Jamaica: Fish Out of Water

What were we thinking!?

Admittedly, Jani and I are two reserved, tightly-wrapped New Englanders, so why would we go flying off to Jamaica where Reggae and rum are a 24-hour pursuit? The short answer is SCUBA: We saw this trip as a cheaper, quicker and more pleasant way to try to learn to dive and get certified as Open Water Divers in the PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) system. We thought the warm Caribbean waters would an inviting alternative to endless hours of pool instruction in drab Brookfield Connecticut.

At times, however, I am not sure we completely understood what we were getting into. In Jamaica, we were definitely like fish out of water….

[Despite of our sober predilections, we ended up having a fantastic trip and got our diving certification in the process. Things did not always go smoothly, however, as we recount in three posts.]

This post, which describes our stay at Bahia Principe Luxury Resort

A second post, which covers our diving experience (sorry, no underwater videos this trip)

A third post detailing the adventures we undertook during our time away from diving and eating

Day 1: Trouble in Paradise

After a terrific stay at the TWA Hotel at JFK, we began an extremely discouraging first day. It is not worth a full retelling, but many “travelers nightmares” collided to make this day very trying. Long lines, a lost passport, immigration lines that were reminiscent of a refugee camp, and deep uncertainty with all the details of our trip are a few of the hurdles we experienced.

Our hotel in Runaway Bay had all the trappings of a movie about British colonialism in India: dark-skinned butlers in white jackets (with epaulets), fans whirring overhead and 86-degree heat. We were each given flute of champagne upon registration (things were starting to look up) and wrist bands (2), indicating our “luxury status”. One of the butlers showed us to our room, where we could finally relax and enjoy the spacious, sumptuous surroundings.

But no one had informed us about the noise…. We had a room directly over the pool and the Reggae tunes and poolside trivia contests had been turned up to 11 (in our honor?), and it sounded like it was being directly funneled into our room. I thought I detected a look in Jani’s eyes that I was interpreting to mean “can we get our money back and fly home now….”

Then we heard the announcement: “The Reggae concert would begin at 9:30 (p.m.)!! The crowning blow for a discouraging Day 1.

All that aside, we ended the day with a tasty meal and a great night’s sleep. If there was a Reggae concert, we never heard it. A pattern was emerging: whatever we attempted or expected would start out badly and would develop into something terrific or memorable. The sun came up on Day 2 and all was right with the world again.

The Resort

Bahia Principe has 20 resorts throughout the Caribbean and 7 more in Spain. If our experience is an representative indicator, they do a great job. We had a comfortable room, great meals, good service and all facilities was clean and well-maintained. The rates were reasonable and all-inclusive. That last part include all our meals (5 different restaurants), drinks around the pool or in the lobby, use of the gym and our COVID test that was required for our return to the US.

It took us a day or two to orient ourselves to the maze of pools and restaurants that make up this huge property, but we became very comfortable with the layout and the amenities.; almost embarrassingly so.