I had mentioned in an earlier post that I was on a soft adventure tour with some other travel bloggers and we wanted to make the most of our time on the island. So, at 9:30 a.m. on our first day, we took off for Ocho Rios and Mystic Mountain. Mystic Mountain is a really cool place if you want a lot of exciting fun. For me, it was the “Skylift Explorer” and the “Rainforest Bobsled (really cool)—a 10 minute run down the mountain. Remember the bobsled team in the Winter Olympics of 1998 that called themselves “Jamaica Bobsled”? I think everyone does……so ya gotta do this one if for no other reason than to support the spirit of the Olympics!!

Look to the left and you will get a fantastic view of Ocho Rios as you go over the tree tops.

The tram takes you right over the tops of the trees.

At the top, there is a visitor center where you can look at the history of Jamaica’s involvment in the Olympic Games. Below are some travel bloggers: @thePlanetD  @GoNomad  @Travelwithykids and in the background is Wayne Lowers our trusty cinematographer

In the Visitor Center you have a chance to read specifically about Jamaica’s entry into the Olympic bobsled event and how ingenious they were in getting prepared to enter the games.

Once on top at the bobsled run, we go through the safety instructiions (important).

I tried to remember if I had any bad karma hanging over me before I got into that bobsled for the run down the mountain.

I turned my life over to Jamaica bobsled and away we went!! 10 minutes of twists, turns, ups, and downs at speeds reaching almost 40 mph per hour! Yikes!

You control the speed with an accelerater handle and brake. Go as slow or as fast as you want. Once you start down the run and gain confidence, you will really want to push the speed. After the run, there is a cable that pulls you and your sled back to top for another run if you like. Or, if your nerves are shot by this time, you can simply just visit the gift shop.

As your trip advisor I would say, “don’t leave Jamaica until you have done the bobsled ride!!”

If you want to see a really cool video of the ride, Rob at stophavingaboringlife.com does a great job of narrating his own run down the mountain.  You can see his video here. I think you will find his travels very interesting.

After the bobsled, I was ready for that food that made Jamaica famous-Yep, Jerk!  That’s my next post, “Scotchies” Jamaican jerk.

Comments?  Please post below or email me at ssb11@prodigy.net

Read about the rest of  my other world travels here

Read about the rest of my Jamaica travels here

Subscribe to my blog updates here

Follow me on Twitter:  @stevebarrymore