Week 5: Pralines & Cream
4/10- it is way too sweet! The pralines overtake the taste of the ice cream because the chunks are hard and large. I hope next week will be a better flavor!
Ocho Rios was AMAZING. The image that you see on TV, the pictures in the magazines and the scenes from the movies of Jamaica- That is OCHI. Kingston is a city but Ocho Rios is water, beaches and cocktails. The moment we arrived, you could tell this was a tourist city.
Our AirBnB was located in Tower Isle, St. Mary’s Parish which was a 10 minute drive out because the rooms were too pricey or booked out in Ochi due to Heroe’s Weekend. The location we stayed at was gorgeous! J and I enjoyed the a/c, big space and lights on the wall very much. Simple stuff that you don’t realize how much it effects your living space. We took a route taxi down back to Ochi for the first time and headed to the beach!
Route Taxis are the way to travel. They start up with a minimum cost of $100 JMD and they go one route. They will try and fit as many people as they can in one car. There are no Taxi companies in Ochi because everyone uses the bus/route taxis/private drivers system. The only hard thing about using this type of transportation method is there are no instructions. You simply know where to stand and go. This made it difficult for us to figure out how to get home but after asking some very kind locals- we managed to figure out the system!
This weekend trip was very relaxing. We hung out at the beach, tanned, and I even played volleyball with a group of students from Trinidad studying in a university from Kingston, Jamaica. It was loads of fun! We went to a local bar down our AirBnB because I had to wake up at 3 am on Sunday morning for the Heroes in Action Race in Falmouth. I signed up for this race on a whim and the directions were very confusing. I managed to get to the pick-up location on time with the help of another driver at 4 am in the morning but by the time we reached Falmouth, I was feeling exhausted.
This is the first race back for me since my ACL injury back in September 2015 from silly competitiveness during staff training at one of my jobs. I was super nervous already and with all the hectic and chaos beforehand to simply get to the race it did not help. Thankfully, Ann Marie (one of the main organizers) kept calling me and helping me with every step to make things smoother. (Many thanks!). I met up with my friends (M & G) and we started the warm-up! I felt a lot better after seeing them and the crowd was getting pumped and energized! M and I were doing the 4KM race while G tackled on the 8KM. We prepped ourselves at the start line and you will NOT believe who was on stage! USAIN BOLT!
Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter and currently regarded as the fastest human ever timed. He’s held the world records and won nine Olympic gold medals. I remember watching the race with my friends when he won the 100m race! I knew he was Jamaican but never actually thought I would see him here! The crowd went wild for the man and I couldn’t help but fangirl with photos. I was so overwhelmed that I completely forgot about the race until we heard the start sound! I quickly went off and took my pace to run the race. I realized how long its been since I have trained in this race. I was tired and off-beat. I lost my shoe because I wasn’t watching my path! I ended with a time of 28:35 which I know I can beat. I’ve ran faster in the past. I am signed up for another race in Negril in December and I am going to kick ass in it!
At the end of the race, we all cheered for each other when we reached the finish line. There were runners from all ages and skills. Even those with wheelchairs pushed through the race! We saw two individuals wearing Canadian shirts – was so tempted to say hi but we were distracted as we ended up getting a photo with Usain Bolt and it was only 8 am! What a day.
Once the festivities finished, I went back to sleep off the race at home because I was exhausted from all the travelling. My roommates were exploring Ochi so we decided to meet up at night for a beach party. We went to Bubbles- a party in Faraday Beach. Dancing here is a much different feel than it is in Canada. I can’t explain – you have to witness it.
Monday morning we went snorkeling on a boat ride. We had some others in our boat from UK, Poland and Ukraine. They were super chill and we all had a great time! I have a few sand dollars in our cubby at home now as souvenirs J. The coastal reefs were just gorgeous to look at. Our guide grabbed us at one point though because we almost swam into something poisonous. Always be careful! We saw dolphins on our way back but it was sad to see them in the pool. It was a very small home for them and they were constantly practicing tricks. I would rather see these mammals in their natural habitat.
We ended up checking out of Ochi earlier because we were so exhausted. By the time I got home, I passed out right away since we had to go back to work the next day. J and I have been feeling sick since our trip to Ochi. I’ve been taking vitamins, oregano oil and meds to drown out the symptoms. I refuse to be sick for the weekend! We have another 5km race tomorrow with Digicel in Kingston so I have to be on my game. Work is also crazy right now because it is all hands on deck for the major grant application due today. Everyone is super busy!
Til next week!
Tara