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8th Apr 2011 - Jamaica, Man, Oh So Beautiful
A New Room and Another Scary Adventure
I have had a very lucky turn of events at my hotel. On returning to my hotel after the horseriding day, very weary and sore, I was approached by one of the housekeeping staff who had, luckily, decided to do my room late in the day. She noticed the roof covered with unidentified bugs and wanted to do something about it. I had noticed them the night before, coming out of the ceiling fan, and although I was not happy to be sleeping with so many creepy crawlies, I simply told the staff the next morning, expecting that they would spray. Apparently this message did not get through, and the housekeeping staff then insisted that I move rooms - I have to say, the bugs were creepy but Aussies are more familiar with things that crawl than others, so I thought I was actually being pretty brave. They moved me to a lovely room overlooking the beach next door to my room. Overnight, I extended my stay at this hotel another 3 nights as there is still so much to see and do in Montego Bay, and when I went to rearrange my accomodation again, given the bug experience, they upgraded me to the most wonderful 3rd floor room, with panoramic views of the beach, ocean, pool and tree tops. I am so lucky and so grateful for those bugs and the wonderful young housekeeper who would not let me stay in the room with them. So, today, I simply enjoyed my wonderful vantage point from the balcony of my room, and in the afternoon, took myself off to Half Moon Hotel where they have dolphins. I drove around this massive hotel complex/estate and I have to say that, although very luxurious, I am happy that my hotel suits me much better. The distances at the Half Moon are so great you have to catch a golf buggy thing to get around, and because there are so few tourists on the island at the moment, it feels deserted. However, it looks like there is an interesting sub-culture as staff seem to live and work there - like a village within a village. Again I was so very lucky with my Dolphin swim. I was the only person on this session so I had the whole experience just for me. The Dolphins were wonderful and I was not sure who was being directed by the trainer more - the dolphin or me. I was very tentative as they are up to 400lb and incredibly powerful, but oh, so graceful. Although I was wearing a life jacket, one bump can be pretty powerful and a coupe of times, I tipped over - thankful for the lifejacket. I am sure I really had nothing to be concerned about, but they are fast too. It was completely exhausting but exhilarating to be in the water and so closely playing with the dolphin. There are 2 dolphins there and only one was playing with me, but another trainer was going through the routine side by side with the other dolphin. Apparently this is so that the 2nd one does not get jealous of the attention. At different times, though, when we were going through our routine, the 2nd dolphin came over and joined in. It was great, and I was so very lucky to have this experience all to myself. On the trip home, stopped in at Scotchie's for a very late lunch, which proved to be also dinner - a tiny but well known bar where locals and tourists are drawn for the jerk pork and chicken. Every local will tell you that this is the place to go for food. You order at a tiny little hole-in-the-wall and then the cook chops it with a machete in front of you. I order 1/4 lb chicken, and this proved to be a huge amount - no scales, and he just gives you what he feels like. I made it lunch and dinner and even then, did not finish it all. All combined with a fried bread called Festival, which is semi-sweet, and delicious. From my perch in my room, I spent the rest of the day/evening in my room, watching the sunset and the wonderful ocean, listening to the sounds of the wonderful music wafting up from the hotel restaurant below me. I have the perfect spot. Being on my own, I am reluctant to venture into the fray of the hotel bar too much, etc. The resort is very small and rather intimate, so I can not get lost in the (very small) crowd here - Jamaica is definitely a place for couples of for family groups, not independent women. However, from my little perch, with my Scotchie's dinner and my pineapple and pomegranate juice and Jamaican rum punch, I spent a lovely evening relaxing from a very exhausting day. Saturday, a relaxing morning by the beach and then, I decided to go into Hip Strip, the main tourist drag of Montego Bay. Will not be doing that again!!! I drove in and went to MargaritaVille for lunch - a place that everyone says you HAVE to go to - full of ugly tourists, all loud and boisterous and totally uncouth. Huge catamarans from the major tourist hotels pulling up to the dock, and letting them off to have lunch at this strange place with water slides and water trampoline as well as a bar feel for the adults. I did not like it at all and have had my fill of the ugly tourists. Plus, everywhere you walk, you are approached by people - a combination of trying to help you find a taxi or your way, and trying to talk you in to using their taxi or their shop or ?? I just wanted to walk quietly and they were all about trying to direct you somewhere. When I drove in to the town, I had a very strange experience as I strayed off the main tourist drag and into the City Center, where the locals were doing their shopping, etc. Not a tourist in sight and again, a busy, bustling main street. A man on a bicycle kept trying to talk to me and re-directing me to the main street, by riding his bicycle alongside the car. He kept asking me if I remembered him from the rental car place, but as I never went to the rental car place (they brought the car to me), I know I did not know him. He was trying to tell me how to get back to the main road by riding alongside me, and then he went in front of me down the main street, which had hundreds of people milling in it. He jumped off his bike and directed me to pull over. He jumped into the passenger seat of the car and I think he was doing a combination of being very helpful and also a good businessman for himself as he was expecting a 'small tip' as it turned out.(of course) He wanted to help me with what he thought was my attempt to experience real Jamaica. He wanted me to do a loop around back to the City Center (which was the right way to go, so I think he was being pretty straight) But then he wanted me to stop and park so he could take me around the city and show me the 'real Jamaica' street and take photos with him helping. He kept telling me that Jamaicans love tourists and are very friendly as tourist trade is their livelihood, which is indeed true. He was proud of the fact that Jamaicans were friendly people and that they loved to talk to you, unlike other countries in his eyes. However, I became very concerned, even though he really did seem quite harmless and helpful and from his conversation, he was trying to tell me all about the area, the things we were passing, and Jamaicans, etc. We were surrounded by hundreds of people so he would have been hard-pressed to rob me or cause me any harm, but I had read one too many tourist warning about the violence and muggings and all I could think of was how to graciously to extricate myself from this situation and get him out of my car. I told him that I did not like to intrude on the local scene and I do think he was quite disappointed. I asked him how he was going to get back to his bike and he said that he had quickly asked a shopkeeper to look after it for him when he jumped off his bike so he could 'help the lady' and that when he went back, he would give him a small tip for doing so. I felt guilty that I was disappointing him at the same time as fearful for myself all at the same time. He finally understood and I dropped him off at the turnoff back to the Hip Strip and gave him a tip of $300 JD (about $5) - who knows what a tip should be in this situation? Not a fun experience at all as I was more disappointed with the whole situation - that if he was really going out of his way to help, I should not refuse him, yet aware that he was also expecting a tip and no doubt, if I got out of the car with him, I would again be hassled by locals wanting me to enter their shops. Again, looking around, not another tourist anywhere in sight - it seems that they really do stick only to their all-inclusive hotels and venture no further. I read in the papers here that they are giving local shopkeepers lessons in how to be courteous and less aggressive with tourists and this is part of the licencing process now. Sad to say, but I think quiet time by the beach and pool is the order for the rest of my time while I am on my own as I am frequently being asked am I alone, where is my husband, etc, by both women and men, in the hotel and outside of it - in this I have learnt much of the culture already. Maybe if I go adventuring, it will be with a hotel driver. Love Deb
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Diary Photos
| 8th Apr 2011 The View from my new room, Coyaba Resort, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 The View from my New Room, Coyaba Resort, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 The View from My New Room, Coyaba Resort, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 Gorgoeus Torquoise water of Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 Police Station outside of Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 Private security firms about in Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 Private Security Firms Abound in Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 The Craft Markets, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 The Craft Markets, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 Crafts ready to be finished and painted, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 Refugee Boat from Cuba, Half Moon, Jamaica |
| 15 refugees - 11 men, 2 women & 2 children made landfall in Half Moon area of Montego Bay, from Cuba on March 6, 1996. Some settled in Jamaica and some in the USA and this boat has been restored and is kept as a tribute to all those, anywhere in the world, who risk their lives for their dream of freedom. |
| 8th Apr 2011 Plenty of Rum at the Bar, Half Moon, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 Bar Reception at Half Moon, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| Everything is colored in the flag in Jamaica, and nothing goes to waste |
| 8th Apr 2011 Scotchie's Bar - Famous for Jerk Meats, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| 8th Apr 2011 Scotchie's Place, Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| Famous for Jerk Chicken and Pork - you make you order at the little counter and then pick it up from the cook. Visitors and locals all come here for both eating in and taking out and there is a queue all the time |
| 8th Apr 2011 Scotchies' |
| THis was supposed to be 1/4 lb chicken and 1/4 lb pork - but it was far in excess of that - no scales to measure. The fried bread is called Festival and is delicious. The cook wraps it all in Alfoil and off you go. |
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