Trip Report 1 ~ Grand Pineapple ~ May 2011

[lovenegril]

Day 2 Part 1 ~ We wake up early and have Blue Mountain coffee (must have) on the patio before heading down to breakfast. Everything is good, and we have some great fruit and the best omelet. I still need to have a real Jamaican breakfast. We head down to the beach to relax. We decide to do some of the water sports before we head to snorkel. I have never been snorkeling and am excited. We get in the shuttle to head down to Sandals for this adventure. Sandals was very nice, don't get me wrong but I prefer the GP. We head in the boat and go out snorkeling with about 25 other people. We arrive at the spot and jump in. I don't have an underwater camera but I wish I did. The water was crystal clear and I couldn't believe how many fish were right in front of my face. We had a good time exploring on our own and it ended much too quickly. We headed back to the GP and I was ready to start drinking.

Andrew fixes us my new favorite drink Have a Nice Day, and we head down to the beach to wait for our trip to Ricks Cafe. Our new friends Shama, Captain Jack, Cyrano & Ian are waiting for us and they invite us to pre-party before we head off to Rick's Cafe. We are sitting on the glass-bottom boat and get introduced to our first taste of rum punch & JB overproof. Here is an example of it's potency. Shama dips his finger in the rum (which they are drinking straight) and makes a circle on the boat seat. Then he takes a lighter and POOF- instant flames. I think maybe I will not be drinking that alone. They mix up a gallon of rum punch and we begin our first lesson on Jamaican curse words. We learn that anything ending in clot is bad. Bumboclot, pussyclot, etc. The boys also teach us the word Mofat, but refuse to tell us what that means I still don't know to this day and if anyone knows, feel free to enlighten me. The rest of the tourists arrive for our excursion and we are off. As soon as we leave shore, the "smoking" begins. I have never in my life seen a joint that big. As My knowledge continues to grow, I learn it is not a joint but a spliff, or a Bob Marley. 15 people on the boat, 4 spliffs lit at once. I am so not prepared for this. We drink our rum punch and are headed toward Rick's. The guys are entertaining us with tales of pirates and dancing & singing and it is a great time. We stop at the caves along the way and they pull the boat into a cave. Cyrano jumps out of the boat and grabs a cup of water and throws it in the air and BATS everywhere. Get me out of here, but they just laugh. They are fruit bats, they are not gonna hurt you. Ummmhhh.... They are still bats.

We arrive at Ricks and stop near the dock. We have the option to stay on the boat with free booze & ghanga or dis-embark and watch from Ricks. We choose to go to Ricks and watch the cliff divers. Ian goes with us and everyone stays on the boat. Drinks are more expensive here so we only have one, but it is really amazing watching these guys dive. I will say I am glad I went, never having seen anything like it, but very very touristy. Plus, after the rum punch I drank, I am beginning to think I might be able to jump. We are told we have to wait until Ninja dives before we head back. It really was amazing to watch. Back on the boat, we are heading back to the Grand Pineapple and the sun is starting to set, when Captain Jack (Greg) stops and says we have to stop and watch. He turns off the boat and we are idling there watching the sun. He says we need to give thanks to God for another beautiful day, thanks for the beauty of the sun, and thanks to making new lifetime friends. I couldn't agree more. We watch the sun set on the horizon of the water and the only word I can use is BREATHTAKING. This was my first realization about the people of Jamaica. They are so thankful for everything they have, even if it is not much and they are poetic in the way they love life. I am so touched, I almost cry. This was by far worth so much more the $20 I spent for the ride. We get back to GP and the guys invite us to hang out that night. We head back to the hotel to change and eat and agree to meet them later. Coming up later in Day 2-part 2: The Voice of Reason goes o bed early, first taste of "Bob Marley" & they were laughing with us, not at us.