The Honeymoon (with photos)

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed through our sendusoff.com site, enabling us to indulge in such a wonderful honeymoon. Below is a quick recap of each day with photos.

Monday
We had a 6 AM flight and read a book together on the plane. Arrived in Montego Bay around 2:00, got bad directions coming out of the airport and went on an adventure including a stop at Jack in the Box before the drive to Negril. I promise that was the only American fast food we had the entire trip and just because we were lost and seeking directions!

Courtney Gearing up for Driving on the Left Side of Narrow Island Roads

We arrived at the hotel, checked in and then went to dinner at the hotel. We ate Callaloo, a local vegetable and shared a bottle of wine before retiring to our room.

The View from the Rockhouse Restaurant

Tuesday
We got up and went to the grocery store. We were approached by Steven, a local, who offered to be our guide on a day trip. We went through the mountains across the island to the Roaring River, ate sugar cane, went on a tour of the river and a little village, and then stopped at the market to buy fruit afterwards.

Steven Cutting Sugar Cane with a Machete on the Side of the Road

And Courtney Tasting It!

We stopped at Rick’s on the way back to the hotel but it was very ‘americanized’ so we had a quick snack and went back to the hotel. In the first picture below, look to the right of the top of my head just past the center of the photo. There are two cliff divers perched in the trees. In the second, if you divide the photo into four quandrants, then look in the middle of the upper-left section, you can see a cliff diver upside down in mid-dive.

Cliff Diving at Ricks


Cliff Diver Upside Down in Mid-Dive

Sunset from Rick's

We watched the sunset together from our awesome patio at the Rockhouse had another great dinner at the Rockhouse restaurant.

Wednesday

We went to YS Falls and explored a park with seven tiers of waterfalls. We sat and listened to the falls, watched people on the zip line, watched a hummingbird, had a snack, and just enjoyed being with one another. We talked to a lady that worked in the gift shop that told us she had worked there 8 years, another man 14 years and had never missed a day of work. She said they mostly lived within walking distance and love their job. The drive was a couple of hours each way. When we got back, we were both feeling a little tired so we ordered room service and ate in bed.

Thursday
On Thursday, we ordered room service for breakfast and again ate in bed. Then we went to the pool. We swam for awhile and talked to a couple of women there from the States for a wedding. We packed up and checked out, then drove to Montego Bay after stopping for snacks J. Our first impressions of the hotel in MB were awesome! We were flagged for VIP reception and upgraded to a Jr. Suite because we were honeymooners. Our room at the Half Moon was amazing, with a huge bathroom, a separate sitting room, and a private outdoor patio overlooking the ocean. Before we went to the room, we caught the end of the lunch buffet. That afternoon, we explored the property a little bit and started gathering some pretty shells that we found on the beach. That night, we ordered room service and Martin got us a bottle of champagne to celebrate our marriage! He set everything up for a beautiful candlelight dinner on the patio while I took a nap.

Friday
We got up and Martin ran while I laid in bed, then we went to the breakfast buffet and had a big meal. Right at the end of breakfast, Martin was pooped on by a bird so we came back and washed his clothes out and then he rested from his traumatic ordeal while I sat on the patio, listened to the ocean, and read a book. When he got up, we shopped, walked on the beach again, played a game of chess, swam in the pool, and got ready for dinner. We went to the Sugar Mill for dinner and had another wonderful meal – grilled veggies and curried veggies with a Mondavi Merlot.

Saturday
We got up and Martin ran again while I laid in bed. We walked along the beach to the breakfast buffet and had a great breakfast with banana bread, omelet, grilled tomatoes, and fruit salad. We walked some more, found a bunch of little sea urchins, and then stopped off at the room where we hung out and relaxed for awhile. We went for a walk on the beach to the shopping village and gathered a bunch of great shells, then had some awesome pizza at a little English pub. We took the shuttle back and hung out in the room, later ordered room service and ate in bed then went for a late night walk on the beach with our flashlights.

Sunday
We got up and it was raining – pretty hard off and on for the first time since we’d arrived. During a brief break from the drizzle, we walked down the beach to the restaurant for breakfast and there sat a huge shell just waiting for me on our last day! We had another good breakfast – veggie omelet, banana bread, and a great fruit salad – and then mailed post cards and paid our final bill at the front desk. We went back, packed, and headed to the airport. We got a few good pictures of us together and a lot of pictures in general to help us remember the wonderful time we had on our honeymoon.