stubsadventures

Although a trip is always an amazing opportunity, I have come to prefer travelling around, staying in multiple cities/towns in smaller hotels compared to staying at all inclusive. It only took one day for Poncho and I to figure out it was time to turn this trip into an adventure.

We got off the resort as much as possible and planned half day trips to take full advantage of the already paid for food (which was amazing). We again took a jaunt out of town but this time to a much quieter section and did some shopping and had drinks at Margaritaville.

One of my favourite things was when we hired a cab driver to take us into a different parish (like a province or state) to check out the Green Grotto Caves. Most of the things to do around the hotel were of course packed with people and the kind of thing you can do in any country. People were getting dropped off at these places by the bus load. Instead, we went a half hour out of town and had the time of our lives. At the Green Grotto, it was Poncho and I, and three other Jamaicans. The caves are just beautiful, and are a significant part of Jamaican history. Underground there is an amazing lake which will go down as one of the most breathtaking places I have ever been.

Our cab driver Rob was amazing. When you’re trying to figure things out in Jamaica and are asking questions, you will get a significantly different answer from person to person. One person will tell you a destination is fourty-five minutes away and another will tell you it’s four hours. Rob was the only person who was right about all of them and always took good care of us. He would show us where to get our tickets for things and be sure we got inside safely. I was able to learn a lot about Jamaican industries from him, it was cool. I believe I may have asked him in the ballpark of 350 questions.

Sticking with Rob, we went on his advice to check out a place that did rafting down a river on a bamboo raft, Poncho had her heart set on it. We were the only people there, which was awesome. The rafts are loaded into the river right before you get on it and that is a process in itself, the pictures don’t relay the sound of the huge crashing bamboo. Once going down the river, it’s amazing how much white water there really is. The raft through the jungle was an amazing way to spend an hour and watching him negotiate the white water was something in itself.

That evening, we had the great pleasure of experiencing the luminous Lagoon. An hour cab ride from our hotel, the lagoon is filled with an algae that “glows” when it’s agitated. Although at first, you could barely see anything and it seemed to be a bit of a tourist trap, as the sun went down, the lagoon got brighter and was actually a pretty amazing sight. The best thing to compare it to is the northern lights. Even when people got in to swim, their hands and feet lit it up because of the motion. although the pictures aren’t perfect, I was the only one on the boat to get any at all!

Jamaica was awesome but mostly because it was the first international adventure with Poncho. Sharing something like that with your best friend is something I will cherish for a long time.

Stubs.

The travel to Jamaica was pretty smooth flying. Poncho and I were like two giddy school girls and could barely contain ourselves, which I’m sure is what anyone who knows us pictured.

Landing in Montego Bay, even the smell was amazing. I know I say it about everywhere that I go but Jamaica has some amazing people. People here are excited to see you and always saying to things “No Worries” and “Ya Mon”. The bus driver to the resort let Poncho sit up front because it was her birthday and was nice enough to stop along the way for us to take pictures of some views and even get a traditional Jamaican drink, rum punch. Two of those for the road and Poncho and I were the life of the bus.

The hotel is right on the ocean and the water is green and blue – which was what Poncho wanted. After having a nice dinner, we found ourselves feeling old and not so wanting to party – we would go to sleep that night, have a great refreshing sleep and then wake up the next day and party that night, there was always tomorrow.

The next morning, we woke up and had a massage at the spa. Poncho had a deep tissue and was making the most hilarious sounds I have ever heard coming out of her. She later confessed that she had felt beat up but in a good way.

The rest of the day was spent on the beach and in the pools (oh yea, and another nap). We did venture into town to see a bit of local life. This walk of ours, was to say the least, overwhelming. If you have ever travelled to Mexico and had vendors try to get you to come into your shops here, Jamaicans are the next level to that. Yelling at you, following you, doing anything they can do get you to purchase something from them. After a little more than an hour of walking, we had both had quite enough and headed back to the hotel.

That night Poncho and I agreed we had the best sleeps we had had in a while. Another day of adventuring in Jamaica…

Stubs.

My guided hike was awesome. Although I was extremely hung over and wanted to throw up for the first half hour. What didn’t help the nausea, was the giant spiders that were all through the jungle. GIANT. There were some that were the same yellow butted ones that terrified me in Hawaii but they also have this other bigger scarier one with red on it too. My nausea climaxed when I watched my guide, Jason, walk directly into a web. I managed to hold it together but not by much.

Although the day before I had rented a car and drove all around the island, it was amazing how much you miss as a tourist if you don’t know what you’re looking for. The signage in Guam isn’t fantastic and I was really surprised at how much I had driven right by and thankful that I got a second chance to see it! As I said, the war history in Guam is everywhere and is a part of everything. Most of the parks were dedicated to war history. Guns still mounted on the coast, bunkers where the Japanese held their lasts stands, cliffs where thousands of people’s bodies were hurled off, to places where the locals hid out trying to avoid the violence. Guam and it’s stories will humble you.

Two of my favourite moments from my day with Jason (who by the way is from Guam Guided Adventures and would highly recommend him if you are in the area!): stopped by this road side stand that had been closed the day before. The woman, who looked to be around 100, had no teeth and the biggest smile you can imagine. She had pure coconut oil that she made by hand. I bought as much as I could with my remaining cash. She also gave me a starfruit because she said everyone had to try one (even though I’ve had about 10 in my travels, haha). From there, we stopped at a tiny village that is a recreation of a native village. They have several huts set up to demonstrate the ways of life and people inside them to tell you a little story and then demonstrate and let you try their traditional ways. I was the only tourist in the entire place and treated to one of the most amazing hours in my life. There is no way to describe the people there, they are always smiling, very educated but most importantly educated on their traditions, history and stories of their ancestors. Very, very proud people, and rightfully so. I had an awesome conversation with a 24 year old woman who showed me how to scrape and then cook coconut to make coconut candy. For anyone who likes coconut, there is nothing like this. Heaven. Her and I had a long discussion about her life and what it was like, she was very open. Her husband is a marine and just got deployed for a year. You could tell when she talked that this deeply saddened her but she was determined to make the best of it and always tried to finish her thoughts with a positive statement. In the end, she wasn’t 100% happy with the first batch of candy, so told me to go to the next hut and she would perfect a batch that I could take with me.

My other favourite hut was the place where they showed you how to make rope. The guide (which by the way was $6 for the hour) was showing me how they peel trees to make their rope when his family member Frank walked up behind me and handed me a gift. It was a little bird woven from a palm leaf. Frank was also toothless and was in his 90’s and couldn’t have been happier if he tried. He clearly took a lot of joy teaching people his traditions because he was full of smiles the whole time he showed us how to make thick rope used for boats. The pictures speak for themselves.

Stubs.

Guam caught me off guard. I intended to use the few days to unwind and relax after all the diving. I hadn’t really looked into what there was to do there but I had arranged for a guide to take me around for a day to show me some stuff off the beaten paths.

The history that surrounds you in Guam is almost overwhelming. This tiny island has a very violent history but some of the nicest people you will ever meet. The signs and reminders of WWII are everywhere. You can’t ignore what happened on this island because it’s all around you, all the time.

I stayed at Hotel Santa Fe and loved it. It was a big older but much smaller than most of the other hotels in the area. In the morning, I went down and had breakfast next to the ocean. When I was all done and just drinking some coffee, the lady at the table next to me asked me if I was also a solo traveller. When I told her I was, she joined me immediately. She was 90, and never told me her name. We had the most amazing conversations over the span of about an hour. She ordered fruit and insisted that I share it with her. She was at the end of a four month travelling stint and right before Guam, she had been in Cambodia for three weeks. Remember, she is 90. She had me in stitches laughing more than once and we both talked about how we need things like Facebook when we’re travelling so our families wouldn’t worry about us so much. That was a cool moment. When I asked her if she ever got nervous travelling alone, she simple said, “Dear, people don’t want to rape me. They want to rape you but not me.” I almost spit coffee everywhere. When I told her about this blog, she said that she could never have a blog because she would have to censor it too much. Of course I had to ask her what could be so awesome in her life that she wouldn’t want the world to know about, which was when she let me in on the secret of her “much younger” 75-year-old boyfriend. She actually blushed when she talked about him. Then, she had to rush off to Facebook message him.

My first afternoon was spent at Bali Spa. That place is a little slice of heaven. I spent 5 hours in the spa getting everything from a massage, to a scrub to a scalp treatment and everything in between. I literally felt melty when I left.

Part Two to follow..

Stubs.