Jamaica

When we last left we were headed off for Jamaica…Well we made it!! After 3 nights we arrived the morning of the 4Th day. The weather was changeable to say the least as when we left we had wind fairly light out of the west and when we entered the cut to Port Antonio we had NE winds 20k gusting to 25k, heavy rain squalls and waves 7-10’ talk about surfing your way in!! During the trip we did catch 2 nice Dorado’s which we ended up eating some and freezing the rest. The days were mostly sunny and the weather was warm.

Jamaica…Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect….that is what they say!! So Far... we have had both good and not so good experiences here. The good…The country is beautiful, lush and abundant with many fruits and vegetables. The colors here are beautiful!!

The exchange rate is fairly decent, 82.64 Jamaican dollars to every $1.00 US. In Port Antonio, so far it is fairly safe and protected by the port authority. We were treated very nice by Customs, Immigration and Agriculture even though the Agriculture officer stressed several times, even though the Admiral did here best to charm him, that she is NOT allowed off the boat for any reason…if she is caught off the boat she will be put down - no questions asked - along with a $500.00 fine!! She has been pouting ever since and we can’t blame her!!
The people, ah the people, for the most part are nice... kids especially, seem the most curious and genuinely friendly most just want to part you with your money by trying to sell you whatever they can, coffee, trinkets, ganga, sightseeing tours, work needed on your boat, cd’s and just about anything you can think of. Being American and a bit rusty in cruising the areas where hawkers and higglers are present it has been a bit of a re-learning curve to be polite but firm with the NO Thank-You’s !! You have to agree on a price - whether it is a taxi ride or a meal before you purchase it. The market is an experience all of its own as negotiation is the name of the game - which after you get used to it can be quite entertaining. I think what gets to you most is when you are trying to eat a meal, have a beer or even trying to place an order you constantly have someone poking you in the ribs trying to get your attention and another person speaking in your ear trying to sell you their stuff, it is enough to make you want to scream “RESPECT MON”!! Plus we have not seen the sun for any length of time since we left the Bahamas to say it rains a lot in Jamaica is an understatement!!

Ok nuff said about the negatives!! While we were in Port Antonio we met "WeJon" and loaded up on fresh bananas and Plantains...we won't need these for awhile!! Port Antonio was the perfect place to leave the boat and take some side trips...one was a trip to Boston Bay to sample some "jerk" and watch the surfers!!

Another was to go rafting on the Rio Grande, Which I must say was SPECTACULAR!! This was made famous by Errol Flynn when he fell in love with Jamaica!! The drive up to the Rio Grande was beautiful with the Blue Mountains (Blue Mountain Coffee) as the back drop!! We finally had a sunny day and had a great time!! The trip down the river was 8 miles long, I would not like to be the one to have to get the rafts back up river, as we went through some rapids and strong currents!!

We decided to move up the North coast so we did a short overnighter to Montego Bay, affectionately known as MoBay by the locals. The sun shines aplenty in MoBay, we have reached the sunny end of the Island!! Jamaica was stunning at night we are glad we got a chance to view her this way!! We will probably be here for about a week while we await the right weather window so we can cross over to the Bay of Islands in Honduras. We do have one more trip planned here as our friends on Sam the Skull would like to go visit Bob Marley's Grave, so we are going to take a route taxi up to Nine Mile in St. Annes Parrish. We will keep you posted!! Peace, Love, Unity and Respect, Mon!!

Georgetown and Long Island Bahamas

Wow it has been awhile since we have been able to update as our Internet connections have been hit or miss since we left Big Majors Spot. Lets see….We made the 5 mile arduous journey from Big Majors to Blackpoint where we waited for favorable conditions to make the 50 plus mile run from the cut at Blackpoint to the entrance at Georgetown. We had a nice sail down to Georgetown only having to dodge a few squalls here and there.

We did not land any fish, however we did have a monster of a fish spool our reel and take our nice brand new lure…never did see what it was. While under way we were passed by this awesome catamaran, Glory Days, a custom built Schoning. Georgetown…what can I say. It is a Destination for many cruisers and offers just about anything you would like to do. About 300 - 400 boats arrive here in mid January and most will stay right here until it is time to head back to the states and Canada. As I said they offer a multitude of activities ranging from daily beach volleyball games, dominoes, cooking with out an oven classes, paddling classes, how to be a better fisherman, bread making classes you can even get your ham radio license. Of course all these classes take a commitment hence this is why many boats go no further than here. If you can think of something you would like to learn or improve your skills on Georgetown is the place. We held a “class” of our own on Echo…How to pound conch into pulp to make cracked conch. Much fun was had by all…but it was quite messy prompting that all future attempts of this be done on the beach!!
While in Georgetown we decided that we would go fishing so Mark and Michele on Reach kindly offered to take us out and as you can see everyone got ready and in the mood…even the Admiral was prepared!!

Dave caught a big Wahoo

but alas though we once again did not land the fish…but at least this time everyone saw it before it fled the gaff but we had no more hits despite trying different tactics…assuring that everyone would attend the fishing seminar the next day. We decided to break out of Georgetown after a few days of organized activities and head over to Long Island.The sail over was very nice but the only fish we caught was this small barracuda which we threw back.

The weather was relatively calm and settled so we anchored in Calabash Bay and awoke to this beautiful sunrise.

The beach here is probably the most beautiful I have seen in the Bahamas so far. As the weather was not going to stay calm we decided to move down to Thompson Bay otherwise known as Salt Pond. This area is becoming quite a hit with cruisers as a new cruiser friendly place called, Long Island Breeze has opened and they provide a dinghy dock, laundry, book exchange, a fresh water pool with showers, and a nice place to have a beer or a meal. We decided to splurge and had a fantastic dinner of local Hogfish with our friends, John and Barbara from Sam the Skull and Mark and Michele from Reach.
We also decided it would be nice to see the island so the three boats split a rental car and off we went to explore the island. Our fist stop was the Museum of Bahamian Culture and as you can see by the pictures offers a look at life thru the years of the island. The next stop was Clarence Town to view the church that appears in various paintings throughout the island. The climb to the top was interesting…but the view well worth it.
The next stop was the Blue Hole and well what can I say it was awesome.

After all this excitement it was time to rest with a Rum Punch from Conchy Max

The following day we finished up with the Columbus Monument, He supposedly landed here on Long Island at the tip of Cape Santa Maria. Again it was breathtaking and even the Admiral was impressed as she had her picture taken with us!!
We have enjoyed our time in the Bahamas but it is time to move onto our next port of call which at this time looks like Jamaica!! We are sad to part ways with our friends Mark and Michele on Reach, as they are going to explore the Bahamas for a little while longer before heading back north, Our friends, John and Barbara on Sam the Skull however will be heading our way so we will have company. We hope to be able to update the blog when we can but have no idea how easy that will be once we leave here!! We will be able to check our emails one way or another so please feel free to contact us this way echoc40@yahoo.com if you would like to.