♪♫ I BEG YOUR PARDON, MAMA, WHAT DID YOU SAY? ♪♫

Vince and I spent the past week honeymooning in Jamaica. Needless to say, I'm still hung over from the trip, and my mind has been continually drifting off to Montego Bay. It was really a privilege to experience the beauty of Jamaican people, culture and nature, not to forget the lively reggaes, Patois, sandy beaches, Carribean sea, Rastafarians, rum, tropical fruits, jerk meat, and year-round golden sunshine. 

Just like all the other trips we had, I learned a lot from our Jamaican escapade. Among the many local colors I learned are these common expressions:

• IRIE - alright or okay
• YEAH MON - used in confirmation of understanding or approval or can simply mean yes
• NO PROBLEM - in Jamaica, they have "no problem" but they have "situation" 
• RESPECT - greeting that shows courtesy

Another interesting fact is that Jamaica holds the dubious record in the Guinness Book of Records with the most churches per capita mile. Various religious denominations include Catholic, Baptist, Adventist, Jehovah's Witness, United Church of Christ, and Pentecostal. What is more interesting to know is that beside every church is a bar. So while the mother and children are in the church worshipping the Spirit, the father is in the bar drinking the spirit. Our tour guide even quipped that it is better to be in a bar thinking of God than to be in church thinking of the bar. Hehe! Only in Jamaica :)

Talking about bars, Vince and I also went to Appleton Estate Rum Tour and had a peek of the world's famous rum producer's distillery factory, and gained knowledge regarding extracting sugar from sugarcane to distillation to ageing and to blending. At the end of the tour, we even got to sample 13 different rum flavors - or I should say, Vince did. I could not afford alcohol-induced headaches while on a lovely tour, so I was kind and wise enough to let Vince have my share which he very much willingly accepted and enjoyed.  I discovered that Vince has some kind of fondness for rums :D

We also had the chance to traverse the South and North parishes of Jamaica as we went on road trips from Lucea, Hanover to visit famous attractions including Black River, YS Falls, Dunn's River Falls and Dolphin Cove in Ocho Rios. The hike up the cascading waterfalls was fantastic as well as the close encounter with Mexican/Cuban dolphins. I will never forget the feeling of riding on a dolphin's belly.

It was indeed an awesome yet humbling experience. I can go on and on telling you what a lovely splendid time I had in Jamaica, but as I am about to end this blog, allow me to close this by sharing you a stress-free, relaxing view of the Carribean Sea - an epitome of my ideal vacation :)

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My share for:

WATERY WEDNESDAY | OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY |

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