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Western Caribbean Excursion Ocho Rios, Jamaica
June 14, 2008 Western Caribbean Cruise Excursion Ocho Rios, Jamaica When disembarking from the ship, coordinate your time with the ships time. Jamaica is on Eastern Standard Time; however, it does not follow Daylight Savings Time. You do not want to miss the ship and have to catch up with it at your own expense at its next port-of-call. We arrived in Jamaica at 9:00 am and would be leaving at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, June 4. In Labadee, Haiti, we had to be tendered into port; while in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, we could just walk off the ship at the dock. Having heard so many wonderful things about Jamaica over the past years, we were looking forward to touring Ocho Rios. The excursion we chose was The Best of Ocho Rios. It would take 4 hours and 30 minutes at a cost of $108 for two people. Our guide met the group when we walked off the ship. All of us climbed into a minibus and proceeded to drive to the "Ruins" at the Falls. It is a restaurant centered around a 40 foot waterfall and a beautiful tropical garden. The roads were very bad and (in our opinion) dangerous. We passed through an area called Fern Gully which is noted for its many varieties of ferns. As we drove through the Fern Gully, a man on stilts dressed colorfully with plants and flowers (He really looked like part of the tree!) approached the van and asked to be paid if you took a picture of him. One individual had taken a picture, but said they had no small bills to pay him and would delete the digital picture. This was how he earned a living. He looked quite disappointed. Jamaica is in very bad economic shape. There are no jobs; crime is at a high level we have been told. Tourism is very important to them. We can only assume our tour guide took us up to this area to help the man on stilts. Because after we encountered him, the van turned around and we headed to the "Ruins." On the final leg of our journey to the "Ruins," you could see many shacks along the roadside. The people were beginning to open for business. Our driver had to be careful because the cars seemed to want to share the same lane on the road and were impatient to speed. The young lady who was our hostess at the restaurant was delightful. You have to be careful walking on this part of the tour because of the uneven terrain and wet steps/walkways. She pointed out many interesting tropical plants and there uses. One that particularly stood out for me was the use of the red hibiscus flower to polish leather shoes. It makes them very shiny. She also sang and demonstrated some of the local dance steps. After touring the gardens, we were served fruit punch and had an opportunity to shop for local crafts. It was time to get back on the van to travel to Dunn's River Falls. This is advertised as an experience of a lifetime. This falls is 600 feet high. One person in our group had been here previously. You could walk up to the falls on your own and enjoy the area. Now it is totally commercialized which was disappointing. You pay to get into the area; a guide will take you up the falls; a DVD is pitched to be sold at the end of your climb; you can rent lockers and water shoes. You can't even get back to your van until you walk through endless rows of vendors' huts. We decided to climb the falls; it was our choice. Little did we know that it was more like being dragged up the falls. You had to grasp the hand of the person in front of you. It was like a human chain. Where our guide was, we could not tell you. He kept jumping all over the place. The people in front of me and behind me were my Angels. I only got a few scratches on my knees. The Jamaican guides would pull me up saying, "Mama get on your feet." This was difficult because I was standing in a pool of water up to my waist and my legs were not long enough to place my feet on the next rock. The individual in the human chain behind me (I firmly believe) was deliberately dragged up a rock and badly scratched both legs. Both legs bled all the way back to the ship. We saw some stairs and decided to end our climb. We didn't make it all the way up, but most of the way. It seemed to us the guide was in a rush to return to get another group so as to make more money. Island Village was our last stop. You could shop in the many duty free stores and visit the famous Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville. From this location, it was a short walk back to the pier were our ship was docked. We were tired and ready to rest and eat on the ship. Rarely to we eat at the port-of-call when there is so much to choose from on the ship. Disclaimer:
We are not part of the cruise line or any association affiliated with them. This is just to help you maximize your cruising experience.
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