Tuesday, December 04, 2007
We have been walking south on the beach almost every day, so this morning we decided to walk north to find somewhere for breakfast.
We ate at Country Country. Chuck had French Toast and I had the banana pancakes. These were BY FAR the very best banana pancakes I have had yet! I now think that the other banana pancakes I've had all trip were just plain old regular pancakes. At Country Country, they were FULL of banana chunks and just so good! We also had the Blue Mountain Coffee. Again…just don't get the big hype about this coffee? Anyways…a really good breakfast, and not too far of a walk from Idle Awhile.
We then started looking for sunglasses, since the ones that Chuck when we got here not only got a crack in the lens on the 2nd day he had them, but this morning one of the arms broke in half. So, we walked south from Country Country. We first stopped in the gift shop near Chances. We didn't find any sunglasses he liked there, but I did pick up a Jamaica tank top for me, along with a picture frame. The lady did not really want to negotiate on prices at all. I ended up getting a whole $5US off for buying both items, but then paid that extra $5US in taxes anyways.
We kept walking south, past Idle Awhile, to check out some more shops. Finally found some in a little gift shop down near Alfred's.
We walk back to Idle Awhile, change into our beach wear and head to the beach for the day.
We hang out at the beach for a while, have lunch at Chill Awhile, then we see the snorkel guy that has been asking us every single day if we are going to snorkel with him. I keep telling him "Later" or "tomorrow". So we decide to go out and snorkel this afternoon. He takes us down to a boat that is in front of Coco La Palm and two young kids come up to take us out. He was neat that it was just the two of us on this snorkel trip. We get out to the reef, and thankfully, the two big boats that are there (one from Beaches and one from Couples) are just getting all of the people back onto the boat and are heading back to shore. So Chuck and I got to snorkel on our own. The two young guys (Gary and Charlie) pointed in the direction we'd want to go and off we went on our own. We snorkeled for about 30 minutes. A lot of the reef is dead, but there is still plenty to see. All kinds of beautiful fish. And we actually saw a big-ass turtle, too! We followed him for a while. At one point, Chuck was in front of me following the turtle, and then suddenly the turtle did a U-Turn and came straight at me! I almost freaked out, but then the turtle turned again and swam in the opposite direction. It was SO AWESOME to see this turtle. And he was BIG! Then I saw either a Sting Ray or a Jelly Fish, not sure which, but just then Chuck came up on me and pulled me out to tell me we needed to head back to the boat. I went back under to see the Sting Ray / Jelly Fish but couldn't find it anymore. We headed back in after that. For $40US for the two of us for a 45-minute trip, I think it was totally worth it and I liked that we were on our own and NOT with a group of people.
Came back and hung out on the beach until sunset. I took another few (hundred) shots of the sunset. I have SO MANY pictures of the sunsets already, but they are just so beautiful!
We get invited to join another couple staying at Idle Awhile and have dinner with them tonight at The Rockhouse, but we decline. They were getting picked up at 8:15PM to go there, and that is just a little too late for us to eat dinner. Instead, we head back to our room where we chill out for about an hour. Then we get ready for dinner. We decide on Chances for their pizza.
We walked north to Chances, not far at all from the hotel. We both order a medium pizza, me a Tropical Pizza with Pepperoni (instead of Ham), pineapple and green pepper. Chuck orders a medium with Sausage and Bacon. Because we ordered two medium pizzas, we get a free 2 Liter of Soda. They are out of Diet, only have Pineapple and Champagne flavored to choose from, so I choose Pineapple.
It is actually really good soda! Taste just like it sounds…like Pineapple Soda!
We get our pizzas…Chuck get's his with Sausage and Pepperoni (not Bacon) and I get mine with Pepperoni and Pineapple (no green pepper). Oh well. Not the first time we didn't get what we ordered.
Both pizzas were REALLY good. Chuck ate all but 2 of his pieces, I had half of mine left over. We took it back to our room and put in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. Chuck and I NEVER bring home leftovers, not even at home. So believe me when I tell you that this pizza was GOOD!! Two medium pizzas and a Red Stripe for $20US / $1650Jamaican.
On our walk back to Idle Awhile from Chances, we notice there is a live band playing at Coco La Palm, right next door to our hotel. We put the pizza and the rest of the 2 Liter up in our fridge,
then run across the street for more beer and water, then decide to go back to Coco La Palm to check out the band.
Turns out…they were having a private party on the beach with this band. It is a cover band that did mostly Bob Marley songs. We sat in the bar for about an hour watching and listening. This band was AWESOME! Even though they did just about every Bob Marley song, they were really good and fun and interactive with the crowd. They got a Congo Line going and everything! We found out that this same band plays at Coco La Palm every Friday night for the beach party they have. So we are DEFINTELY going to be coming back on Friday night to see them again! THIS is the kind of Reggae I want to listen to…even if it is a cover band!
While at the bar here, I ordered a couple of Dirty Bananas. These were definitely the BEST Dirty Bananas I've had since we've been here. A little more expensive here than other places, but not bad. $3.50US for the Dirty Bananas and $3.00US for a Red Stripe.
Headed back to room and called it a night.