Irie Mon!

Linda had worked with Cortney tours and arranged a trip for our day in Jamaica. After we passed through the departure area we walked to an area near a busy road. We told the local woman that we were looking for Cortney Tours and she said for us to wait and within a few minutes a van pulled up.

Our guide and driver was Tony “Bright Light” (Of the four of us we could not remember his last name.) We asked what we should call him and he said “My name is Bright Light, please call me that!”

Linda, Steve, Jodi and I loaded into the van with Bright Light and we were off to explore the sites of Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Our first stop after winding through the town, on the wrong side of the road, was the Blue Hole. As our stop neared Bright Light pointed out plants by the dozens. He gave us their names and also told us how people use them for health and beauty aids. He was very knowledgeable and when asked about this, he said he liked to read.

At the Blue Hole we met our guide, Cortney. Cortney was a very energetic and likeable fellow. He led us to the river and pointed out where we should walk and what we should walk on. He took our cameras and ran ahead taking photos and videos of us at each water falls or jumping rock. From the time we walked up to the river to when we climbed back up to the van, we were wet.

Photos were taken in waterfalls and along at points that Cortney felt would make great pictures. This was very hard on me because he was running about with my new camera and Linda’s new phone. I had no control over the pictures taken; all I could do was keep my fingers crossed and hope that our gear survived.

We hiked to the last waterfalls and Cortney took some pictures. Then we walked to a rock and jumped into the pool below. After swimming downstream we climbed out and jumped into the next pool.  We ended the tour by swinging on a rope swing into the final pool.  My swing was less than perfect.  Our final adventure was a high jump into the blue pool. Steve was the only one brave enough to make the plunge. We climbed back to the van area and dried off.

After we jumped and swam in the cool waters of the Blue Hole, Bright Light drove us down to a Caribbean beach where we enjoyed lunch and the ocean breeze.  Everyone had either a hamburger or chicken sandwich. It was a nice meal in a great spot.

We went back to the ship and spent the rest of our day in Jamaica watching people return to the ship. It was a very relaxing visit mon!