Wet Sunday put a damper on things
on George Hamilton (Jamaica), 24/May/2010 02:36, 34 days ago
Another rainy day, so what better way than to spend a day in the rainy season than get right into the ocean. Nadine, Nicky and Jessica spent about two hours snorkling this morning where they saw a stingray, a lobster, a school of barricudas and a ton of tropical fish, one of which was plaid but they didn't find Nemo.Some of their favourite under water finds were the anenomies, the coral and the fish families where they saw parents swimming with their children.While the girls snorkled, George and I relaxed on the beach under umbrellas and discovered the best way to hang around was in the hammocks.Later we went exploring and wandered off to Blue Lagoon - the famous turquoise lagoon where Blue Lagoon with Brook Shields, Cocktail with Tom Cruise and Lord of the Flies were all filmed. The Blue Lagoon is said to be bottomless so the presence of river rafts on shore was intriguing. What could we do but negotiate a deal for a ride? The Blue Lagoon is a mixture of fresh and sea water and when swimming the water at the surface is cold while the water lower down by your feet is warm.Because the rafts had to stay close to shore, the girls ventured off their raft and climbed the tree to swing off. They said it was scary because the tree bark was slippery but they all took turns jumping from the tree with great shrieks of laughter.Our rafting guides stopped again at the fountain of youth where everyone but me got off and played in the pool. I ended up buying a carved bamboo flower vase from a local craftsman. None of us saw where he came from. We seemed to be in the middle of the jungle although there was a house nearby and steps coming down from the road.On our return to Great Huts, the rain was not our only concern, although we didn't let it stop us doing anything all day. We received phone calls and emails from CUSO-VSO about the state of emergency now in place in Kingston and were given directions to stay where we are for another night and provided transportation instructions for our safe return to Kingston. We will follow their advice on getting the girls to the airport safely as well. In the meantime, the north shore and Great Huts in particular is a lovely place to be stranded, plus it has wireless and a TV so we can keep on top of the events happening in Kingston.I will be returning to Canada with the girls if I can get on their flight, but before the end of May in any event if the one month state of emergency is not lifted in the next day or two. I have no reason to be here other than to accompany George and he will be kept safe under the care of CUSO-VSO.