In yesterday’s
blog I wrote about how the order of ports of call will determine what we do
or don’t do. Since this was our first port of three, and we were diving the
next two days, we chose not to purchase a day pass at a resort. Keith, Barbara,
Cindy and I discussed it over dinner the previous evening and decided to just
take a cab to a nearby shopping center for some souvenirs and some Blue
Mountain coffee. After a little time in Mo Bay, we’d head back to the ship and
hit the pool and water slides.
That was the original plan.
We were scheduled to arrive in Mo
Bay at 9 am, so I set the alarm for 8 so I could go up on deck and watch the
docking procedures. Keith and Barbara thought this would be a good idea as
well, so I would meet them up on Deck 11 or 12 for the best view. I got up on
deck just before 9 and watched as we approached the pier and made a nice,
smooth stop. Apparently Keith and Barbara decided to sleep in a little more.
Hey, fine with me, I still got to watch our arrival.
Once the Breeze was tied up, I
returned to our cabin and found Cindy ready for breakfast. I called Keith on
the phone and found them ready to eat as well. We made our way up to Lido and
thankfully most of the crowd had dissipated. We were in no hurry to get off the
ship, so we took our time and enjoyed a relaxed breakfast, talking about our
upcoming dives in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. A quick swing by the cabin to grab
some cash and we stepped off the ship and onto Jamaican soil. Ya mon!
As we were walking to the taxi
stand, inquiring about a taxi to the Rose
Hall shops, a fellow passenger mentioned that they were in a taxi van. This
taxi van would take us to a few shopping places and lunch as well as a driving
tour of Mo Bay for $25 per person. We four looked at each other and quickly
decided this would be even better. We could do a little souvenir shopping and
have some authentic jerk chicken. Ya mon!
The van held about a dozen of us,
and once everyone was loaded (in the van), off we went. It’s hard to appreciate
just how mountainous Jamaica is until you ride around in a van. We got to stop
at some really spectacular overlooks, and our driver Orel took pride in all the
information he gave us. We got to see not only the less fortunate areas, but
the ultra exclusive areas as well. There’s a stark contrast between the two,
but I realize this isn’t limited to just Jamaica.
We stopped at one souvenir place
and both Cindy and Barbara found a t-shirt and a dress, respectively. I was
tempted to buy some Blue Mountain coffee, but the price wasn’t much better than
what I could find on coffeeam.com so with reluctance, I decided not to buy any.
I wrote in a previous
blog about my love of coffee, and while it would’ve been fun to buy some
locally, I would rather have the quality guarantee from coffeeam. Our driver
let us shop for about 45 minutes, then he drove us around Mo Bay some more,
pointing out local points of interest for another half hour. We then stopped at
Scotchies, a local place known for their authentic jerk.
We ordered a small tasting of the
jerk pork, jerk chicken and some “festivals.” Festivals are the Jamaican
variant of hushpuppies. They are a mixture of flour and cornmeal, fried to a
golden crispy exterior with a soft interior. Think of a mixture of bread and cornbread,
and you’d be close.
Jerk chicken
Jerk pork
Festivals
All of the food was as tasty as I
imagined it would be, and I’m glad we stopped to try it out. We ate in an open
air dining area, and the sweet smoke from the cooking pits gave the whole
dining area a wonderful scent. We drove around some more, through the local
produce markets and headed back to the ship. What originally started out to be
a quick shopping excursion turned into an informative tour and a savory lunch.
Notice I said we ordered a “small
tasting” of the jerk pork and chicken. We weren’t sure how much time we’d have
for a full lunch, so we opted for a small snack sized meal that we split. After
boarding the ship, around 2:30, Cindy and I went up to Lido for a late lunch.
Being a port day, there was only a minimal crowd. Most were still ashore
enjoying Mo Bay. We decided to treat ourselves to the famous Guy Fieri burgers.
Are you a fan of a really good burger? Book a Carnival cruise on a ship that
has a Guy’s Burgers (not every ship in the fleet hast them yet) and let your
taste buds have a real treat.
We finished our lunch and
returned to the cabin to prepare our dive gear for Grand Cayman the next day
(and Cozumel after that). We made sure everything was ready to go, and in the
dive bag, as we wouldn’t have much time the next morning to get ready. It was
just about time for dinner, so off to the MDR.
I do my best to give credit where
credit is due. My choice for dinner came straight from one of our tablemates
from a previous cruise on the Carnival Freedom last year. The featured
appetizer was jerk chicken wings, and he ordered multiple servings of that as
his appetizer and main course. Brilliant! I thought it was such a great idea
that I did the same for the night’s dinner. Thank you, Brad! There are three
wings per appetizer, so I just ordered six appetizers. Not missing a beat, our
waiter said “And what would you like for your entrée?” I laughed and told him
that just the six orders of wings would suffice for both my appetizer and entrée.
I knew it would be extra work for our waiter to do this, and thanked him for
doing so. He just smiled and said he was happy to do this. They brought me two
plates at a time, and as I finished the second plate another two would appear
shortly thereafter. They weren’t quite as good as the chicken we had at
Scotchies, but they were still enjoyable.
Jerk chicken wings
In one of those rare confluences
of events, all of us at the table ordered buttered pecan ice cream for dessert….all
of us.
We knew that the next day would
start early, like 6 am early, so we didn’t want to stay up too late. We decided
to watch the Love & Marriage Show in the main theatre and call it a day
after that. This show is like an adult version of The Newlywed Game,
except R-rated. The Cruise Director (CD) who hosts the show, will pick the most
recently wed couple, a couple who’s been married for about 10 years, and a
couple who’s been married the longest. Our couples tonight were married just a
few days, 15 years, and 62 years.
Just before the show started, we
heard an announcement over the PA that the ship was stopping to render aid to a
vessel in distress. This is actually a requirement under international maritime
law to do so. We found out later from the CD that the ship rescued two Jamaican
fishermen who’d been adrift for 5 days! Good for you, Carnival.
The show as hilarious, as usual,
and each couple was surprisingly candid with their answers…….VERY candid at
times! And the biggest reason that those under 18 aren’t allowed in the
theatre. As soon as the show was over we went straight to our cabin and crawled
into bed.
Next up, I’ll regale you with
tales of scuba diving adventures in Grand Cayman!
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