Yo, mon!

[resqgeek]

The final port on our cruise was Ocho Rios, on the north coast of Jamaica. As it happened, this happened to be the day of our tenth wedding anniversary, so before we went ashore, we asked our stateroom steward to chill our bottle of champagne for our return in the afternoon.

We had a full day ashore scheduled. The first stop was Dolphin Cove, just a couple of miles up the coast. Set right in the Caribbean, this facility has a number of man-made coves that shelter several dozen dolphins. They offer dolphin encounters at a variety of levels. While some guests get to pet and feed the dolphins, we wanted a bit more. After receiving a quick briefing telling us what to expect, and reminding us to take off any jewelry, we were give life jackets, and followed a trainer into the water, where we got to interact with one of the dolphins in her own environment. It was a great deal of fun to actually swim along side a dolphin and see it perform its tricks literally at arms length. Unfortunately, they didn't allow cameras into the water, so our only pictures are from their photographers, which I haven't yet had a chance to scan.

From Dolphin Cove, we caught a bus up to the Dunn's River Falls, perhaps another mile up the coast. Here, the Dunn's River drops some 600 feet in a series of cascades and rapids, ending on the beach. We rented a locker for our bags, handed our cameras to a river guide, and followed him down the trail to the beach. Here, a group of about 30 of us formed a human chain as we started our ascent up the river. Climbing against the current, while trying to keep your footing and not stumble in one of the hidden holes in the river bed was a challenge, but the beautiful jungle setting and the sense of adventure made it wonderfully fun. The entire climb took about an hour, with a number of stops to pose for pictures.

The only disappointment of the day was an incident about a third of the way up the river, where it passes under the highway. The bridge is very low, and in spite of the repeated warnings of the guides, I managed to bang my head. I didn't hit it very hard, but my teeth came together just so, and I chipped off a piece of my less than two year old crown. Otherwise, it was a glorious climb in water that was cool, but not overly cold, under a light dappled green canopy.

After making our way back to the shuttle bus, we headed back into Ocho Rios to do our last bit of souvenir shopping and then it was back to the ship. We opened our bottle of champagne, and toasted our anniversary. Our cabin was directly above the gangways to the pier, so we settled in to people watch as the last stragglers made their way back aboard. All too soon, we were pushing away from the pier and back to sea, headed back for Miami and the end of a beautiful week in the sun.


Dunn's River Falls
Originally uploaded by ResQgeek.