Ocho Rios--A split day

Right here!

Hot all day!

Today’s big plan would involve some sound footing.  Theresa decided it was not going to be for her, so she cancelled her spot on the tour.  In the end, it probably was for the best.  But it departed at 8:15, so we both got up early to head to breakfast before Bill set off.  Theresa stayed on the ship, but got some work done, had meetings, etc, and found a way to take a nap out on the balcony too!

Bill boarding the little bus (with 23 people on it), and headed out to the “Green Grotto”.  There were two caves.  The first was very large, and mostly easy to navigate, but we all had to wear hard hats anyway.  We spotted a few clusters of bats, and were warned to keep our mouths shut while staring upward.  The area was big enough they used to have discos inside of (which must have been great as the bats woke up and got going for their day).  They even had a sort of pool which they would stock with fish, and next to a vent hole, set up a barbeque to cook the fish.  It must have been quite the party!

Entering the first cave with out hard hats.

Some banyan tree roots found their way down.

Imagine a Disco party here?

A stage from which they used to give plays and concerts.

The area where they had a pool of fish and a grill set up.

One of the escape paths for the bats.

More Banyan tree roots.

One of several huge coral rocks.

The second cave with water.  It is so clear!!

The water is perfectly still, too for great reflections!

We then went to the second cave, which, having water in the bottom, apparently qualified it as a “grotto”.  There was a lot of copper in the rock, which oxidizes to turn it greenish (or so I was told).  The water was at seal level, so we descended many steps to get to that lower level.  Once down at the bottom, the guide turned off the lights so we could experience total darkness.  But first, he cleared a space and set up two teenage kids on one side and the parents on the other, some 20 feet away.  Once it was pitch black, the girls were supposed to find their way to the parents.  It was kind of funny!

So COLD!!! (Videos to follow later)

After the grotto, we piled into the bus again and headed to the Dunn River Falls.  The river cascades over lots of rounded rocks, but small enough to make it pretty much climbable, with little pools along the way.  The climb was pretty fun, but a little scary in that the water was milky, so you could not see where you were stepping.  Was there a rock or a hole there?  You won’t know until your foot hits something, but by then you might be committed!  So, there were a few falls. 

Back to the ship...Where is Theresa?

Oh, There's a Theresa!

Why does a helipad need a winch?

On the way back, the bus stopped for some “shopping” (pass!!) but took the rest of us back to the ship.  We met up in the room and headed to the buffet for lunch.  By 3:30, it was time to push off, so we headed down to Deck 6, all the way forward, and through a bulkhead door out on to the Helipad for a private party (for suite guests).  It was nice.  It didn’t come close to the cruise through the Suez Canal where they let us out on the helipad, but it was still nice.

Oh, I see...it's gonna be THAT kind of night!

They plied us with LOTS of drinks!

Then at 5:00, we were invited to a “Mixology” class.  We were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine, before one of the bartenders showed how to mix three drinks (Manhattan, Spiked Pimms, and Mai Tai), and given a taste of each.  Whew!!  That was a lot of drink before dinner, but we did our best!

The show was another musical, so we watched that before heading to dinner, which included escargot, French onion soup, steak, and pasta.  But by the end of all it, we were definitely ready to retire to our room!