1st Anniversary Trip to Jamaica

We returned to Jamaica this year for our 1st anniversary and had a wonderful time. We stayed at Sandals Dunns River, just outside of Ocho Rios and loved it. Got hassled by some "vendors" on the beach (I think I was offered pot more times that week than I was in my entire college career!) and the beach itself was rather small for us (we're not "pool people"), but it was wonderful to just be together and do absolutely nothing for a whole week! Our room was upgraded to a suite and we had a fantastic view; we also met a lot of really nice people, both guests and employees alike! We enjoyed the trip so much, we've already booked to go back to Jamaica for next year!

I took the Rebel, thinking I'd get some amazing shots like I did last year at Sandals Whitehouse. I didn't take it out of the safe once. All of these were shot with my P&S, so some of them are not up to my normal standards....but it was a carefree week and I wasn't about to stress over perfect snapshots.

WARNING: there are a LOT of pictures in this post! ;)


A lot of the old tree stumps have been carved into various sculptures. This was was up in the pitch-n-putt golf course right on our resort.

Lizards all over. Little gecko-like things. We asked a staff member what type they were. His response? "Ground lizards." (So this one is on a wall...does that make it a wall lizard? We got a chuckle out of the seemingly obvious name.)

The resort had an anniversary cake delivered to our room!

I fry on the beach, even with sunscreen. Chris found these two chairs, right under a palm tree. He could bask in the sun while I could read in the shade. This was my view. Heavenly!

The resort has an Italian theme and so there were naked statues all over the place. I got such a kick out of nature trying to censor this statue. ;)

One of two cruise ships we saw leaving from Ocho Rios.

An ice sculpture at the Beach Party dinner. Yes, we literally ate dinner on the beach; they brought out tables and chairs and it really was a beach party.

They served food from a kayak at the beach party. Put the ice where your butt goes and put the food on top of that--so clever! (It was getting dark and the flash made for a horrid pic, so you get blurr instead!)

The gift shop made a flower from flip flops. Love it!

The exit sign in our hallway. We thought it was funny to run toward a rectangle.

A hammock we spent some time snoozing in one afternoon when we were avoiding the sun. So peaceful, tucked in a more quiet part of the resort near the spa.....just listening to the birds and bugs and trees and the breeze.

This picture will get me through the grayness of winter this year!

A statue at the base of the elevator. People don't want to take their cups up to their rooms, so they leave them. Chris commented that the dolphins must get awefully drunk. (And I snapped this when we got off the COLD air conditioned elevator....in the HUMID Carribean air....lens fog up much???)

This is called breadfruit. It's similar in consistency to a potato. There are 3 ways you can cook it....if you boil it, it's tastes like bread, but we've also had it fried...see below. Chris' foot is for size reference.

A gargantuan bean pod we found near the hammock.

Our room was right on the ocean, so we heard the calming waves all day and night.

A few days were quite windy--more than a breeze--and the surf was kicked up because of this.

Dessert at the International Buffet (where they set up tables poolside. Love all the outdoor meals!)

The marble gazebo where many people are married.


The almond tree that nearly killed me, lol! Almonds fall only when they're ripe....and they must fall with accelerated gravity! Great shade tree, though!

My dinner at the fancy restaurant, Eleanors. That thing that looks like a sunflower is a fried piece of breadfruit (see above). It tasted like a very bland (banana?) chip.

We attended a Concierge cocktail hour on our last evening (tons of fun with people we'd been hanging out with all week!) There was a special question at the end about the name of the closest Beaches property (Sandals is couples only, Beaches is the family resort in the chain). Because I am absolutely obsessed with a messageboard dealing with Sandals, my hand was up before he finished the question. As a result, we won a special surprise in our room later that evening. We returned from dinner (and the bar!) to find these swans, some candles, and a bottle of Appleton Rum (the local stuff!). It was a wonderful ending to a perfect week.