Category: Jamaica

Another excursion was to tourist shopping mall, a local craft market, and then watching the sunset at Rick’s Cafe.

The tourist mall was definitely what you would expect.  TONS of souvenirs, and each shop had about the same.  This is where we got our Blue Mountain Coffee for everyone back home.  It was honestly the cheapest we found it, even compared to the resort.  You definitely do NOT want to buy the coffee at the airport!

I learned a valuable lesson there, don’t leave Hubby alone at a local craft market!  While I was hunting for some woven trivets that my mom wanted me to get, I left Hubby looking at some wood carving.  By the time I got back to him, 5 MINUTES LATER, he had spent $50 dollars on two Jamaican carved masks.  They were not pretty.  Hubby still says he got a good deal because the carver threw in a free carved hummingbird too.  (FYI, the masks are still sitting in Hubby’s downstairs office, not hung up.)

The craft market we were taken to was definitely geared towards tourists.  Besides our van, there were a few buses and a few other excursion vans that pulled in.  It was honestly the one thing I think I would have skipped, but it was part of the excursion, so why not.  Looking back, I think I would skip the craft market next time.

We ended the day at Rick’s Cafe.

To be completely honest, I had no clue what Rick’s Cafe was.  So if  you are like me, let me enlighten you!  Rick’s Cafe was started by an American in 1974.  Known for it’s cliff diving, it is a bar and restaurant, and had great bands performing on an outdoor stage.

They have professional cliff divers, but anyone can try it out!  We didn’t realize we should have brought our swimsuits, or I think Hubby might have tried some cliff jumping.  Me, not so much.  However, for those of us who are deathly afraid of heights, you can just jump into the beautiful blue water.  It was still fun watching the professional cliff divers and even a 12 year old boy get up the courage to jump off the highest point!

They talked up the sunset at Rick’s Cafe, and I didn’t think it could live up to the hype.  Don’t tell anyone, but I was wrong! (I know, it doesn’t happen often, seriously, don’t tell anyone!)  The pictures don’t even do it justice.

This was definitely worth the trip.  As you can see though, the place is PACKED at sunset.  In order to even get this spot to watch the sunset, we were there around an hour or so before sunset.  It gave us time to watch the cliff jumping and diving, and we even saw a proposal!

We did a few excursions while in Jamaica.  Being a child of the 80’s, early 90’s, I couldn’t go to Jamaica without fulfilling the Cocktail dream of swimming in the waterfall.  Unfortunately, Hubby dashed my dreams by telling me the infamous waterfall was on the other side of the island from where we were staying.

Luckily, YS Falls was on our side of the Island!  We did an excursion that took us to YS Falls, then on a boating excursion to look for crocodiles, and finally to one of the local craft markets.

 

YS Falls were beautiful.  It was so much fun swimming in the falls, but we were glad we were wearing our water sandals and brought our Go Pro!  The rocks were very slippery and could have really messed up your feet.  It was also crazy how many people were trying to use their Iphones but not get them wet.  I can’t believe it worked out well.

Once we were done at the Falls, it was off to lunch.  The restaurant they took us had good food, and it was nice to get out of the van, as the trip to YS Falls was over an hour away from the hotel.  We got to see a little of the local color too!

After eating our fill, it was off to the Marina to go Croc Hunting!

This was an hour or so boat ride on a pontoon.  The guides were very good, and even knew the names of all the crocs we were looking for!  While they never promise that you will see any, we definitely got to see some!

Our trip was cut a little short by an incoming storm, but we still got a beautiful view of the mountains, and the storm actually made for a beautiful scene.

 

We spent our tenth anniversary lounging on the beach at Bloody Bay in Jamaica.  Let me tell you, this is the life!!!

Our travel agent found us an AMAZING resort to stay at, Sunset on the Palms.  This small, couples only, resort really impressed us.  It was so great, Hubby (who is totally against going back to the same place more than once) said he would go back in a heartbeat!

The rooms were so awesome, as they were bungalows up on stilts, with beautiful gardens all around.  One of the gardeners would make sure we had fresh flowers in our room every day.

 

The staff there are so wonderful and friendly!  From the wait staff, to the restaurant on the beach, you knew you were definitely taken care of.  The coffee bar was definitely one of the best features.  We drank more Jamaican coffee that week than I ever do at home!  We would have coffee in the morning when we woke up and then coffee while we were waiting for our dinner reservation.  They didn’t even make fun of me when I dumped a TON of sugar and creamer in it.

The one thing that may scare  you off about Sunset on the Palms is that you have to cross the street in order to get to the beach.  DON’T LET IT!!!  They have a great crossing guard, who gets the traffic to stop for you, and the it is really a short walk.  The beach is private, and right next to the huts with all the crafts and merchandise.  We spent most of the days hanging out on the beach, and didn’t leave until we were going to shower for dinner.  They have a walk up restaurant where you can order whatever you want.  (Check out more about the food here.)

There was no need to do an excursion to go snorkeling, as all we had to do was walk up the beach a ways, and the edge of the bay had some great coral reefs and fish.  They were building a hotel where we were snorkeling, so it may not be as easy to snorkel at.  Watch out though, there are sting rays hiding all over, and a lot of sea urchins.  I even found a lion fish hiding out in the rocks!  It really was a great and relaxing trip.