Gotta love those steel drums.
Everyone join in the fun!
Art anyone?
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There was a lot of entertainment including
local entertainment reflecting a Jamaican flavor in the music and dance,
as well as an art auction where we snagged an eagle painting for Rick's
eagle collection.
In addition, the weekly sing-a-long, karaoke style, offered up what
will likely and forever be the worst karaoke performance ever to grace
an audience. Fortunately the picture below has no sound!
Karaoke night.
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On the few times that we have gone on 'warm'
vacations in southern poin ts, we've always been fortunate to have stayed near the cruise ship
ports and this trip was no exception. From the beach, as well as our room,
we had a great view of the ships that
visit the island, each dropping off their load of people, many who would
come over to the resort and mill around the pool. Why all of the
pictures of ships? Because Rick's enamored with the magnificent of these
behemoths; Darragh thinks it's all a tad redundant. 
Take a hard look through the downpour.
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Our favorite ship . . .
. . . coming slowly into port.
And another . . .
Amazing ships.
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A fresh perspective.
Rough seas ahead.
Skipper & her first mate.
Worship with a view.
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We thought we'd go walk the beach and ended
up on the end of a pier. One should know that in Jamaica this makes you
vulnerable to the entrepreneurial boater looking for some extra income.
And so we agreed on a boat 'tour' for $10 less than the $30 our
'guide' wanted. (One thing about hustling on price; it only works on
buying goods, not services where tipping makes up for any bargain price
you may have been able to initially negotiate.)
Our half hour venture into the rough waters (due to the continual
bleak weather conditions) started out with our share of sea spray and
rolling seas (fortunately the really heavy stuff was on the other side
of the reef) followed by a tweak of concern when our motor cut out not
more than 40 windy feet from the rocky shore line with our 'guide'
having voiced those potentially life-changing words: 'Uh-oh'!
Well, we did get back safe and sound though not without hearing the
oft-told life story that compels you to throw in the extra tip to make
sure you've paid list price after all. And then his cell phone rang . .
.
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Within walking distance of the resort and the
cruise ships was a shopping mecca. Actually, more like a shanty town
filled with hand-crafted goods for as far as one's eye can see. Merchant
after merchant would descend on you like vultures on its prey, inviting
you to look at the wares in their 'store'.
Though a bit over-whelming perhaps for the faint of heart, Rick
relished in the hustle game, getting some really great buys through
skillful negotiation :-) Let's just say that nothing sells for list
price. In fact, wait for the third price quoted to be sure of a good
buy.
Over all, these people were quite friendly, many anxious to shake
your hand and start their sales pitch. One can tell they've had plenty
of time to develop their selling skills. You hate to turn them down as
they have skillfully crafted a lot of great merchandise you'd love to
take home for yourself and others, including that big giraffe that Rick
couldn't resist (and at less than 1/3rd 'list price' too!).
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A veritable safari.
Couldn't leave without an eagle for Rick's collection.
Sold us a fish. Couldn't resist.
The rain drove prices down.
A little bit of everything for sale.
Sonny carved Rick an eagle for his collection.
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