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Ok, so I’ve been reading all of these wonderful trip reports for the last five months since my first trip to Jamaica in November 2002, so I thought it only fair that I share my experience in return. This is going to be long because it’s almost therapy for me to relive every detail. Please bear with me as this is the first trip report I’ve ever attempted, so here it goes.
Compulsive as I am, I made a spur of the moment phone call to a good friend of mine, Danielle, and asked her if she wanted to leave the kids at home and do a “girls trip” to Jamaica. We’re both going to be 30 next year and needed to do something spontaneous. Where did our twenties go?? [img]/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] She, almost as compulsive as I am, agreed and we got together and booked our flight for 2 months later. Yes, we were really going!!! You know that feeling when you’ve actually gone and done it and it’s not just ‘talking’ about going any longer – you have a ticket – it’s for real. We went out that night to celebrate at the local club, thinking it’s not quite Jamaica but hey, soon come. Over the course of the next few weeks, probably from my non-stop babbling of my upcoming trip, another of my friends Olivia, decided she wanted to tag along. And so we were 3. Olivia could not get a flight the same day as us and so was forced to leave a day earlier. How unfortunate, having to spend one extra day in paradise.
Departure Day – OK, this it. The day we’ve been thinking about non-stop for two months straight. Our flight is at 5:30 am so off we are driving in the freezing cold snowy night at 3:30 am. Not minding one bit that is so darned cold out. We check in, wait around for awhile and the it is boarding time. Plane is fairly full, lot of business people on the plane as we are going to Atlanta and connecting to Montego Bay from there. Get to Altanta and board again, the plane is practically empty, we each take up a row of 3 seats and lay down. Me reading my lonely planet Jamaica book and her snoozing. I take a peek out the window, that must be Miami we’re flying over because I am not seeing anything but water beyond. Headed towards the Caribbean, life is good. I throw the headsets on and Wyclef and Claudette are singing “Two Wrongs”. Not much longer now.
OK, captain says we we are making our descent – a beautiful 82 degrees in Montego Bay. I look out the window and see the island way down there. “Oh my gosh, look at that water”! I say to Danielle who also has her nose squashed to the window. Hurry up and land, can’t hardly wait any longer. Is it just me? Or does the plane look like it’s scraping the water as it’s landing and you think for a split second that it’s not quite going to make it? We jump up, pull out our carryons from the storage as fast as humanly possible and boot it down the aisle.
Finally, standing at the top of the stairs, I stop for a split second and take it all in. I see the mountains, palm trees, feel that warm tropical air. And I get this incredible feeling of energy, or something, that I really needed. Danielle is almost at that bottom of the stairs so I scoot down quickly to catch up.
We stand in line at customs, get through pretty quick and walk out to find the JUTA stand. As we are walking through the doors past customs, a Jamaican male meets us and greets us by name. Danielle and I look at each other both thinking ‘Who are you and how do you know our names’? Olivia is outside waiting for you he says, the airport would not let her in (don’t know why) so she asked me to tell you to meet her upfront. OK we say and follow him to the JUTA desk. It’s not too long before we are escorted to our bus. We wait about 30 minutes on the bus. What is taking so long?! We just want to be on our way. I tell the driver to pick up Olivia at the front. There she is and she is smiling from ear to ear. She has been in Montego Bay for about 24 hours now and has settled in quite well. I introduce her to Danielle and the first thing out of her mouth is “Do you know how many cute guys have asked me out since yesterday”!? Hurry up and get on the bus Olivia, we’ll talk all about on the way to Ocho Rios. We just want to go! Olivia is a little on the heavier side and comments over and over how she is just not used to all this attention. She is loving it already.
On the way to Ocho Rios, we chitchat about all the fun we are going to have, staying up late at night, the clubs we are going to dance all night away in, just the type of things teenage girls talk about. This trip is going to be really good for my soul. I won’t find out to what extent until later in the week.
[Post title edited for filing purposes]
Compulsive as I am, I made a spur of the moment phone call to a good friend of mine, Danielle, and asked her if she wanted to leave the kids at home and do a “girls trip” to Jamaica. We’re both going to be 30 next year and needed to do something spontaneous. Where did our twenties go?? [img]/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] She, almost as compulsive as I am, agreed and we got together and booked our flight for 2 months later. Yes, we were really going!!! You know that feeling when you’ve actually gone and done it and it’s not just ‘talking’ about going any longer – you have a ticket – it’s for real. We went out that night to celebrate at the local club, thinking it’s not quite Jamaica but hey, soon come. Over the course of the next few weeks, probably from my non-stop babbling of my upcoming trip, another of my friends Olivia, decided she wanted to tag along. And so we were 3. Olivia could not get a flight the same day as us and so was forced to leave a day earlier. How unfortunate, having to spend one extra day in paradise.
Departure Day – OK, this it. The day we’ve been thinking about non-stop for two months straight. Our flight is at 5:30 am so off we are driving in the freezing cold snowy night at 3:30 am. Not minding one bit that is so darned cold out. We check in, wait around for awhile and the it is boarding time. Plane is fairly full, lot of business people on the plane as we are going to Atlanta and connecting to Montego Bay from there. Get to Altanta and board again, the plane is practically empty, we each take up a row of 3 seats and lay down. Me reading my lonely planet Jamaica book and her snoozing. I take a peek out the window, that must be Miami we’re flying over because I am not seeing anything but water beyond. Headed towards the Caribbean, life is good. I throw the headsets on and Wyclef and Claudette are singing “Two Wrongs”. Not much longer now.
OK, captain says we we are making our descent – a beautiful 82 degrees in Montego Bay. I look out the window and see the island way down there. “Oh my gosh, look at that water”! I say to Danielle who also has her nose squashed to the window. Hurry up and land, can’t hardly wait any longer. Is it just me? Or does the plane look like it’s scraping the water as it’s landing and you think for a split second that it’s not quite going to make it? We jump up, pull out our carryons from the storage as fast as humanly possible and boot it down the aisle.
Finally, standing at the top of the stairs, I stop for a split second and take it all in. I see the mountains, palm trees, feel that warm tropical air. And I get this incredible feeling of energy, or something, that I really needed. Danielle is almost at that bottom of the stairs so I scoot down quickly to catch up.
We stand in line at customs, get through pretty quick and walk out to find the JUTA stand. As we are walking through the doors past customs, a Jamaican male meets us and greets us by name. Danielle and I look at each other both thinking ‘Who are you and how do you know our names’? Olivia is outside waiting for you he says, the airport would not let her in (don’t know why) so she asked me to tell you to meet her upfront. OK we say and follow him to the JUTA desk. It’s not too long before we are escorted to our bus. We wait about 30 minutes on the bus. What is taking so long?! We just want to be on our way. I tell the driver to pick up Olivia at the front. There she is and she is smiling from ear to ear. She has been in Montego Bay for about 24 hours now and has settled in quite well. I introduce her to Danielle and the first thing out of her mouth is “Do you know how many cute guys have asked me out since yesterday”!? Hurry up and get on the bus Olivia, we’ll talk all about on the way to Ocho Rios. We just want to go! Olivia is a little on the heavier side and comments over and over how she is just not used to all this attention. She is loving it already.
On the way to Ocho Rios, we chitchat about all the fun we are going to have, staying up late at night, the clubs we are going to dance all night away in, just the type of things teenage girls talk about. This trip is going to be really good for my soul. I won’t find out to what extent until later in the week.
[Post title edited for filing purposes]
She calls me over with the wave of her free hand. I excuse myself, but the Rastafarian man is right behind me, and he is talking up a storm like we’ve known each other forever. I politely grunt back uhuh, yeah, OK. Then he smiles, a big smile showing all them pearly whites. I move faster to catch up to Danielle and Olivia. “What are you doing” ?? I whisper in her ear. She says something to the effect that he wants to take a walk with her outside of Margaritaville, the look on her face says she is not too sure about that. And my God neither am I. I loudly say it is time for all of us to go into the club now. So Danielle pries herself from the man she is holding hands with (his name is Kevin). Mr. No Teeth man says he does not have any money, and if I could pay for him to get in because he wants to dance with me. Right. The three of us excuse ourself and Kevin pulls on Danielle’s hand once more. Will you come out and talk to me later he asks? She says sure and we go into the club. 
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