COUNTRY #6 *** JAMAICA *** (Day 1)

I AM HALF WAY THERE!!!

 

What better place to celebrate my half way mark than the land of Bob Marley?  However, right from the beginning, this was no ordinary trip.  My husband and I started planning this trip around the holidays with friends of ours, which is where the problems began.  Planning anything let alone a vacation with other people has it's good and bad points.  Although I enjoy the company of other people, it is so hard to make sure everyone is happy,  and that everyone gets to do what they want.  As the day was approaching and plans were still up in the air, our friends backed out.  So now the question remains, "Should we stay, or should we go?"  The night before my husband and I still had not decided what to do, and kept yo-yoing back and forth.  So we went to bed, with no decision made, no plans made, and nothing packed.  The next morning when I woke up I asked my husband what was going on?  We needed to leave our house by 10:00am (which was an hour from then) to make our flight on time.  He stayed in bed, and then at 9:40am he finally made the decision.  WE ARE GOING!  As you can imagine 4-letter words were pouring from my mouth, while throwing anything within reach into our suitcases, grabbing our passports, camera, and anything else that I thought of in the 5 minutes I had, and away we went.  All I can say at this point is thank God for modern technology.  On the hour ride to the airport I listed ourselves on Jetblue, and booked our hotel and rental car, and started to pray that I didn't forget anything.

 

Our flight was delayed out of Orlando, so we ended up arriving into Montego Bay about 2 hours late.  Normally this would not have been an issue, but our hotel was in Negril, and it's a little over an hour away, and with little sunlight left in the day this made my husband a little nervous.  It wasn't the driving at night that was the problem, but the fact that the steering wheel was on the right side of the car, and they drive on the opposite side of the road, and neither of us has ever driven  like this, and not knowing the roads just added to the adventure.  Little did we know at that time that this crazy day was about to get crazier.

 

 

 

Within 10 minutes of driving we got lost.  Thanks to me, we ended up in downtown Montego Bay.  Although the town was colorful, it was also crowded with several hundred if not thousand people walking the streets, traffic was crazy, music was blaring, horns were honking, and we might as well had tourist painted on the sides of the rental car with the looks we were getting.  Then a man on a bike approached us through the traffic, obviously knowing we were not where we wanted to be, and told us to follow him.  What did we have to lose?  We followed him for about 6 blocks, then he dropped his bike right there on the sidewalk and got into the back seat of our car.  This was definitely a WTF moment.  The look on my husbands face was priceless, and all I could do was laugh.  The man got us back on the road we needed, and had us drop him off at a bus stop.  Now you might think this was nice, and it was, but generosity in Jamaica does not come free.  As soon as the man got out of the car, his hand went right asking for money.  Since we just arrived we didn't have time to change any money, and the smallest bill we had was  $10.00, he asked for $ 20.00, which of course we didn't give him told him it's $10.00 or nothing, and we drove off.  My husband and I just burst out laughing,and then I heard something that I generally don't hear from him.  My husband looked over at me and said "I Need A Beer!" 

 

 

 

 

We finally made it to our hotel.  We decided to stay on the cliffs instead of the beach, and I loved it.  Our hotel had a sister property on the beach which we were allowed to use their facilities.  We checked in, and didn't like our first room simply because the people beside us were very noisy, so management was very helpful, and put us in a better room in another building.  We freshened up a bit, and although we were both exhausted decided to had out for some Jerk and a Red Stripe.  We didn't have to look far, and we ended up at a Jerk shack across the street from the hotel, and without a doubt was the best food we had on the whole trip. After an amazing meal, several Red Stripes, and a few giggles of the crazy day we just had, we went back to the hotel and crashed.

 

 

ICELAND Our Last Day!!

Today as every last day of a trip is, was very bittersweet.  When I start packing my bags to return to the US I start to reminisce about the time I had. Would I come back? Would I change anything? Did I get to do everything I wanted? and so on and so on.  I can honestly say that I had one of the most amazing times in Iceland, and will definitely return someday.  Being that we came in November, there were some activities that we were not able to experience.  The next time we will come in the summer, and explore the northern part of the country.  There are boat trips that are only available during the summer, such as to see puffins in their natural habitat, whale watching, and although it may sound crazy I am dying to go scuba diving here.

So like all our previous mornings we started the day with our rooftop breakfast, then we made our travel arrangements to go back to the airport, and decided to head into town for one last time for some souvenirs, and some last minute photo ops.  As we stepped outside though it was apparent that this day was unlike the last few.  It was bitter cold, the coldest day yet.  Up until now it almost seemed the money we all spent on big fuzzy boots, and down coats was a waste, but not today.  As we were walking through the town we would run into every other store just to warm up a little before heading to the next.

 

 

No matter wherever I travel there are some staple items that I always look for when finding a souvenir for myself.  The first is I always buy a Christmas Ornament (or something I can convert into a Christmas ornament), the second is a cookbook of local cuisine or a coffee table book, the third is a bottle of local wine or spirits, and last is a home decoration.  I After we found our souvenirs, we decided to grab a hot chocolate, then headed back to the hotel to wait for our ride to the airport. 

 

 

Flying standby is always a little stressful, but when three people are flying standby and trying to get on the same flight even adds to the stress.  Although we checked the flight loads several days earlier, by the time we showed up at the airport things changed, and while checking in we heard those dreaded words, "The flight is full, you are probably not going to make it."  Great!  Regardless of the news we checked our luggage, proceeded through passport control. then to the Iceland Air customer service area, which basically was a waiting area for standby passengers.   After which seemed forever but in reality was probably only an hour we were told that there were two seats left on the Washington Dulles flight.  So since my mom's car was at Dulles airport we decided that her and I would take those seats, and TK would take the later flight to JFK (which we were told had plenty of seats.)  We said our good-byes, boarded the plane, and took our seats.  At this point I really thought I was safe, but when the Lead Flight Attendant came up to me, I knew I was being bumped.  It seemed they only had one seat not two.  No problem, I would just go with TK to JFK and figure everything out when I got there.  While talking to the Flight Attendants and hearing that I was also a crew member, things changed again, they allowed me to take one of their extra jump seats, so that's what I did.  The crew was awesome, and a true testament of the kindness of the Icelandic people.  

 

 

 

Country # 5 ICELAND Day 3

THE BLUE LAGOON

 

Last night I felt like a child on Christmas Eve.  Not being able to sleep well because of being too excited of the events to come.  Today was the day, the reason I wanted to come to Iceland, today we were going to the BLUE LAGOON! YIPPEE!!

 

We made all the arrangements the night before with the hotel, so after our rooftop breakfast, we headed down to the lobby and patiently waited for our transportation to the Lagoon.  We took a shuttle to the main bus stop, changed buses, and headed out.  The Blue Lagoon is actually closer to the international airport and from talking to other tourists learned that people heading to other destinations in Europe will plan a layover in Iceland, head to the Blue Lagoon between flights, then continue to their final destination.  Brilliant!

 

The bus ride from Reykjavik was about an 45 minutes, but since the last time we were on this road it was dark and storming, it gave us an opportunity to see some more amazing landscapes, and without realizing it, we were there. 

 

 

 

The Blue Lagoon is without a doubt Iceland's most famous tourist spot, and I cannot think of any other way to describe it than "Pure Perfection."  The lagoon itself is adorned with wooden bridges, a cave-like sauna, a waterfall, and even a swim-up bar.  There is also a spa treatment area, restaurant, snack bar, shop, conference center, and a guest house.

The first thing is to pay the entrance fee, grab our robes, and slippers, and if you want a spa treatment arrange that at this time, then head into the locker rooms.  These rooms themselves are amazing.  After changing and showering it's time to head out to the lagoon. 

The minute I walk out into the brisk Iceland air, I try to take it all in.  Words, and pictures do not give this place justice.  The milky blue color of the water against the darkness of the lava fields is breathtaking. Believe it or not the Blue Lagoon is actually man made. It was created by run-off from the Svartsengi power plant, which pumps up the geothermally heated water from a full mile below the surface. After being used to generate both heat and electricity, the excess (which is absolutely clean) is ejected into the lagoon.  The water present in the lagoon is a natural wonder, which is a blend of many healthy minerals that are beneficial for human body 
After hanging up our robes and emerging ourselves into the milky waters, we headed right over to the swim-up bar, bought our drinks, made our cheers, and relaxed in bliss.

 

 

After a little while it was time for lunch.  We decided to just eat at the snack bar, so we put on our robes and slippers, grabbed a drink and quick bite to eat, and then back to the thermal waters.

 

Once back in the lagoon we went on a hunt for the "special" mud, and  because of the steam coming off the water it took a little while to find the mud boxes, but we finally found them, and away we went.

 

 

 

 

 

This was an amazing day, and an experience I will never forget, and hope to repeat!

 

 

Country # 5 ICELAND Day2 (part 2)

So back on the road again.  From Eyjafjallajokull we headed to Gullfoss Waterfall (or better known as the Golden Waterfall).  This breathtaking beauty is also one of the celebrated natural wonders of the world.  Now this was no ordinarily waterfall.  At first it reminded me of a scaled down Niagara Falls, but then as I stood there and took in my surroundings, I realized it was nothing like Niagara Falls.  There are no tourists hot spots, no casinos, no mega hotels towering above, there was one little cafe/store, and nothing else except lush vegetation, rushing waters, and the scent of crisp clean air with a hint of wild plants, the way natural beauty should be viewed.  There were paths that would lead you right within arms length of the raging waters, so without thinking I was off.  After about 20 steps into the path I realized that it was a sheet of ice, no problem, so instead of walking, I skied the whole way down, not even giving it a second thought about how I would get back up the path to where my mom and TK decided to wait. I went down and knowing that the sun was starting to set and we still had one more stop to make, I knew I didn't have much time, so I snapped some pictures, took a deep breath , and started my climb back up.  I ended up having to hike up on the bit of grass on the outside of the path to get to the top, but all in all it was worth it.

Some interesting facts about Gullfoss. . .

It is situated on the Canyon of Hvita River or the White river. The Hvita River has three large steps ending at the spectacular Gullfoss falls. Gullfoss Waterfalls are two separate falls, one above the other. The top one or the upper step is 11 meters high; the other is 21 meters high. Its water can flow at an approximate 80 cubic meters per second during winter to about 140 cubic meters per second during summer. The greatest flood to strike the falls was recorded to have an astounding 2000 cubic meters per second outflow of water.. The falls was originally planned to supply electric power by turning it into a hydroelectric plant. The Gullfoss falls was found out to have the capability to produce massive amount of electricity. It is believed that because of the devoted pilgrimage of a farmer’s daughter to preserve the natural beauty of the falls, the plan was surprisingly stopped. Instead of a power plant, a nature reserve was built. A monument of this brave woman was erected in the area in 1978. 

Our next and final stop was the Strokkur Geysir which means "the Churn".  Although this is the main Geysir the whole area is geothermically active, with many trails winding around steaming vents and mud formations.  The Strokkur Geysir spits water about every 5 minutes and can reach heights of 66 feet..

Time to head back to Reykjavik, freshen up and head out for a night on the town.  One thing that I love to do is try local cuisine, so that was the plan for the night.  Although in Iceland I think it's more of an experiment.  The menus consist of everything from the freshest fishes, horse meat fillets, whale, puffin, fermented shark, to burgers and pasta.  Needless to say with that in mind tonight was also going to consist of plenty of alcohol (local of course).

 

Our first stop was to get a hot dog.  I know it sounds odd, but this place was not only shown on Anthony Bourdains hit show "No Reservations" , but has also been proud to serve President Bill Clinton, claiming to have the best hot dogs in the world.  The place was nothing but a mini trailer a few blocks from our hotel, and I have to admit the hot dogs were quite yummy!

Still on the hunt for a Miller light, while my mother was eating her hot dog she noticed about a block away a pub called the "American Bar" and off she went.  TK and I just had to laugh, so after finishing our dogs walked down to meet her, only to break out in hysterics when the American Bar did not have Miller Light.  We found our way then to a British Pub where we all tried more Icelandic Brew, and Brennivin (Burnt Wine).  Brennivin is actually referred to as "Black Death" to the locals.

We moved on to another local spot and this is where things got interesting.  The first thing we ordered was Hakarl, better know as fermented shark.  This is prepared by burying the shark meat for 3 months, sometimes longer, until the shark becomes acrid, ammoniac, rubbery, and rotten. Hakarl is actually one of the countries most notorious food rituals, so of course we had to partake in this custom.  The shark arrived in a tiny jar, and I could smell it before even opening the lid.  It consisted of 3 small pieces, and believe it or not, it was quite delicious.  Although the smell was potent, it was just salty goodness, and washed down perfectly with an Icelandic brew.

Next we ordered Puffin.  That's right, the tiny, colorful little bird, and are considered a delicacy.  Again the food arrived in a tiny jar, with thin slices of Puffin on top of mashed potatoes.  Out of everything we tried this was my least favorite.  The bird tasted like very strong fish (being that is what their diet consists of) and believe it or not would rather eat the fermented shark.  We also tried Mink Whale, which is very similar to a rare fillet.  The only thing I could not bring myself to try was the Horse fillet. 

This was an amazing day.  We covered over 300 miles, saw a glimpse of what this Country has to offer, we had drinks, experimented with our taste buds, and laughed.  So what better way to end the evening but to actually see the Northern Lights.  We had a tour booked and every night it was canceled, so while ordering another drink to wash down the Shark, and Puffin, our waiter told us that we could see the lights outside.  So we rushed outside, tried to get a picture, which did not work, and stood there in awe of the green shimmers floating across the dark Reykjavik sky.