Biking Blue Mountain Jamaica

June 29, 2011 By 7 Comments

DSCN0126 225x300 Biking Blue Mountain JamaicaJamaica is a really cool place to go for an active vacation (or to just get away and relax).  I already talked about hiking up Dunn’s River Falls, which we did along with some snorkeling and a catamaran trip.  We also biked down the Blue Mountains – famous for their coffee.

The trip was a full day — leaving the resort before 8 and returning after 5.  We went by minibus and got a tour of Jamaica and some history along the way.  Jamaica is a very poor country and it shows once you get away from the coast with its luxury resorts.  It’s also full of adventure — at least our trip was.

Blue Mountain, Jamaica

The bus took us high up into the mountain, after stopping for a quick breakfast in town.  Our first adventure involved the narrow roads — barely 1 car width.  Not only does the road accommodate traffic in both directions, drivers drive fast.  Horns announce oncoming traffic.

Now, I’m not a stranger to crazy traffic — living inside the Beltway in DC — but this was truly frightening.  I mostly just closed my eyes or looked to the side.  I was too scared to face forward and see oncoming traffic nearly collide with us.  In some cases, I bet you couldn’t get a piece of paper between us and the other car.

Our next adventure came when we nearly collided with a tree fallen in the road.  Nearby residents warned us or we would have hit.  Our driver merely borrowed a machete and began hacking away at the thing — even though there were live power lines enmeshed in the branches.

Biking Down the Mountain

High in the mountain guides waited with bikes, helmets, and protective gear — see how lovely we look !!!!

We made it down the mountain; stopping every 100 yards or so.  It was very frustrating.  But, the views are spectacular — raging waterfalls and pristine forest.  Coffee, at least in Jamaica, is grown just about anywhere there’s a clear spot.  I guess I expected farming like in the US where the land is cleared and planted in even rows.  Instead, coffee plants were spread all over the hillsides for miles.  Every day workers hike up into the mountains and bring down bags of beans.  Bags are piled up along the roadside.  I guess bags must be marked, as workers wages are a function of how much they pick.  Honor prevails, as thieves don’t steal the bags.

It reminds me of my uncle with his milk.  Everyday he would milk the cows, pasteurize the milk, then drop off huge milk jugs in little wood shelters.  The shelters normally had running water flowing through them to keep the milk cool.  I guess they get dropped off at certain times, then picked up in trucks bound for the bottling plant.

From Blue Mountain, the bags go for roasting and packaging.  It’s actually quite good coffee.  We stopped along the road (the brochure calls this a tour of a coffee plantation) where a rickety table is set up.  Beans are roasting in an iron kettle, the beans are ground with a mortar and pestle, before hot water is poured over the concoction.  Not really what I anticipated from a “coffee plantation”.

Our planned swim at the end of the bike ride was canceled due to high water (it rained the entire week we were in Jamaica — the rainy season runs through May and June so avoid Jamaica during that time).  We did; however, experience children begging during our stop and an old man walking down the road stark naked — the poverty is oppressive.

Lunch at the same spot in town was barely edible; consisting primarily of rice and beans.

Overall Recommendation

The bike trip to Blue Mountain was interesting, although a little pricy at almost $100 each.  I would have enjoyed it more if we hadn’t fought the rain all week and missed the naked guy.  They also over-sold the trip with all kinds of things we didn’t get or calling the roadside stand a plantation tour.

Avoid Jamaica in May and June — their rainy season.  They really know how to do rain there and it came down in buckets.  The rest of the time it was just cloudy and drizzling.

Beware of Sandals and Breezes.  It was an ok experience, as long as you don’t mind watered down drinks. The properties are a little tired, but clean.  The biggest problem is their website lies — offering all kinds of extras and discounts that don’t happen.  We ended up paying over $300 for items advertised as free.

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Jamaica Rewind: Vacation Mon!

June 7, 2011 By 6 Comments

 

DSCN0252 Jamaica Rewind: Vacation Mon!

Sandals Grande Jamaica

We just got back from our Jamaica vacation.  We had a great time — I wish we could have taken you all along with us.  So, I thought I would.  Here’s day 1 in Jamaica.

 

Off to Jamaica Mon!

We had to get up really early because our flight was at 8:35 and we’re an hour from the airport.  It’s a good thing we left with lots of time to spare (international flights require about 2 hours) because the road was blocked on the way in.  I’m not sure what the problem was, but this is DC, Mon and they close roads around here for VIPs and we have more than our fair share of them.  It might have been a head of state, a member of the cabinet, or Charlie Sheen (yes, they set up a police escort to make sure Sheen got to his gig on time).  My boyfriend thinks they closed it down for a bike rally in the area.  Whatever the problem, I don’t know the area well enough so I’m really glad we had a GPS.  That’s the new accessory everyone in DC sports to show how important they are since cell phones are so ubiquitous now.  Or maybe they have them because the roads are always closed down and they need to figure alternate routes on the fly.

We flew Airtran, which was recently bought by Southwest.  I’ve had really good experiences with Airtran’s people, but their plane have the least amount of legroom I’ve ever seen on a plane — and I’ve flown in little Cessnas.  And, of course, the kid next to me alternately screamed and threw bits of peanut butter crackers all around her.  I was so happy we were going to an adults only resort — when they aren’t yours, it’s annoying to put up with their behavior.  Heck, even when they are yours kids can get on your nerves.

Unfortunately, the merger with Southwest hasn’t gone far enough, so we had to pay $65 to check our bags.

There was a lady on the plane who had never flown before and even though the flight was pretty smooth, we ran into enough turbulence she was white knuckled all the way to Jamaica.  She made several trips to the head, probably loosing both breakfast and dinner from the night before.  As we started to land, she really panicked as her friends told her we were going down.  They thought it was great fun — and to tell the truth we had a couple of laughs at her expense.  She seemed pretty good-natured about it once we were on the ground.

Jamaica Awaits

DSCN0252 300x225 Jamaica Rewind: Vacation Mon!

Sandals Grande Jamaica

Customs and immigration were pretty easy and then we were in the Jamaican sun.  Sandals has a nice waiting area in the airport — and so do the other big all-inclusive resorts.  You can get a Red Stripe — the local beer, not too bad if you’re not too picky.  Most all-inclusives include transportation to the resort, so we waited for our shuttle, which turned out to be a minivan and we got squeezed into the middle seat where we had even less legroom than on the plane.  From the website, we expected a 15 minute trip, which was our first surprise — Ocho Rios is actually over 130 km from Monterey Bay, where we landed, so it took us nearly 2 hours to get to Sandals Grande Beach and Riviera.

Sandals is a very pretty resort — a little tired and in desperate need of remodeling — surrounded by some of the poorest people.  Homes in the area consisted of small shacks made of corrugated tin, old doors, blocks and whatever else was available to keep out the weather.  The roads were really narrow and cars passed so close that an extra coat of paint would have made the two collide.

We went to lunch as soon as we got to the resort — we were starving and would have eaten anything, but the food was really good.  The bar was open — and even though we weren’t in Key West we figured it was 5 o’clock somewhere.

Our room was OK, so we unpacked and started to relax.  The room was a little worn, but it was clean. It had plantation beds, which I guess are supposed to be romantic with their big 4 posters of dark mahogany, but when you’re just a few inches over 5 feet, plantation beds mean you do a LOT of climbing up — not too graceful or romantic.

Dinner was great and we had a few more drinks and a little walk around the property before deciding to turn in early.  They do an orientation to show you around the property and highlight some fun things to do and how to use the transportation system.  We met some folks and, it turns out, they were on the same plane with us and live near us — she works at the Pentagon.  Another couple from orientation was at the next table at dinner.

All in all, a great start to our Jamaica vacation.

 

 

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Vacation Time: Planning a Vacation After 40 (Part 2)

June 2, 2011 By 1 Comment

 

MontegoBay m1 Vacation Time: Planning a Vacation After 40 (Part 2)

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Last week, we introduced planning a vacation after 40 so today I’d like to finish that topic.

 

Planning a vacation for 2 after 40

Last week I talked mainly about planning a vacation with your kids and/or elderly parents.  Today, I’d like to focus on taking a vacation by yourselves.  This will be the first time I’ve done this since my kids were born.  But, I figure, at 18, 20, and 24, they’re old enough to take care of themselves for an entire week.  I do, however, worry about my dogs, my plants, my good china, and the plumbing.  So, I’ve given them instructions on feeding the dogs — if you’re hungry the dogs probably are too — my plants –water — the good china — don’t touch it — and left the name of a good plumber.  I’ve already mentally prepared myself for a sink of dirty dishes and an inch of dust when I return.  Oh the joys of motherhood!

We’re in Jamaica — through the wonders of scheduling, you’re reading this while we lie on the beach sipping frozen margaritas.  Wish you were here!

Along with the normal challenges of stocking the fridge, leaving instructions for the trash, etc. planning a vacation after 40 brings its own challenges.

 

Challenge # 1 – No Kids

Finding a place that isn’t overrun with kids.  Nothing ruins a romantic dinner faster than a baby crying.  We put up with this when our kids were young, but we shouldn’t have to deal with it now.  I don’t think I even ate a hot meal until my baby turned 3.

I love children, just not at dinner.  I also don’t like having them step all over me on the beach or spilling food on me in the restaurants.  So, finding a couples only resort was a MUST for us.

We chose Sandals in Jamaica — I’ll let you know how it is when I return next week — IF I decide to come back. I’ve been to Club Med before and they’re lovely.  The food is Awesome.  But they can be a little hedonistic and, frankly, I don’t feel I have that much energy this year — its been a bad year.

Challenge # 2 – No Kids

While I’m generally pretty tolerant of kids, I have no tolerance for their older versions — twenty-somethings.  I know we were the same when we were that age — listening to loud music, drinking too much, sleeping until 2 then partying until 2 am.  That’s not my idea of a vacation anymore.  Now, I know many of you will disagree with me, but after working 60 hour weeks — on a good week — I just need to relax.  And, I’ve never been a late night person.  I’m up by 8 every morning without an alarm clock — usually more like 6.

The other things I’m not crazy about is honeymooners.  We enjoy meeting people on vacation and have some really good friends we’ve met that way.  Its hard to do that when everyone is spending the trip in their rooms.

Challenge #3 – What Will We Talk About

After a couple has been together a while, sometimes conversations become functional — who’s driving carpool to rehearsal? Did you pick up the laundry? What should we do about X? We don’t have the same conversations we had when we first met — what do you like to do?  Who is your favorite band?

In our case, it’s even more challenging because we work together.  Much of our conversation centers around running the business — meeting deadlines, discussing strategy, reporting results ….

Sometimes I feel like that couple in the movies where they’re sitting at dinner with nothing but silence stretching before them.

MontegoBay m1 300x201 Vacation Time: Planning a Vacation After 40 (Part 2)

Montego Bay, Jamaica

When I’m planning a vacation, I try to have some organized activities planned.  This means we’re guaranteed to have something to discuss over dinner — the beautiful fish we saw while snorkeling or how we felt when we climbed to the waterfall.  It not only fills the void, but helps us connect at a deeper level.

Challenge #4 – Location

Now, this might not matter to you, but I travel enough.  I don’t want to spend half my vacation in the airport or on a plane and I certainly don’t want to drive.  So, I was looking for a place reasonably close with good air service — that way if they canceled our flight, we wouldn’t be stuck for days waiting for the next empty seat.

Besides, I like Jamaica.  It’s hot, but the water is blue and the flowers are vibrant.  The people are really friendly, too.

I guess the biggest issue is planning a vacation after 40 is different, not only because you don’t have your kids with you, but because our lives are different after 40.  We have so many responsibilities between kids, jobs, parents, homes, pets …. Vacation needs to be a time to relax, explore new vistas, and get to know each other again.

What are your goals in planning a vacation this year? Where will you go? Who will go with you?  What are your challenges?

 

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