Shauna (marley9808) & Raul's (ralonzo29) 1st Anniversary in Jamaica *Trip Report*

[marley9808]

DAY TWO (October 7, 2011):
Had to set the alarm (Hey, this is vacation, why an alarm?) so we could get up early to get ready for our all day tour to Port Antonio today. I have really been looking forward to this trip and I am excited about heading to Portie and all that we were going to see and do today, so it wasn't too terrible to have to get up at 7:00am LOL. We got up and got ready and headed to breakfast....here is one positive about being up early, there werent too many other people down at breakfast. So popped in got my much needed coffee. We booked a tour through a tour company and the bus was there to pick us up at 8:30. We got on the bus and we were the last stop (Yay)! There were about 6 or 7 other couples on the tour as well and it seemed most of them were from England. We were on our way to Port Antonio. We had a very pleasant tour guide and she showed us a lot of sites along the way. She also had some pretty interesting stories to tell. While heading out of Ocho Rios they stopped to show us the house that was built to look like a boat, pretty cool!
We kept on and passed by James Bond Beach, Firefly and many other famous locations.
Our first stop on the tour was Somerset Falls. It was beautiful. The area reminded me a little of YS Falls in that you could stay there a while. They had a pool and picnic areas, and places to hang out and relax. But we walked up in the forest on a trail that led us to the boat which would take us to see the hidden falls. It was beautiful! The boat rows you into the little cave and behind the falls, breath-taking.
After that, our next stop was the Blue Lagoon. This place was amazing. We got out at the Lagoon and got on another boat that took us on a little tour around the lagoon and by the villas. There are several amazing villas along the Blue Lagoon. They are privately owned but are rented out....some are like 10,000 a night but I think they had one small one that was only $1,000 per night LOL. But these villas are ridiculous. They are so big, right on the water and they come with a full staff. Tom Cruise stayed in one when filming Cocktail. Ziggy Marley has stayed in one, and the list goes on.
After the villas we rode by Monkey Island and the tour guide told us that they had recently filmed scenes from Day and Night with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz there (apparently Tom really likes the Blue Lagoon, since he has filmed two movies here already). We passed by Monkey Island and went over to see Cocktail Beach. The tour guide pointed out some more villas and homes owned by the rich and famous (must be nice) and then we returned to the lagoon to go swimming. Of course we had to do it, especially after some talk about a fountain of youth or something LOL. I jumped in first but then I was able to convince Raul to jump in as well. Much like Glistening Waters, the top layer (about 1-2 inches) of water was ICE COLD but then everything below that layer was like warm bath water, quite a weird sensation to say the least. But the most impressive thing about the Lagoon I would say was the color of the water....it was the most brightest blue color I have ever seen, it was amazing! The guide told us that the lagoon was believed to be bottomless because a local once did a free dive to 180 feet and never touched bottom but then I read somewhere that they said divers have confirmed it to be around 185 feet deep.
After the Blue Lagoon we headed over to Frenchman's Cove and had some lunch. It was gorgeous here as well and the food was yummy! I tried to step in the water but OMG, it was FREEZING! So um, no I will just admire the beauty from here....no need to swim! lol
After that we headed up into the moutains a bit and stopped at the opening of the Rio Grande where you meet the raft captains. I have been wanting to do a bamboo raft ride for a long time, almost as long as I had wanted to see Glistening Waters so I was super excited about this. We stepped inside the office area and got our number. Number 3...thats us. We headed down to the landing and waited for our number to be called. Then we met our captain, his name was Gary and he instructed us to get on the raft...and away we went. I can't even describe this experience. It was just amazing to see how much work goes into this process. The tour is 2 hours long!!! And that entire time your captain is powering you, him and the whole raft down this river using only a long piece of bamboo and his arm and body strength. I got tired just sitting there, I can only imagine what he was feeling. We talked to him along the way and found out he had been doing this for 14 years (even though he didnt look very old to me). He said he spent 7 of those years being an apprentice and basically just carrying the rafts back up the river after the rides. He told us that the average raft lasts about 3-4 months, though the seat area can last up to 2 years. He said each captain has to build their own rafts and they take about a week or so to make. They have to buy the bamboo from the farmer who owns the land and then build there own rafts. He said during busy times he may have 2 tours a day, but usually it is only 1. The whole trip was just amazing and we loved it, and loved talking to Gary. But about only 20-30 minutes in, it started raining....and what can you do when you are sitting on a raft in the middle of a river with 1.5 hours more of tour to go...well lucky for us, Gary's raft was equipped with an umbrella which he gave to us and that was nice, but since we were sitting there we of course got soaked and wet and COLD....again, day two in Jamaica and here I am FREEZING...what is up with this? lol
We made it to the end, in one piece, and maybe with pneumonia, but we had an amazing time. We got back on the bus and headed back to Ocho Rios (about a 2 hour drive). We got back to our hotel around 8pm and had dinner and drinks and that was about all we could manage after such a long day of fun, food, swimming, touring and freezing our butts off!
Tomorrow, Day 3 and our last full day in Ocho Rios before we head to Negril!

The house built like a boat


Somerset Falls, boatride to the hidden falls/cave









The Blue Lagoon




The Villas at the Blue Lagoon




Monkey Island at the Blue Lagoon