Trip Recap Continued: Day 2
Posted on July 28, 2007 by Ching under Travel.
Unlike Brian who’s dwelling on the negative experience we had on our return flight, I’m actually recalling the best experiences we had on our trip. So here’s a continuation of the trip recap post that I started a few days ago..
Brian and I got up early on our first full day at COR because we wanted to make the early Dunns River Falls tour. The best thing about COR, and perhaps all Couples resorts in general, is that several excursions were included for free. I don’t think any of the other all-inclusive resorts can match the included excursions that COR offers. We actually encountered a couple on our return flight who stayed at a competing resort in the Ocho Rios area and they paid $70pp (per person) for the Dunns River Falls tour.
Brian and I had already climbed Dunns five years ago on our honeymoon so we probably would have skipped this tour if we had to pay for it. Since it was included, we figured that it would probably be a lot of fun to do it again.
Before we went on our tour, though, we hit the patio for breakfast. The breakfast buffet opens at 7:30 AM and runs to about 11:00 AM. It a great spread that offers something for everyone: breakfast pastries (danish, croissants, that sort of thing; their chocolate croissants are amazing), fresh fruits, scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausage (their sausage there is actually very different than the sausage you get here; it was a little strange for me so I quit eating sausage after the first day), french toast, pancakes, cereal, muffins, bagels, toast.. Gosh, they had everything! They had an omelet section where you can ask for any kind of omelet imaginable. They even had a smoothie station. Basically they had a fruit stand (unlike the cut up fruit they had for you for breakfast, these fruits are just like freshly picked fruit that might might find at a local market) and then you select the fruits that you want in your smoothie and they make the smoothie for you right then and there. I guess this is for the health freaks that are averse to bacon. =P There was actually one day that I just ate bacon and mangos for breakfast. I had several servings of it. You’d think I was pregnant or something. For juices, they had a huge variety. There was nothing you could ask for that they didn’t have. I really enjoyed being able to have endless refills of pineapple juice. You could also drink your fill of mimosas. It was awesome!
It was at breakfast on Sunday that we met our first message board couple: Eric and Amy. It was funny because they recognized us immediately. I wasn’t really thinking about running into people that early in the morning. I was mostly concerned with getting food in my belly before our excursion. I think I asked them when the food would be ready (we got into the resort orientation late and missed the part about when and where breakfast would be served). After responding, they said “You’re Brian and Ching right? We’re Eric and Amy!” Brian was really surprised. I think the fact that they knew who we were freaked him out at first. He didn’t realize that I posted our picture on the message board photo roll call. I had to explain that to him afterwards. I’m glad I did because that was only the first of many encounters we’d have with message board folks.
Eric actually gave us some good advice about taking turns to get food from the buffet. Apparently the crows are very friendly and are not afraid of people. Even though there are other people around nearby, if you leave your table vacant they’ll actually fly in and eat your food. So it’s best to leave someone at the table to shoo the crows away. We found this advice really helpful so remember it if you decide to go. Eric and Amy are uber repeaters. I believe they said this is their fourth trip to COR so they had a lot of knowledge to impart.
Anyway, Dunns River Falls is one of those excursions that you don’t have to make reserverations for you so can decide to do it on the spur of the moment. You can also do it several times if you wish. People just get their stuff and congregate in the hotel lobby to wait for the bus. Everything is free except for water shoe rental (for those folks who are unprepared and didn’t bother to pack them; you can’t wear flip flops because the water is too strong) and tips. Tips are for the bus driver, tour guides (we had two), and the video guy (on our trip the video guy was Big Papa). On any of the off-site excursions and activities it is important to bring lots of singles. While there is no tipping within the confines of the resort, tipping is pretty much expected everywhere you go. I suggest bringing some extra cash for to buy picture and video CDs. On this trip, the video company that Big Papa works for has an office in the resort so you can buy the CD there.
We arrived back at the resort in time for lunch at the patio and then Brian and I spent the rest of the afternoon at Tower Island where we met other message board folks. Tower Island shuts down around 5:00 PM and everyone gets ferried back to the resort. You can still swim at the pool or at the beach, though. Brian and I just took the time to make reservations for the nicer restaurants, plant activities for the rest of the week, rest for a bit, and get ready for dinner. We checked out the food selection at patio dinner buffet but eventually decided to dine at Verandah which is a nice, romantic, cozy, slow-paced, sit-down restaurant. The pace was much slower than Brian and I are accustomed to but it was a nice opportunity to talk about our experience thus far.
The resort offers nightly entertainment dubbed “Showtime” (reminds me of Jenni because she used to go by this nickname). After Showtime they had a movie on the beach. That night it was John Tucker Must Die.
Our first night was pretty eventful and overall we were satisfied with our resort choice. Everyone we met was really friendly and eager to share tips and advice. That night as we retired Brian and I looked forward to what was in store for the rest of our stay.
Related Stories
Replies to "Trip Recap Continued: Day 2"
FOODIES » Blog Archive » Zen Vegetarian on October 19, 2010
[…] They were out of mango that day so they couldn’t make me a mango lemonade. We both ended up drinking pineapple lemonade instead. Brian doesn’t like pineapples, but he discovered that he liked pineapple juice when we were in Jamaica three years ago. […]
« Delaying Everyone’s Lives Through Atlanta « this post » Trip Recap Continued: Day 3 »
pinayhekmi on August 1, 2007
Okay, off to reading your next post. I am a sucker for travelogues.