Upon deciding on real estate as a career, a public speaker at a seminar expressed the importance of maintaining one’s sanity with taking a minimum of four vacations per year. And although four vacations for most of us is not possible (unless we are European in which the average employee starting out is allotted five to six weeks of vacation time), I strongly urge people to temporarily sever all ties with the job in which they work and the city in which they live and relax Caribbean-style at an all-inclusive resort where the days tick away not by minutes and hours on a clock but instead by the intervals of waves crashing on the beach, volleyball games played and the number of times the pool waitress refills your Caribbean cocktail.
After four and half years of splendid matrimony highlighted with two Caribbean and two Mexican vacations, I must say that Jamaica takes the cake. My wife and I recently returned from a six night stay in Montego Bay, Jamaica and I will emphatically admit that we did not want to come home, nor can we wait for a return visit to the island. In the past four years we have been fortunate to travel to the Bahamas (our honeymoon), Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Jamaica. And although we have encountered better weather (it rained for a couple of afternoon hours every day but one) we enjoyed ourselves more than any other vacation south of the border. Everything in Jamaica is indeed Irie–a Jamaican noun for good, excellent, great and good quality.
There is not one deciding factor as to why we feel that Jamaica is best, but instead a collection of memories not fully realized until returning home. From the point that we landed in Montego Bay–when the plane appears to dip its landing gear in the bright blue sea because of the close proximity of the runway to the water, to our final experiences of the island– our friendly and talkative shuttle driver instructing us that we must return but try another city next time such as Ocho Rios or Negril and experience the other wonders of Jamaica, and everything in between—being greeted with “Welcome home, Mon” at the resort by a cheerful local– this gem of the Greater Antilles trumps all.
Perhaps the best part was the lodging; a couples/adults only all-inclusive resort at less than 40 percent capacity and esthetically pleasing to the mind body and soul, allowing the Mrs. and I to forget about our day-to-day operations and enjoy one another’s company in a relaxing and tranquil setting.
Or it may have been the countless number of friends that we made with people from California to New York to England and the immeasurable amount of laughs that we shared. This includes our other “friends;” the infectiously friendly Jamaican people who seemingly end every sentence with “No problem mon” or “No worries mon, you’re in Jamaica.”
Or might it have been the leisurely catamaran cruise and snorkeling excursion on a sun kissed afternoon followed by a trip to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville?
Or maybe it was everything that we knew we would receive upon booking the vacation; enjoying a week in the tropics, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the ocean, being copiously treated like royalty, indulging in the tasty and delectable cuisine, and partaking in any number of beverages as common as a Red Stripe and Pina Colada to as original as the Bob Marley and a Tropical Breeze.
Although four, week long vacations per year is hardly attainable and at this point in our lives, bordering on financial irresponsibility, we all can certainly exploit our opportunities and make the most of our days in paradise.
-NHP-
Tags: catamaran, irie, Jamaica, Margaritaville, Montego Bay, pina colada, red stripe, secrets resort, vacation
