As a late honeymoon, my husband and I took a trip to Jamaica. This was also a little getaway to take us both far away from life after his deployment. My husband was deployed in Afghanistan and it was a very long and demanding deployment for him. It was also his first deployment, so he had no idea what to expect. At first our plan was to join a few other couples on a trip to the mountains in NC, but after discussing going on a trip with others and their children, we opted to take a trip alone.
After searching several places all around the world, we decided on Jamaica. I found an amazing deal at an all-inclusive resort and just couldn’t pass it up. Plus, both my husband and I LOVE the beach and to be in the water or on a boat. Our trip included everything from airfare, food, drinks, hotel and even gratuity. The only expense we had were the excursions.
When we arrived in Jamaica we had to do all the fun TSA security stuff. Being this was my first time out of the country, it wasn’t something I had ever done. At one point I felt like we were all a heard of cattle being pushed into the chute. But once that was all done, we were loaded on our bus to the resort (also included in the trip package). As we left the airport and pulled onto the main road, I was taken back by the scenery. The houses are hardly what you can call a house. Most of them do not have doors or windows, none of them have air, and some didn’t even have a roof. Nice cars are few and far between, and they drive crazy! One minute you have a car coming right for you, and the next it swerves out of the way. It was definitely scary to say the least!
When we finally arrived at our resort, we were very happy with our choice. It wasn’t a 5 star hotel, but it was definitely worth the price. It had a very nice pool that overlooked the beach. An adults only pool with a swim up bar and adult beach. And it even had it’s own little private island you could walk to with chairs and tables for lounging. Our first day was spent relaxing, exploring the resort and figuring out our plans for the next 8 days.
We decided we wanted to do some excursions. Our first excursion was a trip to the Rain Forest where we would zip line and tube down the river. The drive up there was crazy of course. But once we reached our destination, the fun began. We were briefed on the days adventures, and then off we went to suit up for some zip lining. We climbed up the mountain to several different sports where we would zip line from one side to the other. It was our first time doing this and it was just an amazing experience.
Once we got back from zip lining, we at lunch (jerk chicken of course) and headed over to the river for some tubing. There were about 10 of us and we ended up with all of our tubes linked together with a guide attached to the front. He had a paddle that he used to guide us where we needed to go. Needless to say, he was HUGE. His arms were giant from all of the paddling. Chris and I were first to get in the tube, so we were at the front of the pack (I kinda pushed our way to the front as I like to be in the front of everything so I don’t miss out on anything, hehe). Our first stop was a little bridge. We all got out of our tube and walked a path over to some waterfalls. We took pictures and got to play in them for a while. It was so beautiful. Then we loaded back up and finished the ride down the river. The whole river ride was about 3 hours long and worth every penny. The sites were just amazing.
The next day we decided to spend at the resort doing some snorkeling. I had never been, so we jumped on a boat and off we went to the reef. We were the only ones out snorkeling, so that was nice. Chris has been diving for years, so he was a pro at it. I however was terrified because I have a slight fear of the deep part of the ocean. But I sucked it up and jumped in. Once I realized I could see the everything around me, I relaxed and enjoyed the hour that we were out there. Again, the sites were unbelievable and the experience was amazing. I was so thankful that I had my husband with me to show me the ropes too. We dove down as far as we could go to get photos of some of the reef and fish. And everything was just stunning!
Our next excursion was a trip back to the rainforest where we drove ATV’s through the mountain trails. Again, I made sure we were in the front so we didn’t miss anything. My husband was on cloud nine as he drove through mud puddles spraying everyone behind us. But we also got our turn of being sprayed with mud by the guide on his ATV. They also had random people on the trails on 4 wheelers capturing photos of you going through certain parts of the trails. It was definitely another amazing trip to add to the list.
We decided to take another excursion across the island to Negril. There were several stops on this trip. One stop was a little store at the halfway point. It was a little shack with drinks and snacks. Then we stopped at Margaritaville for lunch and water sports. We decided to snorkel here because it’s supposed to be the nicest beach in Jamaica, but it didn’t compare to the snorkeling at the reef by our resort. We had a 2 hour snorkel trip here, but we had to cut it short because I got sea sick about halfway through. A storm as coming in, so the water was rough and floating in that stuff got me nauseous. I have been on boats and in the water my whole life, and have never gotten sea-sick. It was horrible. But once we were on land, I recovered quickly.
After Magraritaville, we headed over to a shopping plaza for shopping, and then to Rick’s Cafe for dinner and to watch the cliff divers. The stressed on the bus that they do not encourage you to cliff dive because of the height of the jump and how dangerous it was. But people were doing it anyways. Both my husband and I watched and discussed jumping, but were both a little scared. We decided to walk over to one of the jump spots and see how it looked from there. As we watched and contemplated more, I finally decided that I had to do it. I have always loved a challenge and things that give me an adrenaline rush. So I handed my husband the camera, stripped down to my bathing suit, and down the stairs I went. The water was rough and rushing up hard and the guy told me to jump when he said to. There was no counting to 3 at all. I honestly thought I was going to freeze and not jump, but the second he said jump, I was off the ledge and on my way down. Once I hit the water I was relieved. I was also very proud of myself for having the courage to jump and now having a story to tell about it. Even though the jump was amazing, my ears were killing me from it. Oh, and did I mention that my husband didn’t jump? He says it’s because I was the last person they let jump. But I am sure that if he really wanted to, they would have let him as well. But I will let him believe that, lol.
Getting ready to jump
And off I go!
After we had done all these fun excursions, we decided to lay low for the rest of the trip. We did a few shopping trips, mingled with the locals, ate at one of the local jerk chicken bbq joints, and even hitched a few rides from some locals (even though people say it’s dangerous). We swam, we laid out, we had drinks, fancy dinners, and sooo much more. It was the best vacation we could have ever asked for and cannot wait to go back again some day! If you have never been to Jamaica, you should go. Everything about it was just amazing to me. Even the people and their care free spirit!
My favorite spot at our resort!
Becca 