Jamaica Day 5 : Island Hopping | Snorkeling & Lobster Lunches

First item on the agenda: Breakfast.
Second item on the agenda: Glass Bottom Boat Tour!

One of the unofficial excursions available to us was a tour out on one of the many glass bottom boats. It's a fisherman-style boat with glass paneled floors that allow everyone to see the water as it cruises around. We were joined by several people staying at a neighboring resort, who we later learned were visiting from Kingston and Montego Bay, which are a couple hours' drive from Negril. We've basically enjoyed meeting new people here just about every day this week, and today was no different. This island evokes friendliness and a full-on embodiment of the Rastafarian NO WORRIES, MON philosophy. I. LOVE. IT.


wading by the beach

aboard the glass bottom boat

Anyway, we set out on a course to a snorkeling spot, where we all went overboard to check out the fish, shells, plant life and wildly enough, a couple of harmless manta rays. 

jordan. rob. shayne.

Among the many different types of fish and plant life, there were plenty of clams and conch shells, one of which made it from the snorkel trip out to the mini island for cooking.


Lunch on the mini island was a complete overhaul of how I will define fresh food from here on out. The fishermen on the island were ready for us, and had lunch preparation under way as soon as our feet hit the sand. By lunch, I mean lobster. Ocean lobster. 

conch snail

spoils of a fishing trip

fascinated by the puffer!

ocean lobster

  

We watched with the tourist wonder as our guides prepared our lunches over an open pit; to say this was the best lobster I've ever had is a heinous understatement, and will forever scar my ability to accept the menu items from Red Lobster. Wow.

After lunch, there was plenty of time to roam the beach and check out the colonies of tiny hermit crabs, known here as soldier crabs. I'm fascinated with tiny critters, so naturally I followed them around like the paparazzi that I am.

hey, soldier!

love you!

 

The boat ride back was just as refreshing as the trip out, and when we hit the beach of the main island, we opted to walk back instead of take the cab. We took our sweet time trekking back to Legends, where we disbanded for a few hours to do our own things. Cassie and Shayne hit the beach, Tara and Jordan headed back to their room, and Rob and I thought we'd wrap up our last minute shopping at Time Square.

our new friends!

I've had the best naps in my life here in Negril, so it was a no-brainer to take a snooze between shopping and dinner. The flash thunderstorms here [quite Florida-esque] make it all the more enjoyable to kick back on the balcony and be hypnotized by it all.

Dinner was a bittersweet ordeal; we paired up with Tara and Jordan for our last dinner at Legends [for now, that is!] and then parted ways to wrap up packing and last minute details for our departures tomorrow morning.

last night in paradise [for now]

This. Place... is sublime. It's nearly midnight now; we just woke up from a post-dinner nap and the party is ON at Bourbon Bar next door- we're gonna run down and check it out since Rob missed the festivities last night.

Jamaica, we're gonna miss you. Here's to one last night in paradise!

xo | cmd

Jamaica Day 3 : Mayfield Falls

It's excursion time!
We wasted very little time this morning getting prepared for the day; it started with an ocean-front breakfast and some chit-chatting with the resort staff before we loaded up on the shuttle for an hour's trip into the hills of Jamaica for a day at Mayfield Falls.

This'll be best in pictures, so here.. ya go :)

Part 1: LAND SCENERY OF MAYFIELD FALLS

pineapple plant

baby pineapple!

lunch huts

 

birds of paradise plant

birds of paradise

coffee tree!

coconut tree snails

 

 

And..
Part 2 : WATER TIME!

Lastly,
Part 3 : LUNCH!

When the trip finally came to a close, we were dropped back off at Legends just in time to switch into dry clothes and join the small crowd already gathered in the restaurant to watch the Ned v. Arg World Cup game. I of course was rooting for the Netherlands, in honor of my Dutch sister, but witnessed their unfortunate fall to Argentina. This should make for a solid final match on Sunday when they play Germany!

What do you do after you climb through waterfalls and watch World Cup soccer in Jamaica?
-- You nap. And so we did, in our room with the balcony doors open to let in the sound of the ocean [which will never get old to me... just saying]. When we awoke, it was time for dinner, so we headed down at just about the same time Tara and Jordan arrived. It was a dinner for four, followed by a walk along the coastline and some more conversation with the locals.

I'm head over heels in love with this place.

Excursion #2 is on the books for tomorrow: Kayaking and Ziplining through the mountain forests here... and I can't wait!

See you then!

xo | cmd