5.17.2015

jamaica 2015: part two

well, it's been exactly one week since husband and i have returned from jamaica, and i think we've finally managed to transition back to life in the real world (although a weekend full of laying pavers in our yard has been enough to make me long for another week-long vacation, haha).  most of the pictures from this post were taken at rick's cafe and the lovely rockhouse hotel, both located on the beautiful scenic cliffs of negril.

our breakfast most mornings...
his: eggs, toast and bacon
 hers: coconut french toast and fresh fruit

allow me to introduce you to the "dirty banana".  this drink is a jamaican specialty, and combines the flavors of banana, coffee, and RUM!  i drank one of these at sunset on the beach most days (and by one... i mean, three).

this adorable dog found a sweet spot under my beach chair a few of the days!  we quickly became friends (i'm sure the snacks i fed her didn't have anything to do with that, though).

i purhcased a jamaican chicken patty from this guy on his bike who was selling them out of a cardboard box.... let's just say, i'm not sorry about it.

you guys, this water is like a bathtub!

see... bathtub.

indulging in a fresh passion fruit!

we got our pics with one of our favorite local celebrities!  what a nice guy he was!

enjoying (another) beautiful sunset over dinner.

we also reenacted our engagement two years to the exact day in the same exact place!  we are such cheeseballs. (also, thank you apple for the improved camera specs on the iphone 6)  :)

the ocean at night (i love how the buoys turned out in this pic, they look like they are on fire!)

this pic is a little blurry (damn you, slow shutter speeds), but this is how the coast looks at night.

enjoying lunch with a lovely view at rick's cafe.

cory sittin' cliffside y'all!

this guy has some serious moxie when it comes to heights...

the entrance to the rockhouse hotel.

one of the many pathways over the cliffs.  i could seriously get used to this place.

a view from the bar at some of the private rooms with their very own cliffs!  i know where we are staying next time we are in negril.

amazing views everywhere you turn.

the grounds of the rockhouse were beautifully landscaped!

cliffs, mangrove trees, turquoise water, wooden pathways... how could you not fall in love with this place?

pretty hibuscus flower.

all of the tropical plants reminded me of florida, especially the bright bougainvillea.

sweet baby jesus... how soon can we go back?

5.11.2015

jamaica 2015: part one

i'm going to start categorizing all of my jamaica posts according to their year, since it seems to be our go-to tropical destination over and over (not a bad problem to have, i guess).  jamaica holds a special place in our hearts because we got engaged there in 2013 (here and here) and it's also where we went on our honeymoon in 2014 (here).  we always joke that we should try somewhere different, but really... why would we?  the beaches there are absolutely amazing and the people are super nice!
this year we returned to negril and stayed in the same resort we stayed at in 2013, kuyaba.  the hotel is located along the beautiful white sand 7-mile beach.  in between eating, sleeping, laying out, and eating some more... we went on a few adventures including cory jumping off the cliffs at rick's cafe, a snorkeling cruise to booby cay island where we were served freshly grilled lobster, and a peaceful dinner on the cliffs at the gorgeous rockhouse hotel!  there was plenty of relaxing too, involving fresh fruit on the beach, resting on our balcony during a rainstorm, and plenty of red stripes and "dirty bananas" (i'll explain those in part two).

here's a little video montage i created of our vacation highlights, and several photos of us around the hotel and our snorkeling cruise to booby cay...





a little pit-stop on the 1.5 hour drive from the airport to negril...

 cory loves to carry my floral suitcase ;)

nothing else says "welcome to jamaica" better than a rum punch with a drink umbrella!

a view of our hotel from the beach side (we got engaged in that little upper level hut two years ago).

our hotel has such beautiful and lush landscaping!

everything was so green!

 buddy is the coolest bird.  ever.  he will shake your hand and say "hello"!

jerk chicken.  all day, every day.

my view.  all day, every day.  :)

i found a random coconut floating in the ocean.  also, i'd like to buy that house.

cory stole my hat!

relaxin' in the lounge.

our boat with one of our captains.

a beautiful view of seven mile beach from our boat.

snorkelin'

i could snorkel in the ocean literally all day!  it's such a peaceful, mesmerizing world down there!

approaching booby cay island...

our other boat captain, pulling our lunch out of the ocean :)

it doesn't get much fresher than that!

life doesn't get any better than this!

our boat captain and one of the locals preparing our lobster lunch.

cory and our lobsters (they were still moving while they were cooking!)

eeeek!

there are no words worthy of attempting to describe how good this was.

one of the many jungle-like trails on booby cay island.

cory found the cutest little hermit crab!


part two highlighting a few visits to the cliffs to follow :)