Our 7 days in Jamaica

[dunefreak]

Anna and I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We were there for a whole week.

It was the best vacation we have ever taken. The place is gorgeous and everything we hoped it to be and then some. We stayed at Club RIU resort on the beach. It was all-inclusive so didn't have a care in the world for the week we were there. All the food, alcohol, beach, and entertainment you could handle...all included. The weather was amazing aside from the humidity at times which we weren't very used to, but the ocean breeze took care of that. Every day it was 78-85 degrees, morning, day, night...didn't matter. The beaches were so damn nice. Crystal clear water, white sand, and palm trees with coconuts. The staff raked the beaches daily and the place was very top notch and high class. The nightime entertainment was very impressive. They had themed shows nightly and the performers were Cirque-quality or better at times.

I could go on and on in detail about our whole week there, but instead I'll just touch on a few of the memorable moments and things we did.

SCUBA! We went SCUBA diving a couple times while we were there. This was, by far, one of the most thrilling things I have ever done. There was so much to take in when we went our our first dive. There is a whole world down there that I could never appreciate until now. I was blown away and the vastness and beauty of the ocean. The visibility was amazing and the water temperature was warm all the way down. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pics because our camera is only rated to 32 feet. Anna went as far as 135ft and I hit about 100 feet. That is exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. What a rush! I have a another new hobby.

Dunn's River Falls. These falls were kickass. We had our own private catamaran boat take us over there. It rained for a few minutes on the way, but it felt great. Even the rain is warm down there. Along the way our boat staff pumped us full of rum punch. What better thing to do right before we climb some waterfalls, rocks and raging waters right? haha Anyways, the pics speak for themselves but this was such a blast. We hiked up and them came back down the falls instead of taking the ramp down. Then we stopped near a really cool reef to do some snorkeling on the way back. I dove down and saw a stingray and swam with it for as long as I could hold my breath. I managed o snap a quick pic of it as well.

The beach: man o man did we enjoy the beach. We got plenty of R&R daily on the beach. Every time we went down there we fell asleep. It was paradise. Don't let some of the pics fool you. The only reason we had our phones with us was to use them as mp3 players with our little bluetooth Jawbone Jambox. They remained in airplane mode the whole time. We didn't use a phone or computer for 7 days. It felt great to disconnect from the world. We also did tons of snorkeling right there out past the boat bout line in the reefs. There were plenty of fish, anemones, sea urchins, and underwater plant life and corals.

Dolphin Cove: We had a hookup to check the place out. One of Anna's co-workers at the Mirage worked with the director at Dolphin Cove in Jamaica as a trainer years back and he arranged a VIP tour for us. We were able to check out the whole park and participate in all the activities they offered. Eric (the director) showed us around, treated us to lunch, and was able to talk with Anna a little bit about the business. Who knows, maybe we'll move to Jamaica one day now that she has a contact there. haha Anyways, again the pics speak for themselves, but we pet and fed the dolphins, swan with the dolphins, held and snorkeled with the stingray, and also held 6-7 foot sharks in our laps and swam/ snorkeled with the sharks as well! It was crazy.

The town of Ocho Rios: We made friends with all the scuba peeps at the scuba hut and Shawn, one of the dive masters, was generous enough to bring us into town and show us around. Good thing too because we had no idea where to go and where to avoid. It's crazy how different their world is. The drivers are nuts down there. They have their own language when t comes to honking. Everyone is always honking but it has meaning to it all. 1-3 honks mean different things according to Shawn. The place is very poor. They have over 50% unemployment so there are people just chilling and standing around town with nothing better to do. Gas is $112-120 a gallon JD. That is about $1.15 US though, pretty cheap. The conversion rate is about $82JD to $1 US. Everything else other than the cheaper fuel seems to be priced about the same as US. All the kids getting out of school were is uniform. We hit up the market and they were even more pushy than in Mexico. We left there pretty quick. We felt bad for just browsing. The vendors kept saying, please come in and see what we have, no charge for looking. Some of the shops weren't too bad, but everyone seemed to be selling the same wood artwork, mugs, bracelets, t-shirts and jewelry in general.

The people and culture: Jamaicans are some of the happiest and friendliest people we have ever met. And no, it's not because everyone down there is high and smokes weed all the time like many people think. Many of the locals and staff we talked to had never even tried it. Yes, it is very much illegal down there just like it is here. Those people are very in tune with each other and the island. They are happy to be alive and live everyday with such a positive attitude. It's awesome. I wish more people in the US would embrace this attitude. Everyone we ran into was friendly and wanted to make sure we were having a good time. I mean everyone. Even the vendors and drug dealers who roam the beach. After turning them down numerous times, they still just chatted with us about Jamaica and whatever and hoped we would return. We'll definitely be going back. By the end the trip we were speaking like Jamaicans with phrases like ya mon, no problem, respect, feelin irie, and shortened words of slang like de and dat that seemed to just flow.

Here's a couple hundred pics from the ~1800 we took

[ynot]

Glad you guys had the time of your lives. Seems like there's one vacation you will always remember and this might have been it for you guys:) Ours was a week in Grand Caymen in 1994. Hardest thing is coming back to real life afterwwards. Enjoyed the pictures.

Terry

[rushjunkie]

That looks so awesome. Thanks for posting up; I'm totally adding Jamaica to the "must do" list.

And congratulations on ten years! I know I'm gonna owe my wife a trip like that for putting up with me for ten years...

[FE135]

I gotta say I really enjoyied the dolphin part the most. That just looked like amazing fun. Glad you guys had a good time.

[Jakster884]

WOW what a Vacation. Looks like you got to experience it with lots of fun. The Island has lots of Beauty. Clear water, Water falls and Green,Green, Green. You now know Jamaican slang. Pretty cool. Also Great pic's shows the place well.

[Richard Cheese]

What was really goin on with the stingray?

just 100 pictures for a travel brochure. That place looks beautiful.

Im glad you guys had a good time. You both work extremely hard and more than deserved it.

[Sincity_blondie]

Thanks for sharing those pics Pete. Looks like an amazing vacation! Im hoping to hit up Jamaica next year, so ill definately be looking into the place you stayed.

[bp-guy]

Very cool trip. Now I know why you got Scuba certified. Looks like a blast. Maybe when the kids get older we can swing over there and check it out.

If you don't mind me asking--- Are those all inclusive vacations $$$$$ or are they reasonable?

[dunefreak]

Glad you guys had the time of your lives. Seems like there's one vacation you will always remember and this might have been it for you guys:) Ours was a week in Grand Caymen in 1994. Hardest thing is coming back to real life afterwwards. Enjoyed the pictures.

Terry

Thanks Terry. Yep, this one will be a memorable one for sure but we plan on many more.

That looks so awesome. Thanks for posting up; I'm totally adding Jamaica to the "must do" list.

And congratulations on ten years! I know I'm gonna owe my wife a trip like that for putting up with me for ten years...

Thanks Eddy! We totally recommend Jamaica. We'll be going back there sooner than later. You definitely have to do the all-inclusive thing. It makes it way more stress-free while your there.

I gotta say I really enjoyied the dolphin part the most. That just looked like amazing fun. Glad you guys had a good time.

Thanks Neal. The dolphins were alot of fun. I had no idea we would be able to do the "double push" so easily. You just float on your stomach with your legs kept straight and as soon as they come up and push you...bam your up! That was a trip.

WOW what a Vacation. Looks like you got to experience it with lots of fun. The Island has lots of Beauty. Clear water, Water falls and Green,Green, Green. You now know Jamaican slang. Pretty cool. Also Great pic's shows the place well.

We were in awe every time we saw the hills with all that lush green vegetation and trees. Everyday when we were walking through the 4th floor hallways of the hotel (which were all open-air and outside with a great view of the island), we couldn't help but stop and look at the view. Jamaica is a gorgeous place or sure.

What was really goin on with the stingray?

just 100 pictures for a travel brochure. That place looks beautiful.

Im glad you guys had a good time. You both work extremely hard and more than deserved it.

Jackass

Thanks Jason.

Thanks for sharing those pics Pete. Looks like an amazing vacation! Im hoping to hit up Jamaica next year, so ill definately be looking into the place you stayed.

Absolutely. RIU is the shizznit! That is the same resort that Julie just stayed at in Cancun and she said it was badass down there too. I don't think you can go wrong no matter where it is.

Very cool trip. Now I know why you got Scuba certified. Looks like a blast. Maybe when the kids get older we can swing over there and check it out.

If you don't mind me asking--- Are those all inclusive vacations $$ or are they reasonable?

This isn't the only reason why I got certified, but it was definitely the reason why I finally had to get it knocked out. I am so glad I did too. What an experience!

We booked our whole trip through bookit.com. One of the search options when booking a trip is for all-inclusive. Make sure you check that box. You will be very surprised how affordable these trips are on that site.

[aceisback]

Looks like fun times and hella good memories to last a life time. Congrats you two, may you have many more.

[racegirl04]

I loved the pictures of you guys with the dolphins the best!!! That must have been such a thrill!! Congrats on 10 years

[Randog]

Ohhh Hellzzz Jiah! :headbang1:

Dat place looka like da schizzzz.

So many cool things to do. Wow.

Glad you got to experience it you guyz.

And congrats to your 10 years.

I see you taught some :B :B to do the

Thanks for sharing mANg.

R-

[Chadwick]

Dayumm dude that place is gorgeous!! My nephew is serving a mission there and loves it. Glad you guys had fun.

[wsky70]

Looks like a damn good time, congrats on 10..... Great pics, and a very memorable time. Were still looking around for someplace.....That looks tempting for sure...SF Woody

[SAND~~SNAKE]

Great pics, looks like you had a BLAST, I so want to go there. Maybee someday! Pete you looked a little Uncomfortable with that SHARK in your lap....

[dunefreak]

Looks like fun times and hella good memories to last a life time. Congrats you two, may you have many more.

Thanks, Vic.

I loved the pictures of you guys with the dolphins the best!!! That must have been such a thrill!! Congrats on 10 years

It was pretty cool, but this is pretty much a daily thing for Anna so it wasn't anything new for her. I still can't believe the "double push" worked so well for us. They pushed and wham...we were up! They didn't even demonstrate it for us first. They said, just float on your stomach and keep your legs straight. Fuggin Jamaicans. Gotta love em. It worked perfectly.

Ohhh Hellzzz Jiah! :headbang1:

Dat place looka like da schizzzz.

So many cool things to do. Wow.

Glad you got to experience it you guyz.

And congrats to your 10 years.

I see you taught some :B :B to do the

Thanks for sharing mANg.

R-

That's some funny shizz. I thought that pic looked like I was saying, nah! Get outta here!!! LOL

Thanks R. It was such a good trip, we will probably be going back pretty soon. We've been staying in contact with some friends that we made while we were there.

Dayumm dude that place is gorgeous!! My nephew is serving a mission there and loves it. Glad you guys had fun.

Nice. What town is he staying in?

Looks like a damn good time, congrats on 10..... Great pics, and a very memorable time. Were still looking around for someplace.....That looks tempting for sure...SF Woody

Thanks Woods. This place is highly recommended. When you stay at a place like we did, you never run out of sh*t to do and there is never a reason to even leave the resort.

Great pics, looks like you had a BLAST, I so want to go there. Maybee someday! Pete you looked a little Uncomfortable with that SHARK in your lap....

Yep, it was really cool and not cool at the same time. hahaa I was ok with it until the trainer purposely slapped the water in front of his face and the shark snapped it's jaws at him. That made me realize how quick and powerful these guys were.

[andydew]

That report was definately worth the wait. I figured you had some killer pics coming. Big congrats on 10 years; My wife and I are coming up on our 10 year as well. I figure I gotta go big for that one. I was still a little scared about those stingrays, even if I'm retarded . Great pics as usual! I especially like the scenery shots, like the waterfalls and those trees that look all crazy. I would dig on the positive attitudes over there as well. Happy with life, despite it's pitfalls...awesome :cocktail:

[NE14SAND]

WOW