I’m finally getting around to writing about our honeymoon, but I have an excuse: parasites.
We flew from Des Moines to Memphis to Montego Bay, Jamaica. From Montego Bay we took a two-hour bus trip to Ocho Rios which really didn’t seem as bad as the reviews on tripadvisor made it sound. We checked into the Riu around 4:30 pm on Saturday. We noticed right away that there was a pizza place open daily from noon to midnight and realized we were definitely not going to starve!
Our room was cute with the ubiquitous “swan” towel arrangement on the bed. The fridge was fully stocked with soda, water and a six-pack of Real Rock Jamaican beer. The bar also had several bottles of liquor that we never touched and a few more bottles of water (this should have been our first clue not to use the tap water).
We spent the first two days on the beach soaking up the sun! The resort also had two pools with swim-up bars and water loungers that we put to good use. On Wednesday, we went to Dunn’s River Falls since everyone we knew said it was a can’t-miss… and we totally agreed! It took us about 45 minutes to climb the falls, and at the end, we wanted to go back and do it again. We saw tourists with $500 digital cameras and video cameras, and my guess is that several of them were ruined by the end of the climb. Some people were being pulled or carried up the falls by the guides as it was not as easy as they must have thought it would be. The rocks were slippery with algae and the water was not gentle, but it was such a thrill to find our own way up after we ditched the guides!
The rest of the week we alternated between the pools and the beach. We took advantage of the free kayaks and paddle boats at the Riu and ate at some of the reservation-only restaurants. We tried a restaurant off the resort called Spring Garden that a cab driver recommended, and my coconut shrimp was the best I’ve ever had. Joel had the Jerk Lobster, and thank goodness he had a Red Stripe at hand because it was SPICY! But, it was a nice change from the buffet.
The shows at the Riu were pretty entertaining. The best was the Michael Jackson show (which, coincidentally, was put on two days before he died). The entertainers are really amazing, and I can still picture Megatron dancing to ”Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas! We met a couple from Ohio at one of the shows and spent some time chatting with them in the pool and at the show on our last night. We also introduced them to the dance club on the resort!
By Saturday we were ready to leave Jamaica even if we weren’t quite ready to go home… to responsibility. We were both feeling a little funny but just attributed it to a bad hangover. Unfortunately, it was not a hangover, and we spent the next two days regretting the decision to brush our teeth with tap water.
