7 Nights In Paradise: The Final Days Of Our Oceanview Stay
(After watching Shahs Of Sunset, word of my spirit sister ASA Soltan, Paradise is a Farsi word meaning Garden)
Haiti. Jamaica. Grand Cayman Island. Mexico
Day 4- Falmouth, Jamaica. Shore Excursion: Dunn's River Falls, Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Jamaica and Mexico were visited places for the books. I was able to accomplish and do things I never imagined while at home. This is what I mean when I say, experience is very important when traveling. Not having access to a beautiful island 24/7 allows us to go out and visualize a new world.
Moving along, when we reached Jamaica I knew from the night prior I wanted to look beautiful for this island. Yet comfort is key when traveling. I packed so many looks but did not wear most of them. Around 10:30am we headed for a tour through Trelawny, Jamaica and entered into St. Ann's, known as the tourist attraction parish. Our tour guide Jessica was very informative. Tourism being the number one income on the island, shows how much respect, love, and appreciation the residents have for their home land.
Fun Facts: Jamaica has 14 parishes (states as we would call them)
We drove by the home where the yard/garden scene in the film "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" (Played By Angela Basset and Taye Diggs) took place.
Iree- Feeling Nice, Feeling Good
Limestone is heavily populated throughout Jamaica. Limestone is even in makeup.
The excursion that we chose for Jamaica required appropriate swim gear. I didn't expect to be doing so much climbing. Me in my floral romper brought my boyfriend to aggravation because he warned me beforehand and I didn't listen to the advice given. I was going for the flawless and comfortable look. While he just knew I was not going to climb rocks in a romper. Yet I was more so comfortable in my romper because it covered up for the most part what I wanted to hide. Underneath was my swimsuit in which I liked but disliked the fact I wore basketball shorts on top. (I am still learning to embrace my jumbo thighs, yet I get uncomfortable exposing them to large groups.) Yes, this was a group activity.
This day I didn't get a chance to capture the shore excursion, being that I did not have a waterproof camera. It's a waterfall that takes about 20mins or so to climb, we link arms, even if you rwith strangers, your life is on the line, you must hold their hand. It's a long and painful fall down. We have Dunn's River Falls experts leading the way. They climb barefoot while we are given swim shoes, it is mandatory. The climb was overall super fun. My fear of falling and inability to swim did not allow me to fall backwards into the water. Pictures and videos are taken along the way for sale when you reach the top. It was cold and I was excited to exit the falls. Inside I was petrified, the rocks are slippery and I cannot swim. Thinking about it now, I was over reacting. Yet, I still enjoyed the climb.
We treated our self to a nice Jamaican Beef Patty and rum punch for the ride back to the beach. A rum punch so too strong for one person. One cup for two was enough to get us feeling, "Iree!"
What I Wore: Thrifted Floral Romper
Day 5- Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island. Shore Excursion: Glass Bottom Boat Tour.
Sadly, Grand Cayman Island was my least favorite of the trip. I didn't expect too much from this destination being that knew so little about it and on;ly recently heard about it. Therefore when we arrived the little that I expected is what I got. I'm a firm believer in energy and vibes. With that being said, when we arrived I was already annoyed because my style of dress overwhelmed someone. Yet again, I was comfortable and that;s all that mattered.
We had to meet at our meeting area at 7:30am yet we didn't dock yet. Making us believe that no one would be there. Errr, wrong. I went upstairs to get breakfast and before by my lonesome. Before I knew it, the time was almost 8:00am. I didn't want to be bothered with my boyfriend therefore I found my way to the designated meeting area. I almost missed the boat leaving to take us ashore. I was panicked. Now that I've made it to the last boat leaving, wooh, close call, I realized I left my boyfriend in the room. Therefore I didn't know if he made it to the boat or if he was eating breakfast. But then I remember I saw him in the dinning hall but walked right past him like I didn't know who he was. Petty Sue, Fast forward to sitting in the boat, I'm nervous thinking to myself he didn't get on. Then Petty Sue came over me again and I was like oh well, that's his fault not mine. Lowkey I was sad too be dong an excursion without him. Until we docked and walked to towards the tents. Guess who I see. My 6'7 chocolate, annoying, bae. Phew, the weight, the life that came off my shoulders and into mi body. Chai ! I was too excited to see him. Yet still was wearing my bitch resting face.
Our excursion was boring and long. We should have chose to swim with the dolphins. Yet the excursion is for families and elderly people who want to do something relaxing and informative. After the boat tour we received a tour through the island. We had another informative tour guide that knew everything about the island.
Fun Facts: Grand Cayman Island is a 22mile long island. (It is very small. That is the distance from my boyfriend's house to mine.)
Everything is imported because the island has no resources making it expensive to live.
There is a mass population of individuals who migrated from Honduras. With them they brought over iguanas
There is a place called HELL. Rock formations came out of the earth and it looks super scary.
This place they call hell reminded me of a deserted place in the middle of nowhere. It is quiet and eerie. The vibe was off and I was not feeling it. One post office and two gift shops selling welcome to hell merchandise. Like, umm no I'll pass. Right after "hell" we bused to the Rum Cake Factory. Where you could buy your own bottle of rum to take home. We had a sweet, satisfying piece of rum cake. We grabbed once a again a beef patty (the beef patty couple in America and in the Caribbean) with a refreshing bottle of water. We spend no longer than 15mins at the cake factory. Next stop was the dolphin cove. We were able to watch the well trained dolphins and swimmers in the pool. I thought it was so cool. We could have taken a photo kissing the dolphin, but balling on a budget is not that fun.
I drank my first fresh coconut and ate the substance on the inside after being cut open. MY boyfriend grew up in Liberia and it was all nostalgic for him being that he used to eat them often back home.
What I wore: All rouge for the mood. Hawt like Fiya. Sheer slip as a tunic. Rouge and Gold genie pants. Both thrifted. Gold, pointed flats from Zara.
Day 6-Cozumel, Mexico. ATV Tour.
Before this trip began and prior to booking all my boyfriend could talk about was ATV. Birthday goals. We weren't going to take a cruise. We were wither going to spend a week in Mexico or a week in Miami, Florida. We accomplished what he wanted to do for his birthday which made me happy in the end. However I did want to go to Tulum and visit the ancient Mayan sites. Mexico will always be there and I will always have a chance to travel.
It was scorching hot in Cozumel. Majority of my tan came from being in the heat out there for so long. But I loved it. We had the best tour guides in the history of tour guides. James and Roberto we funny and their accents put life into our spirits.
What I Wore: Leather High Top Converse, American Apparel Marble Socks, Mom Shorts, Zara Skirt Into Tube Top
I've never drove an ATV before. I was nervous but I keep a mean poker face. We watched a safety video before hoping on the bikes. Then received bandannas and helmets. I totally did not get how this bike worked. When I hopped on my palms were sweaty. My boyfriend was not supporting my beginner driving skills. Everyone there has rode an ATV prior and I was the only beginner. Experienced drivers in the front, intermediate in the center and of course beginners at the back. Yet somehow I got stuck in the middle with my boyfriend who was intermediate.
Not even two seconds on the trail I ran into a tree. Omg embarrassed, sad, angry, and somehow I laughed. Every second I was breaking. Until we reached destination one. The tour guide allowed those behind me to go in front and I had my own tour. My boyfriend loves adventure and thrill and just wanted to get dirty and drive fast. Me on the other hand was terrified by the deep curves and bumpy grounds. I popped up from my seat every time we went over rocks. My face was blank and I was shaking in my converse.
We had three different stops and it wasn't until the second to last destination I got the hang of it. I felt bad because I had to leave the group and take an easier route. Even though we would meet up at the same place I didn't like being singled out, embarrassed. I started to enjoy the ride and understand out the machinery worked. I get it now and perhaps the next time I drive one I will be in the intermediate phase.
Fun Fact:There were two types of people who lived in Mexico. The Aztec and The Mayas.
The Aztec are big in stature, strong and boisterous
The Mayas were small, humble, and intelligent
The Chewing gum known as the Chiclet was founded by the Maya people from a sap that comes from a tree. It takes years to see that one sap, in which that method to make gum is not used anymore.
We got back to the pier and shopped for the rest of the day. Mean while at the beach they were hassling to buy merchandise. Items they were selling $30 on the beach ranged from $5-$15 bucks. I was satisfied with my purchases and I knew everyone would receiving one from would be too. I got a sweater I wanted for years finally ugh only $12 buck I was super stoked. I know I am definitely returning to Mexico. It was amazing just to experience for half a day.
Day 7-Port Canaveral, FL
Day before the departure I received an amazing facial. The spa gift certificate was for my boyfriend for his birthday. But being the nice man he is he allowed me to use it. What I didn't know is that the certificate was a special and it is $50 off of the treatment. In total I paid $88 for a facial being that there was a $13 gratuity added. I was happy to invest into that but bae was not. It's okay i pay for my own expenses but he was being extra per usual. When I say this trip opened my eyes to many aspects of our relationship I never seen before, I cam back like distance is major key. We were couped up for one week in one room. I love space had none. At least I had Sophia Amoruso's Girl Boss to speak some life into mys soul and motivate be to get things done post vacation.
We had an easy and quick departure. However a sleepless night. In my head I believed the boat would capsize. I looked out onto the patio to witness what look like a hurricane. However without rain, heavy gusts of wind at what felt like 100mph. High tides of waves crashing against the ship making it rock so much that we felt it on the tenth deck. I was terrified. In and out of sleep when we had to be up at 5am to leave the ship and make it to our flight on time. In which we did being that we prepped the night before. Thank God for a safe journey and keeping us safe on the ocean.