Jamaica: Day 6

This fabulous vacation is nearing it's end. And with that, today a theory was decided upon. As vacations ramp up, time often moves slowly... until the halfway point has passed, when time seemingly flies. This is an unfortunate reality I'm experiencing, but I didn't let that stop me from enjoying each moment of Day 6.

Breakfast on this morning was sort of a letdown, which was honestly nice. I needed one meal on this trip where I didn't feel like I was out to win an eating competition of sorts. I had the added bonus of starting the day with a run. These runs haven't been as pleasant as my at-home winter jaunts. My legs feel as though I'm lugging bricks along. The scenery has stolen the show; helping cope with some of the extra weight.

Bamboo Alley 

100+ Year Old Bamboo - Protected by Law

After breakfast, we headed to St. Elizabeth parish for the Appleton Estate Rum Tour. The tour was every bit as wonderfully cheesy as one might expect. The tour starts with "complimentary" gingery rum drinks and finishes with as many shots of eight different rums as one can consume before the Tour Guide closes the bottles. It was a total free for all with some of America's greatest spectacles elbowing each other out of the way for the chance to take samples of coffee flavored rums. Due to a Boyfriend engaged in brewing and various illegal acts of at-home distilling, I was pre-informed about most of the information provided. Refresher courses are never bad, especially when you're treated to pure sugar cane juice and a spoonful of molasses brown sugar syrup during the lecture. And did I mention unlimited tastings? Those too!

Paz, the Sugarcane Donkey

8000+ Barrels of Rum

The heart on the barrel label represents the heart of Jamaica, where Appleton Rum is made.

A mini set up of the distillery, where photography is not allowed.

The most interesting fact though is the setting of the Appleton Rum Distillery. It's surrounded--the full 360 degrees--by limestone bumpy mountains to protect the distillery from hurricanes. Appleton Rum has been around since 1749, so I'd say to the mountains: job well done.

I left feeling as though I had had my share of rum, and rum isn't even my thing. I even purchased a bottle or four. We migrated to Maggoty for jerk and fried chicken, and the people watching changed dramatically--from America's to Jamaica's finest. This was shaping out to be quite the day.

With a full belly, we left for more food--street food, simply the best. There were plenty of coconuts to go around, coconut "cake," and sugar cane stalks. For the first time, I was able to sample the jelly of an immature coconut. I still think I'm a fan of the more mature coconut, but I do not turn down coconut in any form. Ever. And from there we were on to Santa Cruz, high in the mountains where we picked up roasted peanuts from the car window. The town must be a decent size because we came upon our first stop light since leaving Montego Bay. This is where the drive got interesting. While the rum tour was fun and the street food made my day, the climb up into the Santa Cruz mountains was truly spectacular. The road winds and winds and winds up some 2,500 feet in elevation. There were unique lush mountainous views until we crossed the peaks, where the expanse of the ocean came into view. My motion sickness held it together for the most part, and I was able to enjoy the ride.

As we were nearing the end of our drive, we stopped east of Treasure Beach at Lover's Leap. The story is as predicted by the name, and the surrounding sea cliff is landscaped to please. The views of the overhang were stunning. There was ocean for days. And contrasting blues and greens in the best ways.

We saw dolphins from the pool deck!

We made it home just before 5:00 pm, and I was wiped out. I recall a pleasant sunset and a veggie-packed dinner, with a bed time around 8:30 pm. This is the vacation life.