Day 1 – Monday (03/25/2013)

We left Panama at around 10am on a direct Copa Airlines flight, which took about 2 hours to Jamaica. What an exciting flight! As soon as we started flying over the island, I realized that this really was the Caribbean. That turquoise blue is beautiful to see!

I discovered that the girl sitting next to me was a British girl who was living in Colombia and was in love with Jamaica. We got off the plane and before we could get our bags, we had to wait in a huge line to enter the country. We had to check our vaccinations (Brazilians must have the yellow fever vaccine) and then get our passports stamped, which was really exciting. At the airport, there were only Americans and Canadians with us… well, how many people in just one day!!! Later I discovered that it was the day before we left! Spring Break, then that chaos made more sense.

Booking the hotel

We picked up our luggage and went straight to look for the company. transfer which we booked through the website www.bookit.com . (Oh yeah… I explained in the 2013 Backpacking post how I came to the decision of Jamaica, but just to summarize here… it was thanks to this website. We bought a 1-week package with a flight Panama-Jamaica-Panama + All Inclusive Resort for 7 nights + transfer from the airport and to the airport for R$5mil and a bit for both.)

Arriving at the airport

We found the company and in less than half an hour, we were leaving the airport in the mini bus, to the sound of Bob Marley. Oh, practically all tourists book these transfers, because besides being cheap (US$15 each way – and the trip to Ocho Rios takes 2 hours), the country is not considered very safe for renting a car. The people drive very badly, the road is on the left and there is also the issue of security, since it is a third world country. Therefore, the airport is full of minibuses and you can find out which one is yours by saying the name of the hotel. Super easy. Before we left, Celo bought some Jamaican beers (Red Stripe) and we were already getting into the Caribbean mood, with the heat to die for.

As soon as we left Montego Bay Airport, we passed through the city of Montego Bay (Duh!) and then headed right to Ocho Rios. Tip: stay on the left side of the bus. The view is enchanting, as between one resort and another, there are some small pieces of sea and that turquoise blue shocks you every time you come across it.

Arriving at the hotel

The 2 hours on the road flew by with the sound of Bob Marley and our nice black driver with a crazy accent. We left all the other tourists at hotels along the way and finally arrived at our “super” hotel, the Sunset Jamaica Grande. Before we got off the bus, the driver warned us to be careful around there, because it wasn't a very safe place. He said we had to ask for a discount on the souvenirs, because they are used to it and even like to be in the negotiation! =P

We entered the main lobby of the hotel and were greeted by delicious watermelon cocktails. We did the check-in, we got bracelets that gave us the right to everything included (alcohol included) and we enjoyed the view before going up to drop off our things. The hotel is really big! The main lobby is huge and you get a bit lost, you don't know what to do, where to go... tense. We went to find our room and when we entered it, we were faced with this view...

I screamed out loud when I saw that! Guys, I was so excited that everything had worked out, you know. I don't know, I've never been a fan of package deals, because I always thought they were scams and that there was always a catch at the end, but after I realized that this was real, I got excited. We left our things, got ready and went to enjoy the hotel. We went to the bar first (fact!), got a draft beer and stopped by to make dinner reservations at the hotel's special restaurants.

Oh, let me explain. The hotel has a restaurant. buffet which serves everything and is not very glamorous…it is for those people who don’t want to have an appointment, you know…they want to arrive, serve themselves, eat and leave without having to look at any waiters (although they do walk around, offering drinks, etc. and asking – with their eyes – for tips). In addition to this restaurant, the hotel has 3 others, much more upscale, one with Asian food, one with Caribbean food and another Italian. We reserved each day at one and decided to go enjoy the hotel’s private beach.

Warm, clear water, soft sand, no waves at all…paradise for me. We stayed there, stopping at the bar when we ran out of drinks. The afternoon flew by… The hotel was relatively full and so we waited in line at the bars. After seeing so many students, I realized that it was Spring Break and since our hotel was one of the cheapest in Jamaica, it was the perfect destination for the little guys. Patience, right? I had to put up with several show-offy little girls, much to Celo's delight... lol.

We went upstairs to relax a bit and get ready for dinner. We ended up having dinner at the restaurant buffet even and we came across some good food and a very pleasant atmosphere near the pool, with indirect lighting.

We slept well in our king size bed. =D

Day 2 – Tuesday (03/26/2013)

 We woke up close to breakfast time. We went down to the restaurant. buffet and we come across a very American breakfast. Bacon, pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, in short, tasty and not at all healthy things. Long lines for the fattier foods, but I was able to eat everything. PS: It's amazing how Americans like to bacon.

Craft Market in Ocho Rios

After the banquet, we decided to go to Craft Market, market right next to our hotel which has more than 300 little shops souvenirs. It's maddening!!! All the vendors sell pretty much the same things, but they keep asking you to come into their stores to look at their products. They insist that you take anything and offer huge discounts...it's bizarre. It's like they're asking for a favor, you know...it's a little sad, but you get used to it.

We went into about 50 stores (seriously! It's a shame...) and bought a lot, for our standards. Shirts, keychains, pens and other things. souvenirs…all with at least 50% discount from the original price… Really good! They offered us weed the whole time, asking if we liked to party. The funniest thing was understanding what they were saying, because they speak English, but they also speak patois, which is even similar to English. Check it out – YES = YAMA….hahaha…after a while, you get used to it, but it’s a bit crazy at first.

We walked around a lot and when we got fed up with being approached by all the vendors, we decided to go back to the hotel. We stayed there for about 2 hours and I have to say that the Jamaicans are VERY friendly. Really friendly…even if you don’t buy anything from them, they talk to you nicely, smile all the time and say nice things to hear…I felt at home. The saddest thing is saying no to some vendors, knowing that the poor people live with so little…if I could, I would buy from every single one of the little stores, just because they are so friendly.

We left there feeling a little distressed after saying so many “no’s” to the vendors, but on the way to the hotel, the bad feeling passed.

Enjoying the hotel beach

We went straight to the hotel's private beach and spent the rest of the day alternating between water, sun loungers, the bar and the snack bar. Life is tough, you know... We had a burger and fries for lunch and took the opportunity to reserve our tours at the counters of companies located within the resort.

We booked most of the tours with the same company, so we got several discounts. We booked the tour with Luminous Lagoon, Dunn's Falls, Dolphins and Negril. To learn more about how it was, continue reading the post.

We went upstairs to get ready for dinner and when we went down to the restaurant buffet, we realized that the hotel had prepared a different dinner, a la Caribe. There was a band playing and although it was the same food as buffet, it seemed like the food was better, because of all the care they took in setting up the structure. It was really cool! We made our own dishes and had dinner on the beach, listening to the not-so-tune band. The night flew by… =(

Day 3 – Wednesday (03/27/2013)

We woke up, had breakfast the same way we had the day before, and went straight to the beach. We spent the whole day there, drinking, eating junk food, putting on more sunscreen, and taking beautiful photos. It was easy to get tired after 20 days of running around looking for new places to visit in Costa Rica and Panama.

Enjoying the hotel

We stopped for lunch at the restaurant buffet, but we regretted it, because the food wasn't very good. The food is kind of bland, without seasoning, because that way it's easier to please people who come from completely different places. It would have been better to have 5 with me burgers, which were very good!

We alternated between the beach and the pool. What a delight! We discovered a pool that was a little higher up and was quite small, with a maximum of 5 people comfortably in it. The good thing about it was that there would certainly be no children around us and the water was relatively cleaner than in the larger pools, where people think it is normal to pee.

We took the opportunity to go on the water slide, which was quite fun. You have to climb a ladder and since there is no line, you can go straight on the water slide. I thought it was good, since it was free…lol. We had some more snacks, watched volleyball games in the water, swam on the beach, sunbathed, played pool, drank lots of national beer and drinks strangers (most of them with rum, really bad…) Anyway, we really enjoyed the hotel and each other. De-li-cious.

Close to the time of our dinner reservation, we went upstairs to get ready. We had dinner at the Italian restaurant and the food was great, a thousand times better than the food at buffet. Oh, if only we could dine at these special restaurants every day…

Day 4 – Thursday (03/28/2013)

We woke up, had the same breakfast and went to the lobby main. Since it was my father's birthday, I felt obliged to buy the package Internet that they sell at reception. I spoke to him via skype  and I gave news on facebook, with some photos. I ended up using the hotel's own computers, which, despite being old, did the job.

Practically all the young people who were in the hotel had smartphones and probably had access to the internet, because they didn't leave their couches and didn't take their eyes off their devices. It seems like they were in a pretty uninteresting place to spend so much time on Internet…aiai.

We spent some time at the beach and then decided to walk around the city again. We stopped at some shops. souvenirs and we went looking for local coins to add to our collection. We stopped at the hotel, had some snacks and had just enough time to catch the bus to tour from the Luminous Lagoon.

We grabbed towels, a camera, dry clothes and off we went. The bus ride was quite long, I think about an hour. It was raining and the traffic was heavy, with people overtaking like crazy on the roads. Luckily our driver drove carefully.

Luminous Lagoon

We arrived at a house and were welcomed with a rum cocktail, horrible…lol. We waited a while and then got on the boat, even though it was raining. It was actually cold, considering that it is extremely hot during the day. On the boat, the sailor explained the history of the tour and left us anxious about what we were going to see.  

We weren't very excited or had high expectations, because the lagoon had muddy water, so it wasn't at all pretty to look at. He sailed for a few minutes, decided to stop talking and asked us to put our hands in the water. Before we did, he turned off the lights on the boat and we were in total darkness. When we put our hands in the water, moving it around, we were faced with an awesome fluorescent blue effect!!! It looked like we were in a Disney cartoon, with lots of magic. IMPRESSIVE!

What happens is that in this lagoon there are some microorganisms that retain sunlight during the day and at night, when the water is moved, they end up releasing this retained energy. This lagoon has fresh water and sea water, so it seems like something really rare... the sailor said that this phenomenon occurs in about 3 countries, including Jamaica, and that is where the phenomenon is strongest. It's crazy... too bad my photos came out horrible, but if you want to see photos of the effect, take a look here: Link to see cool photos, since my machine didn't cooperate!

I think there are some photos that were manipulated with the photoshop, but believe me, it's really cool!!! It was worth every penny. After everyone got really excited, the sailor gave us the go-ahead and off we went into the water. The hard part is that you can't see the bottom of the lake and because the water is muddy, you start to wonder if there are any animals around you. I jumped in with my life jacket on and made sure not to touch the bottom with my feet. I played angel for 5 minutes and then went back to the boat, scared to death of the creatures there. I'm really weak in the water... and in the air... and in everything... haha... but I ended up going anyway. Celo stayed in the water for a long time and ended up being the last one to get out.

We went back to the house where the bus was parked and went back to the hotel in ecstasy, not believing what we had just seen. =) I highly recommend it!!! I think the tour complete, with bus and boat, cost less than R$100 for each.

Day 5 – Friday (03/29/2013)

We woke up so happy!!! The night before was truly magical. We had breakfast and then got ready for the tour of Dunn's Falls + Dolphins. Imagine my excitement when I found out that in a few hours I would be swimming with dolphins…no big deal, huh…

Dunn's Falls

The bus of tour arrived at the hotel as scheduled (Man, they are very punctual! They have only been independent from England for 50 years, so they have learned British punctuality very well) and off we went directly to the most famous waterfall in the country, the Dunn's Falls. We arranged a time with the driver to pick us up and off we went, in search of adventure. The waterfall brochure said that we were going to climb the waterfall and that it was an exciting adventure, but I hadn't quite gotten the hang of it yet.

We arrived at the base of the tour where were the lockers and we left the things we didn't need inside. We joined a group with a guide and went down, down, down until we reached the base of the waterfall. When we got down there, I realized that the tour was literally what it said on the pamphlet – climbing the waterfall. All the people in the group stood in single file and we formed a chain, holding hands.  

The guide started to climb and we followed them, without really understanding what it was all about or how dangerous it was. Man, it was crazy… the water volume was huge and some of the rocks in the waterfall were really slippery. They sell shoes suitable for water, but we didn’t think it would be necessary and wore sneakers. We slipped a few times…

Every time we looked down and realized that any slip could be traumatic, our hearts started beating faster and faster. How crazy, guys! Overall, I liked it, you know, but at the time, I remember regretting it several times, especially when I thought the risk of getting hurt was too high. Oh dear. Since we had the GoPro, we were able to film and take several cool photos. Take a look…

I think the whole climb takes about 1 hour. You can enjoy the waterfall a bit, staying under the water while other people are climbing. But the highlight of the tour is the adrenaline rush of the climb…if you are looking to relax at the waterfall, don't do this tour. In fact, I don't know if it's possible to relax there, because there are always groups climbing. Maybe higher up, in an area that is not used for climbing. We didn't have time to walk around there much because the driver had scheduled a time to pick us up well after we finished the climb.

The annoying part of the tour was the end, when the guide kept pestering us to give us a tip. We paid and went to the place we had arranged with the driver.

On the way, we passed a small market with the same layout as the Craft Market – insistent vendors selling the same goods. We passed it this time! We took the bus and went to the dolphin spot.

Dolphin Cove

Since we had already booked our time to dive with the dolphins, we just had to get our wristbands and walk to the dive site. Since there was still almost an hour left until our dive, we went for a walk around the site, which has several awesome animals!!! Check it out…

When our time came, we went to the dive site and listened attentively to what the guide had to say. Meanwhile, several dolphins were swimming, jumping, making noises...it was so exciting! Mine and theirs...lol. The cool thing about the place is that they formed pools with some rocks, but the sea water always goes in and out through them, renewing the water practically free of charge. They even said that there is a dolphin that occasionally jumps over the rocks, goes to the open sea and then jumps again, returning to the pool. Is that true?

When the guide stopped talking, we got into the water. What a thrill!!!! It was a blast. Celo and I, even though he didn't admit it...lol. We lined up with the other people, as explained, and our dolphin came to us. He danced for us, sang, kissed us, showed off...everything was great!!! The coolest moment was receiving a kiss from him and then kissing him back...what a delight to have. I could really touch his skin...I didn't want to stop. After the kiss, we swam with him, holding onto his fins and letting him swim fast with each of us. SO AWESOME!!! I loved it, loved it, loved it...I'll try to swim with a dolphin everywhere I go.

It cost US$$100 each and it was worth every penny. Unfortunately, they don't allow us to bring our cameras, even though they are waterproof. What if we accidentally hurt the animals? It makes sense. However, there is a photographer who records all your moments with the animal. Then you pay a fortune (or not) and take some photos and videos home. Of course I did this, much to Celo's dismay. I paid US$$76 for 2 printed photos and 2 DVDs of us. =P

It was with a heavy heart that we got out of the water. I wanted more, more and more...but there was no way. After we got out of the water, we realized that there is another dive that seems to be cooler. It has everything that our dive has, but the difference is that when it's time to swim with the dolphin, in this other tour there are 2 dolphins and instead of you holding on to the fins, you are pushed by the two dolphins by your feet, ending up standing up at the end of the swim. Very cool!!! And it was only US$$20 more expensive... =( Here's a tip for you.

We ate some delicious and expensive snacks, saw other animals and Celo decided to swim with the rays, in a pool just for them. Obviously I stayed outside, watching that madness. Granted, they didn't have stingers (that hard tail that kills), but I was still afraid that something bad would happen. Thank God everything went well!

We picked up our photos and DVDs, walked around a little more and met up with the driver as scheduled to return to the hotel. Summary of the day: AMAZING and UNFORGETTABLE! Tour 1000.

We got ready and went down to the Caribbean restaurant where we had a reservation. We ate wonderful food with delicious wine and slept like angels.

Day 6 – Saturday (30/03/2013)

 We woke up extremely early for the tour from Negril. Breakfast wasn’t even served, but we managed to eat a few things and save some for later. We left the hotel around 7am on a bus with several people, including 2 Brazilians. They lived in NY and were there for only 4 days, but they weren’t as enchanted as we were. I think the honeymoon atmosphere helps you like the place too, right?

Negril

The trip to Negril lasted about 4 hours by bus. We slept, woke up, talked, ate, stopped along the way to stretch our legs, and so on...it was endless. On the way, we passed by some houses of well-known artists, such as Mariah Carey and Stallone. Huge houses!! Absolutely luxurious.

We finally arrived in Negril, at the bar Margaritaville (www.margaritavillecaribbean.com), which is cute. Since the bar is on the beach, we thought we could lie down nearby on the sand, but not necessarily in front of the bar, in the hustle and bustle. We went to the left side and when we were already sitting on the sand, we were approached by a local, asking us to leave, as it was a private area. We thought it was so ridiculous, but we obeyed.

We went back to the bar area, grabbed some sun loungers, ordered drinks and decided to relax. Since the weather was a bit cloudy, the sea wasn't as clear as we saw in the photos. We relaxed a bit and went to the sea, which had the perfect temperature. We stayed in the water for hours... the weather opened, closed, opened again, closed again. Anyway, but it flew by for us. We took the opportunity to play with the GoPro and to play on the bouncy castle in the water. It was very difficult to jump and balance on that thing.

Negril Beach is huge, 7 miles long. The water is crystal clear, Caribbean blue, and when the sun hits the water, it leaves anyone speechless. The view is mind-blowing. You can see your toenails perfectly. It’s unbelievable to have such clear water… I don’t think the water in front of our hotel was that clear.

When it was time to leave, we headed to the bus and headed to an open mall with lots of stores selling souvenirs. Luckily, the power went out in the mall and all the stores were offering great discounts. We took the opportunity to buy the rest of the souvenirs and returned to the bus after half an hour.

Rick's Cafe

We then went to Rick's Cafe (http://www.rickscafejamaica.com), which is the most famous bar in the area. It's a cool bar, on top of a cliff, with amazing views and a very famous sunset. The atmosphere is great, with tourists from all over the world, but the prices are quite expensive. The food is delicious, but it takes a while to come. Anyway, it's a place to go once or twice at most, if you don't want to spend a lot of money.

Celo took advantage of the fact that it was possible to jump off the cliff into the sea and did it twice. It's really high! I think it's 10 meters high and lots of people jump...there's even a line. The coolest thing is the sign they put up where people jump.

After the jumps, we watched a performance by a very strong guy. He jumped into the water, but before he did it he made several stops, you know...he held on with just one arm, he stood upside down...all of this 10 meters above the water! Crazy...

Afterwards we ordered some food and went to enjoy the sunset, listening to Bob.

What a nice energy…I highly recommend a visit!

As soon as the sun had set, we got back on the bus and headed to the hotel. We slept most of the way and 4 hours later, we arrived at the hotel.

Day 7 – Sunday (31/03/2013)

We woke up, had breakfast and spent the whole day at the beach and the bar. We decided to go for a walk jet ski, paying US$100 for both of them to go on jets different for half an hour. We spent half an hour like crazy betting on a race in the hotel bay. What a wonderful feeling, the wind on your face… The freedom that jet gives you too much. Your arms and legs get tired, because you use your body a lot to balance yourself, but you end up forgetting and keep accelerating anyway.

We return the jets and a few minutes later, we started to feel our legs and arms throbbing. What horrible pain, man. Since neither Celo nor I are athletes, I think 30 minutes of squatting was too much for us. We were really sore and avoided walking long distances.

We rested in our room and when it was time for our reservation at the Asian restaurant, we went down to dinner. The food was wonderful and the service was amazing. You almost forgot that you were at one of the cheapest resorts in Jamaica.

We went back to the room, packed our bags and slept our last night in Bob Marley's country. Our hearts sank when we realized it was almost over, but we were so tired that it didn't take long for us to fall asleep.

Day 8 – Monday (03/01/2013)

We woke up, had breakfast and took the shuttle at the scheduled time for the airport. We left early and spent a long time at the airport waiting for our flight. We ate at burger king  and then we stopped at Margaritaville, where we ate and drank until our flight, ending the week on a high note.

We left our mark at the entrance of the store. I hope to go back there one day and find it intact! Who knows, huh…

To learn more about our 30-day trip through Central America (Jamaica, Costa Rica and Panama), click on the links below:

• Summary of the 30-day trip to Central America
• Panama City (Panama) in 3 days
• Bocas del Toro (Panama) in 4 days
• Puerto Viejo (Costa Rica) in 4 days
• San Jose (Costa Rica) in 3 days
• La Fortuna (Costa Rica) in 4 days
• Manuel Antonio (Costa Rica) in 3 days
• Ocho Rios (Jamaica) in 1 week