Day Three of "The Boat Trip"---- Montego Bay, Jamaica

September 17th Land Ho in Jamaica Mon!

One of the first things I went in search of on the Carnival Magic was the laundromat. I know, it's not as exciting as the swimming pools and gym or as romantic as the walking track, but with three boys, the cabin had the potential of quickly becoming unpleasant. I found it on the floor below us, and made sure all the clothes were washed for the upcoming day.

Two days for me on the ship were awesome. I never get tired of looking at the ocean. There is nothing more calming or peaceful than to watch the waves and see the beautiful sight of horizon meeting the sea. I loved watching the color of the ocean go from a blue/grey color in Galveston to a steadily brighter blue as we went further out into the Caribbean. Alas, the boys did not share my unwavering intensity of observation, so it was just as well that we were scheduled to pull into Montego Bay in Jamaica,

We weren't scheduled to land until later in the morning, we all decided to have a decent breakfast. The food and service is much better in the dining room rather than the Lido buffet and most of us were so busy talking about the previous night and the upcoming excursion that we didn't notice Liam had been saying, "Land ho!" After his third or fourth time repeating it, we noticed through the huge windows that we indeed were in view of our first destination.

We finished breakfast and got the boys changed into their swim suits. We then all gathered in Pa and Grandma Jamie's cabin so we could stand out on the deck and watch us pull into port. Ian was pretty excited and pointed out the houses.

Liam was excited too and pointed out the fact that Jamaica was somewhat mountainous and that there were pelicans diving into the water.

Miles pointed out the land as well, and had a hard time relinquishing the binoculars.

After watching our progress into the bay, we went down to the bottom of the ship where we were able to scan our cards and exit the ship with a reminder that we needed to be back by 1700. I had been curious where they had the infirmary but had not yet discovered its location. On the way out, I saw the infirmary sign, and was told it was equipped for a Level 1 Trauma, which I found interesting.

The air was humid and hot as we stepped out onto a fenced pavement area that looked like a large parking lot. There was a large warehouse-like structure that served as a sort of shopping/restroom facility and people lined up next to signs indicating which excursion the passengers had signed up for. It was un-air conditioned and very chaotic. Liam was progressing rapidly into full meltdown mode because of it, but a soothing hand (back tickle) and calming explanation of what was happening helped reassure him. We got into the correct line, boarded a bus and luckily got to the resort we had signed up for within 5 or 10 minutes.

Here is Miles on the bus--- glad to be on the way to the beach, but especially for being on an air conditioned bus. In Jamaica, they drive on the left side of the road due to the fact that they were once a British Colony. The coordinator asked people some questions about Jamaica, and I was one of the few to get some of them right!

Once we got to the resort, we were greeted and offered drinks of punch, or punch with rum, despite it being before 1000. The grounds were nice, being planted with palm trees, hibiscus, ixora and bougainvillea.There was a pool and a covered patio and some people selling some handmade crafts and jewelry. Where the lawn met the beach there was also planted some Australian Pine reminding me of our favorite beach back in Florida, Ft. Desoto.

We planted ourselves at the far end of the beach where it was cordoned off from the next resort. Here is a picture of Jamie and Duane relaxing and of their beach buddy sitting down with them.

Near our chairs I found we had a neighbor in residence. The boys helped me dig him out and were fascinated with him. Since the water was so nice we assisted him into it so he could enjoy a swim and so that the boys didn't end up with pinched body parts.

The first thing the younger boys and I did was to wade and determine where we would build our sand castle. The shore was very rocky; the rocks most likely imported to reduce any erosion they had been experiencing. My idea was for the boys to incorporate this into producing the best foundation a sand castle ever had.

Jamie and Duane had brought sand castle building tools from Utah, so Ian, Miles and I got to work building our castle.

After it was mostly complete, we posed in front of our imposing structure.

Ian had a lot of fun with the toys and building the sand castle, but I think he enjoyed most making a new friend on the beach. This little girl was from the Carnival Magic as well, and they chatted and played like they had known each other for a year.

Ian also enjoyed wearing his swim goggles, even if it meant they were pushed back on the top of his head.

The first thing Liam did was of course, jump in the water. When he found out that Pa and Grandma Jamie had brought snorkel gear, he got REALLY excited. This is one of the few un-coached smiles he gave us when he found out.

No snorkeling experience is complete without fins, right?

Just because we had lifeguards posted, didn't mean we let our guard down at all while playing at the beach. Each child was assigned a buddy and Lisa and I took turns being Liam's snorkel/beach buddy. There were buoys that he constantly wanted to swim under and so with vigilance and redirection we kept him occupied.

The dark spots you see further from the shore line were a sort of rocky reef that harbored sea urchins and various kinds of tropical fish. Liam enjoyed looking for all those sea creatures and wanted to go further afield.

Don't be alarmed by the following photo--- he had his snorkel gear on. Liam frequently struggles with auditory overload. There is nothing he likes better than being submerged in water. And the fact that he had a way to stay under as long as wanted helped.

At about noon, we went and had lunch on the patio which consisted of rice and meat, that wasn't very appetizing (especially compared to what we had been receiving on the boat for the last three days), but everyone had something and washed it down with plenty to drink. Pa had packed a tiny box of Fruit Loops for Miles from the Lido deck so even he went away happy.

On the beach, they had kayaks that you could use free of charge. Jamie was starting to feel a little restless and wanted to try kayaking in Jamaica since she had tried it in Samoa. I volunteered to go with her and had a great time. We paddled a little past a rocky point to see what was beyond and found more beaches and resorts.

One of the reasons we didn't go far in the kayak is because some clouds started to build up and it looked like rain. You can kind of see the cloud bank hovering over the distant mountains in the background in this picture with Liam and Miles.

Before we decided to go, Liam wanted to dig around some more to bring back a souvenir--- a live crab souvenir!

The younger boys and I lounged on the shore while Liam dug, and let the waves splash against us.This was something my siblings and I used to like to do when we were little on the beaches in Florida.

We decided the best way to get clean would be to rinse off in the showers they had at the resort, and then let the kids play in the pool they had there for a little bit. Before we did that, I insisted the boys and I get one last picture together. Liam was less than thrilled to have Ian on his back, but Ian and Miles sure liked it!

We hopped on the bus after a quick swim in the pool, feeling a little burnt, hungry and obviously, very tired. Miles didn't last more than a couple of minutes before falling asleep. You can see my hand keeping him steady as we drove back to the enclave.

Prior to going on our trip, we told each of the boys that they were permitted ONE souvenir this trip. Keeping that in mind, they had to choose carefully because we would be looking in shops on three different islands. Ian decided he wanted a loud monkey that said "You Jamaican me crazy!" on its t-shirt. We got to hear it a lot as we quickly dressed for dinner.

Dinner was delicious, although it seemed even more delicious after having been outside playing really hard and having to subsist on okay lunch food. I believe I tried escargot for the first time that night.

Liam insisted he wanted his ONE souvenir from the shops on the ship. He picked a stylized map of the route we were taking to Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cozumel complete with a tube for keeping it from getting wrinkled. It became a popular item and we soon had to restrict Liam from opening it until he was on his bed (the top bunk) and the two younger boys were on their bed (the bottom bunk).

We went for a brief walk after dinner (the rain had hit while we were eating and it was more humid than usual) and then went back to our cabin. We found a lobster towel display waiting for us and beds which looked awesome by that point!