We arrived in Jamaica yesterday. I tried to post but did not have internet on my iPad. So I will copy here what I wrote last night. I'm looking forward to a great, WARM day with no snow in sight! Have a great day yourself!
Lisa
Dear Reader,
We arrived in Jamaica today after a long day of travel. Getting up at 3:45 am was not enjoyable, especially since I not got about two hours of sleep. But, I saw the sunrise! I've heard of this phenomenon, but now I've seen it with my very own eyes! And it was ... meh!
Not something that I would prefer over another, say, four hours of sleep!
We had an hour and a half drive through pretty abject poverty before getting to the resort. We had to take a long, extremely windy road with lots of potholes to the resort. I had expected to get terribly carsick, but I was so fascinated by what I was seeing that I was fine. Many dogs and goats. Just brown short-haired dogs, many of them nursing mothers, and many of them very thin. We saw amazing tropical jungle areas and glimpses into what it is like to live here. There are many homes in ruins, just rotting and tumbling away. But what was even sadder were the number of homes that had been begun but then abandoned before they were even neat completion. There were many tiny hovels along this main road we were on. Two of them were strip clubs, but most of them were selling food of various kinds to people. Our driver pulled up to one place and got a cup of coffee. I couldn't see for sure, but I think the man just used a ladle to scoop it out of a small steaming bucket he had on a table sitting outside of his booth. We saw cattle grazing with ropes around their necks to keep them from getting onto the road. I saw several different churches and wondered how the church is doing in Jamaica. Saw a lot of rough looking men along the road and drove past what looked to be a game of soccer going on in a field. Some of the homes were well kept, and some liked to have once been quite lovely, but abandoned. We saw one tiny house that had just fallen down sideways to the ground. There were some nice looking people on the roads that you could tell would be delightful to know. And some you wouldn't want to run into after dark. One sight I will remember was the rusted front door of a formerly red vehicle hanging off a large branch of a tree by the road for all,the world like a yard ornament. Another sight I won't soon forget is two women standing at a narrow area between two houses that was nothing but dirt and gravel, but one of them was raking the gravel with a pink leaf rake. I've always believed that a woman should be able to make a home despite the circumstances by bring peace, order, cleanliness and beauty to wherever you live. And you could tell the small, tiny, homes and even shacks that were lived in by such women, doing there best to make a haven for their families despite their poverty. I suspect they may have a lot of crime here because man of,the homes had the decorative equivalent of burglar bars lining all of,their windows and designed to seal off and protect porticos and front porches.
The resort is lovely. Because of my immune system and having so many good allergies, I have actually been assigned a chef to take care of me! He is so nice. He made us a nice salad and some fresh fruit when we got here, and then made me a wonderful tuna dish with sautéed fresh spinach on gluten-free pasta. They had a wonderful antipasto bar and Caesar salad bar. Roasted beets are sooo good! The young man who helped us reserve our table for dinner actual decorated it with hibiscus petals and flowers and greenery! It was so beautiful, I took a picture of,it before I realized he had made it just for us. The other tables in the restaurant had not been adorned like this. I stopped and talked to the resort manager be for,going to our room to compliment her on both of them.
Then my husband and I got in the pool and the hot tub and had a lovely time. Just the two of us. There is a swim-up-bar in our pool which I hope,to,not,avail myself of too much tomorrow! We can hear the beach, but haven't seen it yet. Can't wait to,do,so tomorrow! I wonder if they have alligators here? The climate is much like Florida, and I sure saw some impressive looking lagoons on the way here!
I am swollen from stem to stern right now. Probably from all,the traveling. Even my feet are swollen up. If I take it easy the next couple of days that should do down.
Well, goodnight. It was 82 degrees,here today, which was lovely after leaving behind all,the ice and cold!
Cheers!
Lisa
Sent from my iPad
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