I’ve never experienced love at first sight until flying over the blue water and landing into Jamaica. I felt it in my gut that this was going to be a trip for the books. My family & I take annual week long vacations every September or October and this particular time we decided on Montego Bay, Jamaica. After landing & deplaning, we were escorted by our VIP concierge “Club Mobay'' through customs and to a private lounge. I mentioned Club Mobay in my previous blog “Just Book It” (If you haven’t checked it out, click the link), but just a quick refresher, Club Mobay is a VIP service that fast tracks you through customs to a private lounge with unlimited drinks and finger foods. They track down your transportation to your resort for you all while you indulge in unlimited rum punches or mimosas. It was a service we found through bookit.com that was just $50 per person. Club Mobay took great care of us. Not having to deal with the frustration of long customs lines or the crowd outside of the airport scrambling for transportation was a weight off our shoulders and worth the expense. The “no worries” state of mind took me over the second I was served my first authentic Jamaican rum punch.
I also mentioned in my previous “Just Book It” Blog that we stayed at the Grand Palladium Resort and Spa. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the nicest staff and a glass of champagne. We arrived at 4 p.m., and the lines to check in were pretty nonexistent. Check in took less than 15 minutes, then we were on our way to our suites. Our suites were nice, clean and very spacious. The decor was pretty standard, but I would definitely give the beds 5 stars for comfort. We were one building over from the lobby with a view of EVERYTHING. We could see the parties at The Infinity Saloon every night; which was a top deck lounge with an overview of the pool and ocean. There was a DJ or live band every night after the performance shows. We also had a perfect view of the pool and the ocean from our balcony. The weather was perfect. It averaged between 87 degrees and 89 degrees the entire week, and surprisingly, it was never humid. Being so close to the water made the heat very comfortable. It did wonders for my skin, too. I was at least two shades darker each day within an hour of being at the pool, but my skin never felt dehydrated. And yes, I wore sunscreen. Each day was very relaxing at the Grand Palladium. We ate breakfast at the two breakfast buffets everyday, The Blue Lagoon and the Poseidon. The selections were never the same, and the food was always enjoyable. I still remember my first breakfast was an omelet made to order and the absolute BEST french toast I’ve ever had in my life. It was thick and fluffy with just enough cinnamon and powdered sugar on top. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. There were 5 other restaurants in addition to those on the resort. We had dinner at 3 of the 5 during our trip due to the opening schedule. Most of the restaurants we wanted to try were open and closed on the same days, so we had to choose which ones we wanted to try more. The steak house was my favorite. They seat you in a bar area where you can have a drink while waiting on your table. It was so elegant. The decor was royal with gold and the seating was velvet. Very lavish. However, I wasn’t there for lavish, I was there for drinks. Leave it to me to order a drink called the zombie and expect anything more than an overpowering taste of alcohol. It was so strong I couldn’t even sip it until the ice diluted it. However, I did finish it. We enjoyed our dinner each night at each restaurant. We had zero complaints about the service or the quality of the food and drinks.
My absolute favorite part of the trip was when we ventured into horseback riding! My mom loves horses and it has always been on my bucket list to go horseback riding on the beach. Towards the end of our trip we booked an excursion with Chukka’s Caribbean Adventures. The day of our excursion, the Chukka shuttle picked us up from our resort at 1:30 p.m. It took us no time to get registered once we arrived. Once the waivers were signed, we were up on horses and on our way into the forest. And yes, I do mean a literal forest. Now, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into when they said horseback riding in the forest, but I had no idea I’d be looking over 20 feet cliffs fearing for my life. My horse was determined to eat leaves the entire trail. Stopping whenever he decided it was snack time, and leaning his head so far out over the edge, I was sure one step forward would be the end of me. The instructors kept telling me to kick him. I know that’s how they train horses, but I felt like I’d be contributing to animal cruelty and I refused. One of the instructors saw how anxious I was getting and stuck with my mother and I the remainder of the trail. “No worries mommy. Just relax. I’m taking care of you” he reassured us everytime we got a little uncomfortable. Enjoying the jokes and history being shared by the instructors, while taking in the greenery of the forest, it was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. The trees covered mountains that seemed to go on forever. I could smell the water even though we were miles into the forest; it was so refreshing. It was really a time to feel one with nature. Once we came out of the mountains the trail led right to the beach. They gave the option to those who didn’t want to ride the horse in the water to end the excursion and took the rest of us out on the water trail. The water completely submerged the horses up to their necks.They started to sound like car engines, which was intriguing, yet weird in a way. However, they weren’t able to stay in water for too long, so after a two minute trail, we were back on dry land. Our horseback riding instructors were island natives and they took great care of us the entire time; one of them was trying to teach my mom and I patois along the way. I only retained 5% of it though. The excursion wasn’t much longer than 2 - 3 hours. When we returned to the resort, we ended our trip at the Italian restaurant on the resort grounds with pasta and a glass of wine. Wining down you know. Lol the fun we had during the excursion was just enough since we went to Jamaica solely to relax. And relax and enjoy we did.