Thursday 12 Mar, Jamaica day 18, Montego Bay: We decide to treat ourselves to a day in the nearby Secrets Wild Orchid Resort before departing tomorrow for Cayman.
But before we go, it’s time to get the bimini up. So far this season we have been running with the sprayhood and cockpit tent, because in Bahamas it was cool after sunset and here in Jamaica it was raining a lot, hence the tent had been the best option to date. But that setup is now just too hot and airless in the cockpit during the day time. So we need to move to summer mode.
It takes almost 2 hours to set up because I have to polish all the stainless steel frame first (well, I guess I didn’t have to polish it!) plus install all the fittings. And now that it’s up, we’ll be able to proceed with installing the 6 new solar panels on top of it, which to date have been resting in their boxes on the mid cabin berth. It’s time to put them to work!
While installing the bimini we notice a rip in the spray top. The material has worn away over one of the metal bars. I’m very tempted to bring out the new spray top that we have stowed below, but Oana rightfully insists we repair this one and only replace it when it completely disintegrates. So stitched it will be!
At midday we head ashore in the dinghy and walk the 100m to the Secrets Resort. We spend the rest of the afternoon and early evening in this luxury adult-only resort. It is an extensive and beautifully done resort, with a large variety of options for dining, entertainment or sunbathing. We move from pool to sunbeds, to hot tub, to pool bars, and generally thoroughly relax like we are on holiday. And it really feels like we are! Oana is very happy. Drinks and food are all included so we have lunch and also several drinks at the pool bar. It’s quite busy by mid afternoon, but not unpleasantly so.
Before sunset, people start leaving the pools and beach, heading for their rooms. This is when we find another hot tub with an amazing view over the beach, and clear view of the sunset through the palm trees. And we have it all to ourselves. Lovely. And even better, we treat ourselves to a bottle of bubbly, complete with flute glasses and silver ice cooler, while we watch a beautiful sunset over the bay. Now this is real pampering!
Once the sun is down we spend the next hour wandering around the entire resort (which by now is devoid of people, lovely), viewing all their restaurants, receptions and common areas. It’s really a very nice place, especially with the red sky silhouetting the palm trees, which contrasts vividly with the blue from the pool lights. A wonderful scene to end a wonderful day. And a wonderful day to end our time in Jamaica.
To be honest we were not too impressed with Jamaica to start with, but we liked it more and more as we went on. Certainly we are leaving on a high, and we feel we have seen most of the sights worth seeing. The Blue Mountains, Dunn’s Falls and Half Moon resort were the highlights. Plus today’s relaxation.
Our chilled karma continues in the evening aboard Cloudy. Oana is back into editing videos and me doing the blog. Tomorrow we plan an overnight sail to Little Cayman Island.
