The Trip Isn't Over till Its Over!

Well, its time to go home! Out of the resort wear and back into jackets and jeans!

We were picked up at the hotel at 9:30 a.m. When we arrived back to the Montego Bay airport, we were told that our plan was delayed due to bad weather where it originated. However, they could put us on an earlier flight that was leaving soon. We gladly accepted and arrived in Charlotte, NC at 2:45 pm. It was foggy and stormy in NC and our plane wasn't schedule to leave there until 6:05 pm. We kept watching the boards as plane after plane was delayed due to bad weather. Finally, it was our time! But our plane had not yet arrived. First, it was delayed until 6:20, then 6:40, then it got there. Only to be told then that there were maintenance issues that needed to be taken care of. Absolutely! We insist! Don't want to be boarding a plane with maintenance issues. So we patiently waited for the report....all the while looking for Plan B just in case it was cancelled. Then, finally, we were given the go ahead and left Charlotte around 8 p.m., arriving safely into Huntsville, and arriving at our final destination "home" at 10 p.m. All is well that ends well!

Last Day!

Our last day was spent lounging under a palm tree on the beach, reading books, working puzzles, and pretty much doing nothing!

We made a dinner reservation at the gourmet restaurant at the Bahia (Don Pablo). We thought we'd save the best for last and it proved to be very much true. This special dinner made our 10 ten list of the best places we've ever eaten! Our waiter, Greg, provided excellent service and put on quite a show at our table preparing our dessert.

Sunday Dinner

A very relaxing day on the beach today, doing pretty much nothing!

All that nothing was followed by dinner at the Mikado, a Japanese restaurant here at the Bahia. The Jamaicans are very good at a lot of things, but impersonating a Japanese chef isn't one of them. We managed to stay up to see the 10 p.m. show, which is held outdoors in a large square surrounded by souvenier shops and one drug store.....and we quickly learned there's a reason its called a drug store!!!! The show was a steel drum band (The Silver Birds) that was quite entertaining. There were 5 steel drum players, a drummer, and a fellow playing several 50-gallon drums. They also had a couple of "lady" dancers that had unique talents to say the least.

Dunns River Falls

We went to Dunn's River Falls yesterday and climbed up the 600 foot waterfall. It was absolutely thrilling! This is one of those things you have to do before you "get too old"! Man, was that water COLD! But we really didn't notice because the climb was so exhilarating. We also did some shopping in Ocho Rios, but that didn't take long. You can only look at T-shirts and obscene wooden figurines just so long! But was Ready Freddie ever ready!

Today was spent lounging around the beach, reading and napping! Maybe we were too old for the falls!

Plan B - Jamaica

Since June of 2010, we've been researching, studying, and looking forward to a 15-day trip to Egypt! With less than 3 weeks to our departure and that part of the world's situation quickly deteriorating, our tour company informed us they were cancelling our trip. Although we had mixed emotions, very much relieved with regards to our safety but yet disappointed that we would not be seeing the pyramids and tombs that we'd spent a great deal of time learning about. It was as if we'd studied for the test and found out that class had been cancelled!

So, with that behind us.....on to plan B! We had cleared our calendars and were ready to go somewhere.... somewhere WARM! So with one week's notice, we booked a trip to Jamaica, chosen because we had not been there before.

We did our research on Trip Advisor and decided to book 7 days at an all inclusive, small, resort in Ocho Rios. We give our star rating, based on the reviews. First, that it wasn't a good place for kids, because there were no activities (*****) Second, if you were looking for a drinking and partying all night long, this wasn't for you because the place basically shut down around 10 p.m. (*****) Third, the accomodations were dated, but clean (**). Fourth, the food was excellent (*****) So, you can see the 5 stars outweighed the 2 stars....this is why we chose it.

So, on Wednesday morning, we got up at 3 a.m. to drive to Huntsville to catch our 6:10 a.m. flight. We arrived in Montego Bay around 12:45 p.m. It was 4 p.m. by the time we arrived at the "resort". So far....so good. We checked in. The staff was exceptionally friendly. We settled into our room that stepped directly onto the beach. You could walk 25 steps out our door and be in the ocean. However, the patio and bar were also right there. It did appear to be a quiet, laid back kind of place. Little did we know that everyone must have been napping when we arrived. We had dinner around 7 p.m. and although the selection was small, it was quite good. A combination of Jamaican and American food. Around 9 p.m. the karaoke began. Bad, bad karaoke right outside our door!

We had been told also that the property was full and there were no other rooms they could move us to. The next day we asked the front desk to call Apple Vacations and they refused. We could not use the internet because the service was down the entire time we had been there. I had a minor panic attack. We're in a strange country, unable to communicate with anyone. Not being allowed to call for help. Were we being held hostage? OK, I said it was a panic attack!

Finally, we kept pressing the front desk and they got us connected with Garfield Gayle, Apple Vacations. He was very helpful and found us a vacancy at Bahia Gran Principe, Runaway Bay. We quickly packed up and left.

The only thing that the two resorts had in common was that they were both in Jamaica! Enough said.

We love the Bahia and would highly recommend it.