My friends and family will tell you that I do not like hotels.  I dislike all-inclusive hotels more.  Seriously.  Here’s why.  I do not wish to be on holiday with hundreds of other people sleeping in the same place as I am.  I like to have my own kitchen, so that I can brew a pot of fresh Jamaican coffee as soon as I wake in the morning, even if it’s 4:30am! I want to be able to leave the room and still have privacy away from the hundreds of people.  Buffets for hundreds of people tend to serve pretty unpalatable food and bad food really rubs me the wrong way.  Hearing entertainment coordinators on their microphones all day long, getting tourists to participate in some activity or other, is unbearable for me (I worked as one back in summer 1995!).  Even sunbathing next to hundreds of people annoys me.  I sound like a miserable bitch, right?  Precisely why I do not stay at hotels.  I always opt for a private beach house.

That said, I have been hearing about Royalton White Sands in Falmouth, for the past year, from several people, all praising the place and their waterpark.  I even forwent a weekend away with a tight group of friends last September, citing that it just wasn’t my scene.  My husband and sons agreed with me!  My friends returned to Kingston gleeful from the great time had by all.  I was still unmoved.

Less than a month ago, I was asked to write a piece for a magazine about Family Fun Day Out in Jamaica and it was suggested that I try Royalton White Sands’ waterpark.  I got in touch with them, everything was arranged and off we drove earlier this week for the day.

To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.  From the moment we were guided to a private cabana overlooking the ‘Lazy River’, I knew something was special about this place.  I’ve been in private cabanas before, but have always been painfully aware that I was spending the day with hundreds of other people.  This was different.  This was actually private, away from the crowd.  Trish and I could sit and drink our lime daiquiris and Red Stripe beers in peace, with the four kids looking out  for one another and being watched by attentive lifeguards dotted around said lazy river and both the big waterslides and baby waterpark area.  When we decided to join them, I still never felt crowded.

It turns out there are numerous hangout spots at Royalton, giving every guest the personal space and individual attention one wants when on holiday.  Speaking of attention, the staff are the best I have ever come across.  Truly.  From the bartenders and butlers to the servers in the restaurant and the head gym instructor (yes, we took a peak in there and were quite jealous of the yoga class we’d be missing later that afternoon!), every single staff member whom we encountered was friendly and helpful.

Did I mention the Kids’ Club?  After a superb lunch of burgers and fries, served in our cabana by a butler, and ice cream, the kids were safely signed in and left with the lovely caregivers in the rather swish lounge.  When I went inside later, I was green with envy that I couldn’t join the club too!  Meanwhile, Trish and I enjoyed a ridiculous amount of good food from the buffet, which, frankly, is set up more like food stations at some elaborate wedding.  When we finally went to collect the kids, we discovered that they had been taken to watch the circus out by the main pool.  Well, excuse me!  There they were, seated and gripped by the talent of acrobats, magicians and hula-hoopers.  This couldn’t get any better – I could come on holiday here with my husband and kids, but not actually have to entertain them myself all day long??  The Kids’ Club, btw, is open 9am-9pm!  I wonder if I could leave my husband there as well?  I believe I have been converted.  I have seen the light.  I like all-inclusive, I do.  Well, Royalton, at least!

A day trip to the north coast is not complete without feeling the sand on my feet, breathing in the sea breeze and going into the ocean for what we Jamaicans like to call a ‘Sea Bath’.  Imagine all your dreams, of what the perfect beach day should be, actually coming true.  Well, for the six of us, our dreams were realized in Royalton’s private island that overlooks blue waters and is only a short walk across white sands. #RoyaltonWhiteSands #TREMbleinFlipFlops

Lazy River & 1 of the pools!

Royalton to di worl’

Loving up some burgers & fries in the private cabana

Kids’ Club Crew

Swish Kids’ Club

Watching the Circus show

Swim-Out Suites

Learning gym rules

Private Island overlooking Blue Waters, only a short walk away on White Sands

TREMble in Flip-Flops in WHITE SANDS

When you’ve been around the block in Jamaica for forty-odd years, you think you’ve seen and done it all.  From the day I was born, my parents dragged my brothers and I across the island on numerous camping excursions and day trips.  Okay, dragged is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the gist!  I’ve even been to Good Hope Great House for several weddings and one New Year’s Eve party.

It turns out, I have not seen it all at all!  To boot, there are people who are capable of changing up the lay of the land, while NOT ruining the land I love.  I cannot tell you how I have worried about the interference of large companies and their disregard at destroying Jamaica’s natural beauty.  However, there is one such vast enterprise I’d like to mention, one that has managed to bring out the best in our paradise, taken what we naturally have in Jamaica and worked in a plethora of outstanding activities for tourists and Jamaicans, alike, to explore and enjoy.  That is Chukka Caribbean.

The welcome we received upon arriving at Chukka Good Hope, the sound advice over which activities to do when and the swift efficiency to execute every aspect of our tour was beyond notable.  Not to mention the quality of the activities themselves and the quality of your staff members – from the front office to the gift shop’s cashier, from the information desk to the bus drivers, from the guy who helped us with our bags to the bartenders at the pool, and the guides on the river-tubing, at the Great House and particularly on the zip line – thank you.  If I left anyone out, this is an oversight.  We were blown away by you all.  Your dedication to keeping us and the other visitors safe, especially on the zip line, did not go unnoticed.  The fact that my 8 year old son was happy to go whizzing away, way ahead of me, without a moment’s hesitation, is a testament to your comforting professionalism and personal  care of each customer.

The Good Hope property itself is the epitome of what Jamaica’s inland has to offer – rolling, green hills that are adorned with tropical fruit and spice trees, glistening rivers in which you can cool off and swim, and sometimes, as in this case, a Great House that was built in the 18th Century.  We learned, on a guided tour, the history of Good Hope Estate and interesting stories about the Great House itself, the most amusing being that the master and the mistress of the house had single beds in their room as “show” and they pushed the beds together when they were ready for “bedroom activities”.  Well, we didn’t get to see any of that, thank goodness, but there are quite enough fabulous activities arranged by Chukka Caribbean!  It was a good day out and we certainly hope to go back soon.  #TREMbleinFlipFlops #GoodHopeChukka

The view from the zip line!

No caption necessary

Adventure falls

Lunch – jerk chicken, rice n peas, sautéed vegetables

Bar staff looked after us well

Good Hope Great House

View from Great House

By now, you may have realized that, while I am up for any adventure, there’s a niggling fear within me that I need to release.  Bit by bit, this fear leaves me and I take the plunge into whatever challenge I might be facing.  What exactly gives one person a phobia to the exact thing another might find exhilarating is not within my expert knowledge, but I could take some an educated guess what the factors might be.

However, I don’t believe in always looking for the why of a situation, as often that doesn’t help you in the moment.  So, I take the cliche deep breath and dig for the “how”.  How am I going to handle this leg of the zip line?  This is precisely what happened to me yesterday at JamWest Motorsports & Adventure Park, when my family and I hurled ourselves off the second tower of the zip line tour.  The first line was easy, as the excellent guide was there to push, relinquishing each of us from having to force ourselves off the ledge.  Number 2 was different and, as we were told after, the hardest.  As my boys, niece, husband and the other visitors giggled at my several attempts to just jump and zip on down the line to the third tower, my fear increased.  The longer you take to do something you fear, the more fear there will be.  I had no choice in the matter, as there was no alternate way down to the ground.  My increasing phobia was also affecting my 8 year old, not to mention the 4 year old, who four days previously went into a state of frightful shock as he dangled from a cable like this one.  I had to do it.  I had to jump.  The beauty about this activity is that once you’re zipping along, you feel amazing and you know that you will be fine.  I must admit that it does help to see the second guide always awaiting your landing, pulling you safely onto the platform of the next tower.  The professionalism and fun of the zip line crew at JamWest is most comforting.

JamWest is made for thrill-seekers, especially with its locally famous racetrack, where you are able to arrange driving a real race car, but it’s also for those who want to experience something not too scary, like the Safari Tour.  It’s perfect for small children and the grandparents, as an open air van drives you through the property to see the tortoise, snakes, iguanas and their feathered friends.  The very knowledgeable guide might even gently provoke the crocodiles into a friendly tussle!

Meanwhile, the more agile adults in your group may opt to do a most unique activity – horseback riding in the Caribbean Sea.  Guides will lead you down on horses to the beautiful beach of Salmon Point fishing village, where the horses will wallow in the water with you on their backs, taking you deep enough to cool you down and bring about a deep sense of serenity.  It’s difficult to describe exactly how this made me feel, but having taken six leaps of faith off the zip line towers, this is the moment I discovered my peaceful landing. #JamWest #TREMbleinFlipFlops

The excellent guide, Joker, doesn’t joke around when it comes to safety!

Slowly, slowly on Safari

Kids love it here!

Feathered Friends

Grampie enjoying the Safari

Very knowledgeable Safari guide

DaCosta Farms Splash Park is SO COOL, especially in the summer heat!

With my adrenaline running on overload recently, it was a relief to find myself truly relaxing on Friday.  The mere 20 minutes’ drive from Kingston makes it even more appealing, amidst a summer full of driving from one side of the country to the other, on countless days.

Easy to find, due to clear sign-posting once you take the first exit, towards Spanish Town, off our Kingston to May Pen highway, DaCosta Farms is an oasis among the otherwise dry terrain in the plains of St. Catherine.

The kids jumped out of the cars as soon as we arrived, eager to get started on the fishing. Dave DaCosta, the owner of DaCosta Farms, has set up his site in a cohesive way.  Firstly, the fishing, where guests have the choice between catching the fish to take home or for the chef to cook there, or they may catch and release them back into the pond so the fish have a chance to continue to grow bigger, resulting in lunch for another guest down the line!  Don’t panic, there’s generally fish, shrimp and chicken on the lunch menu in case you aren’t reeling in your own meal!

While waiting the short time for Prenta to get the bait ready, the children may play on the charming playground, while you start on some libations at the outdoor bar that’s situated within eyeshot of the little ones.  In fact, when it’s time to fish, Prenta will take care of the kids’ handling of the rods so you won’t have to worry about your spawn hurting themselves on hooks.  Of course, when you’re ready to try your hand at fishing, Prenta will be happy to assist you as well.

Fishing is not the only activity available at DaCosta Farms, as paint balling on their “combat field” will surely give your rascals the excitement they need and perhaps what you need too!  For those of you who might have dirt bikes and safety gear, DaCosta offers an equally safe course, which you may use.

The highlight for us on Friday was the Splash Park playground and pool that’s conveniently adjacent to the outdoor restaurant area.  Manned by a guard at the entrance gate and by an equally efficient and obliging lifeguard, it allows the adults time to continue with their said libations.  However, it didn’t take long for the adults to get trapped into standing under the buckets of water and running through the sprays that were coming out of the circular bars, both of which were clearly designed for the enjoyment of children, yet quite easily brought out the kid in each of us.  #DaCostaFarms #TREMbleinFlipFlops

Catch n Release

Paint Ball ‘Combat Field’

The circle of life…..

Romping in the shallow pool

The kid in each of us….

Who’s a Pretty Parrot?

A zoom-in view from the chairlift

I didn’t know what to expect when we walked from my truck to the front ticket office of Rainforest Adventures’ Mystic Mountain in Ocho Rios.  Actually, I thought I knew what to expect – we could settle ourselves and then decide who, out of the the six of us, would do what and when we should do it.  I felt peaceful, taking in the tropical flora that enveloped us and noticing the lapping of the water in the river.  This was going to be a low-key, relaxing day.  Of course I was aware of there being a bobsled ride and zip line, but that was only two activities, so I would be able to chill by the pool with my touring partner, while the kids went on the waterslide, for most of the day.

Was I ever wrong about the ‘boring’ day I had planned in my head!  Ushered towards a chairlift, exactly like one you’d find in a ski resort, my first impression was how cool! With my kids sitting with me and Trish together with her two, I took out my iPad to make a video.  As we proceeded up the mountain, the chairlift took us exponentially further from the ground below.  I have never been afraid of heights, but that might have changed now.  When did this happen?  I skydived 22 years ago!  Not that I would do that again, btw!  But, I learned how to drive an ATV and Segway earlier this week.  Mind you, those were ON THE GROUND.

To say that I was freaking out, as my children’s feet dangled in mid-air, is an understatement.  I sat there conjuring up a contingency plan for the worst possible scenario.  My shoulders were stiff, my legs were like led and my feet were tense – you know, like when the gym instructor tells you to flex your feet!  I looked to my right – the 4 year old was having a whale of a time.  I turned to my left – the 8 year old was equally excited to be floating in the air in a chair, overlooking quite an awesome coastline.  I wasn’t sure if the wind was knocked out of me because of my utter fear or if it was due to the seriously breathtaking view.  Not to mention the fact that we were hovering over the lush tropical rainforest.

Landing safely at the top of the mountain, I realized why you couldn’t see Mystic Mountain from anywhere down below on the road.  The effort to construct this adventure park this high up could not have been a small feat.  It became even more apparent as we whizzed (okay, I didn’t exactly whiz, but everyone else did!) through the trees on the bobsled, which is essentially a personal rollercoaster as you get to control its speed.  I bet you’ve never been on a rollercoaster that takes you through beautiful rainforest.

Speaking of stunning forests, the infinity pool, where Trish and I did get to sit for a couple hours in the afternoon, while the kids glided joyfully down the slide, seemed to fall into the cascading mountain of foliage and straight into the Caribbean Sea.  In the background, we could hear the upbeat rhythms of the drummers coming from the front courtyard, where guests gathered to watch them and the dancers perform all day.

A major highlight at Mystic Mountain is the zip line.  Certainly, it seems a bit scary to be traversing on a cable through trees, but the safety harnesses and guides will absolutely alleviate any trepidation you might have.  The only suggestion I would make to those of you who wish to play Tarzan and Jane, which you should do by the way, is save the zip line to the very end of your day as it takes you halfway down the mountain.  In order to return to the top, where the waterslide, bobsled, restaurant, bar and gift shop are, you must take the chairlift all the way to the bottom and then back up the same way you came at the start of the day.  Of course, for those of you who do wish to take chairlift numerous times, this advice is not applicable to you.  Neither was it applicable to me!

This brings me to a small confession.  I did not do the zip line.  This was not because I was afraid for myself, though I was petrified at the thought of traveling on the chairlift more than was necessary, but it was because of my little one, the 4 year old.  When I heard the cry of complete fright for his life, as he hung from the cable for the first time, my instinct to keep my kids away from danger kicked in, even though neither of them were even close to being in harm’s way at any part of the day. #MysticMountain #RainforestAdventures #TREMbleinFlipFlops

The kids are excited!

His smile: HAPPY; My smile: FEAR

View from the chairlift

I’m still faking it, while he is totally fine!

The big boys, who went super fast on the bobsled

The not-so-speedy crew

Preparing for zip line

Very Happy!

The Slide is FUN!

Look at this view

I’m the mother of two children, worse yet, I didn’t start having kids until my mid-thirties.  “So what?” You might ask.  I’ll tell you what, it makes you a nervous wreck rearing a 4 year old and an 8 year old in your forties, sons, no less!  It doesn’t help that my husband is 50 going on 15 in the energy-level department.

I was fairly cautious when I was a kid, never putting myself in extreme danger for the sake of some kind of thrill-seeking adventure.  That said, I camped out and climbed Blue Mountain Peak, I water-skied and snow-skied, played cricket, field hockey and lacrosse, and was always the first in my family to be up for finding a new nook to visit on my beautiful island.  All of these activities were executed after having carefully calculated the probability of anything bad occurring.  There was no chance I would be trying flips in water-skis, off-piste terrain on snow-skis, the Irish sport of hurling or climbing a mountain like Kilimanjaro.  The two most daring things I ever did were riding a ridiculous rollercoaster in the UK and skydiving in Australia, both in my very late teens.  I came right out of my comfort zone for a short time and happily climbed right back in!

So, yesterday, when my extended family and I visited Yaaman Adventure Park in Ocho Rios, I was very weary of some of the activities they have on offer.  Like I said, I’m a mummy, which comes with a whole lot of worry when it comes to motorized sports.  The full package of tours at Yaaman Adventure Park is designed to suit the entire family, but I must admit that the idea of my sons operating a Segway, especially on declines, traveling in a speedy ATV and even riding a horse on their own, was quite discomforting.  As it was, maneuovering the Segway and ATV myself was disturbing.

When we arrived, I didn’t realise what the whole day would actually entail, so when we started off on the Jitney tour around the Prospect property, with Donovan as our guide, I was very relaxed.  He shared some history of the families who have owned Prospect, including the legacy left by the last resident, which is that he set up a trust whereby 36 boys, ages 14-16, from under-privileged communities, attend the school on site at no cost to themselves nor their families.  He took us to meet a man who could climb a coconut tree with the ease of someone walking 3 yards, then to assist Chef Irie in a most eloquent and easy cooking class that managed to engage everyone from the 4 year old to the over forties club.  This day was perfect.  Nothing could top this.  I was in my element.

HA!  Not for much longer…..as the next thing on the agenda was the Segway.  Say what?  No, no, no.  Are you crazy?  How are my boys going to manage that?  How am I going to manage that?  Even Trish, who is not such a worry-wort like myself, had some trepidation over driving this two-wheeled vehicle.  There was slight relief when I was told that the little one couldn’t do it, but that was reneged when he hopped on an ATV with the 18 year old intern, Cruz, hired to take photographs for Yaaman Adventure Park.  It turns out, btw, I had nothing to fret over.  Safety is taken extremely seriously in this place!  As for the Segway?  Surprisingly, one has a lot more control of this rather bizarre mode of transport and it is not difficult to execute its operation.  The dichotomy of this part of the tour was ‘driving’ it to take a camel ride.  It was like being a time machine.  The truth is, having discovered that the level of danger of a Segway is minimal, yet the ride is exhilarating, Trish and I now see the appeal of such a machine.

Just when the six of us thought the day couldn’t get any better, we climbed on the backs of horses – Tony, Pretty Girl, Storm, Fidel, Vodka and Hennessy.  Yes, the latter two were the names of horses, not libations Trish and I were consuming to calm our nerves!  Anyway, once again, I was faced with fear for the safety of my children.  Sure, we were all in helmets, as was the case with the Segway, but that doesn’t protect your neck if you’re thrown off the animal!  Seriously?! What is wrong with me???  The thing is, I had absolutely nothing to worry about.  Our guide Eldon was not about to let a damn thing happen to any of us.  He led the little one, helped the bigger kids when their horses wouldn’t budge and, most importantly, eleviated the panic of this here helicopter mama!

The day culminated with the lengthy, phenomenal and well-worth-it All-Terrain-Vehicle tour, or as my baby called it “The Moon Buggy Ride”, whereby anyone with a valid driver’s license is allowed to drive themselves.  Wonderful, I can be in control.  But wait, I’ve been watching other people on these ATVs all day.  They go fast.  They go fast over extremely bumpy mud/dirt tracks and we have to drive through water.  I have to drive one.  My kids have to travel in one.  I have two kids and only one can ride with me.  The 8 year old jumped at the choice to be with me, leaving me wondering what would happen to my baby, but of course he wanted to travel with Cruz, which was a relief as I knew that Cruz would keep him safe.  In fact, our guide Kevin and the entire crew at Yaaman Adventure Park don’t mess around when it comes to the safety of every single person.  So, off we all set, driving head first out of my comfort zone, quite comfortably.  #yaamanadventurepark #TREMbleinFlipFlops

Overlooking Ocho Rios

Coconut with brown sugar

Heading to the Great House on the Prospect property

Jerk Chicken, Coconut Sauce, Seasoned Callaloo, Festival & Rice – all homemade by us, assisted by Chef Irie – ABSOLUTELY delicious!

First Segway Ride……our faces say it all!

Family Bonds

My friends are aware that when I say, “Heh, let’s take a trip to……”, I may or may not know exactly where I am going, it may or may not be by way of a decent main road and it may take an hour to get there or it may take longer.  However, we will definitely find the place, we will definitely love it, our kids will definitely have a fabulous time and I will definitely make sure that we bring food and libations!

As the summer holidays are upon us, the adventure seeking gets turned up a notch, especially as three family members are always back during the summer and they become my sons’ and my touring partners.

There are a lot of weeks to cover with two boys who are 8 and 4.  That being said, the first two weeks are always taken care of by some camp or other.  As of the end of this week, I shall be left with 7 1/2 weeks…..what to do?

Emma’s adventures of Summer 2017 were kick-started by a River Lime at Mount Charles.  My husband and I discovered it a couple weeks previously, thanks to Toyota Jamaica’s 4WD Day Out.  Our boys fell in love with the jumping into the water from the high rocks, I fell in love with sitting in my deckchair in the river itself and it only took one hour to drive from Kingston, so I sent photos to some of my friends immediately and plans were put into place to visit again very soon.

Last Sunday, we met at the bottom of Skyline Drive, top end of Papine.  The drive should only have taken an hour, but……let’s just say that one of the four vehicles in our convoy was rather slow.  I found this strange, mind you, as said driver is usually the first person to pump the pedal.  I don’t know if it’s because he was genuinely concerned about the bottom of his new car scraping the not-so-even-road or if it was some deep-rooted protest against his wife getting him out of his man-den on a Sunday, his one day of rest!  I say we blame the Trini families whom he and I married into!!!  If in doubt, never the fault of us Jamaicans, always the fault of the Trinis!

Anyway, on the way, I get a message from another friend – she and her family asking for directions to one of my secret adventure destinations.  I forgo the information, kindly but hesitantly.  FYI, in my heart, these places belong to ME and should only be visited with me!!!  Believing, rightly so, that actually it would be more fun for the seven of them to join us, I persuade them to change their plans and meet us at the river in Mount Charles instead.  Apparently there were a few rolling of eyes in her car and comments about Aunty Emma’s road trips always taking them to somewhere in the back of beyond!  That’s where the beauty lies, kiddo!

It seems there was another discussion of persuasion going on at the same time in one of the other cars, because before we knew it, we had gone from 19 of us setting out in 4 vehicles to 28 of us arriving in 6 vehicles.  Coolers of rum punch, beer, chicken pelau, KFC chicken, mac n cheese, banana muffins, chocolate biscuit cake…..you name it, we brought it and we ate it!  Oh, let’s not forget my homemade marshmallows toasting in the flames that my wannabe-Survivor-Reality-Show-Contestant husband and the 11 boy children fired up.

Yes, 11 boy children between the ages of 4 and 17……need I say more about the antics of the day or the fact that pulling these boys away from the river at the end of the afternoon was a feat in itself?  Not that any of the grownups wanted to leave either.  It’s hard work picking your deckchair up out of a fresh, crystal clear river and heading home to the reality of Monday morning, only a short 12 hours away.