It's hard not to love being on vacation, especially in a place as beautiful as Jamaica. As wonderful as it may be, it can still be quite frustrating to be covered in bug bites, itchy, hot and sweaty most of the day. Our day started out this way. I think a few sly mosquitoes have found their way into our net over our bed and just attack our bodies all night. We always wake up with more bites than we went to sleep with - not much fun. This morning was also hot as ever, and as we ate another round of greasy eggs, I was dreaming a bit about my cereal and banana that I usually have for breakfast in Switzerland. The grass is always greener, right?
After breakfast we loaded up on bug spray, then headed down to the little cliff side beach that is filled with hammocks. Paul and I each took a hammock, and I was really enjoying reading, swinging and relaxing. Only a few times did some locals try to sell me another bracelet. By the third person that had interrupted my reading, I responded with something like, "Whatever you are selling, I really don't want it. Yes, I'm sure it's nice, I still don't want it." At that point it started raining so Paul and I headed inside to pack up and get ready for a day at the beach.
A friend we made here who is a volunteer at the homeless shelter, named Andrew, volunteered to take us to a nearby local beach called Winifred Beach. The drive down was treacherous (imagine the road that was torn up in "Cars", times 10) with huge rocks, dips, craters really. Paul and I were quite nervous as we have a rental car and we really don't want to have to replace to tire. After another nerve racking 10 minutes, we made it to the beach. It was absolutely perfect. It looks like the kind of beaches you expect in Jamaica. White sand, clear blue water, reefs, shacks selling food and beer, and not many people. We set up camp in the shade, and Andrew and I went snorkeling. We went quite far out, but it wasn't too deep. The water was clear the whole way. I love to snorkel because it feels like you are in an alien world. All these animals are just going about their daily business and you get to watch them, very cool! We saw a lot of fish and some creepy clear floating jelly things. We swam a mile or two, then headed in. Paul and I read and napped, had some fresh caught fish (fried of course!) with rice and "peas" (aka pinto beans). After a bit of reading and napping, Paul and I headed out to snorkel. This is his second time snorkeling, and if you will remember, the first time didn't go so well. We kept to the shallows this time, and followed the reef that ran along the shore. It was magical, holding hands in the clear blue water, watching stingrays, Sand Fish, schools of fish, sea urchins, and more. The sunlight was streaming through the water creating rainbows on the white underwater sand. I would have kissed him if we didn't both have snorkels on. We took turns pointing out cool things, diving for sand dollars, and exploring the water. We eventually headed out, took some cute couple pictures (courtesy of our friend Andrew) then started our slow, crazy decent up the landslide they like to call a road.
We are eating in the hotel tonight because they are having a dance show. We hope it's good! Tomorrow should be another great, mosquito filled day :)
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