January 21, 2012

Ochos Rios, Jamaica

When Christopher Columbus first laid eyes on Jamaica he wrote that it was the most beautiful island he had ever seen. His words were not without good reason. The land of rum and reggae is a stunningly beautiful island of soaring mountains, lush hilltops, evocative swamplands and glorious tropical flora.

We hired a taxi driver to show us the island, but not until we experienced the shopping area.   

Rich and Tina buying purses made from palm leaves, handmade by this lady.

 The outdoor shopping mall

On our tour we came by this young fellow on stilts.  We took a few pictures, but of course they don't come for free......  

This is a picture of the house that Rolling Stones singer, Mick Jagger owns, and lives in when he's relaxing in Jamaica.  It's the house at the top of the picture.

And this is the 'bar' Mick frequents when he's in town. A 'must stop' for all tour buses and taxies...... 

No unexpected visit from the rock star while we were there! 

Dunn River Falls. Another 'must see' for tourists. We never actually went to the falls. This picture was taken by a nice young jamaica man from the top of a fence that surrounds the falls.  

Here he is - our camera man!! He took pictures for all of us - 10 - 12 shots in total, so we all had to dig into our pockets for that privilege.  He's a cute little guy though isn't he? 

And here is Leroy, our taxi driver/tour guide. No beach today, but we had a great time!