Finally school was almost over and we decided to take a break from our busy schedules. Memorial Day was around the corner and I found a great all inclusive deal for a resort located in OchoRios, Jamaica. This resort had a 330 feet water slide which was enough to make the decision. The flight was just hour and half from Fort Lauderdale and we landed in Montego Bay all excited. The only drawback was that Ocho Rios is 3 hours away from the airport. We took our shuttle from the airport to the Hotel, which stopped over for a 10 minute break. What a gorgeous ocean view. The weather was just perfect with a nice breeze.It was the Friday before Memorial Day weekend and apparently Jamaica has a National holiday on
this day. The hotel lobby was packed with people and the check-in seemed to take forever. I guess we forget that rest of the world is not workaholic like us. Everything there was pretty laid back and nobody was in a hurry to get anything done. It just takes some time to realize and get in the mode. Finally after a few fruit punches we got our room key. The room was nice with a partial ocean and city view. The kids were ecstatic and quite eager to get in the pool. We quickly changed and went down to make dinner reservations and inquire about excursions.The boys went in the pool and I went straight to check on different activities during our 4 day stay. I planned out each day for all of us which included a trip to the famous Dunn Falls, swimming with Sting rays and Dolphins, and the famous Canopy tour.
Climbing the Dunn Falls was amazing. I truly cannot describe the beauty of these falls. The water was icy cool and took us a while to get used to the temperature.
I had reserved the Speciality restaurants at the resort for dinner each day of our stay. The first night we ate at Ginger Lily, superb Asian cuisine. Even my kids who are quite picky ate the food. La Diva was the resorts Speciality Italian. What an experience, it was the best Italian food I have had. We went there again the next day :)
I had heard about canopy tours where they take you to a mountain top and then you glide down on ropes and cables. The roads were pretty rough and a small mistake could have ended our car in the valley below. We were all holding our breath and were quite nervous. Once we reached the mountain top, our group was given a quick demonstration on how to use the cable and trolley. Then we were all given the gear and had to wear them. We must have hiked in the mountains for a good 10 minutes to reach the platforms. There were tall trees all around with beautiful tropical vegetation. There was a creek flowing in the valley deep below. The view was just amazing. Now came the part when they told us to start sliding on the cables from one platform to another which was around 40 feet apart. I somehow managed to go but my legs were shaking so hard that I could hardly stand after that. It was nerve recking. After 2 glides, we all got used to it and started enjoying it. The last dip was about 600 feet. It was truly a thrilling experience.
The most beautiful part was watching the sunrise from the resort. It was so peaceful and gorgeous. This trip was all and more than we had planned and hoped for. What a wonderful relaxing vacation.
