A Weekend of Rest & Relaxation in Port Antonio...

This past weekend, we had the chance to put the tourist hat on and venture out of Kingston.   This was a much-needed rest as our weekday is quite hectic.  We leave the house at 7:30am just to get back home at approximately 5pm with little to no time for lunch on most days.  At first, this seems no difference than the normal work-day.  But when you add the fact that there's no place to use a bathroom until we reach home, things get interesting!   If that’s not enough, neither the prison nor the school have a comfortable teaching room so we’re located in hot & humid rooms with no air-conditioning and the electric fans that have seen better times.  We really did need to get away for a few days and just kick back!

So, last Wednesday, we took the 2.5-hour drive to PortAntonio on the Northeast coast of Jamaica.  Our map suggested we take highway A3 up North until we hit the Caribbean Sea and than turn east until we approach Port Antonio.  Now, the first learning was that a Highway is not what we’ve come to expect.  In fact, not sure we would even call it a well-paved road.  In some parts, paved road is an overstatement!  With some luck and prayers, we made it safely to our rented villa!  Driving in Jamaica is not for those with a weak stomach; in fact it reminds me of how we drive in Kenya...you end up watching out for potholes, pedestrians and animals more than the approaching cars!

We got lucky with our rental.  The villa was quite nice – perched atop a hill, it provides stunning views of both the Blue Mountains and the Caribbean Sea. 

Port Antonio is not a well-known tourist stop which is nice in many ways.  Most tourists who come to Jamaica tend to visit Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and/or Negril.   However, a number of movies including Cocktail, Blue Lagoon, Knight & Day,  & Denzel Washinton’s Mighty Quinn were shot here because of the beautiful beaches.  








In particular, Frenchman’s Cove is a stunning beach.  The relaxed beach with fresh river-water running into the sea provides an amazing experience on the beach. The colors are stunning, both greens & blues and warm & cold water.  The adjacent pictures provide an idea of how lovely the beach is.

Rainfall not far from our villa

This area is also known for its rainfall and this we experienced in abundance.  However, the rain comes and goes with the wind (literally) so one can experience a good amount of sunshine and rain in the same day.  The picture on the left shows rainclouds not more than a mile or two away dumping its water into the ocean.  This itself was quite an experience.  

The flowers and lizards were all very colorful!

4 days was too short.  It all seems so long ago and now back to work!