August September 2004 Birthday Trip Couples Ocho Rios
Friday night we decided to get to bed early. We had a 6am flight out in the morning. As I headed upstairs at 10:15, the phone rang. It was US Airlines notifying us that they had cancelled our flight. We had been rebooked to later flights that would get us to Jamaica about 2pm.
I was glad that the airline had called then rather than getting to the airport at 4:30am to discover we would have to wait several extra hours. It did however mess up the lunch appointment we had at the resort. Oh well, we were on vacation. Its "island time", so no problems mon.
Day 1 Saturday
Our flights now took us through Charlotte. While waiting for our connecting flight a couples stopped in front of us. K & R looked at us and asked, "Are you Joe & Lynn?" R said they recognized us from my web site. When they were looking for a place to go my site helped them in choosing Couples Ocho Rios.
Joe & I are used to people knowing who we are while at the resort, but this was the first time someone recognized us before we even landed in Jamaica. It was quite a surprise. We made friends and spent time discussing the resort while waiting for the plane.
The flight was uneventful. We cleared immigration and headed down to claim our luggage. At customs they asked more questions than in the past. They wanted to know if we were bringing "our friends" in Jamaica any gifts. They said that since we had been there more than once we must have friends on the island. Jamaica has gotten tougher on bringing things in to be left in the country.
Once past customs we headed for the new Couples Resorts waiting area. Its much larger than their old space and offers more seating. They now offer guests soda or Red Stripe (beer) to drink, and this is a very nice touch.
A lot of people were headed for COR. In fact, there were 3 buses all going at the same time. This was more than wed seen in the past. After a short time, they loaded all the luggage and we were on our way.
The road to Ocho Rios is under construction, so the trip took a bit longer than in the past. The driver pointed out places of interest along the way. We also made a stop for a bathroom break and drinks about half way to the resort. The trip took about 2 2 hours.
We arrived at the resort and were greeted with champagne & cool damp towels, a Couples tradition. We were also met by some of our friends on the staff. Its like going home. We were given our room key and headed upstairs to room 412. We had stayed in that room twice before and knew the way.
After our luggage was delivered to the room, we headed down to the main bar for our first tropical drink in paradise. We knew several of the bartenders and they all said, "welcome back home." Its one of the things that makes Couples Ocho Rios so special for us.
Joe was planning to do the full PADI diving certification this trip, so we headed down to the dive shop to make the arrangements. Joe had done the resort dive course during past trips. We talked with Collin & Fruity and they said they would sign him up and get the book he would need to study the next day. For those that want to know the dive course including the cost of the book and instructions was $360 US. Now of course this will change over time.
This was Saturday, so its the night of the Gala pool buffet. We had arranged to meet R & K as well as Ava of guest services for dinner. Dinner was wonderful, with so many choices on the buffet. Its impossible to try everything. This night they had a steel drum band playing while we dined.
It had been a long day, so we decided to head up to the room early. We stopped at the bar, grabbed 2 glasses of rum cream on the rocks and headed upstairs. One of my favorite things to do at night is put a CD in the player and sit on the balcony watching the ocean. Its a great way to relax before going to sleep.
Day 2 Sunday
The next morning we went to the breakfast buffet rather than have room service. The buffet has many things to choose from. Besides all the general food thats available you can have both omelets and fruit slushies made to order.
Today would be a lazy day. Just relaxing around the beach and pool. Oh, its so nice to just read a book and watch the ocean. I chatted with A from the UK for awhile, and learned that this was her first trip to Couples. While on the beach Joe was given the book for his dive course. There was more studying than he had expected, but it would be worth the effort.
We had lunch at the patio, then we spent some time walking the grounds. We visited the aviary and relaxed in one of the basket swings on the front lawn. We dropped by the gift shop and picked up a hat for Joe and then pasted out some of the photos I had brought for the staff from previous trips.
We dined that evening at the Bayside with R & K. The menu that night had garlic soup, which was delicious. The Bayside is the pasta restaurant so all dishes come with your choice of pasta and sauce. Besides the pasta there were choices of salmon, beef, turkey or vegetarian as your main course. The dessert was buffet style.
The entertainment tonight was the Couples version of the newlywed game. It was good for some laughs. Cornellia, Aldin & Giress did a good job of entertaining everyone. Afterwards the house band played music for dancing. Since Joe had to study the dive book he went back to the room early. I followed a short time later. We filled out the room service card for breakfast the next morning and hung it on the door. If you want breakfast in your room this has to be done before 1am.
Day 3 Monday
After breakfast we headed downstairs. I went to the beach and Joe to the dive shop. As it turned out they were going to require Joe to see the doctor before hed be allowed to go diving. He had listed on the application that he does have high blood pressure. To make a long story short, we ended up having to have his doctor back in the US fax a letter saying he was alright to scuba dive. So please be aware if you have any medical conditions such as asthma, high blood pressure or the like, bring a note from your doctor at home if you want to dive.
Anyway, by the afternoon things had straightened out and Joe began his dive instruction in the pool. While he was doing that I went to tie-dying class. I had so much fun with that during our last visit I was now doing tie dying at home, but still wanted to make more things at the resort. You can bring your own item to tie dye or you can buy one there at a reasonable price.
I had brought with me some of the items I had made at home to show Dawn the instructor. She liked what I had done. I also brought her some ideas on other patterns to try. Besides tie dying the resort also has instruction in bamboo carving, basket weaving, hat weaving and clay doll making. Just check the board near the squash court for the days and times.
Before the trip we had made arrangement to meet 2 couples at the bar at 4pm. We had met on one of the message boards and corresponded via email. We met T & B and J & B, the later were getting married at the resort on Thursday. They said I could take pictures of their wedding. We all hung out at the bar chatting for awhile.
Afterwards we headed up to the room to get ready for the managers welcome party. This was held on the dock and included cocktails and hors doeuvres. A short speech is given and the management staff is introduced to the guests.
We then headed to the piano bar for the returning guests cocktail party. The returning guests dinner follows this. But tonight we opted to dine at the beach party instead. This was our 5th visit to the resort and wed only been to the beach buffet once.
We met up with R & K who had gotten a table right in front of the stage. During dinner the steel drum band played while we dined. There are many dishes to choose from including several Jamaican dishes. The appetizer and dessert selections seemed endless. It was very hard to choose. After dinner they have a group come to entertain everyone with different types of native dances, music and even a fire-eater. This was followed by some games & dancing with the entertainment staff. Once the entertainment concludes on the beach, at 11pm buses come to take people into town to Margaritaville. I know many people enjoy this little excursion, but Joe & I opted not to go.
Day 4 Tuesday
I was awake early today. I started the coffee and then went out on the balcony to watch the ocean and read. This is one of my favorite things to do at Couples. Joe woke up about an hour later. Our continental breakfast arrived on time and we dined on the balcony while discussing the days activities.
After breakfast Joe headed for the dive shop and I went to our favorite spot on the beach. While on the beach I met J & P from Buffalo. This was their first time at the resort. They asked some questions and we spent time chatting.
Today Joe had to take more dive instruction in the pool and then do went on both the morning and afternoon dives. For Joe these dives were lessons for the most part. He did get a chance near the end of each dive to just look around. He didnt take the camera with him on these first 2 dives but would later on during our stay.
While he was doing that I went back to tie-dye class. Today I learned how to make the scrunch pattern. Its a pattern Ive since used at home to make shirts for gifts. While there I talked with N from Ridgecrest CA. She was taking the wood carving class. She had done tie-dying the day before.
Tonight I was really looking forward to dinner at the Bayside. I knew the chef was making one of my favorite dishes "Coconut Shrimp". Our friend Ava was also joining us for dinner. Although the dish wasnt exactly what I had expected it was delicious. Kudos to the chef. He even stopped by the table to see what we thought of dinner. This was a nice touch.
After dinner we went and watched a bit of casino night. They play a variety of games and give out play money. Once the gaming is done, a blind auction is held. Using your winnings, you bid on prize groupings of unknown items with your winnings. The bidding can get quite heated at times. It was a blast. Joe had headed back to the room early again to continue reading and studying his dive book. Poor guy, this was hardly a vacation. But the end result would be worth it.
Day 5 Wednesday
Today Joe was going on 2 more dives. The morning dive is for those people taking the PADI certification course, like Joe and those who are already certified. They went to a wreck of an old mine sweeper. This was what Joe had been waiting for. After he finished the training part of his course he was able to spend some time exploring the wreck and taking pictures. He said he wished he had the camera with him on earlier dives as well since they had seen some interesting fish and a large stingray. Oh well, he still got some nice photos.
Arrangements had been made the day before for me to take a brief tour off the resort today. I met Wentworth Pearson of Wentworth Tours at the front desk. We talked for awhile and then headed out for a short ride.
Wentworth did a great job. He personalized the tour, so I could see what I wanted. He is quite knowledgeable about the area. My time was quite limited so we only went to a few places. He took me to Fern Gully, which I had always wanted to see. He told me a lot about the plants that grow there. He then drove me through several of the little towns and told me some of the history. We then made a brief stop at the Wassi pottery works. If anyone needs a tour guide I would recommend him. Hes a good drive and knows the area. Tell him I Lynn a.k.a. Lsuth sent you.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing. Joe and I played a little billiards and just hung around. That night we ate at the Calabash buffet. Joe had more studying to do back in the room. I too headed up early. The view from our balcony was great. Hurricane Frances was passing to the north of the island. The winds were driving the waves and they were crashing on the dock. It was quite a sight to behold. In addition it was the night of the full moon. You would think I had planned our trip that way. I was able with the help of a tripod to get a few nice photos of it.
Day 6 Thursday
Joe had one more dive to do in order to complete his course. I just spent a relaxing time around the resort. I got a chance to take more photos including some of the reggae dance lessons given on the beach.
Once Joe was back from the dive we went and had massages. Today Joe received his massage from Clover and mine was by Trisha. They both did a great job. I do occasionally get massages here at home and they were as good.
Afterwards we had a light lunch at the beach grill. I really like their chicken breast sandwiches. Joe enjoys the jerk chicken and patties. We then headed back to the room to shower off the massage oil. Joe took a nap while I read on the balcony.
At 4pm we went down to the front lawn and wedding gazebo to see J & B wedding. We had been to one other wedding in the past but that ceremony had been performed at the other gazebo near the ocean. The ceremony lasted about 10 minutes and we stayed through the signing of the papers, the toast and cutting of the cake. We then headed over to the pool for a swim.
Today was Joes birthday and we had reservations to dine at Le Gourmet. Besides tonight was lobster night which Joe loves. So you know lobster is served at all the restaurants one night a week when its in season. (From April first to June 30 its out of season, due to conservation.) We dressed for dinner and then headed downstairs. We stopped at the bar first and had a drink, while socializing a bit and then went on to dinner.
Dinner at Le Gourmet is wonderful. Its a multi course meal with superb serve. There is a piano player for your entertainment while dining. The food is wonderful and Joe always caps off dinner here with Caf Flamb, a rare treat.
After dinner I went to the photo shop to meet Rayon. I knew he had taken a bunch of photos of us over the course of this visit. He does a nice job with the photos. We made arrangements to buy several of them.
Tonight they had an outside entertainer come to the resort. A.J. Brown performs frequently at Couples Ocho Rios. He has a great singing voice and put on quite a show. He performs with the house band Heat. Poor Joe had to do more studying and take the quiz in his dive book. So I watched the show with R & K.
Day 7 Friday
Our last full day in paradise, sigh.
I headed down to check email only to discover the Internet computer was down. A guest had messed with it and crashed the system. The IT department was working on fixing it and by late afternoon, it was back up and running.
Joe went to water sports and they reviewed the answer in his book. Then they gave him the written test to complete. Being able to work on the test while sitting on the beach was really nice. He passed the test with flying colors and was awarded his PADI certification, hooray!
To celebrate I had bought Joe a Cuban cigar. We kicked back on the beach chairs and enjoyed sharing the smoke. I went over to tie dying and chatted with Dawn for a bit and picked up the shirts I had done that were now dry. I also talked to D from York PA for a bit. The rest of the day was just blissful on the beach and around the resort.
Joe & I have a tradition of always dining at the Bayside on our final night. We just love how romantic it is sitting over the water. We enjoyed a lovely meal. We lucked out and got a table overlooking the water and the resort. We then stopped and listed to the house band for awhile. Afterwards we took a stroll on the beach and relaxed in a hammock while listening to the waves, before heading back to the room to pack.
Day 8 Saturday
We had to catch our bus at 10:45. We had one last breakfast at the buffet. We said goodbye for now to Davis the omelet chef and many of the other staffers who have become our friends. We stopped back at the room to put our bags out. While in the room the phone rang. We were told that a couple we had been expecting had finally arrived and were waiting for us in the lobby. J & B are from CA and their flights had been changed due to Hurricane Francis. They ended up taking a red eye flight and had finally made it a day late. Joe & I headed down to the lobby to check out and spend a few minutes with them before we had to leave.
Since we are repeat guests we get a free one way flight to Montego Bay. We had opted to do this on the way back to give us a little more time at the resort. Its about a 10-minute ride to Oracabessa airport outside of Ocho Rios.
After arriving at the airport and checking in we only had a short wait for the plane to arrive. We were flying on Intl. Airlink. This plane held 9 passengers. It was larger than the plane we had flown in the past. It was a beautiful flight with some great views of the island.
We landed at MoBay and walked into the domestic terminal and waited a few minutes. Then they brought our luggage and transferred it and us by shuttle bus to the international terminal. After our luggage was hand checked and we got our boarding passes we headed upstairs to the smoking lounge. The it was off to our flight home.
Goodbye Jamaica and Couples resort. We miss you already. We plan on returning as soon as we can. Couples Ocho Rios is like our second home.
Feel free to email me if you have any question. You can view my pictures of this and other trips to Couples resorts and other trips on my web site at www.roselynn.net and follow the links.