First visit to the Caribbean
Saturday, November 7 – Early morning departure scheduled for 6:24 AM. We set our alarms for 3:30 and left for the airport at 4:17, two minutes past our target. Even in the early hours the shuttle bus from longterm parking was full. We had TSA Precheck on our boarding passes and breezed through security – no removal of shoes, no need to unpack the CPAP. Once in the terminal we had time for a cup of coffee before boarding United 4969, a CRJ-700, for the first hop to Houston. Bad weather there delayed our departure for a few minutes.
There wasn’t much to see on the flight with almost continuous cloud cover. We didn’t see the ground until our aircraft was about to touch down. No jetway in Houston, just a ramp and a dash outside to the terminal for dinky planes. We just beat the rain. Took the train from terminal B to terminal E and had time for a Cinnabon while we waited to board. Houston’s airport is a messy sprawl. Even with the train going anywhere involves a lot of walking.
Flight 1400 was a 737-800 to Montego Bay. A young woman was in one of our seats when we boarded. Turned out she was supposed to be in the row behind us, but her husband was in our row. They’d just gotten married and were on their way to their honeymoon. We agreed to switch seats and ended up with a row to ourselves. Turbulance was pretty severe leaving Houston and the new groom in front of us was quickly succumbing to motion sickness. Lynne came to his resuce with a couple of Dramamine. Skies cleared a bit as we flew east and we were able to see the Florida Keys and Cuba as we passed over.
88° when we landed at Sangster International in Jamaica. Jim had read horror stories about the long lines at immigration and customs but it only took us about five minutes to get through each counting the time we had to wait in line. Staff at the airport were very helpful. Our Amstar rep got us to our shuttle and we were off to our hotel in short order. Just as we started to pull out we saw the honeymooners again, walking toward their shuttle with drinks in hand. We were glad we weren’t driving ourselves with the combination of left-hand driving and the frenetic flow of traffic.
The Hilton Rose Hall is about six miles east of the airport and a half mile past the Rose Hall Great House. While checking in we were provided with cool towels and pineapple drinks to chase away the heat. Room 250 was on the second floor (first floor for the front of the hotel) with an ocean view from the balcony. Electrical outlets were a mix of North American 110 and UK 220. After unpacking we walked around a bit, sat and watched the sunset from lounge chairs by the beach, and got a couple of Bahama Mamas from the bar. They were awful and neither of us could finish them. Ate too much at Fresh, the hotel’s buffet restaurant, where the good food made up for the bad drinks. We were so tired from our long day we just crashed in our room after dinner.
Sunday, November 8 – Lots of partying noise during the night. We slept in after the long day before. After breakfast at the buffet we met with Kevin, our Amstar rep, to confirm our transfer to the airport and book an excursion for Tuesday. We ate lunch at the Seaside Grille so we could listen to the waves and enjoy the breeze. Spent the afternoon at the waterpark enjoying the lazy river and jacuzzi. We saw a few cats roaming about but they were all skittish. Watched a bit of football before heading to Fresh for dinner. The lineup on the television was mostly U.S. with a couple of Jamaican, Canadian, UK, and Spanish-speaking Latin American channels, along with one French, one German and one Indian.
Monday, November 19 – The buffet at Fresh was the only option for breakfast but it had a different theme each day; today’s was European. Baked beans, sausages, cold cuts and cheese. Each day also has a selection of Jamaican dishes. We sat on lounge chairs on the beach for a bit before going to Sugarmill Falls, aka the waterpark. Our ability to turn skies from blue and sunny to overcast soon manifested itself. We had hoped to take a tour of the Rose Hall Great House but they didn’t have enough takers for the daytime tour. The night tour focuses on the ghost story of Annie Palmer, the White Witch of Rose Hall, which didn’t appeal to us as the legend is just that – a story concocted for the tourists.
Lynne wasn’t feeling well after lunch and stayed in. Jim went to the waterpark where lightning quickly shut everything down. Lynne was feeling better in the evening. We had reservations at the Seaside Grille for a candlelit dinner by the sea, fortunately under cover as it rained while we were eating. The food and drink were very good with a lightning show over the sea. A couple of cruise ships passed by impressing everyone with their size. We were seated next to a family with preschool twin girls celebrating their birthdays. One of the mooching felines wandered by and they got very excited – “A kitty!” Daddy declined their request to catch it and take it home with them. The rain had let up by the time we finished dessert.
Tuesday, November 10 – Our excursion to the south shore had a 7:20 pickup time. We were expecting a tour bus and were surprised to find our party consisted of us, our driver/guide Hamilton, and his Toyota Yaris. We had a private tour with group tour pricing. Hamilton took us on a wild ride through Montego Bay and into the mountains on the B8 road. Besides pointing out the sights, he also gave us insight and opinions of his fellow drivers, local politicians, the country’s infrastructure, and the English (“those tyrants!”). The traffic light in front of our hotel wasn’t working. Hamilton explained it was out because of a wreck a mile up the road that also knocked out a few other traffic lights. The wreck had occurred six weeks before we arrived and they hadn’t gotten around to fixing things yet. He had an opinion about everyone involved.
Jamaican driving consists of lots of speeding, tailgating, weaving, questionable passing and surprisingly few collisions. Traffic signs and lane markers appear to be mostly suggestions. Small towns were the norm in the mountains along the B8. Houses were a mix ranging from shacks to large multistory constructions with ornate fences and balconies, almost all painted brightly. No sidewalks anywhere with many business’ doors opening right on the street. We drove past groves of orange and banana trees.
First stop was in Black River for the Safari Cruise. Pontoon boats cruised up the river past mangroves full of birds and swampy areas of bullrushes. Mats of hyacinths drifted past; the invasive species has to be cleared several times a year to keep it from choking the river. Egrets and ospreys roosted in the trees and frigate birds swirled around our boat. Our guide coaxed crocodiles over with chunks of raw chicken. The first ones we saw were four to six feet long. At our turnaround point he tried to get Josephine, a 14 footer, to come over so he could give her a kiss but she wasn’t in the mood, but we were able to get some good pictures of her. He was also unable to get Jerry, a smaller croc, to get close enough to be hauled aboard.
After returning to the dock we were off to YS Falls. YS comes from John Yates and Richard Scott, the original land owners. The Jamaicans pronounce it “wise” and generally don’t puncuate it as initials. On the way we drove through farm country with lots of goats (often wandering in the road), chickens, cows and horses. We ate lunch at YS before heading up the falls – $2,600 Jamaican for the two of us. Jim tried curried goat which was good but had lots of chunks of bone in it. Our ride to the falls was a trailer pulled by a tractor over a dirt road which was in better shape than a lot of the paved highways. YS Falls is series of seven waterfalls with a total drop of around 40 meters. The boardwalk and stairs alongside the falls and pools passes through a forest with ferns and red ginger carpeting the ground.
We had the option to swim at the falls but settled for dipping our feet in a pool downstream rather than deal with the slippery rocks and the hassle of changing into and out of our suits. Although it had been hot and sunny at the vistor center it as overcast with a bit of rain when we got to the falls. They were very pretty regardless. The sun was shining when our jitney returned us from the falls. We kept looking for Hamilton but couldn’t find him – turned out he had reclined his seat in the car and was watching Modern Marvels on YouTube. He said it had never even clouded over there the whole time we were gone.
Next up was a tour of the Appleton Estate distillery. More driving on narrow mountain roads past papaya groves and a fair number of donkeys. The tour at Appleton started with a drink at the bar in the visitor center followed by a display of rum-making equipment from the past, including a demonstration of a donkey-powered sugar cane press. The tour of the modern operation started at the fermentation tanks where the juice from the cane starts converting sugar to alcohol. Next up was the distillation room with its rows of stills and condensors. Finally we toured the aging room, a huge structure filled with oak barrels each containing 40 gallons of rum. The fumes in the aging room were enough to make us feel light headed. Next we got to try some freshly squeezed cane juice and some wet sugar (brown sugar with molasses). Back in the visitor center we had the option to try any of 10 different types of rum but we went right to the shop for a couple of bottles, passing on the 50 year old limited edition distilled in 1962 despite its bargain price of $5,000 U.S. per bottle. We were also each given a small (50 ml) bottle as a souvenir.
The return to Rose Hall was back the way we came. Shortly after turning from the coast highway (the A2) onto B8, we were pulled over by the local constabulary for a spot check. Hamilton had some choice words for the police after they checked his license and put us back on our way. If anything, traffic was crazier on our way back. We spent some quality time behind a slow truck carring a load of bananas but still got back to the Hilton earlier than expected. The buffet restaurant had set up outdoors which was festive but meant longer lines for everything. We were so worn out we passed on the partying which sounded like a lot of fun but our get up and go had got up and went.
Wednesday, November 11 – After the busy day we settled in for some serious laziness. Sugarmill Falls in the morning and we were ready when the bar opened at 10:00. Lynne visited the Soothe Spa in the afternoon while Jim puttered around taking pictures and exploring. Jim went swimming in the ocean in the afternoon. Dinner at Fresh.
Thursday, November 12 – After breakfast we hit the big pool for a change. We alternated drinks and lounging in the sun with hopping in water. Still hesitant to get burned we dried off, dressed and hit Bar King Frog, a bar off the hotel lobby, and sat on the terrace to keep an eye on the ocean. We made ourselves be good at lunch. Clouds rolled in after lunchtime and the wind kept cycling from strong gusts to dead calm. We dressed up nicely for dinner at the resort’s Italian restaurant, Luna di Mare, for wine and good northern Italian cooking.
Friday, November 13 – Started the day at the waterpark before everything was up and running. The lazy river without a current was extra lazy. Jim had noticed almost all the adults on the larger waterslide wiped out at the bottom. After seeing one man finally stay atop his tube he took it as a challenge and also accomplished the feat. Lunch at Mangoes under an umbrella on the deck to enjoy the views. Lazy afternoon. Lynne opted to stay in but Jim went for another dip in the ocean. News of the terrorist attacks in Paris that day dampened spirits. After dinner at Fresh we sat by the ocean looking at the stars overhead and watching lightning on the northern horizon.
Saturday, November 14 – Last day, last breakfast at the buffet. We finished packing much too soon so we sat on the balcony and enjoyed the view of sea, sky and tropical plants. We figured there would be a line at the checkout desk and gave ourselves extra time. Of course there wasn’t so we had a half hour to kill waiting for our shuttle. We checked our bags in the inner lobby and sat in the shaded outer lobby. Eventually our driver Pringle showed up and we started heading for “that place” (since “airport” is a bad word when vacations come to an end). We shared the shuttle with a couple who’d stayed at the Iberostar and another who’d been at the Riu so we compared notes on resorts before being dropped off at Sangster.
Checkin lines weren’t bad. We and just about everyone else received pat-downs in security which seemed a bit tighter after the Paris attacks. We only had about a half hour before boarding so we grabbed snacks from a convenience store near our gate rather than backtrack to the food court for lunch. Lynne had upgraded us to Economy Plus for extra legroom which also meant we were closer to the front of the airplane. United 1485 was a 787-800 like the one we’d flown in on, which meant we again would have had to purchase the entertainment package just to get the flight map. Also the entertainment controls on the tops of the armrests made them all but useless as armrests since any errant movement would change channels, volume, brightness, etc. This was particularly aggravating in the middle seat.
The sun was out when we got to Houston. Third time’s a charm – it had been rainy with a low ceiling on our two previous visits. We had a long walk from our gate in terminal E to passport control followed by a long walk to baggage claim followed by a long line for customs. Security was surprisingly quick (we had TSA Precheck again, but there was no Precheck line for international arrivals). The Skytrain took us to terminal B where our gate was not all the way at the end for once. Again we didn’t have much time before boarding was supposed to start so we passed on the eateries with any lines and got pizza from Famous Famiglia. There was a reason there was no line at that place. While we ate they announced our flight was delayed.
United 4965 was supposed to leave at 7:10 but kept getting pushed back in increments. Again we were at the dinky plane gates so we had to go down to ground level and walk up a ramp outdoors to the plane. This hop was on a CRJ-700 like the flight down and departed just about an hour late. Our flight back was in darkness but uneventful with touchdown in Cincinnati a little after 11:00 PM. There was a bit of a wait before suitcases made it to baggage claim and a full load on the bus to longterm parking. With the delays adding up we arrived home a few minutes after midnight so technically United gave us an extra day of vacation. We decided to avoid the friendly skies next time we flew.
Milestones on this trip: First trip to the Caribbean. First trip to Jamaica.
States and Countries we visited: Kentucky, Texas and Jamaica.
Capital cities we visited: None.
