Yeahmon

Hi all,
We're back! We had a great time on our Jamaican vacation and though we did have wifi at the hotel I made the decision to be internet free for the week.
 We made the trip with daughter Amanda and hubby Pat, also along was Pats mom Gale and grandson Alex with gf Emily.

Gale, Amanda, Pat, Wendy, Alex and Emily

 We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Montego Bay, it is pretty big place with seven different buildings. 
 One really nice thing there was a small island with chairs setup for sunning or napping in the shade and you could snorkel right around the island.

 Nightly entertainment provided some neat local dance and drum groups performing. Some of the singing or local bands not quite as entertaining, but overall we enjoyed most of it.
 Food was plentiful offering an all day buffet and four different dinner restaurants, one offered Jamaican fare, one Italian, one Japanese and seafood at the other. They also featured a jerk hut, a hamburger grill, and a ice cream and hot dog hut. Along with five bars sprinkled about we never had to go far to satisfy any craving.

 Amanda and Pat had been to Jamaica a few years earlier so one good part of this was Amanda had met a local tour guide and she was able to set up a couple day excursions with him.
 We quickly learned this was the best way to travel as the vehicles driver is on the right and they travel on the left side of the road, just imagine coming into a roundabout.
 Lindsey was our tour guide and he quickly made us all feel welcome. Although a born Jamaican he has spent time working on Disney cruise ships and some other time in Florida. He was very informative on Jamaican history and culture. He also had good knowledge of the plant life and kept spewing interesting facts along the way.

lots of fruit stands

jack fruit

 Our first excursion was a place called The Blue Hole just outside the port city of Ocho Rios about a hour and a half drive away. Most of the drive was along the coast just heading inland after Ocho Rios. Things then quickly turned quite interesting,  we rounded a turn in the road and there stood  Brownie Man selling- well you know, special brownies. Sorry, he came upon us so fast we didn't get a pic. We got a little culture shock learning that marijuana is not much of a crime here, people are allowed two ounces for personal use and can have 3 plants at home.

 At the Blue Hole a guide led you up stream hiking and as you made the return trip you were able to leap into the deep pools created by the falls. We then stopped at Scotchies a favorite local jerk restaurant.

 Our other excursion was a packed day, we headed across the island our first stop was YS Falls, another beautiful mountain stream with cool waterfalls.

 Next we made a pontoon boat ride on the Black River traversing through a mangrove. There we saw crocodile, egrets, and herons along the scenic route.

 Not near done yet we were treated to a fresh lobster lunch at a beachfront bar. From there we caught a small narrow fishing boat for a ride out to the famous Pelican Bar. The bar is made on stilts about 3/4 mile out from shore. It is on a large sand bar and we were able to snorkel around or just stand in the warm water and drink.

 Traveling around the island is an adventure itself, road are narrow and repairs are almost non existent. When you get to populated areas it gets even more fun with pedestrians blindly crossing almost daring you to hit them.

 Our last day we made a change of plans having Lindsay give us a small tour of Montego Bay and a few city sites. He took us to the oldest church in Jamaica that has been holding services 220 years. Amazing fact of that they have had only 22 priests in that time.

 We then took a small tour of a beautiful old resort Rose Hill. It is built high on a hill overlooking the city and Montego Bay.