{"id":10762,"date":"2025-03-13T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kosmos.liveflux.net\/blog\/?p=10762"},"modified":"2025-03-14T10:41:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T10:41:51","slug":"the-blue-lagoon-portland-parish-jamaica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kosmos.liveflux.net\/blog\/2025\/03\/13\/the-blue-lagoon-portland-parish-jamaica\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blue Lagoon, Portland Parish, Jamaica"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After our morning routine of schoolwork and boat chores, Eric ran a bunch of tests to verify how the boat\u2019s systems operate. After the voltage regulator problem<\/a> he wanted to parallel in each of the battery banks<\/a> 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\u2019t shut off. This confirmed his suspicion that the Seafire system was getting power from the engine bank in order to shut off the engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed<\/a> 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\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The taxi took the road that paralleled East Harbor.<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This place is apparently a private home called Trident Castle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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There were plenty of small homes, too. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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The Jamaica Palace Hotel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The cab driver dropped us off and charged 800 Jamaican ($5.35 USD). Frenchman\u2019s 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\u2019t warned us about the fee. Since we only wanted to see it and had no intention of staying long, we skipped going in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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\u2019d opted to skip Frenchman\u2019s Cove. We were annoyed that Ed hadn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The water was a stunning blue color \u2013 hence the name. When we came around the corner and the full lagoon became visible, we were surprised at how large it was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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view from the dock near the mouth of the ocean, looking into the lagoon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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view of the east side of the lagoon from the west side. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The dock near the mouth of the ocean. Ed had told us there used to be a restaurant here, but it had been destroyed in a hurricane. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There was apparently a large stream that let out into this lagoon, making the water brackish. Eric and Keith jumped in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n