Good Morning from Riu Ocho Rios

Good morning all,

I am sitting in the foyer of the Riu with the ocean on my left and one of the gorgeous pools on my right. It is about 7:15 a.m. and Betty has lined up to book reservations at one of the specialty restaurants so I parked myself here to record the first episode of our "Jamaican Journey".

Our first 24 hours:

Mike and I picked up Betty at 2:45 a.m. on a very cold morning and we got to the airport in no time. As soon as Mike drove away, Betty noticed I was still wearing my HUGE winter parka so we have lugged it all the way to Jamaica!!! in the heat!!! GRRRR. Once we cfhecked in, we sat and had a Timmies and muffin as we didn't know when we would eat again. We boarded about 5:40 into our SkyService Plane - not quite an Air Canada plane! We were in row two, the middle and aisle seats - you can imagine how crowded it was. I do not travel lightly and had my very loaded purse, my laptop, my huge pillow, my little purse and MY WINTER COAT!

So we were rather squished, but everyone was very pleasant. It was impossible to catch any ZZZZZZ's as people kept lining up beside me to go to the washroom. The food was tolerable - an egg McMuffin and granola bar and even rum punch about 9 a.m.! Of course, Betty had to "shop" and kept the duty free people at our seats forever. I'm sure the people at the back never got to shop! We landed at 10:30 and Betty and I were almost the first off into the HEAT. However, we had so much to carry that we lost a bit of time in the race to Customs. I was happy to see a ratty big Christmas wreath and a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree! We breezed right through to our air conditioned Coach Bus - no one counted or took names so we were a bit concerned and rightly so - it took over an hour to load the bus as no one really knew who should be on it. Everyone was just laid back and "jammin'"

Finally, after several passenger switches, we were on our way by 12:15. Betty and I sat at the front and tried to keep our eyes open to see the beautiful scenery, although we did doze off a few times. I had forgotted they drive on the left here and seem to have no concern about oncoming traffic in their lane. The driver just blew his horn! We saw where Ben Johnson grew up and also where Usain Bolt grew up and where he competed. (He was at the hotel Saturday night and Donna got pictures of him. I'm so sorry I missed it!) The scenery was amazing - turquoise water, lush flowers, and several lovely golf courses. Of course we had to stop after 30 minutes for a "break". Everyone got off, bought beer, walked around, went to the washroom etc. Our 10 minute break was at least 25 minutes! We pulled into the Riu about 1:45 (remember we landed about 10:30!)

Pat and Donna were waiting to greet us with ice cold Pina Coladas! Bless them! We checked in, but our room wasn't ready so we left our stuff in Pat and Donna's room and went to lunch. The buffet was amazing - I was very excited by the salads. There was also and ice cream bar!!! with cones or dishes. Naturally, everyone had pistachio! By then our room was ready so we went back to Pat and Donna's room, got all our stuff, and took it to our new room which was right above. We unlocked to door and walked in only to be met with someone else's luggage and belongings all put away nicely! We stood perplexed when a rather irate woman came stomping in and said this was her room. Now, the number was on our envelope and we had the key, but we said fine and Betty and Donna marched back to reception and Pat and I took the stuff back to their room. We figured there was no point in our sitting in the room, so I finally peeled off my way-too-warm clothes and got into my bathing suit.

(Late breaking weather news - it is pouring rain boo hoo! Pat is sitting beside me and Betty has gone to reproach the management because, after waiting in line for an hour, she was not able to make reservations for Wednesday. You can only reserve on "the day of" so she is going to express her displeasure!)

Pat and I went for a swim in the pool. All of "the children" were in the pool as well including the bride and groom. They were doing shots at the bar and making rather a lot of noise. Pat pretended she didn't know them. An hour later, Betty and Donna joined us = they had got a new room with two beds this time, but it is quite a way from the others. Betty strongarmed the management and said we want a treat sent to our room, so we shall see. We all sat around the pool for a while chatting. It had turned into a cloudy afternoon, so no danger of sun damage. When it got dark, we all headed back to our rooms. the kids were still in the pool. Betty and I showered and relaxed for a while. I leafed through my Christmas magazines - it seemed silly down here, but I'm still in the spirit!

(Betty was successful of course! We have reservations for Wednesday.)

We met Pat and Donna for dinner. First we sat in the bar and had a drink - wine for me and Pat, Cosmopolitans for Betty and Donna. The dinner buffet was, once again, amazing! My favorite part was the dessert, especially the chocolate chip fritters. Divine! Betty and I were falling asleep so we headed to our room at 10 and went right to sleep. How marvellous to hit the pillow after being up since 145 a.m.!

Stay tuned for the next episodes and PICTURES!!!