After a day at sea, we awoke to find ourselves at the dock in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Well, that's not quite true - we actually arose early, watched the sunrise from the upper deck, had breakfast, then returned to the upper deck to watch the ship dock.
While in Ocho Rios, we signed up for the shore excursion that visited Shaw Gardens, Fern Gully, and Dunn's River Falls.
Shaw Gardens is the former site of an early resort hotel. There are lots of trees, flowers, and several waterfalls. Since Shaw Gardens was above the town, I was able to get the above photo showing the ship and bay.
Shaw Gardens also contained a place to buy wood carvings. Most of these were carved from lignum vitae, the hardest wood in the world. Also called ironwood, this wood was used for many years as bearings on the main drive shaft for large ships, as it lasted longer than steel.
The main attraction in Ocho Rios is Dunn's River Falls. This waterfall cascades 600 feet down to a small beach. The popular thing to do is to climb the falls, aided by guides and other visitors. The tour only gave us an hour or so - just enough time to climb the falls and shop for a few minutes. It's not difficult to find the shops - you have to go through them to exit the Falls.
Ocho Rios has a nice shopping district, where we spent several hours. Besides the standard T-shirts and rum, you can also get cigars, jewelry, and watches. I wanted to buy a Rolex but couldn't afford it. I settled for a nice Citizen diving watch. The price was about $30 cheaper than I could find it stateside, and since it was within my customs allowance of $400, I paid no taxes or import duties. I hope this watch will last me the rest of my life.
Copyright © 2008 by Dana Cline
Last updated on 7/8/2008
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