Jamaica : Part 1 of a 2-part series --because once is not enough

January 2019 - Pre-Covid Times

This is my first getaway since I moved to the islands in 2016. To make travelling easier, I have to secure US Visa from their embassy based in Jamaica.
And you know, when there is opportunity to go arounnd and see things, we should always grab it!

I am travelling with my wife as she is more familiar with the place and of course, a chance for a getaway!
We took a plane from Cayman to Kingston, Jamaica and as we get picked up to go to our accommodation, we will be spending our first night here.

This is a residential home that they turned to accommodation for fellow Filipinos who needs to stay for couple of days. We were so amazed of the mountains in the background and how big the country is.

On our first day, after my appointment and after securing approval for US Visa, we were toured around the city of Kingston and of course, we had to go to Bob Marley's Museum.

Bob Marley

After our little tour, we bought some local Red Stripe Beer and snacks to chill with as we ended our first day. I love Red Stripe, it kind of tastes in between Red Horse and Pale Pilsen. =)

For our second day, this is when we just asked our guide to drop us off in Knutsford Express Terminal and we are off to go see Ocho Rios. It is like a 3-hour bus ride from Kinsgton and Ocho Rios is known for its beaches and Hotels and cruise ships port.

We were able to see relaxing coconuts and souvenir shops. There are many places to visit in Ochi but we only headed to 2 destinations because we only had one day to be here.

DUNNS RIVER FALLS

The first thing that I saw when I was still looking for things to do in Jamaica is this Dunns River Falls. This is in a park where you will have to climb the cascading waterfalls that we had to climb from down and going up. This time when we were there, there were cruise ship passengers doing the climb as well so we just joined in with them and see the thrill.
There were spots were I thought it must be impossible for us to do it but little by little, we were able to go up the Waterfalls and enjoy its cooling dip. It is a 960 feet of waterfalls that are like stories or levels of a building / stairs that we try, as we were hand in hand with the other tourists and just take one step at a time and be amazed that we are really climbing it.

MYSTIC MOUNTAIN

Next stop, we had to go to lunch and what better way to do it that go to the peak of the highest mountain of Mystic Mountain. There is a gondola that we road going up and it was so funny that as we rise up in the mountains, we actually smell the happiness of Jamaica. yes smoking weed here is legal so people can do it anywhere.
Here at the top of the mountain is the restaurant where we ate jerk pork and jerk chicken and enjoyed the view from the mountains of Jamaica.

This first trip is short and sweet and I cannot forget our first time in this country. How fascinated I was with the mountains and the driving we had along the mountains as well as our interactions with the friendly Jamaicans.

Stay Tuned for Part 2!

Video Background song is Konshens- Bruk Off Yuh Back