Sandals South Coast - Part 2

Tuesday

Another day of relaxing by the main pool. When we got to the pool, the ski boat was running and people were out skiing or wakeboarding. But while I was trying to decide if I wanted to wakeboard, the wind suddenly picked up and water sports shut down again. Darn it! I don’t remember it being so windy on our last trip.

Since I wouldn’t be wakeboarding, Ron and I took another walk down the beach, stopping at Latitudes for a cold drink. Latitudes was built on a pier and encircled by hammocks that hung out over the water. Ron and I tried out the hammocks. They weren’t easy to get in and out of but we found if we scooted on our butts, it wasn’t TOO awkward.  We managed not to fall out, at any rate. :-)

Latitudes

For lunch, we ordered pizza from Giuseppe’s, the Italian restaurant. The host said that the gluten free pizza would take a little longer to make (about 45 minutes). No problem, mon! Pizza was worth the wait. Ron ordered a regular seafood pizza and I ordered a gluten free spinach and tomato. When they were ready, we took them back to our lounge chairs and ate by the pool.

Giuseppe's

pizza by the pool

There was a tour of the over-water bungalows at 1:30 so when we were done eating, we headed that way. The general manager, Adrian Whitehead, led the tour. First, he explained some of the perks that come with the bungalows, such as expedited customs and immigration in Montego Bay and a private transfer from the airport to the resort. There was a special room service menu or your butler could bring you anything you wanted from the restaurants' menus. The bungalows even had their own water sports team who could take a kayak or paddleboard right out to your private deck.

There were 12 bungalows, arranged in a heart-shape over the water. We got to go inside bungalow #5, which faced the nature preserve on the far end of the resort property. The bungalow wasn’t large but it was gorgeous, with a glass panel in the floor at the foot of the bed and a private deck with lounge chairs, soaking tub and a hammock. As amazing as the bungalows looked, I just couldn’t imagine spending that kind of money. Ron and I agreed we would rather take three Sandals vacations in a standard room. :-)

over-water bungalows

That night we had our sunset photography session. Our photographer’s name was Achavez but he went by “A-to-Z”. We met at 6 o’clock and took a few pictures around the piazza before going down to the beach. Unfortunately, it was really cloudy so it wasn’t a great night for sunset photos. But A-to-Z spent a lot of time with us, having us do every pose imaginable. I couldn’t help thinking how much fun Daddy and Granddaddy (my two favorite photographers) would have had taking those pictures.

Snapshots by Sandals photo

Snapshots by Sandals photo

Afterwards, we had dinner at Neptune’s, the seafood restaurant. I think this was my favorite restaurant. I had a salad of baby greens and grilled tiger shrimp - so good! As we were leaving the restaurant, we heard a country singer performing on the patio next to Bayside. It seemed funny to see a Jamaican man singing country music but he was great! We grabbed a seat by the firepits and listened until he was finished with his set, then headed off to bed.

Wednesday

The first thing I did when I woke up was check the weather. I was happy to see sunshine because it was the day for our Pelican Bar catamaran tour! I had really been looking forward to the tour. We went to the Pelican Bar in 2011 and it was one of the most unique experiences I’ve ever had. Floyd’s Pelican Bar is a rustic shack made from driftwood and palm branches sitting on a sandbar about a kilometer offshore. Floyd, the owner, had dreamed about a bar on stilts in the ocean and so he built it, taking wood out to the sandbar a little at a time on his fishing boat. Floyd meant the bar to be for friends but over time other people heard about it and it became a tourist attraction. The original bar was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, but the local community came together and raised the money to rebuild.

We met at 9:15 on the dock for the tour, and soon our group boarded the 50-foot catamaran for the hour and a half ride down the coast. As we sailed, we sat up on the bow and chatted with a couple from North Carolina, Kendall and Matt. Although the wind had died down from the day before, the seas were still kind of rough so after a while I moved to the back of the boat where it was a smoother ride. I was glad I’d taken my Bonine before we left. A few other people were starting to get queasy so I passed around my Bonine bottle. That stuff really helps!

After a while, the bar came into view and the captain motored the catamaran close by and anchored. Then we shuttled over, six at a time, on the dinghy. We spent about two hours at the bar. It was beautiful there – clear, turquoise water with a just a couple of small fishing boats tied up to the pilings. Some of the group waded around in the waist high water, some had their initials carved into the driftwood planks. I took a lot of pictures. :-)  And ate lunch. On our last trip, I didn’t know to bring cash to buy food and it looked delicious. I didn’t make that mistake this time. Ron and I shared a plate of freshly caught snapper with rice and peas and spicy grilled vegetables and it was the best meal I had the whole vacation (which is saying a lot). It was amazing they could make such great food on that tiny bar out on the ocean.

Floyd's Pelican Bar

Snapshots by Sandals photo

On the ride back to Sandals, there was an open bar and everyone danced on the deck. No one was in a hurry for the tour to end so the crew took up a collection for the captain to keep sailing around for a little longer. After we finally got back to the resort, Ron and I headed to the main pool, where we both fell asleep on our lounge chairs. It wasn’t until we got back to the room that I realized that Ron had cut his head on the tour. Poor Ron – he’s about an inch taller than he thinks he is so he is constantly hitting his head on things. This time he’d walked into a speaker that was hanging down from the catamaran’s roof. Good thing we’d packed plenty of band-aids!

That means you, Ron!

That night we watched a beautiful sunset from Latitudes before having dinner at Giuseppe’s. To be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to eating dinner there. Italian restaurants used to be my favorite because I love pasta, but now they make me kind of sad. (Food grief is real.) But Giuseppe’s made up for it with the huge antipasto bar. They had all kinds of seafood and grilled vegetables. One positive – I’ve found out that I like foods I never would have tried before. Even beets! Who knew?!  :-)

Snapshots by Sandals photo

After dinner we went to Café de Paris for coffee and coconut macaroons. We sipped our coffee outside on the patio where a father and son duo were playing island music. Their last song was Iz’s version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World. When they finished playing, Ron and I took a walk along the beach path to look at the bright stars. What a special day. I love vacation!

continued on Part 3