The misadventure in Port Antonio with our first visitors.

A few weeks after the Hurricane Sandy passage in Jamaica, we had our first visitors staying with us, my parents!!! I was so excited, I planned every day of their stay so they would discover and enjoy Jamaica as much as possible! Unfortunately, the first weekend was a total wreck. I wanted to take them to Port Antonio, at the amazing Frenchman’s Cove Beach.

On our road trip, we made a rest-stop activity at the Somerset Falls were Erik and I have been in the past and enjoyed the experience. The place was still out of power since Sandy and was empty except for staff.  The enormous amount of rain that the island had in the past weeks made the water current so strong it was really hard for us to swim to the hidden falls. The employees helped us and showed us a good time by entertaining us with their jumps into the water and all.

After this activity, we hit the road and later we arrived at the Frenchman’s Cove Beach. At the gate, the security guard told us the beach was reserved for a private event. Damn it. Ok…so we went at another beach nearby, San San Beach. This one was almost deserted. The weather started to be cloudy and we soon heard the thunder from a storm catching us. We still had the chance to swim a little while it was raining and a staff member even got us some food at another restaurant nearby that we ate… in the car….haha.

Ok so it was not a perfect day but I was still positive the weekend could be better. It was not.

When we left Port Antonio, the rain was getting a lot stronger and roads started to flood. At some point, we could not go through the water anymore so we tried another road to get back in Kingston. That one was closed as well. After three or four hours of trying to get home, we were obligated to go back at the Frenchman’s Cove were we know they have a hotel on site.  I was now crying and panicking about the weekend being ruined for my parents but they kept trying to tell me we were all okay and it made an exciting adventure to start their visit. Haha…so we stayed at the Frenchman’s Cove resort. Small but charming. 

Rooms were not what we were used to but it was still more than okay for the circumstances. We had fast food by the beach in the evening and some small complimentary continental breakfast in the morning. When we were ready to leave, the weather was still uncertain and rain started again on our road back home. It was even worse than the day before. Here is a video of what we had to go through. 

Erik did an amazing job and we got through every flooded street this time. Later on the way back, I saw the sky getting clearer… and the SUN!!!!! My mom and I started to clap and screamed of joy, it was a great moment for us hahaha. We did make it home that day and we were more than happy to relax. The rest of their stay was wonderful, filled with great weather and great adventures but we will always remember this one and now we can actually laugh about it . :)

Electricity in Jamaica.

Electricity in Jamaica is not a reliable resource like in Canada. It is so unreliable that sometimes I think that as soon as darker clouds show up, I could lose the power. Haha, no but seriously just a little bit of rain or wind and we are often out of electricity. A big thunderstorm can make you lose all the food in your refrigerator. During the hurricane season from June to November, I swear I could lose power 1 to 3 times a week! Also, at night, if you’re up in the mountains, you can actually see city lights flickering. This is because the frequency of the electricity is 50Hz instead of 60Hz like in North America.

My best purchase in Canada was a 10$ USB fan shaped like an air plane. Available at Chapters stores ;). So when I did not have the A/C to help with the heavy humidity of a thunderstorm or a rainy day, at least I had this little guy for as long as my computer battery has a charge. The electricity company of Jamaica, JPS, is trying to improve those kinds of situations and cut off some of the trees in the way of the power lines…Now, I ONLY lose the power once or twice every two weeks, maybe more in the next hurricane season. We’ll see! ;)