February 27th - Cruise 2008

Montego Bay, Jamaica:

Our first port of call was exciting. We hadn't been there five minutes when I heard five girls crying in the bathroom because they'd had a traumatic experience and wanted to get back on the boat. They paid some women to braid their hair and these women apparently didn't have permits. The braid station was raided and the women were screaming, falling to the ground and trying to run away. The girls didn't get their money back and they were too freaked out to venture any further in to town. I felt bad for them, but seriously, who gets their hair braided anymore? Bo Derek. Milli Vanilli. Those three girls from my high school who went on spring break in 1993...

(The "super dangerous" terminal where everybody went through customs. If somebody gives you a package to take back to the states. Don't do it. Seriously. It doesn't end well.)

(It's important for your boat to look freshly painted. TONS of judgmental people floating around out there in the Gulf of Mexico.)

(Welcome to Jamaica, Bev and Wayne!)

("Big sale...you come to my tent...I have many beautiful things...big sale...just for you!")

(that says, "Montego Bay"...moving bus photography isn't my strength.)

(the oldest church in Jamaica - our bus driver joked, "you have to take a zip line to get there.")

(fruit stand, corner bar or somebody's house...can't really tell.)

(guy with no teeth, cutting grass with a machete)

(it certainly was...)

(dirt road to nowhere...I mean, the jungle.)

Ryan, Chad, Bettina and I signed up for a Zip-line excursion through the jungle (if the "Girls Next Door" could do it, so could we). We were dressed for a serious adventure - covered in generous layers of bug spray and sunscreen. But it was really hard not to notice one little group on the excursion with us (who seemed to think a Coach bag, a diamond watch, sunglasses and an i-pod were necessary for the afternoon). They made us laugh several times, but watching them put on lipstick and brush their hair before hiking through the jungle was about as good as it could get, in my opinion.

Here's where we started - a scenic spot for all kinds of wilderness activities:

(the Westhoff boys - all harnessed up and ready to go!)

(yup...we're workin' it!)

(it was hard work to get up in those trees!)

(ready for the tree-swinging to begin.)

(Later on, Ryan said he felt like a combination of James Bond and a character on "Lost")

(...a rare jungle creature. Goes by the name of "Chad". Very agile. Quite friendly to strangers.)

(wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

(I didn't quite make it all the way to the platform - had to turn around and CLIMB!)

Our crazy guides: Keifer (above) and Crazy G (below)...did I mention they were "crazy"?

(group photo - the official pose of Jamaican zip-liners)

(couples who zip together stay together!)

(an endorsement for fun - and also "red bull")

(a classy little strip club...seriously - it says so on the building. And also, there's a painting.)

(this is the time-share we bought...)

(actual homes on the side of the mountain - p.s. these cost more)

(bye-bye Jamaica...)