Jamaica 2

---

Thursday 2 February

We spent a quiet day around the resort.

Breakfast in the Orquidea.

We strolled along the beach late morning and sat for a while having a drink. On our return we then lunched in the beach restaurant.

In the evening we had a reservation in one of the speciality restaurants at 6.30 pm. The Dolce Vita and from the name you might guess, Italian themed. An enjoyable meal.

Friday 3 February

This was our booked tour for Kingston and meeting in the lobby at 7.45 am. We didn't make any effort for breakfast, so just had coffee in the room.

A small coach arrived and with one stop at a Rui hotel along the way, there were 14 of us.

We headed through the island on the new toll road built by the Chinese.

Our tour guide gave us a lot of information about Jamaica and it's history along the journey.

First stop was the Wall of heroes, recognising people of various distinctions. Including a statue of Bob Marley.

Then a visit to the Bob Marley museum, with a guided tour. Very interesting and it's amazing how much of his music is embedded into our lives. Also, amazing to be reminded that he died at the age of 36, from cancer. The museum was his house on Hope road, in Kingston, which included a recording studio and vinyl press.

Next was on to Emancipation park, with statues of individuals who contributed to the end of slavery and is a tribute to freedom.

Off to the Blue Mountains and a visit to find out about the world famous coffee.

The tour was at the UCC Craighton House coffee plantation. A fascinating historic old building. Lots of information about coffee and a stroll up the hillside to see the coffee growing.

This location is now owned by a Japanese Company and 95% of the coffee from here goes straight to Japan.

Fortunately, they sell some to those who visit. We bought some!

Back on the coach heading for a lunch stop. Soup, followed by Jerk chicken went down a treat at The Crystal Edge restaurant, a roadside location in the mountains. Attached was a fancy little bakery, where I purchased some gorgeous banana bread.

Then homewards, through Friday afternoon traffic in Kingston, which was incredibly busy. The journey took several hours.

Back to the Hotel about 8 pm. Straight out to the Orquidea for something to eat. Then finished for the day


Saturday 4 February.

Pat had a Spa appointment at 9 am, so I kept out of the way.

When Pat returned we wandered off to the beach restaurant for a late breakfast.

We lazed around most of the day, enjoying the sunshine.

A lot of the tours on offer are not to our taste, so after investigating the taxi prices, we have booked a three to four hour shopping trip to a nearby town of Ochos Rios on Monday for $80 return for the two of us. This was from the taxi company in the hotel lobby.

During the day we explored more of the resort. If for no other reason to locate the numerous restaurants.

We are booked on an all inclusive basis. So food and drinks are all free. There are two main buffet restaurants open for long periods during the day (and night), you turn up and get seated, then help yourself to any amount of the vast quantities of food available. One of these has themed evenings, so food options are different every night. This, also gives us the chance to try things.

In addition there are other themed restaurants which you need to make a reservation through the Hotel app. During our 14 night stay we are allowed 7 reservations, at these restaurants for dinner. Choices include, Italian, Steak, Asian, Brazilian, Japanese, etc. These are at no extra cost.

Early evening we had dinner in the Orquidea restaurant.

Sunday 5 February

A really good night's sleep.

Stirred and eventually wandered to breakfast in the Orquidea about 9.15 am.

Returned to the room and changed. Then set off to see how far we could walk along the coast, both ways. Sadly, you can only walk to the limits of the hotel boundary. We did manage about 3 km's.

Lunch was in the beach restaurant.

A quiet afternoon, then off to the Japanese restaurant for our reservation at 7 pm.

The meal didn't turn out to be a success. The food was okay, put poor service let the place down and we left after the main course.

Monday 6 February

A reasonable night's sleep. Up, showered and off to breakfast in the Orquidea earlyish as we are out this morning.

We made our way to reception for 10 am, as we have a taxi trip to Ocho Rios for some shopping.

There are some mundane items we could do with, that are not available at the hotel and of course some sightseeing.

Our taxi driver was Natrick (Patrick with an N) and we made our way to the town. Traffic was busy, but the journey was uneventful and took about 45 minutes.

He dropped us in a central car park by some shops and we agreed a return time. He gave us his card with a telephone number on it and I took a photo of the car and registration, just in case he moved.

So, we wandered around, found a supermarket and went in. Masks are required in shops. Purchased a few items.

Pat wanted a drink, so we went into a sports bar, for a Red Stripe and a Coke Zero. On the telly was a T20 cricket match, which we watched.

Then off again, Pat found a shopping centre called Island Village on the map, not far from the cruise terminal. We thought might be worth a look. The cruise ship Aida Diva was in port today.

As we approached a Pandora sign was spotted, so even more reason to visit.

We found the Pandora Jewellers and purchased a Jamaica charm for Pat. Having looked at various other shops, we had our fill.

Then slowly back to the taxi.

Back to the hotel for 1.30 pm and straight out for lunch in the beach restaurant.

Ocho Rios was a busy little town. We were approached by a number of people for tours and taxis etc. as we walked along, but these were not threatening in any way.

Following a quiet afternoon, we went to the TUI “Cocktail Party” on the beach by the Scuba centre for 6 pm.

This was to meet the rep's Sheldon and Sophie and Senior Hotel Staff.

There was a sound system, Dj, with a bar and we hung around for a while, never saw anyone other than guests. Then went to dinner in the Orquidea.

---