Monday, 13 Feb 2017 Montego Bay to Regina

Beautiful morning today. Sunny and warm with much lighter wind. High temperature has been about 30 degrees C every day, but with a breeze to keep it comfortable. The last two days were quite windy – enough to shut down the water sports rental.

We woke up about 7:30, showered, and were even able to pack, except for a couple of last minute items, before breakfast. Breakfast was nostalgic with everyone sadly partaking in their last chance at their favourite items. We again checked the binder at the front desk that has all the flight information. No delays for us, but we saw a substantial one for London/Ottawa. Then someone in the elevator told us that they were expecting up to 40 cm of snow in Toronto. That is why we are very leery of taking winter vacation flights that are not direct out of Regina. If the Regina weather forces delays, you are subject to those no matter what you do. But, if you add in an interim stop, you then have to contend with winter weather in two places.

The girls made another stop in the gift shop. Celeste picked up another t-shirt for one of the twins. We thought we bought two at our first shopping stop. There was only one in the right size of the one we wanted on the shelf. The fellow said he would have an assistant get another one for us from the back, but, when it came, it was not the one we wanted. We would have accepted the lighter colour, but it also had a different design. He said he would send the assistant again. We were finished and ready to go at that point, so we left it in his hands to complete the order to be picked up on our return. When we did return, he had our stuff packaged in a plastic bag and off we went. Mistake! It was pretty busy and he had forgotten to get the second t-shirt. Although a little voice told me to check, I didn’t listen. As we were packing this morning, the missing t-shirt became apparent and Celeste was able to find a suitable replacement on the resort.

Meanwhile, I went to the beach to take some pictures of the resort from that viewpoint. I also found the entertainment crew tie-dyeing t-shirts on the beach.

We had a last lunch and caught our bus to the airport at 1. There we met a mob of humanity at the Sunwing counter. They had six departures scheduled from 3:35 to 3:50 to Winnipeg, Halifax, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Regina, and Toronto. Fortunately, the Halifax flight was delayed until evening or it would have been even worse. (It turned out that the Ottawa flight was on time and Halifax was delayed. The storm we had heard about had already passed through Ontario and was now in the Maritimes.) The line doubled back on itself about eight times in front of the counter, then extended for some distance down a hallway to another open area where it doubled back several times again. It moved fairly quickly though, with ten open stations. We were through in about an hour. We did not pay for seat pre-selection and ended up sitting in consecutive rows on the aisle near the front. Ron and Cheryl ended up in consecutive window seats near the back.

From there we quickly passed through security to the Duty Free shopping. As we suspected, liquor prices were better there, but three of the five bottles we had purchased earlier were not available there. It is a crap shoot when you are shopping to guess whether you will find what you want there.

We departed on time at 4 PM on our six hour flight arriving at about 9 PM Regina time. We ‘fessed up at Customs that we were over our liquor limit. The fellow in the store told us that the limit was 1.5 litres per person. I knew that it had been 1.14 litres, but I had not checked before we left, so maybe it had changed. Anyway, at 1.14 litres we were allowed three 750 ml bottles, so we would only be over by one. We had wanted one more liqueur that Carla had asked for, but the manager phoned around and could not find it, so we thought we were done. However, we later found it at the mall by our resort, giving us five bottles and putting us over by two. Who knew that the tax and duty on two 750 ml bottles would be $32.44?!

Nathan picked us up and we were home by 10.


I mentioned a few times that we would read while lounging around the pool. I read a memoir by an old Air Traffic Controller friend. He was quite an adventurer and had lots of stories. Sadly, the last chapter was about his health struggles over the last couple of years and his fairly recent ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) diagnosis. Unfortunately, he may only have a few months remaining.

Sunday, 12 Feb 2017 Montego Bay

Today is our last full day. Not much to report. Our day pretty much followed the usual routine, with the addition of our nostalgic last dip in the pool and last drink at the swim-up bar. Dinner was again at the buffet and was excellent, as usual.

Tonight’s entertainment was “Reggae Beach Party.” The house reggae band and singer played on the beach for a while. Then a guy did a fire breathing act. This was followed by a conga line, a limbo routine, and a dance party, all accompanied by DJ music. We wrapped up the night around 11.

Saturday, 11 Feb 2017 Montego Bay

Back to our regular morning schedule this morning. Yesterday, on our bus ride, we saw a small shopping mall just a couple of blocks from our resort. After breakfast this morning Cheryl, Celeste, and I went over to see if we could fill a couple of gaps in our gift shopping list. On the way back, a young boy of about 13 years approached and asked for a dollar so he could go to Burger King (across the street) for some food. I put him off for a while, then another boy rode up on a bicycle and said, “Hey mon. I know you. You threw me a bottle with a dollar in it a couple of days ago. And I recognize your ladies too.” After a bit more small talk, I gave his buddy a dollar. But the boy on the bike now wanted his dollar too. I told him he got his dollar from me the other night and he would have to find someone else for his next dollar. He followed on for a bit further, politely asking for another dollar with several of the most sincere “Pleeeases ”you can imagine. Finally I relented, gave him a dollar and off he went. I have to find a way to scrub the big “S” for sucker off my forehead. Maybe I should have used the phrase our bus guide taught us yesterday: “No bodda me!”

Back at the resort, we lounged around the pool, had some lunch, lounged again, went back to our rooms for a nap, and ate again at the Italian restaurant. I left much less tipsy than the first time.

Tonight’s show was “Hot Stuff!” It started with a theme of workers escaping drudgery through music and dance, dragging their all-business supervisor along with them. After this, it devolved into a series of dance numbers that no longer seemed connected to the theme until returning to it for the last number. Still good and entertaining, but, again, not quite at the highest level. I should point out that the music for these shows is always pre-recorded originals with the cast doing some lip-synching. So the music is always top notch.

Friday, 10 Feb 2017 Montego Bay/Ocho Rios

We started our day a half hour earlier today to be ready for pick up 9:30 for our adventure tour. During the almost one hour bus ride our guide pointed out the sites, including Usain Bolt’s high school and Ben Johnson’s childhood house. You remember Ben. He was a sprinter for Canada until he tested positive for steroid use at the Seoul Olympics.

We first had a jerked chicken lunch and then boarded our catamaran for some snorkeling. After a while we motored over to Dunn’s River Falls for the iconic climb up the falls. I am not sure I would call it fun, but there were fun moments. It was an interesting experience and worth doing, but you are so focussed on your next footstep that it is hard to appreciate your environment. From the falls we set off on our party cruise back to base. There was no booze until this point for safety reasons, but the rum punch and beer now flowed freely. However, two issues combined to limit the partying. First, it was a fairly short time, certainly less than half an hour. The other issue was the rough water. It was hard to keep your feet and not spill your drink as the boat tossed about. However, the crew serving the booze did an admirable job under the circumstances.

The two pictures above have a story. The on-board photographer took them when we had barely left the dock. She showed them to us on the camera viewfinder in the sun, so it was a real crapshoot how they would turn out. but we took a chance and purchased the two above. Later on she came back with a CD which we took back to the hotel. When I loaded it in my laptop, the pictures were of four strangers! They were strange, all right, but not totally unknown to us. We recognized one of the couples from our bus. She was the one standing up near the back of the bus a couple of feet from Ron's right ear and flashing her boobs at her hooting and hollering buddies! The next day I told our story to the on-site Nexus Tours rep who was able to contact the photographer and get her to send over copies of the correct pictures.

Trying to avoid sunburn.

The weather has been great all week, about 30 degrees C every day with a good breeze to keep from getting too hot. Most days also had some broken cloud to help protect from the sun for periods of time. This morning was actually pretty cloudy and windy, however, the cloud cleared off while the wind grew stronger. It was blowing pretty well between 3 and 4 o’clock when we were supposed to be partying.

Back at the resort, we went to the buffet restaurant, called Ackee, for supper. It was just as excellent as all the specialty restaurants, although less formal. The dinner menu matched the breakfast and lunch menus for variety and excellence. There are seven buffet bars, each with a different theme or specialty. You tell yourself to have just a small sample of each of the few most desirable things, but, in no time at all, your plate is full and there are still several things you would like to try. I can’t rave enough about the food here. We have been to several resorts over the years and this one certainly has the best food of any of them.

 Tonight’s entertainment was the Jamaican Show. It traced the development of Jamaican music up to Bob Marley, then descended into pretty much hip-hop.

Thursday, 9 Feb 2017 Montego Bay

We followed our regular morning pattern again today. After a while we took out a pedal boat and Sprungs took out kayaks. We didn’t go for long – too much like work.

Our resort from the water.

We returned to some reading in the shade by the beach/pool, then lunch, more lounging, then back to our rooms to rest up from our strenuous day and prepare for the chore of going for dinner.

Ron and Cheryl came by our room for a look. We went out on the balcony and observed three boys that seemed to be picking bottles outside the resort boundary and talking to people on their balconies. After a few minutes one of the boys worked his way down to us. He asked us to throw down a dollar so he could get something to eat. I responded that I did not know how I could get a dollar to fly over the wall. He said to put it in a bottle with some water and throw it over. Not his first rodeo. One bottle and one dollar later, we were on our way to eat.

Today we went to the “fancy-pants” restaurant, which we had nicknamed because it was more upscale and because it had a requirement that the men had to wear pants – i.e. full length pants, rather than the shorts that were acceptable in the other restaurants on the property. Its real name is Kulinarium. Excellent meal! A little jerked chicken wrapped in dough and deep fried, pumpkin soup with a dollop of goat cheese, an excellent fillet, although Celeste had a lobster dish, and a delicious chocolaty dessert.

Tonight’s entertainment was an award-winning steel drum band. But not just a steel drum band. It was an eleven-member troop that combined steel drum music with dance, acrobatics, and break dancing. A very high energy show. We made it to our room by 11 and to bed by 12.

Wednesday, 8 Feb 2017 Montego Bay

We followed the same morning pattern today. We then decided to hire a cab into town to look around and hit the gift shops from 10-12:30. The driver dropped us at one of the shops and took us inside to meet the operator, who had his phone number in case we had to call him and change plans. Clearly, they had an arrangement. I figured we might be paying a small premium, but it was offset by the convenience of one stop shopping, the fact that they would hold our purchases for us while we explored, and by their excellent service, complete with samples of anything you were interested in. We left there for a walk along the seawall and to peek into a couple of more shops. In one shop I learned that we may have paid a little more premium than I thought. In the first shop a particular bottle of rum was labelled $60USD, but he gave it to us for $30USD. In the second shop, the same bottle was labelled $85USD. When I picked it up to look at it, an employee appeared out of nowhere and said I could have it for $20USD. I said no thanks and moved along. I came back again later and another employee appeared and told me $25USD, but the first guy was nearby and corrected her to the $20USD he had already quoted. I again declined and started moving toward the exit, then the first guy said 2 for $30USD. I guess we left a few dollars on the table at the first place.

The view from Ron and Cheryl's room.

The view inside our room.

We returned for lunch and a sojourn by the pool, then back to our rooms for a nap before meeting up at 6 for the Asian restaurant, Bamboo. We awoke from our naps to find that it was raining pretty heavily. It persisted for over an hour and flooded some of the resort grounds.

The evening entertainment show was called Cinemania. It was patterned after iconic movie dance numbers and other dances crafted around iconic movie songs. Having seen a few of these shows now, I am becoming a little bit more critical. They are still entertaining and most of the performers are pretty talented, but some of the choreography is odd or weak, the performers sometimes lack polish and precision, and sometimes the timing is a bit off. I am not complaining though, just observing. After all, it’s not Broadway. These shows begin at 9:30 and run 60+ minutes. They are preceded by another act, usually a little reggae band with a singer starting around 8 for an hour, then a comedic audience participation game.

Tuesday, 7 Feb 2017 Montego Bay

We were up at 8 for breakfast at 9 and the Nexus Tours meeting at 10. We booked the Cool Runnings catamaran tour for Friday, then staked out a spot by the pool in the shade. We are going to try hard not to get sunburn, especially on the first day.


We went for lunch about 1:30, then went for a walk to the adjacent associated resort where we had a drink by their pool.

In mid-afternoon we retired to our rooms to rest (i.e. nap – we are on holidays after all). Celeste watched part of a movie and I started this blog, which remained a draft until today. We gathered at 6 to line up for the Steakhouse.

There are four specialty restaurants on the property in addition to the main buffet. There are no reservations, so if you want to get in soon after the 6:30 opening, you have to line up or wait until later in the evening after the first rush  is finished eating. The entertainment tonight was International Night. The house entertainment troop did several dance numbers in various ethnic styles and costumes. We headed back to our rooms and bed at about 11.

Monday, 6 Feb 2017 Regina to Montego Bay

First I must apologize to the multitudes awaiting our travel blog with baited breath. This is our last full day here and I have not yet posted anything. I have some notes and pictures. Now to make something out of them. The pictures might have to wait for another day.

Last fall brother-in-law Ron Sprung told us that they were planning on going to Jamaica to avoid his 50^th birthday on February 6 and asked us if we wanted to go along. How could we say no?

Our scheduled departure was at 8 AM and the airline said to be there three hours early, so we arranged to leave home about 4:30. Nathan picked us up. I am sure he would rather have been doing just about anything else. We were at the airport by 5 with no one else in line at the just-opened counter. We sailed through security screening, again, without waiting in line. You could argue that we were too early, but I would rather spend my time sitting down and reading something than standing in line.

As our departure time drew near, the counter agent made some comment that the crew was on board and we would be boarding soon, 15 to 20 minutes late. Not sure what this was about, except that we were definitely going to be late. After boarding, we were pushed back for de-icing, as there was an inch or two of snow on the wings. The end result was that our departure was about an hour late.

The flight over Miami and Cuba was uneventful. We arrived at about 3 PM Jamaica time, an hour later than our original planned time, but then had to wait for a gate because we missed our slot and had to wait our turn at the busiest part of their day. After waiting for 80% of the airplane to empty in front of us and wandering down what seemed to be endless corridors, we finally reached the immigration, lineup at about 4. That took about another ¾ of an hour, but we were waved through customs, quickly found our bus, and were soon on the five minute drive to our hotel, arriving shortly after 5 PM.

We settled in and met at the bar to plan our next move and have a drink. We decided to eat at the Italian restaurant on the premises, Dolce Vita. We lined up for the 6:30 opening and were each presented with a glass of champagne while we waited. Inside there was a generous buffet of salads, appetizers, and desserts, while we ordered entrees off the menu. We all selected the beef fillet with mushroom sauce. Very, very good. (Sorry, no pictures.) The wait staff kept our wine glasses full throughout. We complemented our dessert with Sambucca. I, for one, got a bit of a buzz on.

When we finally wandered out of the restaurant, a reggae band was playing at the entertainment stage. Who would have guessed that? They only played a few numbers before finishing up. They were followed by a hip-hop dance act that also did some comedy skits. The performers were quite talented, but weren’t quite as professional as a Broadway cast. Nonetheless, they were entertaining. After their show we retired for the night at about 11:30.