Jamaica, Mon

We had a brief visit to the northern part of Jamaica, docking at the port of Ocho Rios.  Our tour of choice was in 3 parts.  First we went to Dunn’s River Falls, the highest waterfalls in Jamaica, over 700 feet.  This is a very commercial area with lots of food and craft (souvenir) booths, a wedding area (Tie de Knot), a Kiddies Water Park, zip lines and a Tranquility Garden (a large open field with a few tables at the end.)  The falls were not at all what I expected.  I guess I have seen too many waterfalls that actually drop straight down.  This was the cascading type.  People in bathing suits and water shoes were able to climb up in the water to the top.  We watched them and decided that better them than us.

The next part was a botanical garden with a knowledgeable guide.  She identified the plants and gave a brief explanation, then, at each stop, said, ”Take your pictures and we will move on.”  She also told us we were expected to tip her!

The last part of the tour was a shopping stop.  Our bus bypassed the handicraft market and deposited us in front of a row of stores, all with the same merchandise and standard high prices.  Everyone agreed to cut that stop short.

If it sounds as if I was not overly impressed with the tour, you are right.  Perhaps another tour would have been better, but I suspect that another island would have been better.