Yah, MAN! Jamaica Maaan!

(photos coming soon!)

We
got up really early, checked out from our hotel, and took off in a nice
Lada taxi.. I thought the Cubans were good drivers until our ride to
the airport! They drive as maniacs!

Anyway, we got to the airport, remembered to pay our airport tax (25 CUC) and took off!

Jamaica here we come!

When we got to Jamaica, we actually had a little problem getting past the immigration checkpoint!

We
had to try three times (the third one was the lucky one!) first we had
not filled in our hotel, as we did not know which hotel we wanted to
live in, they said we had to have a confirmed booking so they knew
where we were going to stay, I thought that was kind of weird, as we
are backpackers, and I myself prefer to see the hotel before I choose
to live there.. Anyway, we had to go back to a tourist”office” where
they helped us find a room at a cheap hotel in Montego Bay, Gloriana
Hotel & Spa, then we tried the immigration again, and this time
they found out we had been living in Mexico for a while. Then we were
sent to the health department or something like that, just so they
could ask us if we were infected with Malaria, we told them we had not
been to any area in Mexico where there was a Malaria threat, and they
stamped our visa and told us to try the immigration again.. This time
it worked! Wee! We were in Jamaica!

We
went to the atm, and were pretty confused! How much was a Jamaican
dollar worth? Same as the US? Doh! I thought 600 dollars probably was
enough for the first days, but how wrong was i?

600 J$ is about 13 NOK, or 2,3 USD! Hehe.. doh!

We
took a veeeery short cabride (got suckered, paid 10 USD for the trip)
and it was over in about 3 minutes! We should have known!

After arriving at the hotel, we found our room and the biggest double bed I have seen in my life! HUGE!

We
went looking around, thinking that Montego Bay was a huge city, as it
is known as Jamaica's 2. biggest city after Kingston, but Montego Bay
was not so huge, the part closest to our hotel was the “Hip Strip”
where all the bars, hotels, and beaches were, and we saw very few
people, and it looked like the businesses had little to do other than
to try to hassle the few tourists walking around into their shops.

In
Jamaica, you have to say a lot of “No thank you`s”, as you get asked if
you want to buy just about anything! If they don't have it, you don't
need it! :p

Montego
Bay is really just a laid back place! The beaches are incredible, with
water as clear as crystal! Tons of fish swim around by the corals, we
even saw some squid, and a huuuge Barracuda!

The
shopping is ok, a little expensive compared to Mexico, and a lot of
little Indian shops trying to sucker you with unreasonably bad prices!
And they talk shit about the local shops, just to get you to buy
something from them.. Bad way to run a business if you ask me! :)

The weather in Jamaica was fantastic! 32°C everyday! We even got a little more colour!

We
took a trip to the local tourist office, and they helped us with some
trips, the 3. day there we went on a Crocodile Safari up Black River,
we saw a couple of crocs, and then a HUGE one! I don't think swimming
in this river is a good idea! Our guide told us a lot about the river
and about the huge “dreadlock” trees there, and the special birds
living in the area.

A nice trip, a little bit short if you ask me, I would have loved to been on the river a little longer..

When the crocodile safari was over, we went to YS falls, plenty of really nice waterfalls, and the water was actually warm! :)

The next day was 6. february and you all know what day that is, right?

Yeah!
You guessed it! Bob Marley's birthday! And we were lucky enough to get
on with a tour bus going to Nine Mile where Bob Marley lived, and was
buried! This was a trip I had been looking forward to, as I have seen a
great video on youtube, I hoped to meet the incredibly funny tourguide
working there!

And we did! He was just as funny as on the video!

Seeing
where Bob lived and the places he sung about, and seeing the burial
place was almost a religious experience! The pictures in his room shows
he was a real guy, singing about real stuff. And at Bob's pillow, the
rock where he used to rest with a joint in hos mouth was also pretty
cool! :)

Bob Live!

After
the tour, we hung around by a restaurant/scene, where they did some
practice sessions for the memorial concert that was going on there at
night. Cool music! Cool atmosphere, and just perfect weather! :)

On our way back we saw Rose Hall, where it is said to be a ghost of a
former inhabitant, Miss Rosa Parks, she killed 3 housbands and a lover
to gain their fortunes, and she was known for being quite evil.

Other than this, we have mostly just relaxed on the beach, gone shopping, and have been eating well!

We
found a cool place where they had great pizza, at Jamaican Bob sled
restaurant, they show the movie Cool Runnings on repeat, they have
sponsor clothes for the Jamaican Bob sled team! Funny place!

Oh!
We also had our first KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) in Jamaica! I wish
this place was in Norway, I think it would have done well there!

We
met a crazy gang from Canada, and went out on a wild night, first going
to The Brewery, where the Karaoke was crazy, and one of the Canadians
sung his shirt off, and shocked the people working there so much that
they gave him a free bottle of champagne! :D After eating, we took off
to see Jamaicas casino, which was a little disappointing, as they only
had slotmachines, and no real games! I want to play poker and blackjack
if I am to waste my money, not boring slotmachines!

After
having a quick look in the casino, we were supposed to go to
Margaritaville, Montego Bay's party place, but there were hardly any
people here.. So we decided to check out another place, called Pier 1.

Pier
1 was crowded, loud, and full of people in all ages! The old creepy
guys watching the young girls was not a plus.. We were there for a
couple of drinks, then headed back home in one of the local “taxis”

A tough night out, we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow! :D

The
last day was spent on Doctors Cove Bathing Club where the beach is just
amazing! We had a great breakfast and got some snorkelling and
sunbathing done!

After a relaxing day we fell quickly asleep and took off from Sangster International Airport the next morning! :D

A week was not enough time in Jamaica, I would have loved being there another week!