Jamaica Newby - Full Immersion in days!
5 days til Jamaica! Just spent 2 days turning the house inside-out looking for milady's passport, found it after looking up the emergency replacement procedure, so now feel like we have an extra $200 or so to spend. Can't buy the time back though, and still finallizing details and packing and all.
It's been crazy this month - planning and hosting 2 baby showers this month (one happening this weekend) and my sister-in-law passing away unexpectedly. Really haven't had time to think about actually being in Jamaica, just hoping to get everything done and make the flight.
But we do have a plan! We aren't the stay-in-one-place types, so we have turned our niece's wedding in Negril into a 12 day tour around the island. Coupla days in MoBay, head east to Falmouth, coupla days in Porty, round the shore and into the Blue Mountains, then off to Negril for 5 days.
Renting a car (yeah, I know, I know - hey, we woulda got a motorcycle if we had found a place to rent a Gold Wing) and will see how Garmin has the island mapped out, although we will be sticking to the main & secondary roads, or at least trying to. Getting a little Yaris sedan, hopin' that will fit better on the narrow roads and in traffic. Thought about getting JAMNAV but don't wanna spend the extra $110US for it. Will stop by a Shell station to get their paper map as a backup.
Have read through several travel guides and lurked about boards some too. Here's the plan, activities subject to change but hotels reserved (mostly):
Richmond Hill Inn days 1 & 2, arrive mid-afternoon. Hit the beach, maybe try out our snorkels, head over to Rocklands Bird Station, maybe check out the Harbor Street market or Rose Hall in there somewhere. Houseboat Grill for dinner. Wander the Hip Strip.
My Time N Place day 4, check out Bend Down market day, raft the Martha Brae, lunch at Papa Gus, take a dip in the Luminous Lagoon.
Frenchman's Cove day 5 & 6, maybe hit Dunn's River falls (my lady has bad knees, so climbing up a fall may not be a great idea), drive up & down Fern Gully on the way to Porty, check out the Wassi Art gallery, grab lunch at Scotchie's 2 (I know, hafta backtrack there a bit), maybe dinner at Woody's, raft the Rio Grande (too much rafting, or an opportunity to compare?), check out my personal Aerodrome, maybe Reach Falls, and some conch soup at Dawn's. Sneak in some sun/swim/snorkeling in the Cove too.
Mount Edge B&B day 7 after driving along the coast, stopping at the Morant Point lighthouse & Miss Nora's Cookhouse, and then checking out Fort Charles in Port Royal. We are skipping right through Kingston, maybe stopping at Emancipation Park on the way up to Mount Edge. Tour the Old Tavern Coffee Estate, then in to Holywell Recreation Area to see what the Misty Blues Festival is all about (no one has been able to tell us much). Lunch at the Gap Cafe then head West.
Golf View Hotel in Mandeville day 8, just a stop on the way to Negril. Dinner at Little Ochie or maybe the Bloomfield Great House. Cruise through Bamboo Avenue on the way to YS Falls, then have lunch in Apple Valley Park in Maggoty. Try to stay sober at Appleton Rum Estate, grab late lunch at Howie's Healthy Eating Diner and then grab a bag or two of peppered shrimps to keep us going into Negril.
Our Past Time day 9-13, cause it's right between Sandals for the wedding and Beaches where most of the family will be, so folks can walk over and visit whenever (sure they will...) if we aren't strolling the beach ourselves or wandering around the West End. Hafta see the lighthouse just so we hit both ends of Jamaica! Plenty of time here in Negril to check out the market, shops, and bars, and lay back a lot. Maybe some trips off to the Royal Palm Reserve, Mayfield Falls, or whatever comes up. Possibly join the newlyweds on a fishing trip if we can sneak in for the standard rate, since the all-in-one is charging them almost 3 times what it would be if you go directly to the charter companies.
Hopefully will be able to get into the looking-forward-to-it state of mind, cause right now I only see all the things left to do on the checklist (and imagine the things that we shoulda remembered).
but hey, no worries (I'm trying!)
KJ
