Flying over Montego Bay into Jamaica was gorgeous. We had a really easy flight, less than 2 hours, and we flew through immigration and customs in less than 15 minutes. Actually getting to the airport thru Miami traffic was a more stressful ordeal. Took us over an hour to go 20 miles. But, we’re here and “Ya’ mon” it’s pretty great.
We’re staying in Runaway Bay a ways from the Montego Bay airport. We had a delightful driver, Abdul, who shared lots of interesting cultural and historical things about Jamaica along the way such as Discovery Bay was named after Columbus landing in Jamaica in 1494 and Runaway Bay was named after runaway slaves. He also pointed out haunted houses and other fun stories about local places. There are wild goats that roam freely everywhere. We also stopped at a jerk chicken place on the way to the hotel. Great guy. Our journey to the hotel was almost as long as the flight, but I really enjoyed just taking in all the Jamaican countryside.
We are staying at an all-inclusive resort, but we really wanted a super low key place, not the typical blow-out party place. When you’re used to camping and living in Winnie, transitioning to the over the top swanky places can be a bit too much to take. This place is perfect! We are the only Americans here - as far as we can tell. Mostly everyone is British, but we also heard German and French. The drink menu is in French and English, and they are just a bit different from our typical rum drink names. For example, instead of the cocktail “Sex on the Beach” it’s “Sex on a Coach.” (???) I think there are only about 200 guest at most here. Everyone has their own little cottage and we are right on the bay. It was a bit overcast and breezy today, but honestly a nice break from the oppressive humidity and heat of Miami.
Tonight we opted for a romantic dinner on a terrace overlooking the hotel grounds. We are really looking forward to exploring the local town tomorrow and getting to know Jamaica a little more organically. We don’t have wifi here, but instead are using a Verizon “travel pass.” Good enough to hopefully post a blog, but not be connected to the news and social media. Okay, I’ll also take a peak at the election returns and try and catch a Warrior score. Ya’ Mon, give me a few more days to chill out. And yes, everyone really does say that in almost every sentence. It’s contagious.
