Jamaica

We had a great week away. While we have both been sick it was still a great rest.

We stayed at the same place that we went to for my 40th birthday. Never before have we returned anywhere that we've stayed. I have to say I really liked it - there's a certain sense of familiarity that feels welcoming. The pics are below.

12-3-2008 Jamaica

We nearly didn't make it on the way out there. Usually when we leave we give it 90 minutes - so that gives us about an hour at the airport. We had carry on only luggage so we decided that it was plenty of time as we could check in at home. We should have known when we didn't get our boarding passes via email like usual, but we still thought that we could go to the kiosk and print off the tickets. So, we tried to do that - that didn't work. Now at this point we have exactly 60 minutes before our flight takes off so it's vital we get our boarding passes. I should say here that there are masses of people around and it's crazy busy with irritated conversations going on everywhere. So, we try and flag down a member of staff....and the first person we talk to says he's going to get someone, and doesn't. The second person was the most unhelpful... and told us to get inline. Now, with an hour to go and a line with maybe 100 people in it...didn't seem the most useful thing to be told. So, we start to invoke our elite frequent flyer status. I find a manager and ask how we fix this. This guy was more helpful - he kept being told that the gate was closing and "tough boobies". However, he led us down a floor at the other end of the airport and introduced us to the checkin kiosk guy. Now, this guy was the most helpful and dramatic guy I've dealt with in ages. He was about 50, gay (think Nathan Lane in Birdcage) and very animated. Talk about drama. So, he called the gate who told him it was fine to check us in. So....he ran over to a kiosk, grabbed our passports etc etc. The system was being very slow (probably due to the number of people at the airport) so he was getting so funny on trying to get it to work faster. Anyway, he got us checked in then led us through all the employee lines so that we could get through security. He was soooooo fantastic. Anyway, we got through and on the plane - we cut it way, way, way too fine because we didn't even have a moment to grab a coffee. Next time, we'll leave more time....way, way too stressful.

We arrived on time, hung out at the airport for about 90 minutes before finally the bus took off - luckily by that point we were both on "Jamaica time" so nothing was bothering us. It did occur to us more than once that it may just be worth paying the $100 for a taxi to take us there at our leisure rather than wait around. However, it did give us a chance to grab a cocktail and hang out. When we went last time the bus wasn't airconditioned so it was quite uncomfortable as you're in sneakers, jeans and have a sweater. This bus was airconditioned so we just hung out. By 5pm we were in our swimsuits and getting refamiliarized with the hotel. It was great.

Sunday was our first full day. Started off normal enough, but by mid-afternoon Trev was complaining of not feeling well. By 4pm he was in the bathroom violently ill...and spent several hours there. We think he ate something funny, especially when he said afterwards that he thought the eggs he'd had at breakfast tasted funny. Now, as a woman I think I'd stop eating immediately.....but I guess guys are different. I then spent the next 2 days having a set of hypercondria thinking I was going to get it (because originally we thought it was the stomach flu going around). Anyway after a couple of days Trev was fine, although neither of us ate eggs again until the last day.

Not much went on other than sit on the beach or by the pool, having a few cocktails and sunning ourselves. It was fun. On Wednesday I started feeling more peculiar. It was clear by Thursday that I had some kind of flu/cold thing with a vicious cough. Luckily I had a bit of foresight to pack some cold medications - problem was I packed all the sinus/head cold meds....and I had chest pains and a bad cough. I also only packed a few cough drops. Can you believe the hotel had ZERO...that ZERO....cough drops, boiled candy or anything. That was madness. I drank so much iced water it was nuts.

Suffice to say we had a quiet week. We never got to the nightclub that opened at 11...because we were always asleep by then. Let's put it in even more context. I lost 2lb in weight. ON HOLIDAY. Can you believe that?

Still, we had a great time - and I'm sure we'll be back there soon.