Wednesday, March 5  — The weather forecast had changed for the worse, so we needed to either leave Jamaica sooner than planned or stay longer than planned. We opted for sooner, which meant we needed to get serious about boat projects and sightseeing. 

After our morning routine of schoolwork and boat chores, Eric ran a bunch of tests to verify how the boat’s systems operate. After the voltage regulator problem he wanted to parallel in each of the battery banks to the house bank to make sure they each worked, which they did. He verified that the main engine shuts down without voltage from the house bank of batteries. He verified that if he shut the engine bank off, then shut off house bank, then the engine wouldn’t shut off. This confirmed his suspicion that the Seafire system was getting power from the engine bank in order to shut off the engine.

Ed had come by that morning and was being pushy about escorting us on a sightseeing trip. Knowing that we were running out of time, at 1500, we took him up on the offer. He said he was taking us to the Frenchman’s Cove and the Blue Lagoon. Ed walked us over to the gas station between the two main roads in town and we caught a taxi. 

The taxi took the road that paralleled East Harbor. We headed southeast for about five miles. Shortly beyond East Harbor, the waterfront became all privately owned property. The buildings along the shore were mostly homes, with a few hotels, and was an interesting mix of old, new, small, large, low-end and high end.

The cab driver dropped us off and charged 800 Jamaican ($5.35 USD). Frenchman’s Cove was built in the 1960s and was allegedly the first all-inclusive resort in the entire Caribbean. We were shocked when we found out it was going to cost $40 USD for the three of us to go into the resort. We were disappointed that Ed hadn’t warned us about the fee. Since we only wanted to see it and had no intention of staying long, we skipped going in. 

We walked 1.5 miles up the narrow, two-lane, windy road to the Blue Lagoon, made famous by Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail.

The walk was interesting, as it gave us an opportunity to see pretty views and check out properties along the shore that we likely would have missed in the car. 

The Blue Lagoon was a national monument, open to the public with no entrance fee. It closed at 1700, so we were glad that we’d opted to skip Frenchman’s Cove. We were annoyed that Ed hadn’t told us about the closing time. Since today was Ash Wednesday, many Jamaicans had the day off work, and the Blue Lagoon was busy with locals. This was the view from the entrance.

The water was a stunning blue color – hence the name. When we came around the corner and the full lagoon became visible, we were surprised at how large it was.

There was apparently a large stream that let out into this lagoon, making the water brackish. Eric and Keith jumped in.

Since the waters were different densities, they didn’t mix, so there were warm (salt) and cold (fresh) pockets of water.  Some of the locals were playing soccer onshore, and Keith retrieved the ball for them every time they kicked the ball into the water. 

Once Keith and Eric had their fill of swimming, they changed clothes and we left via a different road than we’d entered from. We passed a string of expensive looking homes that were literally hanging over the water.

Once we got to the intersection with the main road, we caught the public transit back to town. Like the collectivos in Chiapas, the public transit vehicles were minivans that followed a set route. Passengers stood along the route and hailed the vans as they approached. Our van already had three people in it, and once we entered, we thought it was full with 7 people. But a few minutes later, the van pulled over again and whipped out a jump seat to accommodate an 8^th person. It was cozy, to say the least. The minivan cost as much as the taxi did.

We were dropped off at a restaurant called Di Hip Strip, which was on the east side of East Harbor.

It had lovely waterfront views.

Di Hip Strip played a mix of rap, R&B and soul music, which was a notable change from the reggae we’d heard most everywhere else. It was considerably more expensive than Roots 21. The locals were dressed up, and we got the distinct impression that it was where people went to “see and be seen.”

The food was great and the portions were generous. We’d say the food was better at Di Hip Strip than at Roots 21, but probably not enough better to justify the price differential. Ed had ordered curried goat and we all sampled it. It was delicious, and not at all gamey. Christi ordered stuffed eggplant in coconut curry sauce, which was stuffed with lots of different chopped vegetables, including okra. It was fantastic. 

Eric ordered a Bob Marley daiquiri, which was dyed in Rastafarian colors. Each color tasted slightly different and all were fruity. Eric reported that it tasted very “artificial” and that it’s not something he’d order again.

We probably should have told Ed that we didn’t need to be escorted to dinner and sent him away, but we didn’t, and we wound up buying him a pricey dinner on top of paying his fee. 

Eric’s foot was hurting and he didn’t want to do any more walking. After dinner, we caught a cab for the 1.5-mile ride back to the marina.