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Montego Bay - Jamaica - Yah Mon!
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Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. Its indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the island Xaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water", or the "Land of Springs".
The song, "Island in the Sun" kept playing in my mind as our ship approach Jamaica. This place after all, was one of the very special place that I had always wanted to visit my whole life, but it's also a place that I thought would be impossible for me to see in this lifetime. I'm finally going to set foot on a Caribbean Island, Yeow!
Our cruise ship stopped over for 10hours. So much to see but so little time. The best known and most popular tourist attraction in Ocho Rios and all of Jamaica is the amazing "Dunn's River Falls". Visitors can make the 600 feet climb from the base of the falls, hand-in-hand like a human daisy chain. Our tour guide Trevor (Indian looking chap), was waiting for us with a hand held plaque with "Island Marketing" (the company we booked our tour from online) stenciled on it. He greeted us in perfect english, after all, Jamaica is still a Commonwealth Country. He led us to a 20seater van parked a short distant away. There were about 12 people in it waiting already. We make haste as soon as Trevor got behind the wheels. The first thing Trevor lecture us about Jamaica is that, the people of Jamaica never have any Problems.........(followed by his attempt at deadpan humour).......only Situations. He told us that their most famous export was Bob Marley and Harry Belafonte. He even did a Bob Marley number for us in his Jamaican husky voice; "nooo... woman no cry..." he proclaimed.
To get to Dunn's River Falls from Montego Bay, we have to travel 90km east on gravel roads to Ocho Rios. Along the way, Trevor pointed out to us some resorts that famous movie stars like Eddie Murphy used to stay. The landscape scenery seemed so familiar, just like back home. There were goats roaming by the road side like those in rural town back home. The houses were of similar design, mostly single storey. The journey took 1½ hour.
We immediately changed to our wet gear for the upcoming challenge, which was to climb up the cascading waterfalls. We started from where the water meets the ocean, and slowly inch our way up, one step at a time, hands interlocking with the rest of the crowd like a string of beads. It was a monumental task that required ultra care in where you plant your next step. One wrong step and you will cause a domino effect on the people behind you. Imagine a house of cards tumbling down a 600ft waterfall. It was exciting and fun. The water was cold but welcoming to the touch after a hot day's sun. We rewarded ourselves with the best coffee in the world at the end of our climb, The Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, also known as JABLUM. Blue Mountain coffee are noted for their mild flavor and lack of bitterness. The beans are also used as the flavor base of Tia Maria coffee liqueur.
On the way back to the port, Trevor stopped us at "The Ultimate Jerk Centre". I was expecting to meet a bunch of idiotic Jamaican come swamping us with harebrained remarks but I was in for a pleasant surprise. The Ultimate Jerk Centre was a luncheonette instead; and Jerk Pork and Jerk Chicken was their specialty. We ordered a portion each of this noteworthy dish to go. It taste very much like our nasi lemak (Rice soak and steam in coconut milk), and delicious to the last drop.
Remember the movie "Cool Running". The one that told the story of the first Jamaican Olympic Bobsled team back in 1988? Well, the actual bobsled that almost won them a medal, had their sled not broken during their final run, was hung up high for all to see at the popular Jamaican Bobsled Cafe. We manage to get a glimpse of the Fame Bobsled as we were making our way through the tourist filled street.
Back at the port, we tipped Trevor and his aid in appreciation of their splendid service. They bid us farewell with a rendition of "Jamaican Farewell". We sang along with them with sadness in our voice as we knew that we 'won't be back, for many a days'. We did some souvenir shopping at the ship's terminal and board the ship again in the evening. The Jamaica goverment had in place a grand send-off for us with a Uniform Band playing to us as our ship left the shores of Montego Bay. "My heart is down, my head is turning around, I had to leave a little bit of me in Montego Bay...".
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