Jamaica (Monday, Day 2)

Monday, Day 2

We woke up fairly on Monday, even though we had been exhausted the day before. I think we were up at like 6:30 or something crazy, but once we woke up, we couldn’t go back to sleep because the view of the ocean from our balcony was so wonderful. So we dressed for a day at the beach/pool and went to breakfast at The Bayside, which basically has a huge breakfast buffet of just about anything you could ever want for breakfast, including made-to-order omelets, which we took advantage of several times while we were in Jamaica.

After breakfast, we signed up for a 10am snorkeling trip. We had been snorkeling the last time we were in Jamaica and it wasn’t that great. For some reason, the reef isn’t very colorful and there isn’t that much to see, which isn’t always a bad thing, depending on the kind of things you might see in another area of the ocean. This time wasn’t any different. While it was fun to go snorkeling, there wasn’t that much to see. But it was included in our stay, so it was something to do.

After snorkeling, we did a little shopping. Because Sandals Whitehouse is so far away from any of the cities in Jamaica, every Monday they bring in local vendors to set up their goods on the resort. That way, people can do some shopping local-style, and this provides a few more options than the gift shops on the resort. We bought some wood carving decorations, a dress for Anya, and a doll for Anya.

By then, it was about time to eat, so we headed over to Bluefield’s, which serves Jamaican fare. We had Bammie (a type of fried bread) and Ackie (a fruit). This is actually the Jamaican national dish. The other appetizer we had was some kind of hushpuppy type of thing. Eric had Jerk Chicken with Rice and Beans and I had a Red Snapper Sandwich with fries. Then, we headed to the beach for a bit to lay out.

At some point in the middle of the afternoon, we went to the Café and got ice cream and some pastries for a snack. Then, we met up at the pool just in time for a reggae “class,” where they taught everyone some reggae dance moves. There were lots of people doing this and it was pretty fun. Afterwards, we ended up taking another nap in the hammock.

That evening, we decided to eat at the Beach Party on the beach. It was a beach party buffet. The food was alright but we probably would go to one of the restaurants if we had it to do over. There was a band playing during dinner and then we stayed for the show, which was a circus-type show that included a contortionist, jugglers, and fire dancers. After the show, we got some coffee at the Café and went to The Bayside for some evening snacks of cheeseburger and fries before heading back to the room.

I realize it sounds like we did nothing but eat while in Jamaica, and that is partially true. However, the portions are much smaller than we have here, so two people eating 2 or even 3 appetizers isn’t really much food at all. However, I kind of like it that way because it’s not so wasteful and then you can try a lot of things. Honestly, the portions are probably the right size. At our particular resort, there were 7 restaurants: Giuseppe’s (Italian for dinner and they also serve pizzas from 3 to 5 every day), Neptune’s (Mediterranean or Seafood, open for lunch and dinner), Jasmin’s (Asian, only open for dinner), The Bayside (breakfast and lunch buffet and international fare for dinner), Café de Paris (bakery, open all day), Eleanor’s (Caribbean fine dining, open for breakfast and dinner), and Bluefield’s (Jamaican fare, only open for lunch or early dinner). There were lots of options so we tried to eat at each place at least once over the course of the week.

Jamaica (Sunday, Day 1)

Our trip to Jamaica was absolutely wonderful. We really hated to leave but having a beautiful little girl to come home to certainly made it a little easier. For this vacation, we spent 6 nights total in Jamaica, which we found to be an almost perfect length of time to spend. Of course, we had to spend an extra night away from Anya because the flight left from Louisville so early on Sunday morning. We ended up driving to Louisville late Saturday afternoon and got a “park and fly” room at the Sleep Inn near the airport. I think we must have gotten only 4 or 5 hours of sleep that night, if that, but it definitely beat getting up at 12 or 1 in the morning to drive to Louisville.

Sunday, Day 1:

We got up around 2:45 Sunday morning in order to get to the airport by 4. Of course, no one was at the check-in desk to take our luggage until after 4:30. I hate how airports insist on passengers checking in so early but then staff isn’t even present for this to even happen. Anyway, we did get our bags checked and through security with pretty much no problems. The only small glitch is that I was selected for a random security check that involved TSA swiping my hands with something to check for chemicals. I obviously did not have any chemicals on my hands and was waved through pretty quickly.

The flight itself was pretty uneventful, as was the flight from Charlotte to Montego Bay. The airport experience in Montego Bay was 100 times better than the last time. I remember waiting for what seemed like forever in the immigration line in no air conditioning the last time. This time was much simpler and the immigration line was completely non-existent until the passengers on our flight started to filter in. Also, the air was fixed, so it wasn’t as miserable as before.

After going through immigration and customs and getting our luggage, we quickly found the Sandals lounge. We were told the shuttle would be leaving for Whitehouse in 20 minutes, but we actually barely had time to grab a Red Stripe and text our families before they called us. Then we began the long (90 minute) journey to Whitehouse. The roads were much worse than before due to the potholes but we had a great driver and a much smaller shuttle than the last time, so it wasn’t anywhere near as scary. We made it to the resort in no time and were met with a welcome drink and a cool washcloth. Our room wasn’t ready yet so we grabbed some lunch at Neptune’s, the new Mediterranean restaurant. We had Seafood Tapas and Fried Calamari as appetizers and Eric had Mussels and I had a Chicken Caesar Wrap. While we were waiting for our food, we took turns running to the nearest restroom to change into our swimsuits and shorts. It felt so good to be sitting in summer clothes in warm weather!

After lunch, our room was ready and we were surprised to find that we had been upgraded. We had booked the lowest level room in the French village, which is the furthest away from everything, and ended up actually staying in a room in the Italian village, which was the closest to everything. We could also tell we had been upgraded by the kind of people we saw that were staying in that area. The room also actually seemed bigger, and like last time, we had a nice view of the ocean from our balcony.

Once we called our parents to let them know we were at the resort and to check on Anya, we went straight to the beach for a bit. When the sun started to go in, we relaxed in one of the hammocks on the beach. Then, we went back to the room to shower and get cleaned up for dinner. We had planned to go to the Italian restaurant but when we walked past the Asian restaurant, it smelled so good that we ended up eating at Jasmin’s. For appetizers, we had spring rolls, sushi, and a mushroom and wonton soup. Eric had a seafood stir fry in curry sauce and I had a beef stir fry that was really good. We don’t eat a lot of beef because it isn’t our favorite, but this was probably some of the best beef we’ve ever eaten. Instead of ordering dessert in the restaurant, we went next door to the Café de Paris for coffee, a crepe, and some pastries. We had definitely missed that place! It’s like a little French café that has coffee, ice cream, made-to-order crepes, and various pastries. The best part is that you can order as many as you want!

We then went to Le Cabaret, which is kind of like a little auditorium/theater type place where they have throughout the week. They did a newlywed game show with some of the resort guests which was really fun. After that, we stayed a little longer to listen to the band. Before heading back to the room, we relaxed on one of the beach beds near the whirlpool in our village.

Sunday was an extremely long day but it was great to be back in Jamaica. Sandals Whitehouse seemed almost exactly as it did before, though even more beautiful, as the landscaping has grown up quite a bit in the five years since we had been there. I will post about the rest of the week as soon as I get a chance!