On the road to Montego Bay and many tears

Today was day when we started our LONG trip back. We only had Villa Caribbean Dawn booked til today 28/07/12 as there is another family coming into the Villa today. So I set the alarm on my ipod for 08:30 for a 10:30 departure. However I was waking every hour to check the time to make sure I didn't sleep in. So I get up at 08:00 and helped Nan make a cooked breakfast of toast, poached eggs and bacon. So there is WAY too much luggage to to make one trip so Aunty Donna takes Nan and her one bag and Uncle Michael and Carline and their three bags down to the bus depot/Jerk Hut. Then she comes back and collects us and our luggage. One bag each. We go inside and say good-bye to Suzanne and Nellie. Nellie was a bit teary when we left. She is such a lovely person and I will miss her.

I took one look back at the table where all the good stuff happened.......The Blog!!!!!!
So once we say good-bye we're about to set off when we realised that the presents we left for Nellie have some how made there way back into the car so Dad jumps out and runs them back to Nellie. So we are now on our way to the bus depot to join Nan, Uncle Michael and Carline. We get there at 10:45, not bad timing. We sit around the table and talk get a few drinks and closer to 11:30 Uncle Michael gets some lunch of yes you guessed it. Jerk Pork and Jerk Chicken. Not only am I chickened out I am now officially Jerked out. So we have our lunch and as 12:00 is nearing people start to realise that this is good-bye for a while. So a bus pulled up for a pit stop, so Aunty Donna said as soon as it leaves so will we. There is no point prolonging something that is painful.
So we get up and say good-bye which is painful as we won't see each other for a long time. So we drive off in the other direction towards Montego Bay. We can't book in til 14:00 so we don't wanna get there too early so we make a few pit stops along the way. There was a sign that just says scenic View so we pull in there too find this little plaque and yes a little part of history. I take a photo and jump straight back into the car or I swear I would have burst into flames. So while Nan, Aunty Donna and Dad go down a path that isn't quite finished they jump back in and get back on the way and crack out the biscuits. We go further along the road and see a sign that says Cinnamon Hill. You guessed it we took the turn and came to a fork so we turned right and went on for a bit. But when we started to hit hill billy territory we decided to turn around and head back. So we head left and no luck there. So we chuck another u-turn and head back down to the highway.

We get to Montego Bay and follow the directions to the hotel. We get there and there are three so we eliminate them. One is too rundown, one is empty so must the the last one with no name or sign out the front. We head inside and it is the right one. We go through the check in process at the same time we are interrupted by not one but two Americans who are checking out. I can't stand that shit!!! So we finally get checked in and the lovely gentlemen who took out bags up the stairs two at a time. Those bags are not light but I guess if you do it for a while you get use to it. Dad and I are in room 101 and Nan and Aunty Donna are in room 103.

The room isn't bad. So we get settled in the rooms for a while then we go and check out the pool and restaurant. We then jump in the car to explore a little where Dad tells us he wants to check out a fort near by. I am thinking another bloody fort. You've already seen one. However we go down and and it's not there. So we head into town where we get a couple of things that we had forgotten. I was thinking that the hustling wouldn't be bad. I was SO wrong. We try to ignore them but they just follow you and that is the store owners. So we finish and we head back. awe hang around in the rooms for about 30 mins where we skype with Mum and we are able to have a good talk with her without the connection dropping out.

Dad's

Mine

After we have a chat we go next door and go down to dinner around 19:30. At the hotel today there is a wedding and the bride was actually coming out of her room going to the church as we pulled up. So we were able to congratulate her. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo, but it was a pretty amazing reception. Definitely her daddy paying. She has seven bridesmaids and all colours if the rainbow and extremely bright. We go into the restaurant and order. Nan didn't have an entree but Dad, Aunty Donna and I all had a citrus rainbow salad. Talk about yummy. After that we waited about a while before we got the mains (the wedding was finished). They finally came out. They were delicious BUT cold. By this time we are too tired to complain. Dad had Shrimp Pasta, Aunty Donna had Garlic Shrimp and I had Curry Shrimp.

Aunty Donna's

After dinner we went up to our rooms and decided to call it a night and get some sleep as tomorrow is going to be busy. When we got back to the room I started the blog and Dad sat on the bed and started to snore the roof down. So now I am gonna get some shut eye. Nighty, night. Happy reading.

Burnt outside, inside and everywhere in between

I surprisingly slept well last night. I did wake when I moved in bed but went straight back to sleep. That might have something to do with the panadol ultra I took. The worst part of my sunburn has been my shoulders. So I groggily woke uo and looked at my shoulders and I was shot awake and the words NO,NO,NO,NO came out of my lips. Yes ladies and gentlemen you have guessed it right. Blisters.

So I walked out into the living room where as per usual everyone was awake and the response I got was "Your up early" from Aunty Donna. It was 08:30. I broke the bad news to them that I was blistering. However thank god everything is starting to die down. The colour isn't so red and my back is not as sore but my shoulders are still killing me. Don't think I will be spending too much time in the sun for quite a while.

So today we decided that we would go to the spice markets and run a few errands before going to the beach. So we were out of the Villa by 10:30 heading into town where we thought the spice markets were held, from what we saw on the sign. How ever we were very wrong. It is a party that is held is held at the Jerk Centre on the last Friday of each month. So we go round and ask a few people where they are held and when they are on. So they are held once a month as we thought but this month they have been cancelled due to the Jamaican 50th jubilee celebrations. So we were a little disappointed, but new Mum would be crushed even more. While we were waiting I spotted this banana tree and it had a flower. Who would have thought a banana tree has a flower. I have to say it does look like something from The Day of the Triffids. Quite freaky.

So with that done we went to the local Cambio so Aunty Donna could change a bucket load of US money to local Jamaican currency. After that we went to the Scotiabank so Dad could get some money out of the wall. When we were done with that we went to a supermarket so we could get Mum her precious spices and some local coffee which hopefully we will be allowed to bake back into Australia. After that we drove about 15-20 mins out of town to Beaches Resort where Joe and Greg and their families where staying so Uncle Michael and Carline could get the sim cards they lent to him back and to say good-bye for now and hopefully not for good.

Yes you may notice that Dad and I aren't in the picture. Dad is taking the photo and since getting sunburned I have turned into a vampire. As soon as the sun touches my skin I scream and run for the shade, so there was no hope in Hades of me getting out of the car which was in the shade and the air con was in. However I did wind the window down and say my good-byes.

So once that was over and done with we headed back to the Villa without getting stuck in traffic. Although over the 2 weeks we have been here Aunty Donna has learnt how to drive like a local. Using the horn, pushing into traffic and having the Jamaican foot all while being a careful and sensible driver. On the way home I took a couple of photo's of a couple of buildings I got totally wrong by appearance. The treasure Hunt which I thought was a restaurant is actually similar to a casino, a gambling house. We didn't go in we were told by a passing local who then asked is we wanted some ganja when we said no he then asked if we wanted some coke. It wasn't the drink he was selling. The Joint I thought was exactly that. A place to get high is actually a restaurant. Who would have known.

So we get back to the Villa Aunty Donna, Uncle Michael and Carline put on their swimmers to go to the beach swimming of course. Carline has not been in the water since we have been here and she did today. Well I did tell her that I would drag her in if she didn't go in any time we were here. Nan and I went down to the water but we sat in the shade on the chairs talking. Carline wasn't in the water for long but at lease she got in. Hehehe. So Carline, Nan and I had a lovely chat while Aunty Donna and Uncle Michael went into the water and then layed down to fry. Back and forth, back and forth they went.

Aunty Donna and Nan hadn't tried Jerk Chicken. The Jerk Hut on the beach was open today so Uncle Michael ordered a serve of Jerk Chicken along with virgin Pina Coladas for lunch. After lunch Aunty Donna and Uncle Michael repeated the process one more time and then we all packed up and went to the souvenir store on the beach and bought some more stuff. This time I actually bought some stuff for myself. So after more spending we went to the car and I walked as fast as I could on sand as I didn't have the towel around me. We got back to the Villa and the showers started. Then we did the normal thing of sitting around the large round table reading, on the computers and doing puzzles all the while talking. We remembered that there was wedding cake still in the fridge so we tucked into that as well as a packet of chips.

After a while Aunty Donna got up to start to get dinner ready. We bought a bottle of Jerk marinade that we hadn't used. So Aunty Donna did her own spin on it. We had 1.5 kgs of chicken so naturally Aunty Donna used half the bottle as you would normally. As well as the marinade Aunty Donna put flour, mayo and milk in it. This was the finished product. It was SO HOT!!! We actually found it too hot to eat. I ate all the chicken and the vegetables except the rice. Oh it burned. So being burnt on the outside is the sunburn. Being burnt on the inside is the dinner because it was so bloody hot. Yummy but hot. And everywhere in between well I'll let you use your imagination.

Well that is all today now I have to go have a shower and pack as we leave the Villa tomorrow and go to Montego Bay to stay at a Hotel which is close to the airport. So nighty, night I have stuff to do and have to try to get some sleep as well. So I will be talking to you from a new location tomorrow night. Happy reading.

Relaxing and church

So after a very busy day yesterday we decide to have a relaxing day and the fact that it is Sunday nothing is open. So we all drag ourselves out of bed and have breakfast. Uncle Michael, Carline, Aunty Donna and Nan all go to church while Dad and I hang back. I try to finish yesterdays blog but it is not working much to my annoyance. So I leave the laptop and let Dad have it before I break it out of frustration.

I watch some TV and do some word searches as you would do on a lazy Sunday in between putting a load of washing on and hanging it out. We decided earlier during the week we will have a roast chicken for dinner as Carline has never had a traditional roast for dinner. Realising one small one isn't going to be enough Aunty Donna buys another with some other things after church.

Aunty Donna has been itching to get some colour since being here but unfortunately it hasn't happened. So we organised to go and spend most of the day down at the beach so Aunty Donna could burn. After about five minutes of being back at the villa it bucketed down for three hours. So we just had sandwiches for lunch and did things until it finished. Oh I know your itching to know the most important thing ever. We just got the washing in on time. Thanks Nan. So it finally happened. It stopped raining. We all got into our swimmers instead of Nan who just gets her feet wet and Carline didn't come. We will get her down there before we leave trust me on that.

So we jump in the water when Uncle Michael tells us that there is a dolphin. We all look with excitement and it is just a huge log. I still can't quite understand if he ment it as a joke or if he was being serious. So Aunty Donna gets out to get some colour which didn't really happen due to cloud over. We all got out for a little bit when I went to the bar and got lemonade for Uncle Michael, Dad and Nan.

I got Aunty Donna and I a cocktail which was called Jamaican Surprise. We believe it had Jamaican rum, pineapple cordial or juice and a tropical punch juice served with a pineapple wedge. Quite nice I have to say. So we get back into the water for a while and then head back. Both chickens are almost thawed. So after the showers Nan and Aunty Donna get dinner ready.

We sit down and have our roast chicken dinner with honey carrots, cauliflower with a garlic cream sauce, broccoli, roast pumpkin, we only have one potato so we have roast potato and rice. I the middle of dinner we have a black out. We have had them before but this has been the first while we are having dinner and hopefully the last. So we find candles, ipad's and phones. Anything that will give us light. As we have finished and taking the plates to the bench the power comes back on.

So I turn the computer back on and try to finish the blog but the photo's are taking way too long. I am just about tempted to leave them out all together when Uncle Michael compresses them for me. I was trying to load a 3.6 - 6.2 MB pics up and he compressed the to 300 KB. Now they are flying through and I am unstoppable. So tonight we are having dessert that Carline has never tried. Ice-cream covered with Milo and malted milk powder. Carline liked it very much as did everyone else.

So after dessert everyone has pottered off to bed. I have finally got my blog up to date I can now rest my tired eyes. I thought a blog would be easy to do.Huh. Well nighty, night all. Talk to you tomorrow from another magical place. Happy reading.

Firefly, Golden Eye and Breadfruit

I have to put this up. I finished the blog last night and was walking to go to bed when I spotted our nightly visitor. Every night we have been at Villa Caribbean Dawn we have noticed it in different places. The kitchen, laundry the hallway just to name a few. At home in Maryborough, Queensland Australia http://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/ we have a green tree frog that I have called Roger that comes in and hops around the house. Here at the Villa in Jamaica we have a hermit crab.

So we decided that we would get up at 08:00 to leave by 10:00 as we planned to go to Firefly house. For people that don't know Firefly was the house of Noel Coward. So at 10:45 we hit the road (not bad I know right). We know that Firefly is In the same direction of Port Maria which is 33 kms from Ocho Rios. So we get about halfway when Carline tells Aunty Donna to stop driving. We're all thinking she has to be sick. She tells Aunty Donna "Turn around. I have to show you guys something AMAZING!". So Aunty Donna chucks a u-turn and drives back. Carline says "Here, here. It's here". So we pull up to this unmarked gate. The security guard comes out. Carline asks him if we can come in and have a tour.

So he tells us he will call reception and ask if we are allowed in. So he spends a few minutes there and we are all thinking that we aren't. However he comes back out and opens the gate. So we drive in. It is called GoldenEye Hotel and Resort http://www.goldeneye.com. It is a very exclusive resort where quite a few A-List celebrities come to holiday. That is why there is no signage for privacy. Carline originally wanted to have the wedding reception held here, but unfortunately the person she was contacting left so it was a no go. We get into the resort and park where we are met by Candice who will be giving us our tour. This place is like an eco resort. Everything is natural.

We follow Candice who leads us down these stairs and we are taken back by the secret natural beauty that faces us. This place it hidden to the world, but I gather that is the whole point. Candice takes us down and across the suspension bridge to the main part of the resort. They have boats that you can use on the water. However, you can also swim and snorkel. In the next photo you can see probably hundreds of White Bait in the water. For people who don't know White Bait is a tiny fish.

We get on the beach with such amazing views. The stone island in the middle you can walk over to it. Candice told us that it is waist height. So on me that would be bust height. On the island is chairs where you can lay in the sun and really be away from everyone. 

Candice then starts to take us around the beach cabins. It is so cute that they all have their own little fences that are made out of old tree trunks. We go into cabin number 14 and OMFG. It has a small kitchen but the rooms make up for it. Huge beds both upstairs and downstairs and four claw bath tubs. It is designed for parents to sleep in the top room and lock themselves away from their children.

All around the park all all different species of flower and plants. They are quite beautiful. i would really like to know what they are. Glenda Pitman if you read my blog and if you know what they are I would really love to know. If Glenda doesn't read my blog (Why Not?!) Mum you may have to act as a carrier Pigeon.

So once we have walked around the cottage Candice takes us out and she takes us to the Bizot Bar. When proper guests come to stay they are given a compliment welcome drink which is a cocktail called a Golden Eye. Funny that. So we get round to the bar and we are given a complimentary welcome gift. The one and the same Golden Eye which was made with the owners locally produced dark rum. Aunty Donna, Uncle Michael and I had the cocktails. Carline had a glass of iced water and Dad and Nan shared a glass of local fruit juice. As Aunty Donna was driving she didn't finish her drink as it was quite strong, so I had to pick up the slack.

After our refreshments we went round to the most famous Villa. IanFlemming's villa. Ok so now you people might be getting the name now. For people who don't know Ian Flemming was the man who wrote the James Bond novel's which then came to be major film's which we all know about. OMG I can't put all of them up sorry.

This villa includes 3 buildings, a pool, private gardens, a pond and an out door bathroom and your own staff. One of the buildings is a cinema and bar. Now that's my type of room. Here is a picture of one of Ian Flemming's manuscripts and shorts.

It was quite amazing to see the actual desk where he wrote most of the books. There is the photo of the amazingly beautiful and private outside bath. It was very tempting to just stand under the stream of water or how  Jamaicans spell it wata. But somehow I don't think Candice would have liked that very much. The only thing I would be worried about would be the spiders. To less adventurous people there are indoor bathrooms as well, but what is the fun in that.

All the Villa, huts and all parts of the resorts are linked by water. The resorts supplies kiak type boats so you can paddle to where you want to go. But with wata like this why would you want to paddle. Once we finally left the Amazing Ian Flemming Villa we went over to the spa. Once again we were not disappointed. They have all these little separate huts or treatment rooms as they cal them. You can get single ones or double ones for couples or inseparable friends aka Donna Mclennan and I. So we met Newton who was the mersuse there. He was chucked on the spot but was lovely to us. We got two glasses or freshcoconut wata that we shared between the six of us. Carline tried her hardest to get a free massage from Newton, but too much disappointment she didn't get it. Here is a photo or Newton and myself. On our way to the spas we got lost as Candice had only been there for four days. So when we got lost we actually went onto the owners private part of the island and was met by a surprise of a huge centipede that was made of metal. When I saw it I think I jumped 100 feet and shouted "Is that real?". Everyone was laughing their heart out and said "NO!" apart from one person who said "Yes". Don't know who though.

So after getting my picture taken with Newton we left and were back on our way to the lobby. Candice was going to get us a card with her e-mail and the website address so we could chuck her the link. I would love to stay at GoldenEye but I would have to sell my arms, legs, liver and kidney at the black market. It may be expensive but it is worth it people. start saving. When we were in the villa's I saw the best beach towels. They had towel material in the centre and then other type of fabric around the edges. I told myself that I would pay up to US$80. However much to my disappointment they were actually US$120 so I had to pass them up.

So we were told to get to Firefly House to go through Port Maria. So we did that and Aunty Donna got an increasingly odd feeling that we were going the wrong way. So when we found a local we pulled over and Dad asked in the way to Jamaican men would speak. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the mans face but we were told by Carline that is was another MasterCard moment........Priceless.

She said it was funny for him because Dad is white and he is speaking black. So I'm pretty sure that it made the mans day. After he got over the shock he told us that we had overshot it and that it is just outside of Port Maria in the direction that we just came from. So Dad and Carline got back into the car and headed back. Here is the picture of the roads that we all picture Jamaican roads to look like in the cities and towns. So we are heading back the way that we came and we finally see the Firefly sign. Aunty Donna is kicking herself because she saw the sign the first time and thought is said Firefly, but as we got closer she couldn't quite make it out.

So we head up and just told to follow the road up. So that what we do. We are driving for about 10 minutes and think that we have gone too far. So we park and a police car passes. Aunty Donna beeps the horn. The police officer stops and reverses. We asks for directions and he tells us it's not far. So we decide to follow him thinking he might lead us there. After another few minutes we hit a little community and he stops and is talking to a local man when he tells us just up the road. Carline advises us that Jamaican up the road isn't the same as ours. In Australia when we say just up the road we mean just that a couple of blocks or so. In Jamaica up the road could be a couple of kms or hours.

So we persist. Finally we reach it after about another 10 minutes. The road is SO bad. huge potholes everywhere and chunks missing out of the road. Of course the Firefly house has to be at the VERY to of the mountain at 1,200 ft above sea level. Firefly is the house of Noel Coward who was a British play write among many things. Firefly was his second house and it has not been changed since the Queen Mothers visit in 1963.

Noel had many famous visitors to his house and their pictures are now framed. Noel lived in Jamaica for 30 years before dying of a heart attack at the age of 73 in 1972. His body is buried on the estate. His will dictated that everything would go to his friend. However his friend found it too hard with all the memories so he left it in the hands of the Jamaican government, who intern made it a museum. It is very interesting. Unfortunately we were rushed through as there was actually a wedding taking place. It was lovely of them to take us through and not turn us away. It is quite understandable with views like this that the early seamen thought they would sail off the ends of the world.


So we thought that before we go we better got a photo of Noel Coward and Dad in similar poses. We all knew the cigarette would come in handy some day and it did. Here is also a photo of a original map of Jamaica drawn in the 1700's. How that for preservation.

Unfortunately this is where my camera died and Dad didn't bring his. I know right how could you possibly forget your camera. So there are no photo's for the best bit ever.

We leave Firefly and head back. We pull off the road to James Bond Beach. We thought why not go and have a look. We pull up and it gated. We have to pay to get in to see a beach where a Bond woman did the famous sultry walk out of the water. So we decide that we don't wanna pay so we don't go in. But we stop at the best bit. A make shift shop where two Jamaican man Michael and Kevin are there. We originally stopped because they had crabs and we wanted to get come to cook for dinner. They were still alive strung up. Carline said it wouldn't be wise as they would have been like that all day out if water and wouldn't be nice by the time we came to cook them.

They were selling something we haven't tried yet. Breadfruit. Kevin was eating lunch consisting of roasted breadfruit, avocado and roast chicken. Carline tells them we haven't tried it before so Kevin goes out back and comes back with a plate consisting of roasted breadfruit, avocado and roast chicken for us. So we tuck in as we are starving by this point with all the local children looking at us with amazement.

Breadfruit is hard to describe. You can't est it raw it MUST be cooked. It is quite soft/mushy and slightly powdery. By itself it is very bland and off putting BUT with the avocado and chicken together is AMAZING. Once Kevin saw we like it so much he gave us the rest of his lunch. The Michael who only has one hand starts to cut the tops off the green coconuts puts a straw in them and hands them to us. Uncle Michael actually asked for them. So now we weredrinking coconut water straight out of the coconut. Doesn't get any fresher than this. When we have finished Michael takes them back and starts t cut them again. We are then eating the coconut flesh straight out if the coconut shell with raw sugar. the coconut looks like nothing we are use to.

It is slimy and slopping with a little hardness to it. At first it taste's nothing like coconut but as you keep eating you get the flavour. Then Uncle Michael asks if we can try a mango. It once again isn't a mango we are use to. It is like a huge apricot but with hard grey skin similar to rockmelon. It had four seed similar to apricot seeds and tastes like apricot but it is part of the mango family. We have never seen or heard of this fruit before and Michael and Kevin have never seen or heard of apricots before. So Uncle Michael gets six mango's, avocados which are slightly different to ours and passion fruit.

After Uncle Michael pays and we are leaving Dad gives them extra money for sharing their lunch with us and just for being so nice. I think I can speak for everyone when I say this. Best lunch ever.

So as we are coming home we stop by a military museum which is unfortunately closed.there is a pre independence shindig happening there. The woman who was talking to us or main Dad has actually heard of the Maryborough Military and Colonial Museum. That took Dad by surprise. So we said we would be back and left for them to party. They originally thought we were British because they of Dad's accent. How they came to that conclusion I don't know. So Carline grabs me and tells me to say something. So I say what any normal Aussie would "G'day mate. How ya goin'?" Their faces light up with huge smiles.

So we pile back into the car and head back to the villa. Where we all just crash after such a big day and in the end Nan and Aunty Donna get dinner ready. You guessed it chicken and rice. I'll tell you what though these ladies know how to cook. Yum yum.

Nighty, night talk tomorrow. Happy reading.
P.S. I know that some of the spelling or punctuation might be wrong but when I was doing th spell check it went all dumb and if I tried to change it, it went over abd erased the other words. Dum

Dunn River Falls and Park

After finally finishing the blogs early this morning at 01:30. So Dad had gone to bed before me so unfortunately I didn't sleep due to Dad's snoring!! Try to imagine a freight train in the bed next to you (Mum how do you put up with it?). So finally getting some sleep I wake up to a noise that isn't the air conditioner. It is pouring rain. So I turned over and went back to sleep. Aunty Donna wasn't so lucky. The guttering coming out to a funnel outside their room and the rain landing on a log so not to damage the lawn too much. So Aunty Donna was up since 06:00.

Last night I had a really itchy knee so I did what any normal person would do and scratched it with my new nails. I woke up with something that startled me. Well I definitely got rid of the itch. Now Mum think long and hard before you ask me to scratch your back.

Nan is normally the first person awake, but today she was the last getting up at 0920. So we are all awake now. Michael and Carline are going to Beaches Hotel and Resort where Joe and Greg are staying with their families to spend the day with them. So they depart by taxi around 10:00. Aunty Donna, Dad, Nan and I sit down to breakfast. All having poached eggs on toast made by Aunty Donna except Nan who just has a bowl of Corn Flakes.

So after fiddle-farting around for a while we decide to go to Dunne River Falls. So we all go to get changed and ready. I lather on the sunscreen and we head out. The entrance to the falls creep up on you from around a bend so we over shoot it and pull over. We jump out to check out the views which are quite amazing. This photo is taken from the side of the road which is considerably far way from the sea. It is zoomed in as far as it will go and you can see how clear the water is.

So we jump back into the car and something happens that we have not seen since being here. No traffic coming either direction on the road so Aunty Donna chucks a u-turn and heads back to Dunn River Falls and Park.

You can see the waterfall two ways. You can walk down beside the waterfall with the stairs or you can take the adrenalin way and climb up the waterfall. I was originally planing to climb up the waterfall, but after reading more about it in the Lonely Planet Jamaican Guide Book I thought it was not the best option as I am not the fittest person. So when we see the waterfall and are amazed by it's natural beauty and I am quite happy that I chose not to climb it.

So we decide to walk down the side of the waterfall via the cement stairs. We start to walk down the stair and every so often there is a platform where you can observe and take photo's. So we get to the half way point, where you go under the road to head down to the beach. We continue to walk down the stairs. I'm thinking that this is lovely. We get down to the bottom of the waterfall and see that the water from the waterfall is mixing in with the sea.

In the next picture you can see people in a single file on the left hand side under the trees. The people who want to climb the falls meet their guide at the top. He walks them down the cement stairs all the way to the beach. That is where they start to climb the waterfall at the very bottom all the way to the very top. When you look at the waterfall from the viewing platforms you may see hand rails, but the stones on which you climb up are uneven and sometimes with a fair bit of water in between them.

So now what ever goes down HAS to come up. All I can say is oh the pain. So we stopped again at the platforms just to get a breather these times. We decided to get a photo us and a lovely Jamaican woman took a photo of the four of us. Here you can see my awesome New York bag that I bought in New York. She asked us where we are from and we reply Australia. The huge smile that come on her face. "Australia, I LOVE Australia" she tells us and we all proceed to shout Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. Oi, Oi, Oi.

On our way up Dad spots this little piece of history.

We continue to drag ourselves up all these stairs and when we finally get to the to I just want to sit down. Knowing that if I sit I will not get up again. So we continue on the this little cafe tent where we get some drinks. Dad has.............Black Coffee quite surprising. NOT! Aunty Donna and Nan have Lemon Squash which is NOT soft drink. It is lemon juice and ice and blend it down. But the sweetness is pineapple syrup and it is so delicious. I decide to have an Iced Mocha. This was so delicious also nothing like the American and nothing like the Australian with crap coffee and loaded with chocolate syrup. This has milk, coffee, cocoa powder and ice blend it all together. It is a lovely balance of coffee and chocolate and isn't watered down by the ice. Oh she used Jamaican coffee. Blue Mountains coffee. Will have to get on DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and see if we can bring it back with us.

So to get out of Dunn's River and into the car park we have to go through the markets. I didn't think it was going to be that bad, but oh boy wasn't I SO WRONG!!! The people with stalls and the people who just brought things to sell even marijuana (YES people here openly ask us if we want to buy dope) latch onto us like leaches. I tried not to stray to far from the others of safety because some of the characters looked really shady. However I thought it would be mean not to shake their hands when they extend theirs. So I shook this ladies hand and she places her other hand on top of mine so I couldn't take my hand away.

At this point two other men are trying to talk to me and sell me stuff at the same time and all three start to argue. She removes her hand and I thought that this is the moment where I can get away. However she didn't change her grip and when I tried to pull away she would pull me back. So I am starting to feel a little nervous and the only way that I can get away from here is to buy something. So I do I pay a ridiculous price for it but I don't care I'm away from her.

I manage to catch up with Dad when this other man comes up to me and he has the longest dreadlocks I have ever seen. They were past his knee's and so thick. So he says that he wants to give me this wooden turtle that he made because he felt bad abut before. I tell him that I don't want it and he says that if I do not take it I would be disrespecting him (The Jamaicans are big on respect). So I take it and he takes it back and says that he needs to finish it. He proceeds to write my name on it. He is starting to act strange and making me feel very uncomfortable. So he gives it back to me and asks for money. I proceed to tell him that he said it was for free and walk away. He comes back and asks for money.

I say again that he said it was for free and that I don't have any money. Before he can say anything else Dad comes to my rescue. This man demands American dollars. Dad tells him that he doesn't have American and only Jamaican dollars. He starts to complain so Dad tells him fine and nudges me forward. As we start to leave he changes his tune. So Dad offers him offers him $1,000.00 Jamaican and he whinges. So he gives him an extra $500 Jamaican. He still whinges. By this point he is pointing to Dad's last note another $1,000.00 Dad tells him no but other Jamaicans have started to gather. So Dad thrusts it towards the man and we are finally allowed to leave. In all Dad gave $2,500.00 which is roughly $27.30 Australian.

That experience was definitely a shock to the system. So we get to the car and head back to the Villa discussing our experiences. When we get home we decide to have lunch and head down to the beach. So Nan and Aunty Donna makes us some sandwiches. I then proceed to get changed into my swimming togs. The day was nice not too hot and not too humid, but as we were near water all day and in a rain forest setting it was horribly humid.

So when I get changed my clothes are literally drenched with sweat all over EWWWWWW!!! I pull on the swimmer over my sticky body and put on my board shorts and more sunscreen. We jump into the car and head to the beach. It is now overcast and no where near as beautiful as yesterday but we still head in and spend 1-2 hours there where Aunty Donna tries desperately to get some colour. I spend about half the day in the sun with two layers of sunscreen and I still get burn. Dam it!!!!!!!

So once we have had enough we jump back into the car and head back to the Villa. Where showers start and yes another load of washing. We decide to have chicken schnitzel for dinner so Nan and Aunty Donna start to prepare dinner when Uncle Michael and Carline get back. So I tell them about the day and particularly the markets where they first laugh their heads off then turn serious and give pointers. Some good, others not so helpful.

So dinner is up and because there is no bread crumbs they have coated the chicken in crushed cornflakes which I have never seen before but it was delicious all the same. My time in the kitchen is coming soon so trying to think I what I can make that I don't need a recipe for. Throw any Australian recipes my way so Carline can experience it.

Well the blog is done for another day. Talk to you all tomorrow from a new and exciting place.