Jamaica, Montego Bay Arrival
Reminiscing about the very first island I visited many years ago is like wondering about the first girl I ever kissed; how have things changed over time since I last saw her? Jamaica was the island that was my very first trip to the Caribbean back in 1984. Since then, I have traveled to many others, but few with the magic of Jamaica. Now, 27 years later, I had an opportunity to make a quick trip to return to the place that addicted me to island travel. It was time to see, “WHAT’S UP MON”?
For this visit, I was on a “soft adventure” trip with a group of fun travel bloggers from N. America. “Soft Adventure” is one that is filled with plenty of activities, but stops short of anything too stressful.
The Delta flight from Atlanta is ready to go!
Travel to Jamaica from the central U.S. on either American Airlines or Delta is relatively easy. The flights land in Montego Bay which is the entry point for travel to either the north shore or Negril. It is an island with stunning tropical beauty.
A beautiful stream at the base of the Jamaica Bobsled Run
The airport at Montego Bay has done a good job keeping up with modern air travel. They did a lot of remodeling 4 years ago. The customs and immigration process is very easy. There are plenty of transportation options to the hotels, if not previously arranged.
On this particular trip, my HQ was Montego Bay. My hotel, Iberostar Rose Hall Grand, had arranged transportation. It is a short 20 minute ride by bus or taxi from the airport. My next post will give you a glimpse of the hotel property.
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Conch Fritters Restaurant-Nassau, Bahamas
If you have traveled much in the Caribbean there is a good chance that you have had an opportunity to try one of the food staples of the area….Conch. Conch is the delicious meat that comes in that big beautiful shell that grows under the water on the sandy bottom of the Caribbean.
We love conch and look for any opportunity to dine on it. The Bahamas is one of the many places in the Caribbean where it is easy to find this tasty morsel.
It can be prepared in a variety of ways: in chowders, fried, cracked, conch fingers, raw, pecan encrusted, marinated, fritters, boiled, burgers, stews, etc, etc, etc. I think at one time I counted I had eaten it 14 different ways. Hmmmm…I wonder if there is such a thing as a conch hot dog? Maybe someone reading this blog has some suggestions in different ways to prepare it. Conch lovers unite!
On a recent trip to Nassau we discovered a restaurant named “Conch Fritters” located on Bay Street right across from the British Colonial Hilton Hotel. It’s hard to resist a restaurant named “Conch Fritters.” Yes, it was time for an overdose of our favorite food! Here is a pic of the outside.
Conch Fritters restaurant in Nassau, Bahamas-the place to eat conch
Conch Fritters is a half bar-half restaurant. From the looks of the clientele, my guess is that it gets a little noisy and crowded in the evenings, but we were there for lunch. They have quite a selection of of conch. Here is a partial photo of their menu. Check it out for yourself.
Conch Fritters menu in Nassau
To get things started. We quickly put our chompers into an order of conch fritters with a dipping sauce. Wait for those fritters to cool off, because those puppies are hot! Sorry, I started eating them before I took a photo. From there, it was an order of conch chowder that was absolutely some of the best I have ever had. It had just enough pepper (or something else) in it to give it that Caribbean kick. It was so good; I had to resist just chugging it out of the bowl!!
Hot, steamy bowl of Conch chowder at Conch Fritters' in Nassau
Finally, we were ready for our main course of “cracked conch”, which resembles an order of calamari. It comes with a side order of fried potatoes and cole slaw. Again, there was a dipping sauce for the conch. Does this look good or what?
Nothing better than a plate of cracked conch at Conch Fritters' in Nassau
Needless to say, after that meal we were stuffed, but at least our conch appetite had been satisfied! It was another great meal in the Bahamas! The tab for the three orders plus a couple of bottles of water was right as $50. They automatically include a 15% gratuity on the check.
The check for conch at Conch Fritters' restaurant
If you arrive on a cruise ship, you will have plenty of time to walk to the restaurant and stuff yourself on conch. If you are getting off a cruise ship, turn right on the main shopping street and continue to walk until you get to the curve in the street (about 5 blocks). You will see it on the left. You can rest assured that you will enjoy one of the great foods of the Caribbean.
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Copan Ruinas, Honduras-a dangerous fall while leaving Honduras
After a week of successful studies at Ixbalanque Spanish School, and recovering from a respiratory illness for stupidly wading through dirty, muddy, flood waters in the streets, I thought the rest would be easy. Wrong!!
Central American countries don’t have any OSHA oversight, so you have to use a little intelligence on your own.
In the town of Copan Ruinas, You need to watch where you walk. There are some holes in the street grates, sidewalks, and some very poorly designed steps. Some of the streets have inclines as illustrated by this photo:
tough sidewalks to navigate in Copan Ruinas, Honduras
My last day in Copan, I was hurrying back to the school to pick up something I had left behind. I was trying to be really careful, but just before I got to the school, I slipped down some slick steps and twisted my ankle really bad. I had not had anything hurt like that in a long time.
On the way home, I saw a store owner who recognized me and asked what had happened. He said there was a clinic in town, but he would not recommend it. I hobbled home and just fell into bed in pain. I was supposed to leave on a bus the next morning at 4:45 a.m.
There was a small store across the street from my house and after I awoke I limped over to buy some Ibuprofen–the pharmacies were all closed. The owner was very concerned about me when I told him I had to walk 4 blocks to the bus station with my suitcase early the next morning. He cautioned me that it would dark and in my shape, I could easily fall. He said he would get up at 4 a.m. and carry my bag for me and made sure I got there safe. Needless to say I accepted.
When I got up the next a.m. I could barely walk. Thank goodness, the store owner was sitting outside the door of my house waiting for me as promised. He helped me to the station and made sure I got on the bus.
From Copan, I traveled 3 hours by bus back to the station in San Pedro Sula. On the bus, I met another student who offered to help me get back to the airport. I was glad for the assistance.
When I arrived in Oklahoma City, bruised, battered, and limping, my wife met me at the airport and just looked at me and said “when are you going to learn?”
In spite of everything, on the way home, I just smiled to myself and thought about the challenges of the trip and how I managed to survive everything and have such great memories.
P.S.-BTW-it was a bad ankle sprain and it took several months to heal. It still gives me a little trouble from time to time.
Ok, I have some other trips to write about. I will start those next week.
Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net
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Recovering in Copan Ruinas, Honduras
After I got caught in the thunderstorm walking back from the ruins that I mentioned in my previous post, I was pretty well soaked to the skin. Remember, I had to wade the streets in some fast rising dirty water. The next day, I got pretty ill with a respiratory infection. Maybe I picked up something from the flooded streets. I will probably never know.
You can see from the photo below, how sloped the streets are and believe me, water can run through them quite fast.
The sloped streets of Copan Ruinas
In any event, Jessina, my teacher at the school accompanied me to the pharmacy to buy anti-biotics. In Honduras, you don’t need a prescription for many drugs.
It took a couple of days for me to recover, but once I did, I had time to reflect back on some of the errors I had made trying to navigate that brutal thunderstorm and it’s aftermath. I should have carried my little travel umbrella, and I should not have waded through the dirty water in the streets. Lesson learned!
Steve Barrymore ssb11@prodigy.net
Read about the rest of my travels in Honduras
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