"Ya mon , no problem just a situation !"

Jamaica.Tour booked prior to leaving, so had to be downstairs early to disembark.It seemed as if a hurricane had hit the island.Stall holders on the quayside were struggling to set up shop.
Once on the bus, our tour guide informed us of our saying for the day 'ya mon, no problem, just a situation'and this applied to the unexpected weather as well as any other different encounters we might experience.
First stop was the Dunn's River Falls - an impressive set of cascading waterfalls, which can be climbed only by the intrepid and with the help of guides.Strong undercurrents , fast flowing waters and slippery rocks made the climb very difficult and treacherous.We witnessed a few near accidents as people slipped into the water.Pictured above are the empty shoes of our dear Scott.'Ya mon, no problem, just a situation!'
We ventured down on to the beautiful white sandy beach below and mama dared to remove her sandals and have a paddle!Cue rare Blip opportunity!A steep climb took us back to where we started , with a few photo stops on the way to capture some of the birds, flora and our kids positioned on either side of a mule carrying panniers filled with tropical flowers.
Back on the bus, we continued on our island tour to the resort of Montego Bay.This name had always conjured up pictures of a tropical paradise in my mind but the harsh reality was one of poverty and squallor - in the town at least.Thank goodness we were on the bus.
We stopped at a private beach for lunch, where we applied our 'sunton ' lotion and here we experienced the better face of Jamaica.The guys wanted to sample jerk chicken- very tasty although disappointing that it was served with chips, even although they were 'tasty, tasty, very very tasty.'Beach session over, we stopped for a short shopping trip before heading back to the ship.
After dinner we went to Cleopatra's Needle to listen to the singers in concert.They sang mainly jazz numbers, which was right up our street after our New Orleans experience.At the end of the programme they joined us for drinks along with a few of the dancers.
All in all, a good day but not at all what we expected of Jamaica.