Jamaica: Our 2nd excursion

In the forefront of the picture you can see Andy swimming towards Tobin and Noah who are snorkeling.
Brenna's ever so graceful attempt to begin snorkeling!!






In the background you can see our cruise ship. We had times when it was raining throughout the day.


We arrived in Montego Bay, Jamiaca around 10:00 in the morning. It was exciting to think that we were free to go anywhere or do anything we wanted anywhere we wanted to do it. But, our thoughts were focused on snorkeling. We wanted to snorkel and have Brenna snorkel for the first time. So, therefore, we needed to find a beach! It was so much easier than I thougth it was going to be; I should have figured that tourisism is a huge industry in all of the places we were visiting and the natives were waiting to show their country to us. When we walked off the boat and into the customs building there were all sorts of information about tours and attractions. I really felt a sigh of relief to realize how easy it was going to be. And I also realized how different it was going to be from Haiti as we really could have driven all day around to the different areas of Jamaica had we wanted to. So, we found a map, asked about good snorkeling places and off we went into our bus. This was also organized and we were quickly directed to a bus.

One thing I've realized about going to different countries besides the fact that some of them drive on what we think as the wrong side of the road is that their cars and buses might also be different. They aren't always like we think of cars and buses. The bus we got on was no exception. It was really a hybrid between a bus and a van. And what was really neat was that the bus had these fold down chairs that when opened fit into the aisle of the bus. So, as you walked down the aisle there were two seats on either side of the bus. And yet, when you opened the fold down chair, we had seats for all five of us! No one had to sit by themselves; it was one of those fun moments where the numbers matched perfectly. I know, I'm so easily impressed.

The bus ride was actually one of my favorite parts of the whole day. I guess, at heart, I really want to see what other countries look like. I know the beaches of Jamaica are their greatest natural resources, but I want to see where the people live, where they work and shop. If it so different from ours, I want to understand how it is different. The bus trip only whetted my appetite for that information. Luckily, one of the first stops were the shops. I couldn't imagine getting off and going shopping there. It just didn't look like my usual haunts for shopping, Target, the mall, etc. I didn't have a context for it and I would have liked to, but I knew there was no way my family would agree to going shopping instead of snorkeling, even if it wasn't so much for the shopping per se, but rather to find out how Jamaicans shop. I'm sure this sounds silly, but I really like learning about people.

Our bus ride took us past Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. It looked like a great restaurant and a great place to relax and have a meal. I stored that place away for later if there was time. It was very cheery as were our tour guides (even if they did try and get us to take the extended tour of Jamaica which Andy didn't want to do). After Margaritaville, we quickly approached Doctor Cave beach where we were deposited for a day of beach and snorkeling.

Our first impressions were so scewed because it took us so long to get our snorkel equipment, make sure it worked properly and feel comfortable using it. Andy had to go back three different times to exchange equipment. Now, I don't think he was being picky as we all like to breathe. Finally, after probably an hour, we were able to swim out and snorkel. Poor Brenna never really got the hang of it and really didn't get to see what all of our excitement was about. She ended up hanging out on a water trampoline while the rest of us snorkeled. We will convert her next time!! The boys had fun and I was amazed to see how quickly they seemed to remember the ins and outs of snorkeling. We didn't see any fish or sea things that we hadn't seen before, but regardless it was neat to see them again. They boys loved trying to swim down and touch the fish-- yes this was all Andy's influence.

After about 5 hours at the beach, we were able to take a water taxi back to the boat. We were ready as we had been at the beach all day, underneath a really strong, beautiful sun. It was a really fun time and Margaritaville will have to wait for another day.