarian plate - ackee, calaloo, boiled veggies, tomatoes. The ackee is prepared with some peppers and onion and spices, the calaloo has some onion diced into it. Everything had a great flavor, with just enough spice to make it interesting, but not so much that I needed to drown myself in water to eat my food.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJXql_kV8Mt4mUCPdzVcOg6BI7wvBYfzvo8_vpwlnx-cx-eWHEs45vABAS150xTEHdwelPUOa8ypSPEnWtig6kjjnv5znaMasUE9mo-tmR3_TdzstMEh44K3Gl_vkI0ERVGLEWpRNcDU/s1600-h/breakfast+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJXql_kV8Mt4mUCPdzVcOg6BI7wvBYfzvo8_vpwlnx-cx-eWHEs45vABAS150xTEHdwelPUOa8ypSPEnWtig6kjjnv5znaMasUE9mo-tmR3_TdzstMEh44K3Gl_vkI0ERVGLEWpRNcDU/s320/breakfast+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443025011090327522" border="0" /></a><br />My breakfast - D took the photo upside down :)<br /><br />During breakfast our regular juice vendor, Tony, walked by and D got his attention. Here he is with D on the beach.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3dZa0jxCWOFvf2lVm5MlKDH-xf_2JyHuM80rgw8udFeReSCJoD2izh2VjwvaEjcIQxs69OIxvzPGgj4s-hcUJHQczS-bGWJTU0ZuUv4-zdImHLBe_IzlsuYlabJvMtyrao-7xQjrt7o/s1600-h/breakfast+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3dZa0jxCWOFvf2lVm5MlKDH-xf_2JyHuM80rgw8udFeReSCJoD2izh2VjwvaEjcIQxs69OIxvzPGgj4s-hcUJHQczS-bGWJTU0ZuUv4-zdImHLBe_IzlsuYlabJvMtyrao-7xQjrt7o/s320/breakfast+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443024898238548898" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The thunder storm the night before kicked up the winds harder than we've seen here before. Though the sky seemed relatively clear, the sea had moved up high and the wind whipped the dry sand so hard it stung a bit. The waves were crashing too hard for G to swim, so we opted for a stroll down the beach on the wet stand instead, heading towards the Waves market area down the beach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vQftWJNmJt0wlWiupOWJ1SktgmyHPYI9yrMMx3A3Hf5TCVx4VNQAtWLRjPInV-6Vu32VdZCwiXtbMP8wwOtLaAaw7MMi-kLkjdefpgbnsvm0aqfMg3-Ry3t_LCMpesAVgt_aJoHfuoA/s1600-h/market+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vQftWJNmJt0wlWiupOWJ1SktgmyHPYI9yrMMx3A3Hf5TCVx4VNQAtWLRjPInV-6Vu32VdZCwiXtbMP8wwOtLaAaw7MMi-kLkjdefpgbnsvm0aqfMg3-Ry3t_LCMpesAVgt_aJoHfuoA/s320/market+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443024759323588978" border="0" /></a><br />Walking in the wind - the temperature was perfect, but the sea was too strong for swimming this morning.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIW40xEEtaGzS-MBMGt43AUKIfSt5cE5Rb37RgwVkwo5cYkG9JfKTaYgtGmyXEEhS7yWiictfNU0mt6KVox8HH0QwAr4gIJQMsuwYllgiFfAFf6OXlZP3hEqDkq9GuZ2zXaKiGxhgURdA/s1600-h/market+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIW40xEEtaGzS-MBMGt43AUKIfSt5cE5Rb37RgwVkwo5cYkG9JfKTaYgtGmyXEEhS7yWiictfNU0mt6KVox8HH0QwAr4gIJQMsuwYllgiFfAFf6OXlZP3hEqDkq9GuZ2zXaKiGxhgURdA/s320/market+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443024670873205570" border="0" /></a><br />Inside one of the shops in the market area, after D bought a necklace the vendor gave G a key fob she had been admiring on the shelf - it looks like a little rasta man.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0F-HCT3I2EoDYPkBTORAamvuaL_7H6m1pHZOcHds-8MN5A2Tmolno5JBt1X6pz8ltvzZkKMH3tSnWNwnrnuJunZVvDgRQaMrq3wvxthLMSZQAblaM8KdDITa3EkOQyBi4nKYGuuq2_8Y/s1600-h/market+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0F-HCT3I2EoDYPkBTORAamvuaL_7H6m1pHZOcHds-8MN5A2Tmolno5JBt1X6pz8ltvzZkKMH3tSnWNwnrnuJunZVvDgRQaMrq3wvxthLMSZQAblaM8KdDITa3EkOQyBi4nKYGuuq2_8Y/s320/market+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443024571468888914" border="0" /></a><br />Here I am taking a photo of the little market area. There is a larger one further up the beach, but it's a long walk that we opted not to take.<br /><br />We've discovered that the vendors who are directly on the beach seem a lot more aggressive than the ones inside the market areas. The beach vendors will walk right up and talk you into coming in to their booth to see what they make, whereas the ones in the market sit and wait for you to walk up, then talk to you and ask you if you like anything you see. I felt far more relaxed and able to browse inside the market area.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FK58CcJ_ju8hqo1GxcSNd_ZbWq97zd4BrcBi8IBkojlbZWfLEunciOLbTi0dNyActOo4l2zKXxfgn9thw55OFgp9J2cYFoSH7WuM0NQO6dlsZ_2vwtWtFdz-qjsr3Zy-9JCvMQTtoQ0/s1600-h/market+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FK58CcJ_ju8hqo1GxcSNd_ZbWq97zd4BrcBi8IBkojlbZWfLEunciOLbTi0dNyActOo4l2zKXxfgn9thw55OFgp9J2cYFoSH7WuM0NQO6dlsZ_2vwtWtFdz-qjsr3Zy-9JCvMQTtoQ0/s320/market+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443024388831042546" border="0" /></a><br />Standing on the beach end, looking down the market these are the store fronts. Almost all of them have a second half to them (what you see is the front half, then walk inside and they are twice the size, with a second little room of shelves)<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqiDfFPOSFsx_4U_cXJz78G7Bf2myLBZ2t_W_mpA5GTm6djTMThQgtEGzvxaWf5JJRCcAPwB4Q-jpdzUgrr1oMgd79wXfcCWiDHpIVIREGpMTm4NvJD_0eX0RqJ36od3ZAj-k5_Wx5n44/s1600-h/market+05.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqiDfFPOSFsx_4U_cXJz78G7Bf2myLBZ2t_W_mpA5GTm6djTMThQgtEGzvxaWf5JJRCcAPwB4Q-jpdzUgrr1oMgd79wXfcCWiDHpIVIREGpMTm4NvJD_0eX0RqJ36od3ZAj-k5_Wx5n44/s320/market+05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443024253352679650" border="0" /></a><br />There are a few tables outside - this is D negotiating the price of his necklace. I'm still on the lookout for a carving I like.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyvxyu66XbCtKJTfDC7HQiJ5-VRCvdzlbJNd3ZSa8d4eZAOgJWsfZJD4-4hxnjoqoOZSlKCEYfEmqbZA0rszKT8EoU_CGdh-AzeuXx8myyDOdyu7xuIk_1ovu0GyIRlHxBXWWVDrifqc/s1600-h/market+06.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 96px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyvxyu66XbCtKJTfDC7HQiJ5-VRCvdzlbJNd3ZSa8d4eZAOgJWsfZJD4-4hxnjoqoOZSlKCEYfEmqbZA0rszKT8EoU_CGdh-AzeuXx8myyDOdyu7xuIk_1ovu0GyIRlHxBXWWVDrifqc/s320/market+06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443020355702097074" border="0" /></a><br />Here is the shot of the market area I was taking in the photo above. I love how it's among all the little palm trees. On the beach the wind kept us nice and cool, but the moment we stepped off the sand we felt the heat of the sun directly, and the breeze was blocked by the surrounding buildings.<br /><br />After some browsing and talking with some of the crafters in the market, we walked to the end to Niah's Patties for a mid-day snack.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDqz2l70gH8kCsTs2_7UF1T2LcaV-pxpgMFRb6aNFbswQqMYgBat_kqdTo5ez4yGKRNNt0NKzMD164W7bfluXNfAr0D2E7JwwzoSeVSLVByUdwGzjP7BGoWX9Kx1uLRbShVJ87vobs3A/s1600-h/niahs+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDqz2l70gH8kCsTs2_7UF1T2LcaV-pxpgMFRb6aNFbswQqMYgBat_kqdTo5ez4yGKRNNt0NKzMD164W7bfluXNfAr0D2E7JwwzoSeVSLVByUdwGzjP7BGoWX9Kx1uLRbShVJ87vobs3A/s320/niahs+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443020123808200402" border="0" /></a><br />This is the exterior of Niah's Patties - looks like it is all made from bamboo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEips0lZ0u64J24CD9NmGqTRbaALs7AmE-78QlabeVZWZ7b_y1M4F89aro-IOcH75klK5hhLVJdU04iDRpzB-7sEK4pTjiLcr4M55zUcrdN23cSvRsGVMnKpyOd4Pg14tlzpP2TvVwh3kSE/s1600-h/niahs+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEips0lZ0u64J24CD9NmGqTRbaALs7AmE-78QlabeVZWZ7b_y1M4F89aro-IOcH75klK5hhLVJdU04iDRpzB-7sEK4pTjiLcr4M55zUcrdN23cSvRsGVMnKpyOd4Pg14tlzpP2TvVwh3kSE/s320/niahs+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443019448202611666" border="0" /></a><br />D took these shots of our patties being prepared. They keep sheets over the table of food - I think to keep debris from blowing onto it, or to keep the sun off of it (or both) They prepare the patties to order, so it takes about 10 or so minutes to receive your food once you order.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIpgkjLtYwvefiKiUHU23e3_KQaBndnnZ3BM90G1o7Yvu7nJCz9iPwedCmToAUV51WeFaDf_5UsKHLtGr2x-vDDgRzFGHWbVkjt3DR5Lr1f7eSrAwqSwmsxFVep8r9FvXKOAW32dhAjE/s1600-h/niahs+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIpgkjLtYwvefiKiUHU23e3_KQaBndnnZ3BM90G1o7Yvu7nJCz9iPwedCmToAUV51WeFaDf_5UsKHLtGr2x-vDDgRzFGHWbVkjt3DR5Lr1f7eSrAwqSwmsxFVep8r9FvXKOAW32dhAjE/s320/niahs+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443019314747333250" border="0" /></a><br />Here is the area where they cook the patties. They keep the wood fire fueled all day long and a pan of hot oil going. Once the patties are assembled on the table, they are dropped into the oil for a quick frying before being packed in small paper bags and served up.<br /><br />We decided this would be lunch, so we ordered 4 different patties - banana, ackee, Irish, and chicken. ("Irish" is another word for potato) D's favorite was the Irish, which had some kind of spice and onion and pumpkin inside... my favorite was the ackee.<br /><br />Clearly I'm really enjoying the ackee while on the island :)<br /><br />After lunch on our patio, we cleaned up and rested inside the room out of the wind... reading, napping, and playing games. The wind had died down a bit, but the sea was still rough so we decided to take a taxi down the street for dinner at Canoe.<br /><br />Canoe was one of our favorite restaurants on the last trip - they have a killer jerk shrimp that we've been craving since we got here. We arrived shortly before dark, and the winds were blowing pretty hard in the unprotected area, so we opted for a seat inside instead of on the patio.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLTlbJjYzQEdrtTo13e0M7fQ80sSbbCON4cpTCIsfQWmMH4h0zGFQvInckqKL8uk9vXBhlOtTMTQliLdwPOdyXWyL4UesQsrn5XEUI7GDC2ZJcUg5gVC_OLjAAiM-d2RkDB8K-3YtpUK8/s1600-h/dinner+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLTlbJjYzQEdrtTo13e0M7fQ80sSbbCON4cpTCIsfQWmMH4h0zGFQvInckqKL8uk9vXBhlOtTMTQliLdwPOdyXWyL4UesQsrn5XEUI7GDC2ZJcUg5gVC_OLjAAiM-d2RkDB8K-3YtpUK8/s320/dinner+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443019039464298962" border="0" /></a><br />Here we are tucked into the corner bench.<br /><br />After ordering our food, D stepped outside to take photos of the exterior.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCN9UWtoQ9FsFaQRY2H9WukFBDMfR8ujJP1Iy8groF_bucTNTRTFmZQE-fsHfiZYVzjVci2IU79i2nnScLyu8i8UJq1CIQK7DLwE9De7hbUdo9la2eMl8Gd_i15CZlHI-vOJtVFx3mLNU/s1600-h/dinner+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCN9UWtoQ9FsFaQRY2H9WukFBDMfR8ujJP1Iy8groF_bucTNTRTFmZQE-fsHfiZYVzjVci2IU79i2nnScLyu8i8UJq1CIQK7DLwE9De7hbUdo9la2eMl8Gd_i15CZlHI-vOJtVFx3mLNU/s320/dinner+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443018932453290994" border="0" /></a><br />Canoe is literally on the water, though the sea is not usually this high. If you look in the right side of the shot you can see how the water had lapped up over the street the night before.<br /><br />There was supposed to be a webcast tonight, however just a short while before we arrived the power had gone out. They cook over grills and fires, so they were still open for business, but the busy little place became a romantic getaway as the sun went down and the candles were lit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGIO9QQPSqRF227aYMpCaibKUAAlqxbi2cFr4ScMlOKYroAz3UyEn5qTEnCFm-zbwTFArOzV8UY7NxM69tJxTKpAkqPYOpHpaZ6b93rHarYX7hui-PbuoRfsuyseTecWWH58AJoD0ntw/s1600-h/dinner+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGIO9QQPSqRF227aYMpCaibKUAAlqxbi2cFr4ScMlOKYroAz3UyEn5qTEnCFm-zbwTFArOzV8UY7NxM69tJxTKpAkqPYOpHpaZ6b93rHarYX7hui-PbuoRfsuyseTecWWH58AJoD0ntw/s320/dinner+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443018847098293858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We ordered a couple of appetizers of jerk shrimp - which is served with a diced melon salad. The salad is an absolute necessity given the spiciness of the shrimp dish.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxRxtT6gBQSQOYb4HHMeXOiz1THDd2-_ZNxjGqpWdBlF8uXAbGdOE9lfepO9f1U2OqoKCM_5atWdf9lweAeUFqR_98inPURK1BtTRT25nnEK-ClM2YYfEuFjPN5wCQLwcSPAdTW3lkyGo/s1600-h/dinner+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxRxtT6gBQSQOYb4HHMeXOiz1THDd2-_ZNxjGqpWdBlF8uXAbGdOE9lfepO9f1U2OqoKCM_5atWdf9lweAeUFqR_98inPURK1BtTRT25nnEK-ClM2YYfEuFjPN5wCQLwcSPAdTW3lkyGo/s320/dinner+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443018745176076498" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I had grilled mahi-mahi for my dinner - served with pasta, and grilled vegetables (that's the chunk of fish in the upper left corner of the plate) It was very well prepared - perfectly cooked and seasoned with grilled onions on top for extra flavor.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-iIBK6st4Cpoz3xmnrwaqsMM_0CZDDEgeWO6mbjEWR5iH0lJldQXRKBLG92VjryROK6MTb075v1NwNbj4Me0Q9qZ49bCPrfeyFCZgtgmhDjCEUjOLUzUvA_ZC_9-qk45GUinP4hhmN0/s1600-h/dinner+05.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf-iIBK6st4Cpoz3xmnrwaqsMM_0CZDDEgeWO6mbjEWR5iH0lJldQXRKBLG92VjryROK6MTb075v1NwNbj4Me0Q9qZ49bCPrfeyFCZgtgmhDjCEUjOLUzUvA_ZC_9-qk45GUinP4hhmN0/s320/dinner+05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443018641603837778" border="0" /></a><br />Just as we began to eat, power was restored to the restaurant and we were able to enjoy our meals and see them too.<br /><br />After dinner we asked for a taxi, and the chef of the restaurant called up Tyrone to come grab us. G was feeling chilled wearing just her bathing suit, but still wanted dessert, so we stopped at a little place on the way back to get something for her to eat back in the room.<br /><br />Tonight the hotel next door had live music, so I settled into the hammock on the porch to swing in the breeze, enjoy the music, and go through my photos from yesterday.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-18643213689262333992010-02-25T19:10:00.001-08:002010-02-25T19:34:52.386-08:00Wednesday February 24 - photo journey and lightening crashesIn this particular room, we are lulled to sleep at night by the cricket-like insect sounds, and stirred awake in the morning to the sounds of the kitchen at the next door resort setting up for breakfast. Some people have complained about the noise in this room (although the windows have actual glass in this room, not just screens, the walls are still a bit thin, and we are right on top of the kitchen next door) but I haven't been bothered by it yet. I think if it weren't for them starting up at 7:30 I'd be sleeping in pretty damned late every morning.<br /><br />As it is, this morning I woke at 7:30, made myself some coffee in the room, and sat in the hammock to update the blog. I picked up one of the more expensive types of coffee here - normally it goes for $50 a pound, I bought a half pound for roughly $20. I have to say, there is a distinct difference in the flavor, almost an almondy nutty flavor to it without having to add anything. This surprises me, because as much as I drink coffee, it's rare that I notice flavors like that (beyond "this is too bitter" or "this is just right") unless I taste them side by side. This does stand out, and I'll likely be getting some more to take home.<br /><br />After a few cups of coffee, D and G woke up and got themselves ready for the beach. I met them down on the deck of Chill Awhile for breakfast (oat porridge, toast, and plantains all around) and then we got in our morning fish-feeding frenzy. The water was still a bit wavy, and because of that not quite as clear as I've seen it - I had to swim right up to the fish to see them, and then there would suddenly be a ton of them right in front of my face (and I may have kicked one. I didn't mean to! They zip around so fast they can normally avoid wild feet)<br /><br />We sat in our chairs contemplating what to do with the day when D suggested we try going to this Rhode's Hall Plantation just outside of town. We've read about it before - you can go horseback riding, or on a tour of the crocodile and bird reserve, or just stroll the grounds, or snorkel just off shore. Today they were having a webcast for one of the travel forums online that D is a part of, so we thought it would also be fun to go wave at the camera.<br /><br />We grabbed a camera and headed down the 15 or so minute drive out of town to the plantation. The driver took us in a little ways to a parking area, where we were greeted by an American who either manages the property or owns it (I couldn't quite tell which, but she described the plants as being "I've got almonds growing there" and "I've got soursap over here") Being there for the webcast meant being involved in the pizza party - so we ended up having a variety of pizza for lunch, along with rum punch and sodas.<br /><br />I'm not terribly inclined towards horseback riding myself - due mostly to my allergies - but the price seemed a bit high in my opinion anyway, so we decided to skip the tours and wander the grounds photographing and enjoying lunch instead. <br />There were many a scene to find, and lush vegetation everywhere, along with some resident peacocks and peahens, and an abundance of lizards. Here is a sampling of some of (and by some I mean a fraction of) the shots.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRG09G89jgjdtwuLXkVeSiQsPMolSj9MzPsl3agMvSmVsxy-SaWhW3eobOaGhyphenhyphenPouQ1TXSxGdhflwMzA2nwE276zKVOPIhQHJNzcW3KZPBZyObHtr5w1d3I4eMZSJnE8EkgdAoIaaaXI/s1600-h/rhp+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRG09G89jgjdtwuLXkVeSiQsPMolSj9MzPsl3agMvSmVsxy-SaWhW3eobOaGhyphenhyphenPouQ1TXSxGdhflwMzA2nwE276zKVOPIhQHJNzcW3KZPBZyObHtr5w1d3I4eMZSJnE8EkgdAoIaaaXI/s320/rhp+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442386908431376834" border="0" /></a><br />G and I on the main lawn area of the grounds - there were many picnic tables under thatched roofs to pick from.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyMXRclCHZ3CX90afoxutuxhEVtxk4T7m4qnnomFnzlTcSoqlyZXiNJbDwaRjsTUN-ATpPeqJINBqug70ITZF39aSSpyc_YcXSQuL1xKA4lEgtMoPa4WzktCQ6CdbiNk1s2DCWw3Z3uQ/s1600-h/rhp+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyMXRclCHZ3CX90afoxutuxhEVtxk4T7m4qnnomFnzlTcSoqlyZXiNJbDwaRjsTUN-ATpPeqJINBqug70ITZF39aSSpyc_YcXSQuL1xKA4lEgtMoPa4WzktCQ6CdbiNk1s2DCWw3Z3uQ/s320/rhp+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442386781208629698" border="0" /></a><br />Rhode's Hall Plantation is directly on the water - apparently there is some good snorkeling to be had just off the shore.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsk7z3tM89yQRkh4HL76BGbAzIYZaVQnWv8d_rR5N_A1d5q0q8-KD6ksm-OTQPGAPDFAEqevYDDLTOsUACk5Btsum5pHj0gs_Dk7VnkI-hUg8OCYZfMZV30pKWB1qdVNY7z_b1G6-lUA/s1600-h/rhp+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsk7z3tM89yQRkh4HL76BGbAzIYZaVQnWv8d_rR5N_A1d5q0q8-KD6ksm-OTQPGAPDFAEqevYDDLTOsUACk5Btsum5pHj0gs_Dk7VnkI-hUg8OCYZfMZV30pKWB1qdVNY7z_b1G6-lUA/s320/rhp+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442386675947905154" border="0" /></a><br />We believe this is a plantain tree? The fruit grew just above my reach, so this was not very tall (though it looks like the fruit pulls the top of the tree down)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcC21ljZi7sj8Jf5dncPWuwsC8MWPQjaOelyMTAMiJI1dZCu_F7h_QrWDpEzHzQgc8nx70y3QT9vWwwopUT3wCiP9YCkr4mKHff5FK9oVYOgaa8xYy6uFEKAKDOPvfpeGJT4Ss1O3zSI/s1600-h/rhp+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcC21ljZi7sj8Jf5dncPWuwsC8MWPQjaOelyMTAMiJI1dZCu_F7h_QrWDpEzHzQgc8nx70y3QT9vWwwopUT3wCiP9YCkr4mKHff5FK9oVYOgaa8xYy6uFEKAKDOPvfpeGJT4Ss1O3zSI/s320/rhp+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442386558584588258" border="0" /></a><br />D among some bamboo. I love that he's wearing a bamboo printed shirt for this :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1gjeL6HXIv0ZHK19H9luLzgyYRklB5GNeV64MfxlWzk2ewoppilWwEHRZUEZofKPilK0j5lohFRs_69C7-ixjJHVcZitwAHniX1l6ODXzPixHjLaRXe_FDrmwQivWJT42vusY9r47fI/s1600-h/rhp+05.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK1gjeL6HXIv0ZHK19H9luLzgyYRklB5GNeV64MfxlWzk2ewoppilWwEHRZUEZofKPilK0j5lohFRs_69C7-ixjJHVcZitwAHniX1l6ODXzPixHjLaRXe_FDrmwQivWJT42vusY9r47fI/s320/rhp+05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442386428579568130" border="0" /></a><br />No matter how much sunblock I put on my face, I still tend to get a Rudolf nose, hence the hat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuvaxCney9UB0DSx9kDlWuh_U1VZRwzcvlcMMzdX7f74zapuh8JFI3sy3IlVfWsRURw1TPsbwC6RnST_yaBKQ2-UhsX7FrqUOMWi6lUKK53Xwm2z4FG6dAxCjeDHKhV5l3bjxEiwsTr4/s1600-h/rhp+06.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuvaxCney9UB0DSx9kDlWuh_U1VZRwzcvlcMMzdX7f74zapuh8JFI3sy3IlVfWsRURw1TPsbwC6RnST_yaBKQ2-UhsX7FrqUOMWi6lUKK53Xwm2z4FG6dAxCjeDHKhV5l3bjxEiwsTr4/s320/rhp+06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442386323770445570" border="0" /></a><br />One of the resident peacocks. They were fairly tame, but didn't much care for me following them around to get pictures of their full tails.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_K34D1GBc2khxYf1rfYZXYMCZTuVfoqYupwrwjfbb9XYC-4q1TRPnNDkO7V5c7DKt4Qb6tQYTtht7umeSCTSo4asibEXzefdnVK_Hs4IuCHIISkJwlwoTJBpOHtNmTlt9eMRSMdoHl0A/s1600-h/rhp+07.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_K34D1GBc2khxYf1rfYZXYMCZTuVfoqYupwrwjfbb9XYC-4q1TRPnNDkO7V5c7DKt4Qb6tQYTtht7umeSCTSo4asibEXzefdnVK_Hs4IuCHIISkJwlwoTJBpOHtNmTlt9eMRSMdoHl0A/s320/rhp+07.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442386199347935938" border="0" /></a><br />They didn't mind sitting still for closeups though.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGkuSgi_iQ99Se63y1pYeMgfkP8vfNUuSM0Kwj3eCLq_aLIUBeu_hSOAaBDwlxBinDtHqlySzn0vMu7ec34QiITJqplvxjUuNPuDy8hOZbrvfBCgJ8_wgldk84G1mBIUNu-T57nMzL5k/s1600-h/rhp+08.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGkuSgi_iQ99Se63y1pYeMgfkP8vfNUuSM0Kwj3eCLq_aLIUBeu_hSOAaBDwlxBinDtHqlySzn0vMu7ec34QiITJqplvxjUuNPuDy8hOZbrvfBCgJ8_wgldk84G1mBIUNu-T57nMzL5k/s320/rhp+08.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442386078786747426" border="0" /></a><br />Another example of lush vegetation on the property.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMudEdFyLC_Vc06Dt-vher1RAsNH5r5pXaXZL0210SAH_8YZfrOkA49nHz_Dq7PyWGD_cxsqz8CuSJnKd8J0X5E77PaYQgfl3cirgDsASXxjx3AFJTkQ7tK2RZ0y4kfrCd3Kusq0REHfs/s1600-h/rhp+09.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMudEdFyLC_Vc06Dt-vher1RAsNH5r5pXaXZL0210SAH_8YZfrOkA49nHz_Dq7PyWGD_cxsqz8CuSJnKd8J0X5E77PaYQgfl3cirgDsASXxjx3AFJTkQ7tK2RZ0y4kfrCd3Kusq0REHfs/s320/rhp+09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442385947517912610" border="0" /></a><br />This little guy has a bright yellow throat, that he was only inclined to show off when my camera was not ready.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdemmG8z8H7bukIucOehqiDeAmy87RTUKJM3N2CgXqXjGcGRDffjUVXEEE_F-Wo8XTN9SP5JJ4W0Uxng4v8dBRRtQixs5j37QLsTfE6V8em0t0mitGIcNwpk9atqB4FI68kwFsHbehrlw/s1600-h/rhp+10.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdemmG8z8H7bukIucOehqiDeAmy87RTUKJM3N2CgXqXjGcGRDffjUVXEEE_F-Wo8XTN9SP5JJ4W0Uxng4v8dBRRtQixs5j37QLsTfE6V8em0t0mitGIcNwpk9atqB4FI68kwFsHbehrlw/s320/rhp+10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442385823466804770" border="0" /></a><br />There were lizards everywhere. I call this one "Lizard Yin & Yang"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13HsoLpIwWV_TrMWkxdgJcAgZNtu6BFvREwFNyQ5yXvz7Stga9PvWwzDm0qK49ksfsgLGBlBFfU9obtHNvfKGTpveK9UqqYtT_No80-sqbzbUITOw9ozppxJaqubDkkvu6rrbQZEXl3s/s1600-h/rhp+11.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13HsoLpIwWV_TrMWkxdgJcAgZNtu6BFvREwFNyQ5yXvz7Stga9PvWwzDm0qK49ksfsgLGBlBFfU9obtHNvfKGTpveK9UqqYtT_No80-sqbzbUITOw9ozppxJaqubDkkvu6rrbQZEXl3s/s320/rhp+11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442385719435192642" border="0" /></a><br />We found a soursap tree on the property.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cCVE7J_mMA5r5OzOMJT97RGbQU2DHsulPmxGLHBhNAVpPxAg7v01MrZZKmWwRFSSniICXhlB2GtB8kkHaz-TXfH6QuZMZ1kkyLPa7kDTQLjRmWUBKVGUDRw1W34fiFoae-qFJGFr4nc/s1600-h/rhp+12.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cCVE7J_mMA5r5OzOMJT97RGbQU2DHsulPmxGLHBhNAVpPxAg7v01MrZZKmWwRFSSniICXhlB2GtB8kkHaz-TXfH6QuZMZ1kkyLPa7kDTQLjRmWUBKVGUDRw1W34fiFoae-qFJGFr4nc/s320/rhp+12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442385481341674402" border="0" /></a><br />G and I amongst the lush greenery.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoadtVqS2K-_BuJyF1zgMxvwDrgf4VwgSrDfPbbMCZHaFp3aJFt3iLbPrwJjYkvxDcVoDbQLyCYK4QSwZkDuE1fm12n_YVgXRGMY2u0moOAu65S4bzcZDxLSC-B7PO6Y2IojBVAMXgloQ/s1600-h/rhp+13.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoadtVqS2K-_BuJyF1zgMxvwDrgf4VwgSrDfPbbMCZHaFp3aJFt3iLbPrwJjYkvxDcVoDbQLyCYK4QSwZkDuE1fm12n_YVgXRGMY2u0moOAu65S4bzcZDxLSC-B7PO6Y2IojBVAMXgloQ/s320/rhp+13.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442385352219688290" border="0" /></a><br />WICKED cool spider - he was a good 3 inches in length (body only, not counting legs) and his web was fishing-line strong.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepdgaYEW1oFX67mpZPSzAb48_5iCt9_ynIYR3Fe1vCIXiNyqiuHo3HF84nW_UifcVUxYryxFnhnYROJXDK950iICDRglIIMmPY0Zks9VvZ_Vvi-uHwhSmBmFR-8EZjXhiF89qjpqaY80/s1600-h/rhp+14.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepdgaYEW1oFX67mpZPSzAb48_5iCt9_ynIYR3Fe1vCIXiNyqiuHo3HF84nW_UifcVUxYryxFnhnYROJXDK950iICDRglIIMmPY0Zks9VvZ_Vvi-uHwhSmBmFR-8EZjXhiF89qjpqaY80/s320/rhp+14.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442384938972250834" border="0" /></a><br />D and G under some gigantic leaves.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48xVPN6Qm4C5CSUD0YEtQ2xOxToMshMik-DsmX-NE8kJ0VRNPxpPU6zYTpgQjg8kb3DFRgRR6O-qoZWIs4FhAFLJrOa0ChCaLZPrp4_I3nY9YYdvLqsE3zQuPsVNE0cnHzS_f3phemxw/s1600-h/rhp+15.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48xVPN6Qm4C5CSUD0YEtQ2xOxToMshMik-DsmX-NE8kJ0VRNPxpPU6zYTpgQjg8kb3DFRgRR6O-qoZWIs4FhAFLJrOa0ChCaLZPrp4_I3nY9YYdvLqsE3zQuPsVNE0cnHzS_f3phemxw/s320/rhp+15.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442384812248168242" border="0" /></a><br />Cool cool palm tree stretching up to meet the sky.<br /><br />Once we'd had our fill of the afternoon's photographic journey, we arranged a ride back to town with Tyrone. Once back at the hotel in the heat of the late afternoon, we all quickly changed into our swimming gear and hit the water for some swimming and cooling down. D and G bounced around in the waves, playing and practicing jumping, while I swam lengths up and down the beach. Waterlogged and decently cooled down, we returned to the hotel to clean up for dinner.<br /><br />Tonight we wandered down the beach to just see what we ended up walking into. A little ways up the beach - further than we've walked before - we came across a place called Tree House Hotel, with a bar/restaurant right on the water. We ordered, began sipping our drinks, and played with the camera a bit while waiting for our dinners.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhJIxrEzcQLNT4R24_2ny8RYdfAH1WmCGoh7yI_pf26XOJ94k69nIgmCNtx8ZMY267p0ULed3pAtCttv8nkYgwnmPvRLhIsdUrmlL4v3iTMuBdFX0EYxQpwiaaRH13WZ0aLg9SO6RAXw/s1600-h/dinner+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhJIxrEzcQLNT4R24_2ny8RYdfAH1WmCGoh7yI_pf26XOJ94k69nIgmCNtx8ZMY267p0ULed3pAtCttv8nkYgwnmPvRLhIsdUrmlL4v3iTMuBdFX0EYxQpwiaaRH13WZ0aLg9SO6RAXw/s320/dinner+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442384694345040242" border="0" /></a><br />Long exposure (the blur int he background is G)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHV8q62t6eakLl0rVWpq7FOUg95UKY-i0t3IOBtoygmDr7UyU-itZaigz_T1tbsr_f19VNcYfxHwTY46elq1egOTVIc-CSvR6Oh76BID76HL2TsidUo01d7WIiDFZOp-g1IlebGU61RY/s1600-h/dinner+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcHV8q62t6eakLl0rVWpq7FOUg95UKY-i0t3IOBtoygmDr7UyU-itZaigz_T1tbsr_f19VNcYfxHwTY46elq1egOTVIc-CSvR6Oh76BID76HL2TsidUo01d7WIiDFZOp-g1IlebGU61RY/s320/dinner+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442384601309881682" border="0" /></a><br />This is a setting called "color swap" - that's my rum and pineapple juice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7VjXY9Rnn-Ikhx2PW1kXtFtDvXPr2Bu_fpWhUtW6Td3No-xseiBBjd8ozEOYGDVILRhV91kjNjph-U8kGy-JjiyZPwt78gUB74OWMzdor5q2YWe3t9usEiDOj2iruCXHtLViZfSuAkY/s1600-h/dinner+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7VjXY9Rnn-Ikhx2PW1kXtFtDvXPr2Bu_fpWhUtW6Td3No-xseiBBjd8ozEOYGDVILRhV91kjNjph-U8kGy-JjiyZPwt78gUB74OWMzdor5q2YWe3t9usEiDOj2iruCXHtLViZfSuAkY/s320/dinner+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442384500256299170" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZrZstqA1w8aRNoWB_goUZkKUdzl1p6ZB3wqeQkJwMtChmEUKFBtsj7Bmpd-K5EOKz8MoabiEv9F_fT37dB2KEo4MFWqKIHOmC3hFugrY6aUNfG49bk__sX3WyrOpqtAuoBYPUx0wTb8/s1600-h/dinner+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZrZstqA1w8aRNoWB_goUZkKUdzl1p6ZB3wqeQkJwMtChmEUKFBtsj7Bmpd-K5EOKz8MoabiEv9F_fT37dB2KEo4MFWqKIHOmC3hFugrY6aUNfG49bk__sX3WyrOpqtAuoBYPUx0wTb8/s320/dinner+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442384380502175938" border="0" /></a><br />My dinner was garlic shrimp, served with the usual rice and peas and some combination of vegetables that looked more like a little side salad to me. D's dinner came with a green beans/carrots combination and I ate probably half of his veggies along with my dinner. On our way back to the room we remarked how cool it had gotten. It's usually decently cooler when the sun goes down, but even so... when we'd walked down the street the night before after sundown we were still sweating by the time we'd reached our destination... but tonight we were quite refreshed by the steady breeze. I thought perhaps it was because we were literally on the water. I hadn't made the connection to my growing sinus headache that perhaps the weather was turning.<br /><br />As we arrived at our room we cleaned up for bed (this involves G and I washing our legs. We are prone to being bitten by sand fleas at night, so any time we walk on the sand at night we put bug spray on our legs first, and wash it off as soon as we return to the room) I took a couple motrin for my headache, and tucked in for the night.<br /><br />The headache, it turns out, was from the drastic change in barometric pressure outside.<br /><br />Sometime in the middle of the night I was woken by the distant sound of a freight train - it was a low rumble at first... and just as I gained some sense of where I was I heard a massive CRASH! I sat straight up in bed and listened... the sky outside the room lit up with sputtery flashes, then another massive rumble-rumble-rumble-CRASH! Next came the plink-plink-plink... plinkplinkplinkplinkplink-WHOOOOOOOSH... absolute tropical downpour, with lightening crashes and thunderclaps and massive wind swooping in out of nowhere.<br /><br />Well, not out of nowhere... I learned later this came down from Florida. <br /><br />I scrambled out to the porch to pull in our semi-dry bathing suits - though the porch is entirely covered, everything had gotten soaked in the 2 minutes of rain that had already fallen. I also tried to get some video of the storm on the waterproof camera, but it didn't come out as much other than a black screen and a lot of wind sound - with one good thunder rumble in the middle. I'll try to isolate a frame of lightening when I get back to my computer at home. I did stand in the doorway enjoying the tropical storm for a while, until I began to feel chilled, then I hurried myself back to dry off and crawl under the covers. I listened as the thunder meandered it's way away from us, and the rain slowed from downpour to heavy rain, and then the cricket sounds began. One lonely insect singing, then a distant one responding, and as the rain let up more critters began to sing I drifted back off to sleep.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-8631133830048776812010-02-24T18:12:00.000-08:002010-02-24T18:27:52.595-08:00MOVIE TIME!I finally figured out that if I turned off the sleep mode I could let the laptop run it's 3 hour upload while we were out to eat. It's Movie Time! Settle in with some popcorn and a beverage of choice for roughly 15 minutes of home movie fun time!<br /><br />This is D and I taking turns jumping from the lower platform - these were my warm-up jumps, to get me used to landing in the ocean with no life vest.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ztiIvYe4YT8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ztiIvYe4YT8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br />Here is D jumping off the high platform, as seen from our balcony.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lHzh-ovoASo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lHzh-ovoASo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Here is the longest video - the walk from the lower platform area up to the high platform, across the bridge, up to our room. This will give you an idea of what we look at when we're standing on the high platform (he actually looks over the edge for ya!) and what it's like to cross that damned bridge. I walked across the bridge a couple times, but mostly avoided it.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sv_yx0Kfdoc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sv_yx0Kfdoc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Here are G and I snorkeling on the beach. Keep in mind when you watch this that three weeks ago G was in tears at the thought of going to the pool at the gym. Now she cries when we tell her it's time to get out of the water.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KfDpfYnoXMk&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KfDpfYnoXMk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-67770230388636914362010-02-24T05:24:00.001-08:002010-02-24T06:18:53.584-08:00Tuesday Feb 23 - Much LazinessA day on the beach while staying at Idle Awhile, for us anyway, begins with a coating of sunblock, followed by meandering down to Chill Awhile, the property restaurant. On our first morning here, D had already talked to the groundskeeper Eric about the chairs and tables we'd like to have set up on the beach for us, so every morning as he rakes the sand, he settles three chairs and a couple of side tables in for us. On the first day he noticed I kept scooting into the shade (I am no sun worshipper) so this morning he set our chairs up directly under the trees to give us the most shade all day.<br /><br />We had breakfast - coffee, porridge, orange juice and toast for myself and D, cinnamon pancakes for G - and settled in for a day of being absolutely lazy.<br /><br />Porridge is a common breakfast offering here... at this particular restaurant you can get corn, oat, or cinnamon. Although I mostly opt for this for breakfast because of my allergies, it actually stands on it's own as a good breakfast food - D enjoys it as well. It's similar to malt-o-meal or cream-of-wheat back home, but very sweet.<br /><br />After letting our food digest, it's time for a bit of swimming in the water and feeding the fish. (Although there was no fish-feeding today... the water was churned up a bit much so we cut our water time a little shorter than normal) Once we are feeling we've swam enough, we clean the salt water out of our hair and find lunch.<br /><br />Lunch for us was a quick walk across the street to Best of the West for jerk chicken. There you order the amount you want, and a drink, and within a few minutes you are presented with a foil package of bbq chicken accompanied by a couple slices of bread, and a bit of jerk sauce on the side. Best of the West is a relatively mild jerk sauce, but has lots of flavor and I love it for a quick lunch on a lazy day.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqv2Pyp1HtI3EBJGcXaZv04LFO5HxBteGprGxT3U-cIlTJjbWQkKyy9Qaj80tos7uXPeN2WoIkpcbdgMoOuCKwwi_0hJEyV8wQ6NpWX9YDQF7CBCc4as6brNG7hqvMY6otC3GNjvHsuE/s1600-h/feb23+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcqv2Pyp1HtI3EBJGcXaZv04LFO5HxBteGprGxT3U-cIlTJjbWQkKyy9Qaj80tos7uXPeN2WoIkpcbdgMoOuCKwwi_0hJEyV8wQ6NpWX9YDQF7CBCc4as6brNG7hqvMY6otC3GNjvHsuE/s320/feb23+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441812611768028450" border="0" /></a><br />D and G outside of Best in the West - those oversized cans are where the chicken is cooked.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRGe68O37SMwAAIzYDhH85Q4xKIDhHeR8fxznxIc2Rii2d30pBqG4_zxCWRbQITdbSCMzdKxTmB6hCQ-NwDQUBmFA5JMzznqz_Jsnz11uT_sJBGlVWUUYWsu4NS_h9gGhCy3zM-WkiPiU/s1600-h/feb23+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRGe68O37SMwAAIzYDhH85Q4xKIDhHeR8fxznxIc2Rii2d30pBqG4_zxCWRbQITdbSCMzdKxTmB6hCQ-NwDQUBmFA5JMzznqz_Jsnz11uT_sJBGlVWUUYWsu4NS_h9gGhCy3zM-WkiPiU/s320/feb23+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441812491782836802" border="0" /></a><br />Most stands serve jerk chicken this way - chopped up in a foil pouch with bread, you can see the foil pouch of jerk sauce to the side.<br /><br />After lunch we wandered back to the beach, where D and G got in a lot more swimming (D's now trying to teach G how to do more of a dive in the ocean) and I had some book time in the shade. The sky stayed decently overcast, with bursts of sunshine, so the temperature seemed to be in the low 80's for most of the day.<br /><br />One thing you'll hear about the beach is that there are vendors, all day long, walking the beach, trying to sell you stuff. You can get cigarettes, juice, patties, fruit, bracelets, bandanas, wood carvings, trips on a glass bottom boat, parasailing trips, horseback riding... Some people don't like the feeling of being "hassled", and normally I'd be among them, but it has yet to bother me here. Most of the vendors will simply walk by with what they are offering, and their voices drown into the background like the peanut and soda guys at a ball park. Some people are more aggresive in their approach, but they all back down if you very firmly and politely say "No." The worst I've had so far is one guy ask us if we want to go out to the reef to see the fish, and I said no, and he said "Why not? There are more fish, I will show you" and I said "No, we prefer to be on the beach, thanks," and he left. I think part of why they move on more this year has to do with being here during high season, there are a lot more tourists than our last trip, and plenty more people to try to sell things to.<br /><br />There was a man selling fruit and D asked for a soursap. He didn't have any, but he said he could get it for us. A few hours later one appeared at the base of our chairs - he had come back while we were away... so he left it there for us and when he came back D negotiated the price with him, as well as picking us up some pineapple and coconut to snack on.<br /><br />Once G was finally waterlogged, she came in to play in the sand for a bit and we were starting to feel like having a snack. The vendor selling patties was coming by, but had already run out, so we hiked up the beach a short way to another patty place we'd heard of, Niah's Patties.<br /><br />Niah's (pronounced as it is spelled - Nye-ya) is a little stand in the market area just about a 5 minute walk from our hotel. They make the patties fresh, right in front of you in an old cast iron pan over a wood fire, and have an incredible selection even though they are vegetarian (they have chicken and lobster, but no red meat). We were feeling like a sweet treat so we decided to get a couple of banana patties.<br />They use a wheat dough, fill it with bananas and cinnamon, fold it over and drop it in the oil to cook. The taste of a sweet patty like this is close to an elephant ear, but with yummy sweet bananas folded inside. Back to our beach chairs, we settled in to munch on our snacks while G played a bit more in the sand, and D wandered over to the bar to find himself a game of dominoes. As G finished her sand volcanoe, we decided to head in and clean up for dinner, leaving D at the bar with Tyrone and Kingsley.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1XZFCQyWzZ3eaRcolmVtDTYxbxKy5JBbVMCRSWyCFstKtPFWwck525IYusnrMSRqOGGMZsPl7ANvnDjvRgp558P_-Ah8SZKqyEkskLpwZiR0uy6E56aMPliENrYStZ8lWqjtz80lQPkw/s1600-h/feb23+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1XZFCQyWzZ3eaRcolmVtDTYxbxKy5JBbVMCRSWyCFstKtPFWwck525IYusnrMSRqOGGMZsPl7ANvnDjvRgp558P_-Ah8SZKqyEkskLpwZiR0uy6E56aMPliENrYStZ8lWqjtz80lQPkw/s320/feb23+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441812379881068530" border="0" /></a><br />Serious game of dominoes, as seen from our balcony looking down on the bar.<br /><br />D came up after a bit and we broke open a soursap. HERE is what it looks like!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGu_SSoDk5HKPhuyKtHUrSGeePgYvyyUcrjLjl-_JXKc3J8XO6eM-6H89PCBEgPfeM5oFli7k7rcDDBbOHD5vcW-_eZFA_aoUFYSrCyMCVByJ-PUAnNiFcG1XEYthhTqwFyvrktVnggU/s1600-h/feb23+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGu_SSoDk5HKPhuyKtHUrSGeePgYvyyUcrjLjl-_JXKc3J8XO6eM-6H89PCBEgPfeM5oFli7k7rcDDBbOHD5vcW-_eZFA_aoUFYSrCyMCVByJ-PUAnNiFcG1XEYthhTqwFyvrktVnggU/s320/feb23+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441812259849477042" border="0" /></a><br />The exterior - kind of like an avocado, but prickly. The little spikes don't hurt, they pop right off if you touch them, but it makes the fruit look sort of lethal or heavily armored.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSHOyOAcVDp_rit_rbONSAPl-ZJM1ZhYoeKg9SXVL2TRjJ_tSleM7bAgYSGcal4SLmt_6BmATtn7G3_GCW8zWrJMBq15hiNF04r3vOO_OtE9g8rAIPI4YfuRFOiXFTnxV5wSpQnQzInQ/s1600-h/feb23+05.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSHOyOAcVDp_rit_rbONSAPl-ZJM1ZhYoeKg9SXVL2TRjJ_tSleM7bAgYSGcal4SLmt_6BmATtn7G3_GCW8zWrJMBq15hiNF04r3vOO_OtE9g8rAIPI4YfuRFOiXFTnxV5wSpQnQzInQ/s320/feb23+05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441812134888851298" border="0" /></a><br />Here we've split one open. Though it looks like a hard shell, the skin is actually very soft and you just squeeze it to pull it open.<br /><br />As we ate we talked about how to describe this fruit beyond the photos. The flesh is similar in look at texture to that of halibut. There is a heart down the center, which is like banana mixed with palm heart in texture and flavor. The flavor of the fruit itself is like a mild pear, mango, pineapple combination. I don't know if they are imported to the US, but there might be soursap juice available in the states... I'll have to look into that.<br /><br />It had grown dark and I needed to eat, and sleep, so we headed down the street discussing dinner options. We love the island flavors, but I was feeling overly tired and just needed to eat something unrisky for a night, so we found ourselves at a pizza place - ironically directly across the street from the bad Italian place we'd been to a couple nights back. This pizza place was hopping busy, and it had just begun to sprinkle rain, and they delivered... so we ordered a couple pies for delivery and took a quick cab back to the room. About 45 minutes later dinner arrived - super thin crust pizza with a great blend of Italian herbs. Total redemption from the place across the street.<br /><br />I am working on uploading videos - unfortunately the upload time is super long, and the long video we have showing the view from the high platform just doesn't want to make it up (it's telling me 3 hours, and keeps locking up and quitting before it makes it to the end) thus... the long video may wait until we get home... but I'm getting some shorter ones up as I can & will link to them when they're up.<br /><br />For now... it's beach time.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-62938788663927379592010-02-23T14:28:00.000-08:002010-02-23T14:54:44.220-08:00Feb 21 the Transfer and Feb 22 - a day on the beachToday was a day of disruption, having to check out of one hotel early, but having to wait to check into the new one. It was a nice steady pace though, and as we were in no hurry with no major agenda, we took it easy. I woke early and grabbed one of the first cups of coffee, and sat on the balcony to work on my blog entry. D wanted to do one last jump off the cliffs before leaving, so he set up the Canon camera on video mode, walked around to the cliff, and got a video this time - I'll figure a way to upload the videos soon!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxQA30WcpTuVx8y6klyxIYRqHlndJC2uS0SI_YG2e5sd4-bKZ9a0TbbuQC4O7phXif5hWRWuMmhXQAvJ5ZYHr9Yp9gnyLHTQydvWMuOr-nffGP1dhiOHUJOaLzFdCCy0LHzOXUvv8Ah0/s1600-h/feb21+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxQA30WcpTuVx8y6klyxIYRqHlndJC2uS0SI_YG2e5sd4-bKZ9a0TbbuQC4O7phXif5hWRWuMmhXQAvJ5ZYHr9Yp9gnyLHTQydvWMuOr-nffGP1dhiOHUJOaLzFdCCy0LHzOXUvv8Ah0/s320/feb21+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441570875135869634" border="0" /></a><br />D, G and Tensing at breakfast.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6w2UoTnS8CwwITOUhK5Gcctv-aD9_4R_TBSSm8GbQOogmtdpY1KlSdOF1cNYCdU3Pw5SZEeRb1B-jnKQAhJdWukbd61NHmV4VNrhs8cnP1-9__r1NEGZ55WODglS1WAXOf42FfL0ZRIU/s1600-h/feb21+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6w2UoTnS8CwwITOUhK5Gcctv-aD9_4R_TBSSm8GbQOogmtdpY1KlSdOF1cNYCdU3Pw5SZEeRb1B-jnKQAhJdWukbd61NHmV4VNrhs8cnP1-9__r1NEGZ55WODglS1WAXOf42FfL0ZRIU/s320/feb21+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441570736843189970" border="0" /></a><br />One of the garden paths - this leads around the inside of the cove to our room - without having to take the bridge!<br /><br />In the mean time, I was sitting on a garden path, sipping coffee and waiting. I'd seen a humming bird on one of the paths, it is the doctor bird, the national bird of Jamaica. On our last trip I managed to catch one on film that had landed on a branch, but I thought getting one in flight would be fantastic. Unfortunately, the little guy did not return to the lower flowers while I was there. I tried to stay somewhat hidden, and I could hear them calling above my head, and I could see them zip around the higher flowers... but they simply did not want to come back to my path. Still, it was a quiet morning, I talked to a few people that passed by.<br />One of the men who works there (I believe his name was Cedric, but I'm so bad with names I could be wrong) quietly approached and asked if he could ask me a few questions. He was curious why I was walking around with a camera so much. More than a few guests asked me the same thing - so I suppose I stood out... though to me the question is silly. How could you come to such a beautiful paradise and NOT be taking pictures almost constantly? But then again... I'm one who will lay in the mud in my own yard to shoot unusual looking fungi, so my perspective is probably not "the norm". I talked with him for a while about what I've been shooting, G joined us and chatted with him for a bit - he was pretty amused by her chatterboxness.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_YCgSjA4KO9GCk8uv0Mtd-3cblK-GWmYN0e99injSr7CD4bcxj-6sNsHm3Benf9U7PupnyVQrqezEEccTzBZ9y-1Q40coJGeES2gppdY-MWjxRzKDwa8QwTcTU0xWAUAh1sSI5yJaFk/s1600-h/feb21+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_YCgSjA4KO9GCk8uv0Mtd-3cblK-GWmYN0e99injSr7CD4bcxj-6sNsHm3Benf9U7PupnyVQrqezEEccTzBZ9y-1Q40coJGeES2gppdY-MWjxRzKDwa8QwTcTU0xWAUAh1sSI5yJaFk/s320/feb21+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441570594709051746" border="0" /></a><br />Gayle and Cedric, at the base of our staircase.<br /><br />And you know, on the online travel forums a lot of people were saying that kids shouldn't be staying at the hotels on the cliffs. I'll say that it's not as entertaining for kids as the beach is (and that's partially why we only stay for a couple days, and the rest of the time on the beach) but at least at this hotel most of the pathways are in the gardens on solid ground, and she's only in the ocean with us, with a floaty on. We were apprehensive as to how the guests would deal with seeing a kid at the resort, but everyone who talked to G really seemed to like her a lot. She did a great job of keeping her volume down so as not to disturb anyone, and the other guests delighted in watching her pet the dogs, and told her tricks to getting them to follow her, and talked to her about the flowers and the lizards. I think if you have kids that like to run wild and scream a lot, the cliffs isn't the right place for them - but as much as G likes to play, she also enjoys calm time, and she really does travel well and is polite. We heard no complaints while staying there, and the staff all seemed to enjoy her being there (and even played dominoes with her)<br /><br />After D's leap and shower we met up in the restaurant for the continental breakfast, then back to the room for packing up. I wandered the grounds with G for a bit, shooting with my Holga, waiting for Tyrone to pick us up.<br /><br />The drive from the west end is pretty short, and as we started off D mentioned that we'd like to find some soursap (both to eat, and I really need to get a picture of this stuff!) Tyrone said he'd bring us to some markets - which it turns out are people sitting on the side of the main road with stands of fruit here and there. He'd slow down and ask for soursop, none at this stand, and we'd move on. He pulled off down a bit of an alley and asked one lady. I coudn't understand much of the patoi between them, but Tyrone negotiated the price for us, and for roughly 4 US dollars we got a couple of "good eating size" fruits.<br /><br />Pulling into Idle Awhile was like a relaxing breath of fresh air. I recognize the tiny turn around, the breadfruit tree, and the front office like I was just here yesterday, not 10 months ago. Check in isn't until roughly 3-4 here (Island Time) so Tyrone piled our bags in the lobby and we headed out to the bar.<br /><br />Needle, one of the bartenders, recognized us immediately, and started giving D a hard time about playing dominoes.<br /><br />"I've been trainin all year mon! I'm ready for ya dis time!"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5k14Md4x5G42Wlw3XH0XOvSoWvmrLhuq2xRe58NzKoL_GJkHotZdQ4CCnoRxc7EgD-6dK4RYS46gEcI6WnFHcG-GmWiJPieEJfLS04FkyLUS2STykJtvJaCYCp2hE3jvp9jaK0S_BDQ/s1600-h/feb21+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5k14Md4x5G42Wlw3XH0XOvSoWvmrLhuq2xRe58NzKoL_GJkHotZdQ4CCnoRxc7EgD-6dK4RYS46gEcI6WnFHcG-GmWiJPieEJfLS04FkyLUS2STykJtvJaCYCp2hE3jvp9jaK0S_BDQ/s320/feb21+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441570464504312690" border="0" /></a><br />Needle and I behind the bar... he was trying to crouch down because I'm so short.<br /><br />We received our welcome drinks - a strong rum punch for me, and coconut rum/pineapple juice for D, and settled in just as the lunch rush started.<br /><br />I was feeling a bit warm, and tired, and in need of a shower... so we opted to just stay here for lunch and get snacky food off the menu. I ended up with a pineapple pizza, which was decent enough to fill me up. After lunch and a bit more sitting back at the table, we went to check to see if the room was ready yet. They were just finishing up the cleaning, so we brought our bags in and sunblocked up to hit the water.<br /><br />We decided to just head out without getting any chairs set up - just for a quick swim and then back to the room. After a little bit of practice, G managed to lift her feet off the ground and swim confidently in the water with just her snorkel and mask, and we puttered around in the water a bit. Then we started spotting fish. The fish here off the beach are hard to see - mostly little silver guys that blend in with the light reflections - but I'd spot one or two wandering around... then we turned to our right and saw - in maybe 3 feet of water tops - a superhighway of silver fish streaming by. G squealed and I thought she was freaking out, but it was just a big excited "OHMYGODLOOK!LOOK!LOOK!" squeal. She giggled and threw her arms in the air like Hiro, jumping up and down and saying "did you see? I saw the fish! LOOK AT THE FISH!" We also saw a couple of larger fish - a good foot long - zip past us and she's scream a little, then giggle and point again.<br /><br />They're in 2 feet of water! Right off the beach!<br /><br />After a bit more swimming and fish chasing, we hauled it into the room to clean up and go to dinner.<br /><br />Dinner was meh. We ended up taking a taxi down the road to an Italian restaurant. I ordered marlin, but it was more like marlin jerky (and I can appreciate fish being slightly more done here and there, but seriously... the edges were crunchy, so I ate the parts that weren't overdone) G had some kind of chicken with an orange sauce which turned out to be the better of the meals, D had a lobster linguini which he said "tastes a bit like what manure smells like" and he decided it was the type of herbs they'd sprinkled on top. Eh... meals aren't all going to be fabulous, so we brushed it off and figure we'll find redemption tomorrow. But my stomach wasn't feeling 100%% as we left, so we started walking back to the hotel and found a little market still open. We popped inside for a few bottles of soda water for me, and a couple of tings for G, and continued our walk to the hotel.<br /><br />I remember feeling intimidated the first time we were here, not wanting to walk down the street much because we clearly stand out as tourists... but this time around we felt at ease walking down the road, even at night. There were a few spots open, with some people hanging out, and along the road there'd be a random grill or two going with guys selling jerk chicken. Nobody hassled us though, and when we looked lost they were quick to jump up and ask us what we were looking for. The walk back wasn't too long at all, maybe 20 or 30 minutes, and the movement and fresh air helped my stomach feel much better. By the time we got back to the room we just flopped into bed.<br /><br />Monday February 22<br />The morning dawned clear and bright. I'd forgotton that on the beach we would be lulled to sleep by the distant sound of music, overpowered by the loud cricket-type insects they have on the property. I've been told the insects are about the size of my thumb, but they make a sound a thousand times louder than you could expect from such a small critter.<br /><br />Most of today was spent on the beach. We began our day with breakfast at Chill Awhile - oat porridge for me, a sampling from the buffet for D, and banana pancakes for G. After that we lathered up our sunblock, D had some beach chairs set up for us, and we went about our morning ritual of feeding the little silver fish just off shore.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS02NuP4iUk2gd-qz2JXCMO3ZRkt8rchV9HTMLH365mMAYDnp26Fel7H02-up30dDAOn3g6OClC-aLH5ivO6xrmb5AHk7wVFNLM9ebKO95FxfvrK1UNvRA84-ECCSughyphenhyphenvCZ7eoKcJO9g/s1600-h/feb21+05.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS02NuP4iUk2gd-qz2JXCMO3ZRkt8rchV9HTMLH365mMAYDnp26Fel7H02-up30dDAOn3g6OClC-aLH5ivO6xrmb5AHk7wVFNLM9ebKO95FxfvrK1UNvRA84-ECCSughyphenhyphenvCZ7eoKcJO9g/s320/feb21+05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441570351320253314" border="0" /></a><br />G and I snorkeling in about 3 feet of water - no floaties!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPmWKk9B25n4l3napLgooXjwhr7uNfKZeaDCh0ewVXpskcRTbG9XIxakUDwxkEwXmkR1pThBdFVPlM5DL4AQSADocyQY3gu3D6-W9qYYyxiZioR9Z6EuC7jx75CIzb_WvqRyON-6l8to/s1600-h/feb21+06.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPmWKk9B25n4l3napLgooXjwhr7uNfKZeaDCh0ewVXpskcRTbG9XIxakUDwxkEwXmkR1pThBdFVPlM5DL4AQSADocyQY3gu3D6-W9qYYyxiZioR9Z6EuC7jx75CIzb_WvqRyON-6l8to/s320/feb21+06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441570223805785730" border="0" /></a><br />G looks like a little frog when she takes off, kicking her legs wildly, but she is absolutely loving the water... we can hardly keep her out of it!<br /><br />For lunch we walked down to Sonia's for patties - this is a place D had heard a lot about online. Patties look basically like hot pockets. There is the fast food version, which is either Juici Patties or Tastey Beef (similar to McD's vs. BK in the states for burgers) but last year we didn't try any hand made patties from the stands. This year D has a laundry list of places to visit for their "famous patties". Sonias was the first place we saw on the road, so that's the first place we tried.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8MofLo-8faYtzq_jNfM-GMF1faiD1vTD0yM6dYLFMnoiVtsdqEr5OEMTvyXt_QnMrNe3090NtayI-HlBZI0DgW7N5oFpEQKGupsmxf3bSarSabLJNjMx1zA29KRcdYbcNtKfVp-Pwko/s1600-h/feb21+ackee.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8MofLo-8faYtzq_jNfM-GMF1faiD1vTD0yM6dYLFMnoiVtsdqEr5OEMTvyXt_QnMrNe3090NtayI-HlBZI0DgW7N5oFpEQKGupsmxf3bSarSabLJNjMx1zA29KRcdYbcNtKfVp-Pwko/s320/feb21+ackee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441570074060559858" border="0" /></a><br />This is ackee - the national fruit of Jamaica. Yes, it's a fruit.<br />The thing with ackee is that you can't eat it until it ripens on the tree. It grows in this triangular pod like shape and is not ripe until it opens by itself on the tree, revealing the yellow fruit surrounding black olive-looking seeds. Although it's a fruit, it seems to be treated as a savory food rather than sweet. The look is exactly what you see - it looks like scrambled eggs. The texture is sort of gelatin like - not rubbery, but soft and solid at the same time, like Jell-o. The flavor is quite mild, seems to mostly pick up the flavor of what it is served with. It can't be exported fresh, due to how it has to ripen on the tree - so you can only get ackee in the states via canned imports.<br /><br />Her patties are huge - more like mini-calzones. We tried lobster, beef, ackee, and Italian. The Italian was alright - basically very calzone flavored. Lobster I wasn't keen on, and the beef seemed super cooked, but I enjoyed the ackee quite a lot. After lunch we walked back to the hotel, stopping for a bag of coffee on the way, then headed back out for swimming and sand castle fun.<br /><br />As our beach time wound down to a close, we cleaned up and walked out front to find Tyrone. He took us down to the Hi-Lo (local grocery store) for a few supplies, then over to Sweet Spice for dinner. I had curried shrimp, which was done to perfection. G had some bbq chicken, and D had curried goat.<br /><br />Curried goat is not as gross as it sounds. Flavor wise it tastes similar to beef in a thick gravy sauce, but it is quite boney which is the main reason I prefer not to bother with it.<br /><br />After some dominoes in the bar and an after dinner drink, we hit the hay.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-46443296609846577422010-02-21T05:48:00.001-08:002010-02-21T06:14:41.677-08:00Saturday February 20 - adventures in the high seasSaturday dawned for me with the bright sunshine bleeding through the open slats of the blinds. I rolled out of bed and walked out to the balcony, watching the blue water shifting gently below the bridge. I made my way to the restaurant for a cup of coffee, and came back to the room to sit on the balcony and write, waiting for the rest of the clan to wake up. Just as I was getting up to refill my coffee D woke, so I made my way back to the restaurant for breakfast while he worked on waking G up. Breakfast for me was the same continental breakfast from the morning before, D and G ordered up some bacon and eggs to augment their munching. After a bit of visiting with some other guests, I picked up my yoga paws and headed over to the singsong hut to stretch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJeXnpLIq9HBO5JT1X1-IgNew-397wg9ehX8obdEy-7AktvCl6_RY9ZUqAmBpVwd7wKmVOuxhLSZURtn1zx7zkHngvu7e4p4TU-SiqNcvF8Su9aISaNU2pQXwNRDpeNDWPOnwjhQclz0/s1600-h/feb20+01.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJeXnpLIq9HBO5JT1X1-IgNew-397wg9ehX8obdEy-7AktvCl6_RY9ZUqAmBpVwd7wKmVOuxhLSZURtn1zx7zkHngvu7e4p4TU-SiqNcvF8Su9aISaNU2pQXwNRDpeNDWPOnwjhQclz0/s320/feb20+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440696239006658802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1XW601QxTYnS3H8Hif9Jsjtw2jpaUgQZwaGSret9kCoOwtVgtV9OTMt6qkp7Y1VOQj_JU8oldRksyaP1jZn5l5coDAO4Va8hKxKyUbyyiycxcVh7rmxw4rFPiaUdwAuzz-zhiC0WjW4/s1600-h/feb20+02.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ1XW601QxTYnS3H8Hif9Jsjtw2jpaUgQZwaGSret9kCoOwtVgtV9OTMt6qkp7Y1VOQj_JU8oldRksyaP1jZn5l5coDAO4Va8hKxKyUbyyiycxcVh7rmxw4rFPiaUdwAuzz-zhiC0WjW4/s320/feb20+02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440696136587469698" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I bought a new pair of yoga paws for this trip (www.yogapaws.com) I highly recommend these if you do yoga, whether you travel or not. They are basically little yoga mats that fit over your palms (like biking gloves) and over the balls of your feet, with an elastic strap that goes over your heel to hold them on. The interior is a bright orange terrycloth yoga towel like material on the inside. They stay in place well with little straps between the fingers (like fingerless gloves) and one little strap on the foot pads (so those fit like a flip-flop). They are super convenient for travel, as they work on any surface (carpeting, hardwood... even rock! Though I did very little yoga on the stones mainly because I didn't want to rough up my pads too badly) But they are also wonderful for home or class use with a mat for a little extra slide protection.<br /><br />We headed back to our treehouse to sunblock up and prepare for an afternoon out in the water. D suggested we take one of the ladders from the other side of the property, so we'd drop down right where the fish were, rather than have to swim out to them. We donned our gear and D helped G down the ladder, with me following close behind. We swam around the immediate cove for a bit, following along the reefs and watching a few fish here and there... taking turns with the camera to get pictures of each other swimming with G.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4-SLGCYDGKn5s57-TL7OZPJO9bI-a5LpVfpi7M3KBMj38jiQ5xN2pWjk99ixjNkUxZUWtzIzhKo1xlOyPDhazjDX2KVsgAZyiyPub7nlt-AGYSETyMG37LDB5cSYD4-86p1hr-s7gIA/s1600-h/feb20+03.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4-SLGCYDGKn5s57-TL7OZPJO9bI-a5LpVfpi7M3KBMj38jiQ5xN2pWjk99ixjNkUxZUWtzIzhKo1xlOyPDhazjDX2KVsgAZyiyPub7nlt-AGYSETyMG37LDB5cSYD4-86p1hr-s7gIA/s320/feb20+03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440696033303712818" border="0" /></a><br />(Yes, if you look closely below my flipper, we believe that is indeed a jellyfish. Had I seen that at that moment, you can be sure we would have high tailed it out of the water immediately)<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLthUh4rVio_uBcpkQdsuy5SsrTCHdOBP9WUnyOlkLIw7nag35v8PfzkAsWivdiPKgmbeuOBiBXIz4keU_k_AS_EBB3l5cPJst2A0pii3N1e9QVvnAUKQLRIsQizLyHgvAAtGKf4m05TY/s1600-h/feb20+04.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLthUh4rVio_uBcpkQdsuy5SsrTCHdOBP9WUnyOlkLIw7nag35v8PfzkAsWivdiPKgmbeuOBiBXIz4keU_k_AS_EBB3l5cPJst2A0pii3N1e9QVvnAUKQLRIsQizLyHgvAAtGKf4m05TY/s320/feb20+04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440695917246925138" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicya7_pU0OW37mnQvi5KI3IHu8pemr7j5xOF9mblXbiOqIloGSyVPAUjAF8HqLbtM2iUM7FRpz2lfM23YxHI7OvzcB0xkh0G-_S7KAzYdVbqqDZQSf5iRDztTdk2AgKaynEXTJj2xDqJM/s1600-h/feb20+05.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicya7_pU0OW37mnQvi5KI3IHu8pemr7j5xOF9mblXbiOqIloGSyVPAUjAF8HqLbtM2iUM7FRpz2lfM23YxHI7OvzcB0xkh0G-_S7KAzYdVbqqDZQSf5iRDztTdk2AgKaynEXTJj2xDqJM/s320/feb20+05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440695808639697330" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My ears handled the water well, thanks to borrowing D's ear plugs. Though they were a bit too big for me, they stayed in and kept my ears from hurting under water. G did really well - a little bit of fear when her flipper started coming off, and again when we swam through some seaweed, but for the most part she was OK. D decided to take her off another direction a little bit, and I swam around following fish, and trying to get around a bed of weeds. The water seemed pretty clear, then it suddenly wasn't, then I felt an abrupt sensation on my upper right arm - like a ton of tiny little rubber bands snapping on my skin all at once.<br /><br />Normally when I try to talk through a snorkel it comes out like Charlie Brown's parents. In this instance, however, the words "OW! FUCK!" came out loud and clear. And I'm happy I wore my flippers, because I whipped out of that area faster than I could have possibly imagined I could swim. Once I felt I was safe and clear from the jellyfish area I stopped and popped my head up, looking for D and G - they were zooming towards me from (thankfully!) another direction... headed straight for the ladder. I figured maybe G'd had enough by then and that's why they were coming in, but it turned out D had seen an enormous jellyfish out where he had swam, and it was surrounded by a bunch of smaller jellyfish, and he felt something hit his leg and booked ass out of there, hauling G along with him.<br /><br />G swears she was stung, but it's difficult to tell if she was, or if it's just a spot where the ankle of her flippers had been rubbing. D was stung a bit somewhere on his leg. I ended up with a welt on the inside of my right bicep, and a good amount of tiny little brown barbs sticking out inside it - not a huge area, maybe 2-3 inches long at best about an inch across. We hoofed it back to the room and showered, and I sat on the chair on the balcony with my tweezers, picking out the tiny little barbs left handed. It still stung for a bit, but I put some benadryl cream on it and ice, and now it's just a series of little tiny red marks where the barbs had stuck in. All in all it's not a terrible experience... it stung and was annoying, but not like the trobbing pain of a wasp sting or anything, and at least it hit my arm and not something like my face or neck - but I've decided to avoid snorkeling off the cliffs for the duration of the trip... which is a little disappointing. However, we'll be on the beach soon enough and there's lots of safe wading and floating time to be had there. Plus, even now as I ask G what the thought of swimming in the ocean she says she had a good time and loved seeing the fish, so the sudden end to the adventure doesn't seem to have put her off of the water.<br /><br />After cleaning up and tending to my wounds (I swear the right half of my body has taken such a beating in two days... I wonder when the left side is going to get it!) we relaxed in the bar for a little bit before heading across the street for lunch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYDDuw0LGgLXoMfUrDxaidZaD42LCDVpbGTJw_Lf7kprGmfXJmn0Z9idw5ppNw2FF7K4EiwqttN_3Ni7fO69h-aOzoSUMYAHxG5eTB9Y7vvKJdyPevzcft5BxlYnguwW8z16x0W1eCkNI/s1600-h/feb20+06.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYDDuw0LGgLXoMfUrDxaidZaD42LCDVpbGTJw_Lf7kprGmfXJmn0Z9idw5ppNw2FF7K4EiwqttN_3Ni7fO69h-aOzoSUMYAHxG5eTB9Y7vvKJdyPevzcft5BxlYnguwW8z16x0W1eCkNI/s320/feb20+06.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440695693605886674" border="0" /></a><br />The stand prior to opening - the middle panel on the right opens up to make a to-go ordering window.<br /><br />Today we ate at Ras Rody's all natural food stand across the street. This is the little stand where I'd slipped and fallen in front of the crowd of people yesterday, so I was extra cautious crossing the street and stepping over the V-shaped gutter. There's no menu, just Ras Rody behind the counter there to tell you what there is to eat. He serves ital food - which is a form of vegan diet. As he explained it "der are no animal products... if it don't come from da groun, we don't eat it mon". This is my kind of place, because though the menu is limited to just a few items, I can eat every single one of them without fear.<br /><br />As we were asking him about his food he explained how the food all comes from either his farm, or organic farms near him. He offered us cups of bean soup - which had the kidney beans along with some greens and potato in a decently thick vegetable broth. As we sipped down the soups he served up two large containers of his complete meal for D and I, as G tasted bits of our food but mainly ate festival. His festival bread was made from a combination of cornmeal and bananas, and came out looking like a large, thick pancake. It was like a very dense, flat cornbread with chunks of banana every so often, and the flavor was similar to toasted banana bread. The meal had yams - which were white, with more of a fiberous texture... rice and peas... and a vegetable stew which looked like it might have been curried, or had a bit of scotch bonnet pepper in it, as it was bright yellow. The stew had potato, calaloo, and I believe carrots. He served calaloo on the side (a spinach like green, mixed with small onion) and a shredded cabbage. It was served in a rectangular styrofoam to-go type box, all pretty much melded together. It was incredibly filling, even though it was completely meatless, and Ras' son talked about how they make the food with coconut milk, and the oil helps to extract the enzymes from the vegetables, so you get everthing you need - proteins and omega 3's - without needing to add meat.<br /><br />Oh and not that I was counting on purpose, but as we stood there I saw three separate people slip in the same spot I fell, so now I don't feel nearly as clumsy.<br /><br />The sun began to beat down on us at the stand, so G and I went back across the street to the shade of the restaurant, and D stayed behind to settle up and talk to the owner some more. As G and I sat in the heat playing dominoes it dawned on me... this place has a pool that is entirely jelly fish free! So we grabbed D and went back to change into some swimming gear and cool off in the pool.<br /><br />Prior to heading in that direction though, D wanted to take a few turns jumping off the high cliff<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnpMR8Qe8_hmmovipcuRxn5TwuQpcsXgVCJIGtLdJPWt2zzKEtIr3z-JnmUYzdbEYbBfDEzrl5NJeKShLe5aysfRlyLpBGC2aW5MIPDLPDg6gL3aXthY_wFuzQUAFtS4jS3ynwVqc4Mc/s1600-h/feb20+07.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnpMR8Qe8_hmmovipcuRxn5TwuQpcsXgVCJIGtLdJPWt2zzKEtIr3z-JnmUYzdbEYbBfDEzrl5NJeKShLe5aysfRlyLpBGC2aW5MIPDLPDg6gL3aXthY_wFuzQUAFtS4jS3ynwVqc4Mc/s320/feb20+07.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440695576009022674" border="0" /></a><br />The Captain Morgan pose - got a little captain in ya? Drink responsibly.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfwZg6Sqf3r5SHJU7Lo0d4ibWNzDjt8T6vlmzyLjD9tJotvNcC8nkFiruLKWWQ_NtLtswXp6JbWGVOExSkUuIEzDtfoNijxfDHqRSwVmfIlCup90C85p99MS6wDcDlsekSAGoKHd-E0Q/s1600-h/feb20+08.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQfwZg6Sqf3r5SHJU7Lo0d4ibWNzDjt8T6vlmzyLjD9tJotvNcC8nkFiruLKWWQ_NtLtswXp6JbWGVOExSkUuIEzDtfoNijxfDHqRSwVmfIlCup90C85p99MS6wDcDlsekSAGoKHd-E0Q/s320/feb20+08.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440695454993553266" border="0" /></a><br />To get the full effect of the contemplation pose, you have to see his face close up.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ydmyfWaPRMpIn7i2HhrwrzF0vkRbs7I8YviW46V1LgeUM7T5vKqIHmw7-E83Y7mrlRSDj8ITFmyFOL8L8Vyy9-eveX1znyBj7njGCd6ZHdTOW8fXX7VmuHqWb_UbqKfiQbmrn45b1Ak/s1600-h/feb20+09.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 312px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ydmyfWaPRMpIn7i2HhrwrzF0vkRbs7I8YviW46V1LgeUM7T5vKqIHmw7-E83Y7mrlRSDj8ITFmyFOL8L8Vyy9-eveX1znyBj7njGCd6ZHdTOW8fXX7VmuHqWb_UbqKfiQbmrn45b1Ak/s320/feb20+09.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440695282790655554" border="0" /></a><br />Blogger is rotating this shot. I don't know why, and don't have time to figure it out, so ya'll can turn your heads to see :)<br /><br />The pool is kept cool and refreshing, and dipping in was quite a relief. We swam around a bit, G was excited to be in the wather without her floaty, and made her way from one side of the pool to the other, giggling through her snorkel. As we swam we noticed the skies growing darker, and the people working here began to pull the orange cushions off the loungers. I looked off to the south and noticed the air looked gray, the horizon line was becoming blurry. It is so strange to actually watch the rain approaching. I slipped out of the pool and gathered up our stuff just as the first drops were hitting, but rather than head straight back to the room, we decided to stop off in the hammock hut and enjoy the storm there.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmLsGtlU6P07Sp8bFHCJHaN9nIWHC6zzBl0JgqX_GNJsIHFh1d2ZK9PDfPhuQcF5IAbL6kdYS2I-fPGicF1TTRZULS2BeUBAegSx6dGTc4miF1MKMh3IWFukBdZxArAc__podtI2mIDw/s1600-h/feb20+10.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmLsGtlU6P07Sp8bFHCJHaN9nIWHC6zzBl0JgqX_GNJsIHFh1d2ZK9PDfPhuQcF5IAbL6kdYS2I-fPGicF1TTRZULS2BeUBAegSx6dGTc4miF1MKMh3IWFukBdZxArAc__podtI2mIDw/s320/feb20+10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440695034271847378" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BcGkwjR8lic-QpF7H1w0GDGqv9BU8vMBT1J-tmlIZBo22M7bdaVdyRtuOGtxk7nLc-MRK8ZVaLK7NFeK-zjDUsbXa70IXU248Tzg0kX3SBluZd9LhBxO_oX1QXdkJBD0tO20yhoYYSA/s1600-h/feb20+11.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BcGkwjR8lic-QpF7H1w0GDGqv9BU8vMBT1J-tmlIZBo22M7bdaVdyRtuOGtxk7nLc-MRK8ZVaLK7NFeK-zjDUsbXa70IXU248Tzg0kX3SBluZd9LhBxO_oX1QXdkJBD0tO20yhoYYSA/s320/feb20+11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440694923760580658" border="0" /></a><br />G and I snuggled in the hammock.<br /><br />G and I ran back to the hut to dry off a bit and rest in the dry room while D stayed behind in the hammock to wait out the rain. The cloud burst lasted maybe 40 minutes or so, then the sun came back out and began to dry the paths. Most of the guests had retreated to their respective bungalows, and they began to emerge as G and I ventured out to hunt down crabs to photograph, however they move so quick we couldn't manage to catch them.<br /><br />(Side note: I realize I'm a total nerd for watching the crabs run and thinking "they look just like replicators!" instead of thinking that replicators were designed to look like crabs running.<br />....ok so even if I thought the latter first, that's still total nerd.)<br /><br />with the sun coming back out the temperature rose back up - though it was not unbearably hot on it's own, it seems the steam from the drying rain raised the humidity quickly, so G and I hopped back into the pool.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyONt3qf_qJa3b3q_BqWJH15T3Q-HkENzkqy0dnkL4t_2hL_VtnbMMgsVG0SQ0nCJMYhjdbQxeIIVmH80p9tF05Ppj_W_BCndAbhZFK6XdaL_gXIOgRmmhG-A7EAf2LMScU3qyT2pFTFc/s1600-h/feb20+12.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyONt3qf_qJa3b3q_BqWJH15T3Q-HkENzkqy0dnkL4t_2hL_VtnbMMgsVG0SQ0nCJMYhjdbQxeIIVmH80p9tF05Ppj_W_BCndAbhZFK6XdaL_gXIOgRmmhG-A7EAf2LMScU3qyT2pFTFc/s320/feb20+12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440694785974956066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is the edge of the "infinity pool" - designed to look like it goes right on into the ocean.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhwjcG_9b8RCZKXNQFmiDZqjmpXm_C8d74Dj0409dENeaYYOhAVTQssDRqPF41Zvw2z-gcG7hctSi91vRz-dBeadRe2BpekIIIWE-QOfGQWhFXzaybjeFKMy0Ybvb-EvRQaIbfM3q6xA/s1600-h/feb20+13.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhwjcG_9b8RCZKXNQFmiDZqjmpXm_C8d74Dj0409dENeaYYOhAVTQssDRqPF41Zvw2z-gcG7hctSi91vRz-dBeadRe2BpekIIIWE-QOfGQWhFXzaybjeFKMy0Ybvb-EvRQaIbfM3q6xA/s320/feb20+13.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440694488057642674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9e99-pMEnxHBhxfr-QfZAwN6s-jVaYhHeDcK72tvtuHuUZ3Uo6ILPSImvCW5-FIEmeRETIag2G_Vw2oU-aSBoEt-q_uDQJxZN_CtIK5cMgYdmyWLrUcEUmeew9XQK5M4bvCEf0XtkcU/s1600-h/feb20+14.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9e99-pMEnxHBhxfr-QfZAwN6s-jVaYhHeDcK72tvtuHuUZ3Uo6ILPSImvCW5-FIEmeRETIag2G_Vw2oU-aSBoEt-q_uDQJxZN_CtIK5cMgYdmyWLrUcEUmeew9XQK5M4bvCEf0XtkcU/s320/feb20+14.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440694334791425826" border="0" /></a><br />Little Swimmer - no floaty in the pool! She was so happy to be zipping around freely.<br /><br />She did some lengthy swimming while I paddled along beside her, and towards the end wanted to keep jumping into the pool so she could "rocket back up" and have me catch her. Mostly this involved me getting splashed when she hit the water, and then getting sprayed in the face when she surfaced. We swam until nearly sunset, then gathered back in the room to clean up and head out to dinner.<br /><br />We asked security to set us up with a local cab, and it turns out Ras Rody is also a cab driver, with his car conveniently located right across the street. He took us down the windy road to 3 Dives - a place we've heard a lot about. (This restaurant has been featured on Food Network, and was also a stop on an episode of the Amazing Race.) Some of the reviews on line seemed sketchy - people said that since the place had been on TV the service slowed down, or the food portions weren't as big, but under the advice of the security guard we decided to give it a shot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UKcjPs5lVuCgy_kx5BFE3CIhn91p5uFcZ2ypZKzhmoBmmqfV9oPi7tm6FqhNWBGmYLuY6_Lp2Lgk2aFcCf7n1ksi6wN8kossbmJhpTzarDV-hzbARmkO1wx97iEmonBYxBvutImJ2qo/s1600-h/feb20+15.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4UKcjPs5lVuCgy_kx5BFE3CIhn91p5uFcZ2ypZKzhmoBmmqfV9oPi7tm6FqhNWBGmYLuY6_Lp2Lgk2aFcCf7n1ksi6wN8kossbmJhpTzarDV-hzbARmkO1wx97iEmonBYxBvutImJ2qo/s320/feb20+15.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440694154471889858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Gayle in front of the wall at 3 Dives.<br /><br />D ordered our food at the window and picked up a few drinks for us and we settled into our table. A couple from our resort - Amy and Christo - sat at the table next to ours and we began talking about where we were from, what we liked about Negril, etc... They've been to a few of the other islands in the area and told us their likes and dislikes. The food did take a little while, but not any longer than any of the other more local venues we've been to. Most of the non-resort restaurants cook all their food fresh to order, so it takes a little longer than the typical American chain restaurant we are used to. The conversation and rum punch passed the time easily enough though, and we were presented with our platters of food.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjc-RWgC0GHK8hwycfpWpzJM3N2E3JDW54SxnpbZOoUPIoeXqXYLxsqwCuNcxBy1nlAD1HyC2P4-Tc4LfEZ4BEOLZJfVxPEoRCIGWK94LOgxlFoeY65xb4H_Fcmx5RodWPzA_Uy_2FfQ4/s1600-h/feb20+16.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjc-RWgC0GHK8hwycfpWpzJM3N2E3JDW54SxnpbZOoUPIoeXqXYLxsqwCuNcxBy1nlAD1HyC2P4-Tc4LfEZ4BEOLZJfVxPEoRCIGWK94LOgxlFoeY65xb4H_Fcmx5RodWPzA_Uy_2FfQ4/s320/feb20+16.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440693964219692786" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My dinner - I couldn't finish it all, ended up sharing half a lobster with D.<br /><br />I had grilled lobster - and considering I was served 1.5 lobsters for less than the Rockhouse, I was roughly getting the same amount of food for half the price. My lobster was served with calaloo and rice and peas, and a little bowl of garlic butter. It was absolutely outstanding.<br /><br />As dinner wound down G taught Amy how to play dominoes and we continued our conversation a bit longer before deciding to turn in for the night. D called up Ras and his son came and picked us up. Walking back through the restaurant of Tensing Pen we saw they had just closed up for the night. G sounded disappointed, we had promised her desert for being so brave and trying so many new things that day... as she said something to us, the bartender came out from behind the bar and said "Let me see what I can find you" and headed back to the kitchen. There he found some pineapple upsidedown cake, and he came out with a slice on a plate. G took a bite and said "this is SO GOOD! WOW!" and we heard the bartender giggle as he finished closing down the bar. That was so nice of him to have pulled that out of a closed kitchen just for G!<br /><br />As G finished her cake, D looked up and noticed a gecko on the ceiling, just above where the coffee is served. I high tailed it back to the room to grab my camera, and stood on one of the chairs to get a few pictures. D then took over the camera to play around before we headed back off to the room to get some sleep.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxMRqOjTukRtz40QIPTDiXqDssG-s05h2oXb811rxUoHrK3C04paV5YM2dIe3Si0GcWtlx03rtCNEKErdCvyDFRwZUMkfw5eG14a0jmX3D5Ho8m_FtSgUm_a_6z42YW-5FdbjMMAQLxM/s1600-h/feb20+17.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxMRqOjTukRtz40QIPTDiXqDssG-s05h2oXb811rxUoHrK3C04paV5YM2dIe3Si0GcWtlx03rtCNEKErdCvyDFRwZUMkfw5eG14a0jmX3D5Ho8m_FtSgUm_a_6z42YW-5FdbjMMAQLxM/s320/feb20+17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440693761610786082" border="0" /></a><br />Cute little lizard!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfSvnEn5caNSs1M3SGbhKTjbBhyphenhyphensDDacslMoVlFHtMQpi7bXtFQYhah6D-M6yN3Wo2mN3zMygIwoJyUohvF8CbOn1gCua0t5wcQbiP_NKYxsNUSuJ_k9o3dbP657rzbZOn4oZG0GWiXw/s1600-h/feb20+19.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSfSvnEn5caNSs1M3SGbhKTjbBhyphenhyphensDDacslMoVlFHtMQpi7bXtFQYhah6D-M6yN3Wo2mN3zMygIwoJyUohvF8CbOn1gCua0t5wcQbiP_NKYxsNUSuJ_k9o3dbP657rzbZOn4oZG0GWiXw/s320/feb20+19.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440693444393911538" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hangin out in the bar after closing. (The big thing around my neck is the room key)Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-20411350045542588892010-02-20T06:11:00.001-08:002010-02-20T06:36:26.657-08:00Friday Feb. 19 - adventures in food and funWalking back from dinner last night we paused to look up at the clear sky. The amount of stars in the sky amazed me... the familiar constelations were ten timed brighter than normal, and were surrounded by millions of additional tiny sparkling lights. After having such a long journey with little sleep, I crashed out relatively early. Our tree house is directly over a small inlet, and the persistant crashing of the waves lulled me to sleep.<br />D woke me up early this morning at my request. Last year I missed the morning light photo opportunities while we were here, so I wanted to get up extra early at least one morning to take advantage of the yellow glow of the sunrise. Around 6 a.m. the sky was beginning to lighten, and D touched my shoulder and said "pictures?"<br /><br />I rose out of bed slowly, threw on some shorts and a shirt, and headed out into the quiet morning. From what I could tell I was one of the first guests up (which is entirely unheard of, seeing as how I'm not a morning person unless fishing is involved) The light was not quite right yet... though the sky was lightening the sun was not yet hitting the subjects I wanted to photograph. I picked up a cup of coffee in the restaurant and meandered the property, looking for interesting things while I waited for the sun to rise more.<br /><br />The rocks along the cliffs are interesting... it looks as though lava came down, engulfing sea creatures along it's path, and as it cooled it formed around the shapes of those sea creatures. Everywhere along the jagged cliff surface you can find shapes of shells and coral. There are many hidden on the natural floor of the cliffs, and they are also worked into the stonework of the walls and pathways.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TDcvyrw0VOTxtVpcKENV4mNRDuwirNh70hjNlJnihMArqCzfxXWwq4mgU4JRSKlLk2hpGnNK1HYJhI7UrHvkuEqYewy_HHXYiSK0MCdfraLCs4arSworYWFVr9Kmc34TQe4wcW6VYEA/s1600-h/feb+19+rock+fossils.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TDcvyrw0VOTxtVpcKENV4mNRDuwirNh70hjNlJnihMArqCzfxXWwq4mgU4JRSKlLk2hpGnNK1HYJhI7UrHvkuEqYewy_HHXYiSK0MCdfraLCs4arSworYWFVr9Kmc34TQe4wcW6VYEA/s320/feb+19+rock+fossils.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440329545426630658" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I wandered from one end of the property to the other, discovering another hidden path down to the water's edge.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPJLP9gkrSzo3CUlg2dvjAn7v2EZhL8pXrPUbv-GRwTc6zaxL9LM1zUwFyvuqhQ4Z-QghYZZhXXLyM9sl1ma5y9nd-ZJs11npjA4FYB21no0QTmDl-VfnffWAxQb7S6Dgm6Xqqf4lw6c/s1600-h/feb+19+path.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPJLP9gkrSzo3CUlg2dvjAn7v2EZhL8pXrPUbv-GRwTc6zaxL9LM1zUwFyvuqhQ4Z-QghYZZhXXLyM9sl1ma5y9nd-ZJs11npjA4FYB21no0QTmDl-VfnffWAxQb7S6Dgm6Xqqf4lw6c/s320/feb+19+path.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440329885869872770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After the photography adventures I met back at the hut with D and G, who were getting ready to go to the main house for breakfast.<br /><br />There is a continental breakfast included at this resort, with additional offerings if you want anything more. The continental breakfast includes toast with a variety of jams and jellys, a couple of cold cereals, fresh juice (orange and pineapple) and several fruits to choose from. Oh and coffee... the restaurant always has fresh coffee in the corner for anyone to have all day long.<br /><br />The sandwich bread here is soft, large, and sliced about twice as thick as the bread back home, and has the consistency of a slightly denser Wonder bread. In our last trip I had not noticed wheat bread being offered anywhere, so I've made a mental note to look for it in the stores.<br /><br />For their fruit this morning, they had a platter of watermelon, sliced pineapple, and fresh guava. Both the watermelon and pineapple were smaller than what we have in the states, and much, much sweeter. The pineapple is also not quite as yellow. Fresh guava I'm not as much of a fan of. It's soft and mild, and is good when combined with other fruits, but it's not one that I prefer to eat on it's own. Guava jelly, on the other hand, is AMAZING.<br />We're going to have to buy a case of it before we go.<br /><br />After breakfast we headed back to the room to let our food settle, and lather up on<br />sunscreen before heading out to the water. That is where my big adventure began.<br />We gathered up our snorkel gear, walked down stairs, and took an immediate right, which put<br />is directly in front of the plank bridge across the inlet. I approached the bridge with the<br />intention of crossing right over it, but my right foot hit the bridge and I hesitated...<br />and backed up. With D and G safely across on the other side, they turned and started<br />yelling to encourage me... come on! You can cross the bridge! After one or two attempts<br />to get my foot all the way on the wood, I finally sucked it up and crossed.<br /><br />It's ironic that I take baby steps at first - not quite like Gordy crossing the train<br />trestle in "Stand By Me" - I did stay up on my feet - but logically on would think I'd take<br />longer steps to get across faster. I just don't trust my balance - I'm so damned clumsy<br />(which we'll talk about later) and I have the added fun of wearing bifocals, which makes<br />distances below my feet look warped. But I did make it, safe and sound and after much<br />fanfare.<br /><br />As we made our way down the stairs to the main lower platform and ladder, D suggested I<br />start the morning by just jumping in from the platform. No vest, no goggles, just jump in<br />and get it over with. I climbed up to the platform and looked over, and then thought,<br />"It's not so different from the bow of the boat" and after a few deep breaths I ran and<br />jumped... closing my eyes tight once I left the platform.<br /><br />I remember that the salt content of the water here is much higher than anything else I've<br />experienced, which means we are far more buoyant than we are in, say, a lake. But I forgot<br />how salty that water would taste. I came up coughing and sputtering, and D threw one of<br />the blue floaty mats down to me to grab and kick myself back to the ladder.<br /><br />After that we decided to get in the water and snorkel a bit, so I put on my gear, along<br />with my vest, and popped back into the water via the ladder. Unfortunately the water was a<br />bit murky this morning - apparently the seas were somewhat rough just before we flew into<br />town, and it stirred up some sediment. I did panic a little, when I tried to sit upright<br />and a small wave hit my head from the side... I calmed myself down but not before I exhaled<br />so hard that my mask fogged over completely. By this time D had lowered G to me in the<br />water, and she was clinging to my arm as I swam around. She had her own mini-panic when<br />one of her flippers started to come off, but I calmed her down, reminding her that if<br />anything fell, D could swim down and pick it up (he did so several times last year when a<br />woman kept dropping her sunglasses off her raft) D joined us in the water, and I handed G<br />over to him so I could concentrate on keeping myself calm.<br /><br />All in all, I'm amazed that she got into the water with us. She's still so fresh from her<br />swimming lessons at the gym, and the deep ocean is SO MUCH DIFFERENT than a 4 foot pool,<br />but although she was nervous at the movement of water, she loved seeing the fish "for real"<br />- pointing to them and holding Daddy's arm so she could fly in the water "like superman".<br />After clearing my mask I got my face back in the water and swam around a little, and felt<br />something brush up against my thigh... then something against my arm, and as I looked<br />closely I saw that there were little tiny jellyfish in the water. They were no larger than<br />maybe a sand dollar, but that was all I needed to head back to the ladder and get the fuck<br />out of the water. I tried to signal D to come back in, but he didn't understand my waving,<br />so I had to fully get out of the water and flag him down to bring him in. He didn't see<br />them himself because his mask was foggy, but at that point G had gotten a bit tired of<br />swimming anyway, so he brought her in.<br /><br />If I did get stung, it was so minor that it never developed into a rash... one of the other<br />resort guests showed me her thigh where she had been hit the day before. Apparently<br />jellyfish are not normally an issue, but the recent rough water had stirred them up from<br />the bottom along with the sediment. Even the sting she had didn't seem to bother her too<br />much the next day, but as the water was too murky for photos I wasn't inclined to get back<br />into it for a lengthy swim anyway.<br /><br />But there was still my goal of jumping to look at. D started talking about it immediately.<br />He knows me well, he knows that if I put something off I'm more likely to keep putting it<br />off, and since I'd already jumped from the lower platform, I needed to keep the momentum<br />going and jump from the bridge. He pulled out the camera and said he needed to practice<br />timing for shooting, so I jumped from the lower platform a couple times. After my very<br />first jump, D had thrown a blue floaty down to me... but for this next one I came up and he<br />waited, and then asked me if I really needed it. I sat in the water a second, floating<br />easily with my head and neck above the water, and decided it wasn't necessary, and doggy-<br />paddled my way back to the ladder. After those jumps, he started talking to me about the<br />bridge.<br /><br />So my original goal had been the bridge. As I explained in the photo post, I walked up the<br />steps to the bridge and surveyed the distance. D had suggested I use the platform instead,<br />even though it's higher... it's not a great distance higher and the solid ground is easier<br />to jump from (in his opinion) I kind of thought my hatred of that bridge would make it<br />easy to jump from, but as I stood there picturing the jump, I came to realize that if I<br />walked to the center and turned, there's no way my feet would leave that bridge. I was<br />convinced I'd hit the back of my head on it on my way off, and convinced I couldn't launch<br />myself without a running start, and if I ran across the bridge and then jumped, there'd be<br />no controlling what angle I'd end up taking, and there were very large rocks and a cliff<br />wall to consider. (Not that I thought I'd make it all the way to the cliff wall, but,<br />that's the direction the water moves, and if I took too long to clear my face and open my<br />eyes, I thought I'd be kissing that wall) The platform, though higher, offered me a<br />greater landing zone, and a running start.<br /><br />I knelt on the cliff and looked over, to make sure I was over the plaform part and not the<br />solid wall part. I stood up and stepped back, then stepped forward, then stepped back,<br />then practiced a few times of walking forward to see where my feet might land, trying to<br />get the timing right so I could push off with my right leg. D stood on the lower level<br />yelling encouraging things to me, which are all a blur from the overwhelming fear I was<br />feeling at the time. He would try to count down and I'd shake my head... "Let me do this".<br />I stepped back and thought "it's just like the lower platform, it's just like the bow of<br />the boat" and then I heard Jen's voice in my head saying "FUCKING JUMP! JUST GO ALREADY!"<br /><br />I gave D a thumbs up, and ran.<br /><br />I kept my eyes open the whole time, until just before I hit the water. It was.. surreal to<br />say the least. Ever have those nightmares where you fall off a cliff and then wake up just<br />before impact? That's pretty much exactly what it looks like. I watched my feet, so I<br />could see when I needed to push off. I saw the stone pattern moving rapidly below me, I<br />saw my foot hit the edge of the cliff, and then I saw blue green water... there was a<br />particular spot of water that was emerald green, slightly diamond shaped but elongated to<br />the right and left, a small swirl of white bubbles in the upper corner. I watched as the<br />diamond grew in size, as my feet dropped closer to the surface, I could hear the wind in my<br />ears drowning out distant voices, and then I closed my eyes and hit the water. There was a<br />great splash, and then only the low rumble of water pressing in on my head. It sounded low<br />and deep, and then gradually higher and higher, and then I heard bubbles, and then I<br />surfaced. I cleared my face and opened my eyes and saw D on the platform... with this look<br />of anticipation on his face. I could tell he was ready to dive in and save me if I had any<br />hint of panic, so coughing and sputtering, I held up my hand in a thumbs up sign. He<br />relaxed a little, then asked if I needed anything, could I swim back to the ladder. I<br />coughed a bit more and said "I'm good" and paddled myself back.<br /><br />It was exhilerating and frightening and fucking amazing all at once. I'm proud that and<br />excited that I did it, but the thought still turns my stomach. I thought if I could do the<br />jump a second time that we'd do a video... but there's an unfortunate side effect of that<br />original jump for me. My sinuses are pretty sensitive anyway, and didn't handle the ups<br />and downs of the flights the previous day... and when I hit the water it felt like someone<br />had stabbed my inner ears on impact. The good news is I don't even know how I landed -<br />feet first? Ass first? Nothing stung from the impact at all, because all I thought was<br />how badly my head was hurting. It will be fine - this happens to me all the time - but it<br />is stopping me from doing any sort of big jumps again. Even later in the day when I jumped<br />from the smaller platform, my ear gave me a twinge of pain bad enough to tell me that any<br />jumping is out for right now.<br /><br />But I did it, and I got the picture, and that sucker is getting blown up and framed and put<br />on my wall. I'm not kidding.<br /><br />As I sat on the stone bench recovering from the incredible heart rate I'd managed to<br />create, we introduced ourselves to a very nice couple from New York. They started jumping<br />from various heights, and D took pictures of them and we talked in between jumps. After a<br />while of sitting in the sun and conversing, we headed our separate ways to clean up and get<br />some lunch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOot4UFx6MGNWiI-k8dsoEqIWRMGtTRzR815y1vaAFUPIqu1PxRKD5zONFHFaKlFEhUCjZ7aAqwNl4XdLrPVefQoKO8toGMbBGK7ObW2pCT5tsmseeh9Pf4OONXm2Y0FflegpTkhJdaU/s1600-h/feb+19+walking+the+bridge.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOot4UFx6MGNWiI-k8dsoEqIWRMGtTRzR815y1vaAFUPIqu1PxRKD5zONFHFaKlFEhUCjZ7aAqwNl4XdLrPVefQoKO8toGMbBGK7ObW2pCT5tsmseeh9Pf4OONXm2Y0FflegpTkhJdaU/s320/feb+19+walking+the+bridge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440331339755295874" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />D, G and I ate lunch at Alice's across the street again. I was going to order shrimp, but<br />they were running low on supplies and the waitress offered a "seafood special" that the<br />chef could whip up, a combination of a few things that would include shrimp. I asked how<br />it would be cooked, and she said "Don't worry about it, he will cook it up right for ya" so<br />I shrugged and said "Alright!" Yeah, NOT like me at all, but I figure if it turned out<br />really bad, I could just grab something back at our place. As we sat waiting for the food<br />we watched people walking by, and I noticed a tall older man, kind of looked like a<br />southern rocker with his long gray hair, walking by carrying a lot of snorkel gear- a few<br />pairs of fins, some snorkels and some masks. One of his snorkels dropped in the road and<br />he kept walking, not noticing. I popped up from the table and picked it up and followed<br />him. I tried to get his attention, but he was talking to someone else and passing a<br />crowded stand and didn't hear me... so I picked up the pace of my walking.<br /><br />Which was a mistake. The side of the road here has a deep v-shaped trench for when it<br />rains. But it hasn't rained in a while, and that v-shape gutter is dry and dusty, and my<br />foot hit it at just the wrong angle, slid out from underneath me, and I went down.<br /><br />I'm so FUCKING clumsy.<br /><br />I was so close to the full stand of people who were sitting there eating that one of them<br />actually reached out and almost caught me, but he was a little too late. He reached down<br />and helped me up, and I looked at my leg... it looked a little scratched at first so I<br />insisted to the now large group of people fussing over me that I was entirely fine.<br /><br />Embarrassed to say the least, but really... just trying to return this guys snorkel.<br /><br />Hey, turns out the guy is from the south! As I approached him I told him that he'd dropped<br />his snorkel in the road, and I unfortunately slipped on my way to return it so now it was<br />entirely covered in dust, but he was so thankful for me to have gotten up from my table and<br />race after him... he thanked me profusely. Then he fussed over my leg as well and I waved<br />it off. Really, I'm clumsy, it's not the first time I've bruised myself. It's not a<br />problem at all. The men at the stand smiled as I walked by, and one of them put out his<br />hand to shake mine... "Ya mon! That was a nice ting you did thar baby! So nice!"<br />I didn't look at my knee again until I got back to the table, where I announced to D that<br />he had a very dorky wife, and I needed to go back to the room to clean off the blood from<br />my knee. I had turned a corner before I biffed it, so D was completely unaware that I had<br />fallen. I headed back to the room - where we had an ample supply of bandaids and<br />andtibacterial wipes, and cleaned up. What I thought was a small scratch, turns out was a<br />small chunk I'd taken out of my knee - maybe the size of a small pebble. Not bad, really,<br />but it certainly liked to bleed a lot.<br /><br />Heh... people think I carry so much first aid stuff with me because I'm a mom. Nope, it's<br />for me. I'm a klutz. But I'm usually only bad when I'm in front of a large crowd, which<br />doesn't happen all too often, so it's all good.<br /><br />My lunch turned out to be a curried seafood special - a few shrimp, mixed with vegetables,<br />conch, and chunks of snapper. Although I wouldn't normally order conch on purpose, it was<br />surprisingly tasty mixed with everything else, and the curry was nice and hot the way I<br />love it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl80dbPmY563aNMn2bpPs6wX9WdcTDlSGKM3T1tf3cdOktmSBwKFxb1DPXsmoy3Yi65W1fOpMGOYMfz1lOZj8zO7CyMElJN1fukbfR9IIeuZtni5ryMGxF_khjeM4d2bGJniTWKeLDhWo/s1600-h/feb+19+seafood+surprise.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl80dbPmY563aNMn2bpPs6wX9WdcTDlSGKM3T1tf3cdOktmSBwKFxb1DPXsmoy3Yi65W1fOpMGOYMfz1lOZj8zO7CyMElJN1fukbfR9IIeuZtni5ryMGxF_khjeM4d2bGJniTWKeLDhWo/s320/feb+19+seafood+surprise.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440332024684332882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I also tried festival for the first time. Festival is a fried bread which is a nice side<br />to having spicy things like curry and jerk. I didn't have it in the last trip because we<br />could never verify the ingredients well enough, but the waitress here confirmed that it<br />only has milk in it, no egg, so I decided to give it a shot.<br />After lunch I wandered around the property some more taking pictures. This is what I look<br />like a lot of the time on most of our vacations:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pokJWsDRfD8hP03R285UxmRx2s4xHpgNk503TqWA9So9MwzcZH2oG1g25I1XD6vX1D-JMifZ-9lEdB9koUudQZ74EbsHu5fCkRkILpYjy6gKnCSPtxWTxlGJqnMrLSTP7Jr9kecflWw/s1600-h/feb+19+taking+pictures.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pokJWsDRfD8hP03R285UxmRx2s4xHpgNk503TqWA9So9MwzcZH2oG1g25I1XD6vX1D-JMifZ-9lEdB9koUudQZ74EbsHu5fCkRkILpYjy6gKnCSPtxWTxlGJqnMrLSTP7Jr9kecflWw/s320/feb+19+taking+pictures.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440332751842569266" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The resort is named Tensing Pen after the original owner's dog, Tensing. There are a pair<br />of these dogs who still live here, the boy is named Tensing and the girl is Sugar. Every<br />so often you can find them wandering the property or curled up on a platform sleeping.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqF91J9b5Hai7BdNj8AudHK0U7x2Y9rrFYI4hqUWWRZVIi8mOz4z9ntXI52LSlDn58e-iigWvToPQYRUpHLPRtSOqFwJsmRqgqTAKUmWV-H6kcpNn9K5poXOj6dyJlACb7XgBWFMGfNPM/s1600-h/feb+19+tensing.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqF91J9b5Hai7BdNj8AudHK0U7x2Y9rrFYI4hqUWWRZVIi8mOz4z9ntXI52LSlDn58e-iigWvToPQYRUpHLPRtSOqFwJsmRqgqTAKUmWV-H6kcpNn9K5poXOj6dyJlACb7XgBWFMGfNPM/s320/feb+19+tensing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440333010604795602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />G loves petting these dogs and talking to them, and they patiently love the attention.<br />There are also a number of resident birds - who are quite camera shy - and a massive amount<br />of lizards.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpaNVxbKT4RbrcsGciR0WJWd3CO2abHo6yiG3p2lBT1V25VazhEOgRyMrx88sOSmDmZ3xoGfmNlADxyVA3EOfn0ip5l7blG-SkFUFXPAq2VP8t7RmxpfU1HtXbtdevc7Nv3bQNrrRQwE/s1600-h/feb+19+lizard.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpaNVxbKT4RbrcsGciR0WJWd3CO2abHo6yiG3p2lBT1V25VazhEOgRyMrx88sOSmDmZ3xoGfmNlADxyVA3EOfn0ip5l7blG-SkFUFXPAq2VP8t7RmxpfU1HtXbtdevc7Nv3bQNrrRQwE/s320/feb+19+lizard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440332393095229570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I think my favorite part of walking through the garden paths quietly is listening for<br />leaves moving - it means there is a bird or lizard near by... then I stop and stare at the<br />branch movement, camera ready, waiting for the critter to show themselves. At night the<br />sound of lizards zipping around is amplified, and tends to make me jump as they skitter<br />around in the dark.<br /><br />We spent some time relaxing in the room after lunch. I've taught G how to play Uno, and<br />she's picking up a good sense of strategy as we play. After our down time we headed out to<br />the front area to hang out and wait for our ride to dinner.<br />We had dinner at the Rock House, which is on the cliffs a bit further north of our resort.<br />It's one of the larger restaurants around, and is a bit more expensive than the smaller<br />family owned places, but has excellent food and great service. I had grilled lobster for<br />my dish, which came with a fried plantain, some mixed vegetables, and rice and peas.<br />What they call "rice and peas" is what we call rice and beans - kidney beans specifically.<br />It's a side dish served with just about every lunch or dinner meal, and I really enjoy it.<br />The lobsters here are spiny lobsters, which do not have the big claws we see on Maine<br />lobsters in the states... but has a great tail that has a sweeter, kind of nuttier flavor<br />that is just amazing. My lobster was split in half, simply grilled, with a bit of garlic and some drawn butter on the side.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoYFNVGnaS-Rvevt9wlDj9GMm0wp4Yd1838K7emWyTqmtb85bMeFNJ_anTq5signhc0fL2R-d0hMDA6spwa5i2eDe38BT74aYNqKDzTyNcBeFVLPU-_lG7Gh678WBTliVaV6ma1-Ejqc/s1600-h/feb+19+lobster.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoYFNVGnaS-Rvevt9wlDj9GMm0wp4Yd1838K7emWyTqmtb85bMeFNJ_anTq5signhc0fL2R-d0hMDA6spwa5i2eDe38BT74aYNqKDzTyNcBeFVLPU-_lG7Gh678WBTliVaV6ma1-Ejqc/s320/feb+19+lobster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440328333075261266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />After dinner we caught a cab back to the resort and wandered our way to the bar, where we played some dominoes with the bartender and had a few drinks (G's being a fruit punch<br />blend) As the hour grew later, we headed back to the room and settled in for sleep.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-37409654093378659132010-02-19T15:15:00.000-08:002010-02-19T15:31:44.598-08:00JUMP!We are currently getting ready for dinner, so there's no time to write a detailed entry... but I simply cannot wait to share these pictures. And they say pictures say 1,000 words anyway...<br /><br />One of my goals of this trip was to face my fears of heights and water in one fell swoop.... by jumping into the ocean.<br /><br />I started with a couple of warm-up jumps off the lower platform, which is maybe 6 or 7 feet over the water (more or less, depending on the size of the waves)<br /><br /><br />Standing on the lower platform<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCqh_X-7VlIVoPWtgWglXfoyoNqlzQZ58uhRDTBp3aIPQviLdeIdbG18H8zShYVug9kjKiWc-UGUi9pMk6EIQKz0uKnaa8LoLB4VHLgdann5cxjqWZMBQSFHR423gKNl4AXD9HXVa62M/s1600-h/lower+platform.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCqh_X-7VlIVoPWtgWglXfoyoNqlzQZ58uhRDTBp3aIPQviLdeIdbG18H8zShYVug9kjKiWc-UGUi9pMk6EIQKz0uKnaa8LoLB4VHLgdann5cxjqWZMBQSFHR423gKNl4AXD9HXVa62M/s320/lower+platform.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440099821319667730" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Jumping from the lower platform<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IEo8a3R1SPenm5FN05Ij3kMTb537lzQwe2c4DC3X_Kpm-LlAov7ZT3g9D7HdDLYpb4uSNypdipDIYWhqN3LiiJ1YhXoDuRhkS0YWb6TNlJSoH0zesl2f_sWGzJreHR9S4YZn8d5UtXg/s1600-h/jump+lower.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2IEo8a3R1SPenm5FN05Ij3kMTb537lzQwe2c4DC3X_Kpm-LlAov7ZT3g9D7HdDLYpb4uSNypdipDIYWhqN3LiiJ1YhXoDuRhkS0YWb6TNlJSoH0zesl2f_sWGzJreHR9S4YZn8d5UtXg/s320/jump+lower.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440099393374875826" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Checking out the drop.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMTSHgB_fKdgzdZdZWjjuunFdwEwKQqPP4N8Atd3I64dNgiDdjokdMRAXjOTf6wx-VCZBWSkFE7MLjzLSgq4qRNyI9W4o0-_cvh_EwXHjE731Zfe531ZX2AMdPaVjAPpCW_tvNPtOv7A/s1600-h/survey.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMTSHgB_fKdgzdZdZWjjuunFdwEwKQqPP4N8Atd3I64dNgiDdjokdMRAXjOTf6wx-VCZBWSkFE7MLjzLSgq4qRNyI9W4o0-_cvh_EwXHjE731Zfe531ZX2AMdPaVjAPpCW_tvNPtOv7A/s320/survey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440098450973849170" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My big debate was deciding whether to jump from the bridge (which is slightly lower) or jump from the high cliff platform. After much consideration, standing on the edge of each, I realized I would never stand on the edge and jump. No no... my feet would not allow me to jump. I needed to run and leap, so there was no going back... no chance to change my mind... and as I was somewhat afraid that running across the bridge and leaping halfway across would land me too close to the rocks on the other side, I opted for the higher cliff platform.<br /><br />I walked back and forth to the edge a few times, looking over to make sure I'd clear the cliff, then walking back. Finally I stood back about 8 feet, gave D a thumb's up, and with Jen's voice in my head screaming "FUCKING JUMP! DO IT!" I ran...<br /><br />The Big Jump.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWLymKYT75YYDHpZdn8NIZcKDNONh6YInnDoRzELErVPVfOpUebJgtbJo1epqyUCQYsY6-Nj59HuLwyH7K0vhOxjc1OIrfn4Cjzv9pgGAhjo74aIwoMqTWllIXKxRM8hAKpfNBdl-qZU/s1600-h/big+leap.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxWLymKYT75YYDHpZdn8NIZcKDNONh6YInnDoRzELErVPVfOpUebJgtbJo1epqyUCQYsY6-Nj59HuLwyH7K0vhOxjc1OIrfn4Cjzv9pgGAhjo74aIwoMqTWllIXKxRM8hAKpfNBdl-qZU/s320/big+leap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440097949916345874" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />After Jumping<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BbeAlqgmIar9-VZ9ezs3_sxFQdMN4IRzmhUriw_56gAUnAcdlwtOnwWATERdYn2nNp4XT_Id7wT1ej3GAnZdNO4fM_CeAPOHGwNzpBVDZCCiSq5_X0S4bJnPFhWE2w4ydx4qxHrC_CQ/s1600-h/after+jump.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BbeAlqgmIar9-VZ9ezs3_sxFQdMN4IRzmhUriw_56gAUnAcdlwtOnwWATERdYn2nNp4XT_Id7wT1ej3GAnZdNO4fM_CeAPOHGwNzpBVDZCCiSq5_X0S4bJnPFhWE2w4ydx4qxHrC_CQ/s320/after+jump.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440097502940286034" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I was shaking in this picture, you just can't see it. :)Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-87805866987293630572010-02-18T15:43:00.001-08:002010-02-18T18:08:33.418-08:00February 17-18 Travel and ArrivalFebruary 17 - Travel<br />For our transportation options to Jamaica, we opted to do a night flight into Charlotte,<br />N.C., which left Seattle around 10:30 p.m., and through the magic of time travel lands in<br />Charlotte at 6:30 a.m. but only flies for a little under 5 hours. It was... about what one<br />might expect, being in a narrow tin can with a full flight of strangers who don't<br />necessarily have the same idea of how to pass the time that you do. Though having a decent<br />neck pillow and ear plugs helped with the noise and comfort, there's nothing much one can<br />do about a family sitting behind you consisting of Mom, Daddy Long Legs and the 3 Year Old<br />who Won't Sleep.<br />For those traveling at night, I highly recommend visiting iTunes, go to the music store,<br />and search on "stress relief" - you'll find a list of podcasts of both guided meditations<br />and soothing nature sounds/music blends. Put a few of these on your music player of choice<br />prior to heading off into the wild... they work well to ease nerves and drown out 2 a.m.<br />conversationalists.<br />At some point in the middle of the night I woke and glanced out the window of the plane.<br />When I was a kid my parents used to take us on road trips - most of them to California,<br />usually via the incredibly boring I-5. On one trip my dad decided to make the return trip<br />up the coast instead. The drive was long, we saw little bits of coastal towns each day,<br />and stayed in a different hotel along the way every night. One night we stayed in a room<br />with an ocean view. My dad's snoring had woken me so many times that I had pretty much<br />given up on sleep, and I got up to wander around the room quietly. I sat by the window and<br />looked out into the black ocean on a black night. As my eyes adjusted, I began to see<br />little glimmers of white stars in the sky, and faint white undulating lines coming and<br />going along the horizon. These were the crests of waves, barely visible, just flashes of<br />white lines, slightly wider in the middle, tapering off on the ends.<br />Last night as I looked out the window I noticed the land we flew over looked much the<br />same... only this time the black earth was interrupted by pockets of amber light from the<br />cities and towns below. They looked peaceful from that distance, waves of yellow cities<br />tapering off to the dark shadows of the country.<br /><br />Thursday February 18<br />The "Good morning" announcement from the crew of the plane was both a blessing and a curse. At least the flight was over, but it meant the short night and our good opportunity for<br />sleep was over as well.<br />Still, Charlotte is a pleasant airport... big white rocking chairs line the central hub<br />from which the terminals branch out. We hoofed it from one end of the airport to the gate<br />for our connecting flight on the other, stopping for some breakfast food along the way. D<br />and G were satisfied with airport offerings of bagels and yogurt parfaits, but I decided to<br />be cautious and brought along some instant oatmeal for myself.<br />Breakfast is the hardest meal for me to go out for, and the bagel places in that airport<br />make egg sandwiches, which got me into a little cross contamination problem last trip.<br />This time, however, I simply stopped at a coffee place and ordered myself a cup of water<br />for tea, and an extra empty cup. Pour the oatmeal into the cup, add boiling water, instant<br />(and safe) breakfast.<br />The flight from Charlotte to Montego Bay was remarkably easier to sleep on. Perhaps it's<br />because half the flight was wide awake, and the random chatter blended together rather than<br />a voice or two sticking out. Or maybe I was just that tired... in any case, D filled out<br />our customs/immigration forms while I napped, waking only for a cranberry juice. It still<br />wasn't sleep-sleep, but it made the flight pass rather quickly.<br /><br />Immigration consists of standing in a long line waiting to show your forms and passports to<br />the officials. Next you go down a series of hallways to the baggage claim, where the bags<br />are generally already pulled off the belt and waiting for you to pick them up. Down<br />another hallway is customs... another stamp, a wave through, and you're in Jamaica mon.<br />The main area of the airport is bustling with activity - officials directing tourists which<br />door to take to find their shuttles or taxi drivers. D had arranged for our favorite<br />driver, Tyrone, to pick us up... so we walked through the glass doors into the perfect<br />summer weather to a familiar face. Tyrone walked up to D, giving him a handshake/hug, then<br />to me, then to G... whom he has given the nickname "Little Princess". He pulled his van<br />around, loaded our bags, and as he opened the doors for us he said "welcome home again<br />mon!"<br /><br />Tyrone rocks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeNivY2IMdM0njeHlSrhUuckuOJAIxG9_FyMEfvRS6Ge9IqFKlR-dB55wd7O_fgz9PztwlaRu9xrPgMKfnDUVuNHrlMuvSokHDDqYUzEBQpwCPQcU2hSNGjfW0MG60RJVKK-SGJb9ruI/s1600-h/vaninterior.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUeNivY2IMdM0njeHlSrhUuckuOJAIxG9_FyMEfvRS6Ge9IqFKlR-dB55wd7O_fgz9PztwlaRu9xrPgMKfnDUVuNHrlMuvSokHDDqYUzEBQpwCPQcU2hSNGjfW0MG60RJVKK-SGJb9ruI/s320/vaninterior.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439734109395101154" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The drive from Montego Bay to Negril is roughly 1.5 hours, hugging the coastline pretty<br />much the whole way. Tyrone drove us through the center of Montego Bay first, to give is a<br />view of the city, before hitting the highway out of town.<br />It is difficult to get used to the drivers being on the left side of the road. The exit<br />from the airport is a roundabout, and when the van lurched to the left I held my breath,<br />sure that we were going to be broadsided. Then I remembered... that's the way we're<br />supposed to go.<br />Another thing about the driving here... it is aggressive. No real sense of road rules<br />aside from the horn - he who honks first has the right-of-way. The highway is a two lane<br />road, sometimes made into 3 or 4 lanes depending upon whether the drivers want to speed up<br />and pass other cars or not. The van will lurch as cars in cities suddenly stop to let<br />people out, or in... and we are forced to invent space between us and the next lane to get<br />around them. It's an adventure to say the least, but Tyrone is great at dodging parked<br />cars and whipping around the clear parts of the roads.<br /><br />About halfway to our destination we stopped at a little stand across from where Tyrone grew<br />up. There are many of these stands along the highway in Jamaica - many labeled "Beer<br />Joints" - which sell a variety of fruits, drinks, and sometimes conch shells. We pulled<br />over for a snack, and Tyrone spoke to the owner of the stand, and had him break open a<br />fruit called soursap.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcIFykNnkA2EwiiqWY2DCFXmODokZhdj7rmGsbYHMmw51wrsEvpYNTqF1vcjrNz7CETusCxGsjbyt-wpz5h0VjKMDgBiMihOaomY8FLUtVd1pyoInsBYgcxKjujqTJrXA2UG3dGYcVeo/s1600-h/stand.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcIFykNnkA2EwiiqWY2DCFXmODokZhdj7rmGsbYHMmw51wrsEvpYNTqF1vcjrNz7CETusCxGsjbyt-wpz5h0VjKMDgBiMihOaomY8FLUtVd1pyoInsBYgcxKjujqTJrXA2UG3dGYcVeo/s320/stand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439734005533232338" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This fruit was about the size of... maybe a small cantelope... but more pear shaped, with<br />dark green prickly skin. It looked like it would take a small hammer to break it open, but<br />the man held it between his hands, gave it a squeeze, and pulled it apart almost exactly in<br />half. The skin is actually soft and almost rubbery in texture... once the fruit is open<br />you can lay it pretty flat. The interior is white and pulpy... visually it almost looked<br />like cotton candy, adhering to the inside of the skin and combed inwards toward the center.<br />There is a tough heart in the middle of the fruit, but the flesh between the skin and<br />center is very soft, and very juicy. The flavor was unlike anything I've had... sweet,<br />fruity, mild... almost a blend of pineapple and coconut maybe. Just about every bite had one hard seed in it... you could take a bite of the fruit, push the seed out with your tongue, and<br />eat the rest. I don't know why I didn't get a photo of this at the time, but I will have<br />one by trip's end.<br /><br />We also had fresh coconut "jelly" at the stand.. he cut the top off the coconut so we could<br />drink the water, then chopped it in half to scoop out the soft jelly inside. After that we<br />sampled the honey bananas - they grow about half the size of the bananas we see in the<br />states, but taste much sweeter and are (in my opinion) a better size for snacking.<br />The rest of the drive was fairly quiet.. Tyrone and D talked while I watched the<br />countryside slip by, and soon we were in Negril. After a quick stop at the Hi Lo (local<br />grocery store) we made it to our first home away from home, Tensing Pen.<br />When we first check in we're greeted with a rum punch and the soft rolling waves of the<br />ocean lapping against the cliffs. We are eager to explore the city, but also dead tired<br />from the travel... so we decided to grab a quick lunch at the restaurant here before<br />resting. The menu seems slightly Americanized for lunch... sandwiches, burgers, soups and<br />salads. I ended up ordering the ackee pizza - which looks to be a combination of<br />traditional Jamaican food served on an American flatbread. The pizza had ackee, calaloo,<br />some spicy marinara, and a sprinkling of a cheese I couldn't quite identify. It was very<br />tastey (though in my tired state I neglected to get a photo of this as well... I will get<br />better I promise!)<br /><br />After lunch our room was ready, so we made our way around the garden paths to the South<br />Pillar - complete with it's breathtaking view of the bridge and Caribbean sea, and outdoor<br />shower. I immediately took a shower (I just HATE how I feel after traveling, all grimy and<br />gritty from the road and canned airplane air)<br /><br />If you haven't had the opportunity to use an outdoor shower, I highly recommend it. The view is amazing, the breeze feels fresh, and in this case the sound of the ocean in the background just can't compare to anything else.<br /><br />Now it's time to rest and recoup from the 24 hours of travel adventure...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Xlphmdep4JJpjak_JchdLrmA4o_zgzsS9ov9Twhyphenhyphenkl6npm6DGpZsXrbP7wllqGdg63Ky-JqQ6IA7ZvjURZ_ymOrrexCuMHtjVF-USYoF4wgQIqj_FQqTKzeXXwIszjNFVMb9U6GtPdU/s1600-h/path+to+room.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Xlphmdep4JJpjak_JchdLrmA4o_zgzsS9ov9Twhyphenhyphenkl6npm6DGpZsXrbP7wllqGdg63Ky-JqQ6IA7ZvjURZ_ymOrrexCuMHtjVF-USYoF4wgQIqj_FQqTKzeXXwIszjNFVMb9U6GtPdU/s320/path+to+room.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439733852514112290" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LguplFCNaefU3e6AH59ob1GndAImXOU-k9liw5jxIPL0MClKKkOtkflupkpEXn5MxXATc73wflzo5HluJVEfc1NdSX4yXo4TnOSc2YjgNl_LHf0xMlAqNXgtCu9vAT5uyiDH-rVx5gI/s1600-h/room+exterior.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LguplFCNaefU3e6AH59ob1GndAImXOU-k9liw5jxIPL0MClKKkOtkflupkpEXn5MxXATc73wflzo5HluJVEfc1NdSX4yXo4TnOSc2YjgNl_LHf0xMlAqNXgtCu9vAT5uyiDH-rVx5gI/s320/room+exterior.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439733731207731602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_EPeEqAg_0lXB4VYx6i1oc6t_Jf36RZyD987PAG2LCpv984a8gp8Y_MlZLCdb7MGHtUKir10_HZ8nykN2GPwE7poegB5XDl_tawEECWxu-MssLb9k0CPBmiWvQIFBSmEtHAlSO5qokA/s1600-h/shower.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp_EPeEqAg_0lXB4VYx6i1oc6t_Jf36RZyD987PAG2LCpv984a8gp8Y_MlZLCdb7MGHtUKir10_HZ8nykN2GPwE7poegB5XDl_tawEECWxu-MssLb9k0CPBmiWvQIFBSmEtHAlSO5qokA/s320/shower.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439733619245282466" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpot7M1x2hLjAdsqXfY01NFSsb3xenizT0X_vN6dr45mBjl4MKTqOL2itTDFQ28UF6WLEkKQ4b8ID4xmOD04ARgQ9Qno5rnhC8d4smgA3U7G2d_Mbsh3oBSyzOAu5DafR4x1QZksPtBj4/s1600-h/view+from+balcony.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpot7M1x2hLjAdsqXfY01NFSsb3xenizT0X_vN6dr45mBjl4MKTqOL2itTDFQ28UF6WLEkKQ4b8ID4xmOD04ARgQ9Qno5rnhC8d4smgA3U7G2d_Mbsh3oBSyzOAu5DafR4x1QZksPtBj4/s320/view+from+balcony.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439733498137350402" border="0" /></a><br />----<br />Quick edit:<br />After dinner (which for me consisted of jerk snapper from Alice's Restaurant across the street... which was excellent. And I also tried a bite of D's curried conch - less rubbery than I expected, but I don't believe I'll order conch for myself for any meal)... I went through D's camera and pulled a couple shots.<br /><br />Here we are at the stand this afternoon - still in our airplane cozy clothes :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9cQH03AnHRdm5hhnnpHUAbcTKgZRVljCjSY8qkq4fs_e4p46_2_17H5VC7uF0vB-TFfoB5MlGFl68FCqFpdJ2y0fvvfkUvhlN_pBrMvOHsC74U-rdIU5A1ulEkumqRO6jR08Xs7-hwQ/s1600-h/at+the+stand.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9cQH03AnHRdm5hhnnpHUAbcTKgZRVljCjSY8qkq4fs_e4p46_2_17H5VC7uF0vB-TFfoB5MlGFl68FCqFpdJ2y0fvvfkUvhlN_pBrMvOHsC74U-rdIU5A1ulEkumqRO6jR08Xs7-hwQ/s320/at+the+stand.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439770088512452914" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here I am inside the room tonight... it has been a long day and I'm ready to crash.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ur5g-V3ryszd59sr4VWzuUTv40NWVzGTS-U53F2QTYepK3rjnq9g5pH9yVdNL155RXnsHsNazH7PBBEoRZhpyvhlo_6yFRKVUTstHZj7SUdBzX3oE6IQ8PJvB-iokcuoqs7MGLs_Cg4/s1600-h/in+the+room.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ur5g-V3ryszd59sr4VWzuUTv40NWVzGTS-U53F2QTYepK3rjnq9g5pH9yVdNL155RXnsHsNazH7PBBEoRZhpyvhlo_6yFRKVUTstHZj7SUdBzX3oE6IQ8PJvB-iokcuoqs7MGLs_Cg4/s320/in+the+room.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439769971450726258" border="0" /></a>Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-79806258645555238862010-02-15T23:50:00.000-08:002010-02-16T00:07:26.977-08:00February 15 - Packing StrategyOver the weekend I did a mad dash of next-to-last-minute store runs, a bunch of house cleaning, and buckets of laundry to prepare for the coming week. Once my vacation clothes were cleaned, dried, and lined up, I began to pack for real.<br /><br />And I must say... Space Saver bags are absolutely and without a doubt worth the money. Although if anyone inspects our carry-ons I'm afraid they'll think we're trying to smuggle freeze dried clothes out of the country, as the air-less sealed packets resemble MRE's more than they do packed clothing. Appearance aside, we can not only fit far more stuff in our suitcases, but our clothing is well protected from moisture and dirt while traveling as well.<br /><br />We used these last year and I was impressed with their durability, however you don't want to ever pack anything wet inside the bags... as the moisture gets into the chamber and renders the magic "air can get out, but can't get in" feature useless. The bags that we managed to keep dry, however, have lasted a full year and are being put to good use again.<br /><br />I recommend packing a few extra bags as well - because the tetris configuration of the suitcases is never the same coming home as it is going out, is it? A couple extra empty bags take up no space, and are handy for when you find yourself unable to squeeze those last few souvenir t-shirts in.<br /><br />Another packing strategy I learned from my parents... pack some of your stuff in a smaller suitcase, then put that inside a larger suitcase for the way out of town. When you arrive at your destination, you now have an extra suitcase to haul all your stuff back. Nowadays that requires you to pay a fee for checking an additional bag, but in the end it's more convenient than trying to find a post office and ship your belongings back to yourself in the last stretch of your vacation.<br /><br />And finally... luggage tags. Buy the brightest, most annoying colored luggage tags for your checked bags. Gone are the days of us standing in baggage claim, trying to determine if that black suitcase roughly the size of ours is the right hint of faded black/army green or not. Now I look for the neon luggage tags and I can yank my suitcase off the revolving belt with confidence. Honestly, as much as I avoid pink in my wardrobe... if I could talk D into a bright pink suitcase with yellow polka-dots, I'd totally buy one.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-46347043062155995922010-02-09T10:59:00.000-08:002010-02-09T20:52:23.473-08:00February 9 - PreparingAs the clock ticks down to T (travel) - Day I find my mind buzzing in 20 different directions at once. Bright pink post-it notes are the ticket to my sanity as I use them to jot down random thoughts that come to mind that I just can't trust I'll remember later. Even though they seem so basic.<br />Remember passports.<br />Print out flight information.<br />Pack snacks for plane.<br /><br />All these things pretty well fall under the category of "DUH" for me, yet I write them down anyway. Through all of our trips - spontaneous and pre-planned - I've discovered it puts my mind at ease if I can absolutely verify something has been done by physically writing a check-mark next to it on the list. The killer thing for me is having to wait until the day of travel to check most things off the list... because so many things cannot be done until the last 24 hours before we leave.<br /><br />But there are at least some things we can do prior to that day to make the last bit of packing up run smoother. The list is the first and most obvious for me. Have my completed list sitting out, waiting for me to run down and check things off. Then there is the gathering of supplies/items that we can start to put aside in one spot, so that we aren't searching the house over in the last hours of T-Day.<br /><br />That is one of the benefits of traveling from a cold winter climate to a tropical one for vacation - I'll not be touching my bathing suits or sunblock anytime soon, so I might as well gather that stuff up in my suitcase. As we paw through our summertime supplies, too, we can take stock of what we have and stock up on what we need.<br /><br />This year some new additions to are travel supply arsenal - a large rolling duffel bag, and a couple of adjustable travel pillows.<br /><br />We decided that our 16 year old oversized soft sided suitcase was just too inflexible for our needs, and a royal pain in the ass to haul anyway. After researching (read: beating up in the store) some of the hard sided options, we went with the large rolling duffel instead. It'll store better in between trips, it's long enough to carry the snorkel gear with ease, and as we've already opted to buy shipping containers for the bottles of rum we'll bring back, we don't necessarily need the added "protection" of a hard shell suitcase.<br /><br />The travel pillows were not something I thought we'd need until we flew last year. It seems the airlines have really cut back on every amenity they can, including those wee little airline pillows and blankets they used to provide. Granted my own pillow will be a lot more comfortable anyway, but up until now it was nice to have that one less thing to haul around. The pillows we picked up have a convenient clip on the, though, so at least we can stick it to the outside of the carry-on, instead of having to waste space shoving a pillow in the bag.<br /><br />So my list is building, my suitcase lays open on the floor with clothing and games dropped haphazardly over the top, and the countdown continues.Jadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-588785976183139125.post-46407600629029800732010-01-18T00:19:00.001-08:002010-01-18T00:19:57.672-08:00setting up blogJust setting upJadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03854630691064616852noreply@blogger.com0