Even as we loaded on the plane to Spain, we would have never guessed that just a few days later we would be sitting on the beach in Jamaica. That unlikely turn of events led to one of the best vacation periods we’ve had in years as it allowed us to check several items on our list - we wanted to have some brainless downtime with no stress and we wanted to experience something new. The Caribbean has long been on our list, but never rose to the level where we would actually take action on a trip there and now suddenly, we were there for a week to try to melt away the stress of the Spanish fiasco.
Frankly, much of the time was spent just literally doing nothing more than hanging out by the pool drinking virgin pina coladas, or down by the sea staring aimlessly in the general direction of Cuba which was some ninety plus miles away from us. We also had our share of midafternoon naps, tasty local cuisine, and time burning away pages in the assortment of books we brought with us. Overall, completely delightful.
That said, it is not like us to sit still all the time, so with some research, we ended up taking a lengthy exploration trip deep into the mountainous interior of the island. Along the winding, heavily potholed mountain roads, we found ourselves instinctively falling back to thinking in Spanish as we had on our moto ride through Central America. The heat, humidity, the road conditions, and the sights all reminded us deeply of that trip. It was an unexpected flashback that frankly brought on a little nostalgia. Beyond the roads, we ventured to a well known set of touristy waterfalls, the YS Falls, for some photos, some swimming, and some time getting to socialize.
Jamaica is also known for its rum and we thought it would be interesting to go check out the Appleton Estate Rum Distillery which sits on the southern side of the island. Much more than just a tasting experience, Appleton’s tour goes deep into the history of Jamaican colonization as well as the entirety of the sugar cane industry and how a piece of that eventually becomes rum.
Will we go back to Jamaica? Probably not as there are so many cool new places to go. Did we enjoy it? Absolutely and we would highly recommend the beauty of the island and the people for anyone willing to hop a flight down there.
