daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
Note I’m posting this out of order, but I want to not fall too far behind on my daily posts. We’re back from Jamaica and I’ll be posting each day’s activities the coming week.
Today we had a long travel day, leaving Norse Hill at 3 am to make the trek to Kingston to catch our 8 am flight. But all went well and we’re back home. On the way back to the house, I asked Bay to stop by In-N-Out for a burger. I was craving big time!
Nice to be home…
We started the day off with another yummy meal of fritters, fresh fruit, eggs, ham, etc. The Julie Mangos are so good. Definitely my favorite.
After that we went into town (Port Antonio) and our cousin gave us a tour of the local landmarks, especially where it related to our family. We got to see old houses, old shops, schools, and then toured my cousin’s bakery.
In the evening, we did a bit of shopping at the grocery store for some goodies to bring back home. A nice way to finish up our trip to Jamaica. We fly home tomorrow, so I’m a bit sad… It was such a fun trip!
Vacation in Jamaica… hiking and swimming at Reach Falls, burning our tastebuds with Scotch Bonnet peppers, and enjoying games of Rummykub in the evening. The good life!
We had a fantastic time today at Winnifred Beach, enjoying another delightful day in the water. Although it’s a small beach, it offers free admission and a few souvenir vendors and snack bars where we could quench our thirst with refreshing cold drinks. And there were plenty of dogs roaming around, including some super-cute puppies!
After a few hours there, we headed over to Boston for some jerk chicken, pork, and lobster. Super yummy! Back at Norse Hill, we enjoyed another lovely evening watching the purple sky. Another wonderful day in Jamaica.
It’s rafting day! Floating down the river on bamboo rafts is one of those things you have to do when you visit Jamaica. So relaxing and fun. And if you are on the Rio Grande, you can make arrangements for lunch at Belinda’s. She’ll prepare your food and have it waiting for you halfway through the journey for a perfect rest break. It might have been my favorite meal of the vacation!
Fricasee chicken, snapper, curry goat, ackee and saltfish, callaloo, plantain, and rice and peas. Delicious!
Bonus pic: the essential beverage of Jamaica:
Today we stayed at Nautilus Villa, right on the water. It was awesome! There were kayaks and paddle boards available which we used to cruise over to Blue Lagoon (formerly Blue Hole). The water was so nice… truly wonderful
Fun fact: when I was maybe 4 years old, I fell into Blue Hole and my father jumped in and rescued me. I don’t really remember falling in, but I do remember playing on the pier right before the incident. Scary!
This time around, I enjoyed myself a lot more, swimming around and enjoying the scenery.
There were also sea turtles and rays swimming about. So neat to see. I definitely recommend a visit to Blue Lagoon if you are in Port Antonio.
By the way, our group had a nice collection of camera gear… dSLR, mirrorless, GoPro, film p&s. All bases covered!
Since our arrival was so late last night, we planned to just hang out at Norse Hill, the property we are staying at. And what a beautiful property it is! It’s actually Norse Hill Estate and Botanical Gardens, so the flora is amazing. There are trails that meander around the grounds with inspirational quotes on plaques scattered along the trail. It’s very cool!
Tomorrow we’ll explore a bit, but today it was nice to just hang out at the pool, walk around the gardens, and chat with friends and family.
