Not so sunny days in Grand Cayman and Jamaica

The best laid plans of men and cruise ship itineraries often go awry.  This was the case in Grand Cayman.  I've no photos from December 12, the day we arrived at the port of Georgetown...though I'm not certain why.  It was sunny morning as we arrived around 11 a.m.  However, Grand Cayman is a tender port, that is we have to take small boats from the ship to island.  The ship anchored off-shore and attempted to send the first tender to shore.  This tender contained crew members whose contracts were complete and who would be returning home, as well as those manning the boat.  Unfortunately when they arrived at the port, there was a minor accident, one of the crew members fell and required hospital care to get stitches for his/her injuries.

The captain tried several times to stabilize the ship, but the winds and swells were high and because of our positioning it was not possible.  There was another ship also tendering but they were further in towards the island and were able to proceed.  This irritated many of our passengers, but I would rather have been safe on the ship than chance an injury or worse.  So in the second to last port we got a sea day as we headed out shortly after noon.  I don't recall what we did to amuse ourselves, but I don't remember being bored!  

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Our last port was Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  The sky looked a little dicey and I was worried we were in for rain.  But there was a bit of sun peeking through the clouds...so fingers crossed!

As it turned out, it never did rain at the port area, though I believe it did so inland.  We had thought to walk or take a taxi to the Konoko Falls and Park, but decided against it as none of us felt we just had to go there. 

And then I saw it...the Carnival ship we'd been following the previous day was in port ahead of us.  They got the good spot!  Just like the Royal Caribbean ship the day before.

But Ocho Rios is not a tender port, and does have a dock that we could use.  Unfortunately it is the industrial port, not pretty at all!

This was the same port we docked at in February.  That time I had an excursion booked, this time K, J, and I decided to walk into Ocho Rios.  We'd heard it was about a 15-20 minute walk, I would say it took us less than 15 minutes.  

As an aside, I would note although we were warned about aggressive taxi drivers in Jamaica, we had no issues.  After saying no thanks to the first couple, no one else bothered us on our walk.  

At least they have a welcome to Jamaica sign

We made our way through the shopping area at the port where the Caribbean ship was docked and made our way to Margaritteville.  While there, we used the free wifi to check e-mail (over a 100 for me, time to unsubscribe from a number of sites), check Facebook (me), and play games (J).  We also decided to enjoy the full menu, as the ship's version has a limited menu.  My taco salad was delicious!

You'll note that I did not have my usual beer, but rather opted for the bottomless Coca-Cola.  Each of us had a soft drink and the glasses were washed and wrapped for the trip home. 

After a bit of shopping in the Margaritteville store, t-shirts for Eli and I, and J as well, it was time to head back to the ship.  Again, I've no notes to remind me of what we did.  

I captured this photo of a snowy egret from the table at the restaurant.  At the time I only knew it was an egret, going through the photos with my brother I was informed it was a snowy egret.  Now I know!

The cruise was nearing an end.  Just one more sea day and we'd be back in New Orleans.  That meant time to start packing, enjoy a final dinner with the solo group (we did that this night, rather than the following one), and attend the entertainment for the evening. I believe that was one of the nights we went to Howl at the Moon, three pianists playing the musical choices of the audience.  A very diverse and sometimes odd play list.  

Next post - final thoughts on the cruise and the first day in New Orleans!

Ya Mon - Vacation Day 6

We arrived in Ocho Rios, Jamaica by 7 a.m. on Tuesday February 20th.  I was awake before we docked, had breakfast with Helene and we were off the ship and waiting for our tour bus by 8:15 a.m.  The tour was arranged by a fellow passenger through a local company and we'd been told that we had to meet by 8:30....of course, the tour company was delayed - I guess we were on island time!  It was after 9 before the vans were loaded and we were on our way up the mountain.

Our destination was the Blue Hole, a series of waterfalls and pools in .  I'd never heard of it, until someone on the Cruise Critic roll call wrote about it.  Intrigued I did some research, saw the beauty in all the photos and signed up for the tour.  It was reasonably priced at $35 per person, which included transportation and the entrance to the park.  

Our shuttle dropped us off at the top of the waterfall, those who were climbing the falls or jumping from one of the cliffs stayed up top, while those of us who weren't were walked down a relatively steep and in some places slippery path to the bottom.  I wish, now, I'd stayed up top to take photos but at the time we weren't given a choice.

I apologize for the quality of this photo - it was taken in a quick moment while I turned back on the path.  To the left are the folks who are climbing down the falls..with the help of the guides.  On the bottom right are some of the brave souls who jumped.  What you cannot see is the pool that is below the falls.  

This photo doesn't show the pool from the falls in the photo above, instead this is a lower set of falls and the the lowest pool.  (I'm starting to wonder what I was doing that day....I sure wasn't framing the photos very well).

The line up to swing out over the pool was long but the guides were pretty quick at getting everyone through.

Eventually only one guide was left and he took his turn.  I don't have photographic proof, but he did a somersault in the air before diving into the water.

These guides clambered all over the rocks, assisted guests as they transitioned from one pool to the next.  It was quite awesome to see.

Once he was out of the way I was finally able to get the photo I wanted....sans people!

The water wasn't quite as blue as I thought it might be, but perhaps I was spoiled by GSC.  The are was definitely beautiful, and I'm sure when the local floral display is in bloom it would be absolutely stunning.

Regardless it was still a memorable stop. I climbed Dunn's River falls back in November 2013, and while it was all good, the Blue Hole was a far pretty spot.  Next time I'd venture into the lower pool...another reason to return.

I received this photo from one of the solo group members, Che.  She had ventured down those shaky looking steps and holding onto the rope, made her way into the lower pool.  I took a few photos of her, so she took this one.  That's me, laden down with my purse and camera equipment.  A little later on, someone gave me another guest's purse to hold onto.  Not very photogenic but at least I was useful.  

We had just over an hour here, before we were herded back up pathway to the shuttles.  I met Helene at the top and learned the brave woman had jumped from one of the platforms 15 feet into the pool below!!!

Our next stop was a tourist trap store where we provided with stickers that gave us 50% off our purchases....whoohoo.  As I expected everything was overpriced but I did pick up a t-shirt for Eli.  It read, "I may be small but I'm still the boss".  I paid $10USD, however I learned later that some other passengers were able to haggle for coffee and got a further reduction.  The next stop was the Ocho Rios flea market.  I refused to get off the shuttle as I'd been there previously and found the vendors were ridiculously aggressive.  If you picked something up to look at it, they thought you should buy it, and the next vendor would be grabbing you by the arm to take you to their spot.  All of them would tell you they'd made everything they were selling but almost every vendor was selling the same mass produced items.  I shared this with my fellow passengers and most didn't bother to get off.....much to the disappointment of our guide.  I suspect they got a bit of money for bringing us there.  Those who did check it out were vocal when they returned, wishig they'd listened to me.

Our next stop was in Fern Gully (yes, the movie was named for this area) at a Rastafarian cafe.  They offered coconut milk and spices.  There was also a booth selling Jamaican t-shirts.  There was definitely no sales pressure at this stop!  Our final stop was on the other side of the port, at a local restaurant.  Unfortunately, our guide Samantha informed us it would be at least an hour before we'd be seated for lunch....it was already 2 p.m. All but two of our party voted to go back to the ship, rather than wait.  Those two (smart) individuals joined the other shuttle.  I say smart because as it turned out, they had arrived just moments before us and were already seated and ordering lunch.  It was pretty clear our guide simply wanted to be done with us.  Instead, Helene and I had lunch at the buffet....which was find but I'm sure I missed out on great jerk chicken, peas and rice!

After dropping my camera bag at my room, I dropped by the library to grab another book to read and then it was off to Posh.  Nestor greeted me by name and made a Painkiller - darned if I know what was in it, though it was tasty.  I raised my glass to my friend, C who was celebrating her birthday, not in Jamaica as she normally does but in chilling Saskatchewan.  Before you feel too sorry for her, she and her husband N, flew to Jamaica on February 25th - his work schedule wouldn't permit an earlier visit.

We had planned to visit one of the speciality restaurants that evening but our solo cruise director couldn't pull it off for a decently early meal.  We could have waited until 9:45 p.m. for a reservation.  Uh, no thanks....so it was off to Taste again that night.

When I returned to my cabin after dinner, I was greeted by this funny bunny.  Amy gave nicknames to all of the towel art, but I can't recall what this one was called.  I do know it wasnn't very solidly built because when I picked it up to move it off to one side, it fell apart.

Tomorrow - George Town, Grand Cayman.  Be warned, lots of photos ahead.