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Here is a detailed (well, sorta) entry of my trip to Jamaica. It was fun~ enjoy!

12/17/06-First day

We woke up at 4:30 Am. I had gone to bed at eight last night, but didn’t fall asleep to nine. Even though I had seven hours of sleep, it was still hard getting up. My parents were up before me, loading the car and doing last- minute packing. My mom woke me up after the last suitcase was loaded, telling me to get dressed quickly. I reluctantly did as she told me, moving slowly. My sister was soon after me, and when we were finally through, my dad hustled us off to the car to wait. My mom ran around the house, turning off the lights and making sure nothing was on that could possibly burn the house down. When she was through, both she and my dad got in the car.
We drove to the airport- most of which I was dozing off- and waited in line to get our plane tickets. This only lasted about ten minutes, though it was a little confusing at some times when everyone was grouped together at the front of the line. We finally escaped, though, and after waiting for about five minuets we got on the plane flying to Memphis. The ride there seemed short, but in reality it was two and a half hours long. To entertain myself, I read books the whole time. (The Deltora Quest books, five through eight). My sister also read a book, but the other time she just stared out the window. We had the option of a small snack, but my stomach was hurting and I couldn’t eat anything. My sister couldn’t either, but we made an exception for some chocolate-covered pretzels my mom brought. biggrin
When we landed in Memphis, the first thing we did was get breakfast. I was starving by that time, and welcomed the idea of eggs, bacon, and a biscuit. I finished it well before the time we had to go back on the plane, so I spent the rest of the time reading.
The plane ride from Memphis to Jamaica was the longest- four hours, flying over water most of the way. My sister used my laptop to watch a movie, and I finished the Deltora books and played Pokemon. I did spend a little time talking to my sister, and she drew scenes from the Warriors books and made me guess what they were. I soon returned to playing my game, and she began reading again. The time passed quickly, and we landed in Jamaica. The flight did take its toll on me though; after being still for so long, my legs had fallen asleep and hurt when I stood up. The feeling was gone after I walked around, but they still hurt.
When I first walked into the airport, I wasn’t exactly impressed; it was small, and a little run-down. But it was easy to find where we were going. However, before we could get our luggage, we had to wait in line for an hour in customs, and the only way I escaped boredom was by digging out my ipod. The line was long, slow, and cramped, but we survived and made it to the baggage claim, where our bright blue suitcases easily stood out. After that, we got on a bus to go to out hotel.
The bus ride was wonderful. When we first left the airport, you could see the beach, and the beautiful blue-green waters of the Caribbean. There were even mountains to one side. And everything was so green. Trees, wildflowers, bushes, and other plants grew everywhere. The mountains also had trees on them, and you could barely see the houses that were scattered around on them. There was even a massive forest at one time- the trees were about twice the height of me, but they grew so close together and there were a lot of them. There were also a lot of animals. Multicolored birds, horses, and I even saw some goats! The bus driver also told us some things about Jamaica- like that the capitol was Kingston, and Montego Bay, where we were staying at, is the second largest city. He said other stuff too, but I forgot them.
After traveling for about forty minuets, we stopped a roadside shop and bought food, drinks, and other items. Some people used the break to go to the restroom, and others to stretch their legs. After ten minutes, we got back on the bus to continue going to the hotel.
The further away we got from the airport, the more things changed. I saw more houses, most of which were run-down, dirty, and housed four or five people. After those were gone, there were once again only trees, mountains, and the occasional glimpse of the ocean. This continued on for the rest of the trip- forty five minuets, until we reached the hotel. I liked the look of it- the lobby was opened up to let the breezes in, but it was well sheltered unless it started to rain. Upon investigation, I learned that it was shaped in a giant “W”, with a garden and a pool in the middle of both curves. The beach was all along the bottom, and it was quite large at that. In the middle of the W, there was the lobby, with restaurants and shops extending from it, with the rooms after that. There was even a theatre! The hotel itself was nice, with one wall opened up along one side, and decorated with flowers, and it even had fans. The room we stayed in was nice, but sort of disappointing though. The two beds were a little small, and placed side-by-side. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any wireless internet. You had to buy a card from the gift shop- something my Dad didn’t want to do.
When we were finally settled in, we got ready for dinner. It was an Italian restaurant, located in the hotel. It was a buffet, and the food was decent, but my dad said that he wanted to try something else tomorrow.
When we finished eating, we walked around the resort, looking at the items the shops were selling, walking along the beach, and discussing about what we should do. We had a lot of options, and we couldn’t decide on any of them. We finally made our way back to the hotel room, where my parents finished watching Survivor. My sister read, and I watched some videos I had made a while back. I started a new book, too- Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo. I didn’t get very far in it, though. I had to get ready for bed early, because of the early morning. But it was still good.
We were all excited for the next day- who knew what would happen?

12/18/06- the second day

After we woke up, we headed down to a nearby restaurant to get breakfast. The food wasn’t bad, and I ate a lot of food- mostly eggs, pancakes, and yogurt. We then headed down to beach, and got two or three chairs to put our stuff. My sister and dad went snorkeling, and I got signed up to play Bochhi with some guy I didn’t know. We lost.
I decided to do some swimming after that, and went in the water for a couple of minutes to swim. It was hard to swim against the waves and the current, so after a while I was tired. I headed back in, and then read my book for a while. My dad took me sailing after that, and then we went to get some lunch- another buffet. My mom then made reservations for some activities later this week- plus, a spa! I was really excited!
We went shopping after that, but I didn’t buy anything- my mom bought a swimsuit and a swimsuit cover, though. I wanted to buy a postcard, but I didn’t see any I liked. What can I say- I am picky that way.
After that, we lounged on the beach some more and then ate dinner. This one was another buffet, but bigger then the others and the food was better too. We then returned to the room, where we watched Pride and Prejudice on the T.V. It was very good- I want to read the book now!
We then discovered that the theatre was showing a dance show tonight, so we then went to that. The dancers performed too many different songs from different countries. All of them were amazing. Even though one of the songs were skipping a lot, it was still good.
We finished up the day by watching Santa Claus 2 on the TV. We went to bed after that, and over all it was a good day.

11/19/06- the third day

We woke up at seven thirty for our first activity- we were going to Dunn River Falls. After a quick breakfast, the bus picked us up. Since there were a couple of tours before we got to our destination, the bus ride to our first tour was long. He dropped us off at a garden where we went to our first tour. Our guide brought us through there, pointing out different flowers, trees, and bushes. It was amazing. There were plants from all over the world- China, United States, even Madagascar! He even showed us different spices, like peppermint, ginger, and thyme. The whole place was so colorful. Plus, we saw some parrots in some of the trees, and fishes in the ponds. The tour also included us going through a part of Fern Gully- Sadly, I couldn’t see any fairies.
After the garden tour ended, we got back on the bus and went to a place where people made pottery. My sister got to make a small pot with the potter wheel, and we got to see the process in which the pottery went through to be made into vases, cups, and other ceramics. It was very interesting, and I saw some beautiful pottery as well.
The last stop was a shopping center, where we had forty-five minuets to browse or buy. All we did was browse- I saw some things I wanted, but they were all expensive. Usually, I like shopping, but the people who own the smaller stalls are always yelling at you to buy this item or that necklace, and they won’t leave you alone. It took a while to get rid of them, and we finally made it back to the bus with a little free time left.
We finally arrived at Dunn River Falls, and after getting into our swimsuits and water shoes we walked down to the beach, where we would start our climb. You see, at Dunn River Falls, the Dunn River falls down a chain of waterfalls until it reaches the ocean. The river has natural rocks, and grooves in the rocks so you can find hand and foot holds. The waterfalls make a giant step pattern, but also have steep drops. You had to climb over 900 feet to get to the end of the climb, but there was still more ahead of that. Even though the water was cold, you got used to it pretty fast, and even the steepest fall had some sort of steps leading up them. It was all very exciting, and you could even slide down one of them. The falls landed in a small pool before going to the next waterfall, so you could swim around- if the water was deep enough and if you can fight the current.
When it finally ended, we visited a few shops there and then left to get to the hotel. After eating lunch, we went down to the beach and went sail boating. Since we were near to reefs, I got off of the sailboat and went diving. Since I didn’t need a snorkel, I kept coming up for air, but it was worth it- I even found four sand dollars! However, my dad stepped on one, so now there is only three…
After I finished diving, we went in to the beach and returned to our room. My dad went to go to a ping-pong tournament, and my mom went to the hot Jacuzzi. My sister and I stayed at the room to take a shower. When my mom and dad returned, they took a quick nap while my sister played gameboy and I went on the computer. It was very quiet and relaxing, until my parents decided that they had rested enough. My mom then got in the shower, and we watched some T.V for a while. After a couple of minutes of discussion, we decided to go to dinner and then watch the daily show. It was a group of steel drummers, and the music was interesting. However, the pre-show was the best. It started out when three random single girls from the audience came up, and had to gather as many shirts from the men in the audience as they could in a minute. After that, the girl who gathered the most shirts got a special prize. That prize was that all of the men who had taken their shirt off had to come up to the stage and dance for her, and she had to pick the top four ‘sexiest’ men. Those four then had to perform for the others, in a competition to see who was the ‘sexiest’. For it, they all had to dress up as a female singer and perform one song. The first guy was funny- he knew the words to the song, but I can’t remember who he was impersonating. The next guy was from Israel, and he had to be Whitney Houston and perform the song she sang in the movie The Bodyguard. There was even an actor on stage pretending to be her bodyguard, and when he got ‘shot’, the guy pretended to be crying. It was really funny, since the guy was amazingly tall. He was followed by another man being Madonna singing her song Like a Virgin. He didn’t know the words to the song, so he was lip singing when he shouldn’t. Finally, the next one was a fat guy pretending to be Celine Dion and sang the Titanic theme song. When the two actors started doing the scene where they were floating in the Atlantic Ocean on a board, the guy sat on the girl. It was hilarious! He finally got off of her, and when the actors left it was over. We then voted on the person we liked the best- by screaming- and the fat guy won. It was all very, very funny. We left the show soon after the steel band started playing, because by mom decided she wanted to get up early to go kayaking. We went to bed soon after we got in the hotel room.

11/20/06- the fourth day

We did get up early, and after eating breakfast we headed down to the beach and got a kayak. Every one of us except my mom took turns diving down by the reef, and we saw a lot of cool things down there. I even saw some more sand dollars, and things called sea biscuits. All sorts of fish were by me, and I enjoyed the experience. We had to go in soon, however, because we only had limited time to go out there.
We then rented a sailboat, and I brought my book out on it, expecting to get some reading in. However, the wind really started to pick up, and we started to get wet more then I thought. I was a little annoyed, for I don’t like getting my books wet. Luckily, we didn’t stay out there for much longer, and went in for lunch.
Lunch took a while, since we went somewhere new and we didn’t know where everything was. It was good though, for it had a lot of food I liked, like fish, salad, fruit, and spaghetti. We then went on a walk along the beach, and collected shells and dead coral that washed up on shore. We found a lot, and then returned to the room to read, relax, and do other random non-energetic things. My parents took a nap, and my sister took a shower.
After that, we went and played bingo. Even though I got really close to winning a lot of times, I never did. Oh well. Better luck next time.
My parents then took a bunch of pictures, and we returned to the room and watched a movie. After that, we went and had dinner at a restaurant. We had reserved it the other day, but it was during the show, and I didn’t get to see what it was. My sister did, though. She said the pre-show was full of acrobats and magicians. The show itself was reggae, and we didn’t stay for it after we finished eating. So we went back to the hotel room and got ready for bed.

12/21/06- The fifth day

Our breakfast was early today, and we headed down to the pool, for the activity board said there was canoeing. Since the hotel has two pools, we didn’t know which one it was, so we kept asking the people who worked at the hotel which one it was in. Half of them looked at us like we were crazy, and two said they were in pools opposite from what the other said. We finally found it, and I waited for about and hour and a half to canoe, since a lot of little kids wanted to do it. I was the only one who did it without help, but I couldn’t do it very long since the pool was so crowded. They were also doing aerobics in there, so there was not a lot of room.
After that, we ate lunch, and decided to go sail boating again. Since one of my swimsuit straps had broken- thankfully in the room- my mom and I went out and bought another one. We then waited for a while until we got a sailboat, and decided to go to a nearby beach that had a waterfall. It was actually a fun ride, because the wind was very strong and there was a bunch of waves. I got soaking wet, but I didn’t care.
When we finally got to the beach, I learned that it was called James Bond Beach- it was where the movie Golden Eye was shot. It was really interesting, and the waterfall was really amazing, even if the water was freezing.
We returned to the room, where we took another resting period before setting off again, once again to Bingo. However, after the first game, one of the ladies we met came up to us and offered us her ticket to Glistening Waters. As it turned out, she and her daughter were completely tuckered out, and she didn’t want it wasted. After a quick debate, we decided to take it, and after paying the extra money for two more people, we set off. My dad was really looking forward to it, but I was annoyed. It was an hour ride to get to Glistening Waters, and I wanted to get to bed early. I was almost falling asleep when we finally arrived, and then had to wait for another twenty minutes for the tour before us was finished.
When we finally got on the boat, I was thinking that it wasn’t worth it. The tour guide started explaining about Glistening Waters, and then we headed out to the middle of the lagoon. I changed my mind immediately.
It was magical. The phosphorus in the water, when disturbed, emitted a bluish glow in the water. You could even see the fish swimming around in there, and when my dad poured some in my hand, it the twinkling made it look like I was holding thousands of stars in my hand. It was amazing.
The tour ended after forty minuets, and I was thinking about it all the way back to the hotel. The ride was defiantly worth it, and I was happy that we had been given the tickets.
We were pretty tired when we got back, so we skipped the show and went straight to bed after eating dinner.


12/22/06- The sixth day

My mom had purchased another experience, this one at H’evens Scent. We got on the bus at eight thirty, and after a long drive arrived. At first, all we did was listen to a lady talking about we were going to do, which was explaining about the zip cords, nature walk, and ATV rides. After she finished, we got into harnesses, and she led us over to the first zip line, which was a relatively straight line across a valley. We did this two times, and it was so much fun! I felt like I was flying, especially if I held my arms out. It lasted only twenty seconds, but it was an enjoyable twenty seconds.
The next zip cord was called Short and Spicy- I figured out soon enough why it was called that. This one was in a sloping u, and after going up you fall back down, go back up, and so on until someone grabs you and helps you down. The ride is bouncy, but it is really fun. We only did that one once, but my sister, being the daredevil she is, did it twice.
We then went on the nature walk, and were shown some cool plants. One I really liked, and it was called a shy lily. When you touched the leaves, they would instantly fold up. It was amusing, and fun. We were also showed sugar cane, which we got a part of, bananas, and oranges. There was even a maze there, but it was relatively easy to get out of.
After waiting for a few more minutes, we finally got to go on the ATV’s. I was really looking forward to this, since I had never ridden one before, but it was a lot more difficult then it looked. The trails were bumpy, muddy, and had a lot of turns in them. It was very hard, and you had to have utmost concentration. I guess I did pretty well on keeping up, but on the last turn my bike spun out and I crashed. I got a bruise on my thigh and ankle, and was pretty shaken up. I recuperated quickly, thankfully, and passed the rest of the time until we drove back swinging on hanging chairs they had there.
We didn’t do much after we got back to the hotel, just hung out and got ready for dinner at a Japanese restaurant. The food was definitely different, but the sushi was ok. I didn’t like the sauce they used, but other then that I enjoyed it.
We went back to the room to change, and then went down to the beach, for the entertainment for the night was a beach party. It started out with a reggae lesson- which I didn’t do since I had no clue what I was doing- and then the dancers did a short show for us. A fire dancer then came, and it started pouring down rain.
We all ran to the stage, where it was dry and where the show would take place. So, while they prepared for the party to be onstage, they did a ‘sexiest woman’ challenge. The staff pulled four women out of the audience, and they had to dance for their boyfriends and husbands. Next, they had to run around and kiss as many men on the hand as they could, and then they had to do a short pantomime. This pantomime was about a lady named Maria, who brings over her lover when her husband was gone. They had to do different variations over it- one was fast, another slow motion, one drunk, and another Chinese. It was all very, very funny. Unfortunately, my mom decided that it was getting too late, so we returned to the hotel room. My sister was sick too, and she spent the whole night throwing up.

12/23/06- The seventh day

Since nothing was planned for us, and my sister was still sick, my mom decided to take the day easy. My parents and I went down to breakfast, and after eating my dad went to play volleyball and my mom tried to find crackers for my sister. I was in charge of getting a drink. This didn’t go well, because a bee flew into the drink, freaked me out, and I knocked over a glass cup and broke it. I was so, so embarrassed, I got out of there as fast as I could. My mom, of course, had to tell my dad and sister, so they teased me about it for a while.
After that, we got in our swimsuits, grabbed our books and swim goggles, and went down to the beach. I made a detour for the hotel shops to buy my friends some gifts, and my sister went sailing with my dad. After shopping for an hour or so, I found a lady to braid my hair, and two and a half hours later I was lounging on the beach. We stayed there for another thirty minutes, and then went and ate lunch. After that, we lounged on the beach for some time, before taking pictures. Otherwise, we returned to the room, where we took showers and packed for going home the next day.
When we packed half of the objects, and got the others ready to pack, we got dressed for dinner. This time, it was at a French restaurant, and the food was good as well. It was a five course meal, though, and we were all stuffed by the time it was done. My sister started to get sick again, and so we returned to the room and continued packing.
When we were finally done, we went to the show, this time a tropical dancing one. My sister left halfway through with my mom, and I stayed with my dad. It was very good- there was even a fire-eater in it!
When that was done, we returned to the room, and went to sleep.

12/24/06- The last day

After waking up early, we did some last minute packing, and then went down to the lobby to await the bus and check out. This took some time, since there was a long line and the bus took forever getting there. However, when it finally did show up, we rode for an hour, and then took a short shopping/bathroom/snack break. My sister found a model kitty she wanted, and so my mom bought it for her. I was looking around most of the time, but when I found something I wanted, it was already time to go, so I didn’t get it.
We drove for another forty-five minuets until we reached the airport. In the ticket line, my mom decided she wanted to ride first class, so we spent some time changing the tickets. Finally, though, we got them, and we went on to the plane.
And then, disaster.
When we were going through security, I had accidentally stuck a snow globe into one of our carry-on bags. And since nothing with water that is bigger then an inch can be brought on carry-on, they took it away from me. I was livid.
I was mad all the way until we were about to get on the plane, but then I decided I couldn’t do anything about it, so I calmed down. And besides, flying first-class was really nice. They served you a nice meal- complete with chocolate cake!- and even a full can of soda. I enjoyed the flight, I have to admit. I even got close to finishing my book.
When we got off, disaster struck again. The sugar cane we got from the ATV place was taken away, since it could have had some ‘disease carrying animal’ in it. Once again, I got mad. Soon after that, I got sick.
I had run to the bathroom before the plane started boarding, and soon after it took off I threw up. It didn’t stop there, either. I threw up the whole plane ride and all the way home, and even after I got in bed. Finally, at two in the morning, I stopped. It was not a pleasant experience, and definitely not the best way to end vacation.

All in all, I enjoyed the vacation. Even though some things didn’t exactly work out, it was enjoyable.