In this post, I'll write about the resort and the wedding - saving the travel experience for another post. We had long layovers on the way to and from our trip and managed to find some delicious meals that deserve their own write-up.
The weather in Jamaica was absolutely perfect - sunny and in the 80s during the day and 70s overnight. There were some afternoon clouds a few days that threatened rain, but we never experienced any. In fact, the clouds brought some relief from the hot sun most afternoons.
Most of our days were about the same - waking around 8am to enjoy the extensive breakfast buffet with friends we haven't seen in awhile. I think we actually spent about 2 hours at breakfast one day because our friends arrived in waves.
The buffet area where we ate breakfast and most dinners
The outdoor seating for the buffet breakfast and dinner meals
Our daily view during lunch
The second floor balcony dance floor for the wedding reception
During the afternoon, we'd spend a few additional hours at the pool or at the beach before heading to the room to shower, change and go out to dinner. Most nights we ate at the buffet - which was the same place we had breakfast - but we did enjoy the Italian and Steakhouse restaurants two of the evenings we were there. We never made it to the Asian restaurant, but heard it wasn't quite as good as the others. It's amazing that days of lounging and eating would make you so tired, but we were almost always in bed by 10 or 11pm. The all-inclusive resort (Riu Montego Bay) offered some nightly entertainment, but we did not attend, opting instead to hang out with friends, use the 90 minutes of free wifi in the lobby, or go to bed early.
This is the area where we spent most of our time -
either in the water or on the lounge chairs
We all avoided the swim-up bar in the pool - which we called the "urination station"
based on the fact we never saw people leave that area to go to the bathroom!
The pool area at night
There were just a few deviations from our days of relaxing and eating. The day after we arrived in Jamaica was the big wedding day - so our evening lounging time was cut a bit short so we could attend the beachfront ceremony followed by cocktails and appetizers and a reception that went late into the evening. Some people continued partying beyond 11pm, but we were wiped from the previous day of travel and from all the partying. I'll admit that I still managed to do a fair amount of dancing even with my bulging belly. I took lots of pictures of the wedding, but didn't have anyone use my camera to take pictures of me. If I receive pictures from others, I'll be sure to update the blog.
The picturesque wedding ceremony site
Enjoying cocktails and delicious appetizers
(the empanadas were the highlight) as the sun sets
We also decided to join the new couple and their friends (who we had not met before the wedding) on a day trip away from the resort the day after the wedding. The destination was Dunn's River Falls, a long cascading set of waterfalls that emptied into the ocean about 1.5 hours from Montego Bay (where we stayed), and just outside of Ocho Rios. Once we left the resort we were reminded of the poverty and rural existence of many Caribbean countries outside of all-inclusive resorts. During the drive, we stopped at one site where Christopher Columbus landed in Jamaica and stopped at a second overlook to a beautiful beach.
Stopping to take a photo at an overlook
on the way to Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios
Dunn's River Falls is a paid-admission-only park that allows patrons to walk through the nature park, down to the beach, and up the falls. I don't know if people stay longer than that to enjoy the beach, but we basically paid $20 each to do the climb. I was a little nervous since there were signs cautioning pregnant women not to climb, but it was much easier than it looked. To be safe, I had Colin lead where there were descents off rocks into the water, and follow close behind as I climbed up the rocks. There were plenty of older adults and young children making the journey as well, a sign that it was not too difficult. It's too bad we hadn't planned ahead for this adventure. Had we known, we could have brought our Vibram water shoes instead of paying $10 each to buy shoes at the park.
Taking a picture at the falls at the end of the climb
Dunn's River Falls
After going to the falls, we drove into Ocho Rios for lunch. I was not impressed with the town (city?), as it seemed congested and dirty. It was also mostly cloudy when we were there, adding to the depressed look. We received a recommendation to try a local restaurant that offered jerk chicken. Both Colin and I thought the chicken served at the resort was actually better.
Our journey back to the resort was uneventful, though we all arrived tired from our adventurous day. So, we spent the next two days relaxing in our traditional fashion (as I previously mentioned). Colin opted to go on a two-hour snorkeling trip with friends two days after our trip to Ocho Rios, but I chose to lounge and read a book. I did join him to take paddleboats out on our last full day. I was winded fairly easily and had a little trouble with my belly getting in the way of paddling, but it felt good to move a bit. I definitely felt de-conditioned when I arrived back in the states and finally, after 4 days, am starting to feel more mobile.
While the resort, weather, and company were amazing, I'm not sure I'd travel to the Caribbean this far along in pregnancy again. My skin is normally sensitive and the pregnancy hormones seemed to make my sensitivity worse leaving me with a heat-like rash and itchy. I also frequently have stomach issues when I go to all-inclusive resorts. Thankfully, I only had the occasional queasy stomach, but that left me nervous about what it might do to the baby, or fearful that it would get worse. Overall, I would say I just generally felt nervous about being in a foreign country this far into pregnancy and I frequently felt overly hot in the sun. I had to sit in the shade or stand in the pool most of the time. I think I would have been more content with 4-5 days in Jamaica instead of 7, or if I had gone in the second trimester.
