We met up with Jeannie, our tour leader, and her son Robbie, Captain Brent of the Legacy, and Jamaica Rose of No Quarter Given as well as many of our fellow adventurers. Though we tried to wait for a change in the weather, it never came, necessitating an additional night in Miami, a delay which meant we would unfortunately have to miss our first scheduled stop, a deserted island on which we were meant to have a bonfire – for dancing around and singing "A Pirate's Life for Me" – as well as many other fun activities. Still, it was agreed all around that sailing through a tropical storm would probably not be very pleasant for those of us prone to seasickness. Luckily, we were still able to spend the night aboard the Legacy, which was quite comfortable while it was tied to the dock.

The night heated up, the rum swizzles flowed, and my camera got steamy, creating a rather ghostly image of myself:

Diosa introduced me to a pirate gambling game called Shut the Box, and I proved rather too good at it, winning drinks from my fellow passengers. Dinner was fantastic, as was all the food aboard the Legacy, provided by our chef Strokey. I knew I was well into my cups but when teased about my Star Wars obsession and encouraged to "Use the Force" to acquire a bottle of wine (which I did, with some small bit of assistance) and then, of course, I was obliged to drink it. Ahh, the pirate's life. I learned the lesson of not trying to out-drink either the boat crew or Sheila, who by morning had earned a new name – Shotzi.

Saturday, June 11, 2005 – I awoke when Diosa came to my cabin to tell me that the ship was moving and I had better take some Dramamine. She was right, but it was too late and I wound up being extremely seasick in the middle of the mandatory safety drill, with all passengers and crew present. It is highly likely I would have endured better had my alcohol consumption been less, but all the same I had to deal with it. However I was not the only person aboard to suffer from the same malady.

Tropical Storm Arlene was still in the area, so much of the morning sail was choppy and we hit several rain squalls. I was advised that fresh air was better for seasickness than lying in my cabin, so I stayed on the deck, and eventually settled down through the good cares of Diosa and Jamaica Rose, who were both kind enough to look after me the whole day. Later in the afternoon Jamaica Rose told wonderful pirate stories on deck to all who gathered even in the rain to listen, including my favorite tale of Calico Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny and Mary Reed. By four o'clock the sky started clearing up and so did my mal de mer. I managed to retrieve my camera from my cabin, but again the heat steamed up the lens and some of my shots took on a rather interesting ghostly glow:

Finally I got the lens dried off:

Me on deck in the mist:

Night fell and I was cheerful as I felt well enough to eat dinner and enjoy the ride. The stars began to come out and some of us gathered on the upper deck to sing with Diosa and the Captain while Hurricane played his guitar. Sloop John B and Margaritaville became our unofficial theme songs for the trip that night, I think, and they will always remind me of this remarkable voyage.

Sunday, June 12, 2005 – The Legacy arrived early in Nassau and we were docked when I woke up. After breakfast I shot a few more photos of the cruise ships near us, Atlantis in the distance, and Nassau port:

I went ashore with Jamaica Rose and my crew and we could not resist making the Nassau Pirate Museum our first stop even though we were scheduled for dinner there later that night:

Captain, Diosa, Jamaica Rose, & Shotzi

We went back to the ship for lunch and I captured a few shots of the Legacy and her unusual figureheads, one of the previous captains complete with his Hawaiian shirt and a beer in his hand:

After lunch we took a cab out to Atlantis on Paradise Island, a huge, beautiful resort and casino. The most opulent of these is the Bridge Suite, which books at $25,000 a night with a four night minimum. We took a wonderful guided tour of the underground aquarium.

Gypsies in the Palace:

Atlantis:

Under the Sea:

This was our last evening aboard the ship. We shared a champagne toast with the captain and crew, and Hurricane and Diosa performed a few songs - always a pleasure:

Afterwards, it was off for our dinner at the Pirate Museum. We had a lively group of excited pirates, led by Philip, our guide from the museum. As he claimed to have no pirate name, he was soon christened "Noname" – pronounced No-nah-mee, of course. We dined on a spectacular Indian meal and toured the museum, but by far the most exciting portion of the evening was being allowed to sit inside the pirate sets and pose with the mannequins and authentic backdrops:

Captain, Diosa, and Cinn look in on Governor Woods-Rogers and Ben Hornigold's negotiations.

Lindsey, Ashley, and Touché

Jamaica Rose, Touché, Oryginal Cinn, Noname, Shotzi, Diosa, Captain

Monday, June 13, 2005 – It was time to leave the beautiful Bahamas behind and head for Jamaica. I must admit, the first time I visited Nassau I was not very impressed with it aside from the pirate museum (or it could have been the food poisoning I got at Señor Frog's) but being there with good friends old and new made it a brand new experience and now I am eager to visit again in the future. As we prepared to leave for our shore excursion, a tour of Nassau before we headed for the airport, I heard a few familiar notes being blasted from a ship's horn, and as I recognized "When You Wish Upon a Star" (only a moment after Diosa!) I knew the Disney Wonder had come into port… as did everyone else on the ship when I ran upstairs to take a photo and announce it to everyone on deck whether they cared or not!

Then we were off to see Fort Fincastle and Fort Charlotte:

We dropped off Jamaica Rose, who was remaining in Nassau for an extra day, and headed for the airport. We got there with seemingly lots of time, but everything went downhill rapidly. Our flight on Air Jamaica had been cancelled, so we were bumped to an Air Bahamas flight – only instead of going directly to Kingston, we now had to go via Miami. We had two hours between flights but somehow the American Airlines counter managed to take until the last minute sorting out our documents, then sent us through the all-search security line (we wound up going through FOUR security checks.) I was first to the gate and boarded the plane, but then the cabin was sealed behind me! I pitched a fit, as I had told them there were ten people behind me. This held up the flight a few minutes, then they told me no one was at the gate, but they would let me get off the plane. Of course, everyone was standing right there when they let me out. Diosa and Shotzi were trying to deal with the ill-tempered lady at the desk. We still have not figured out why they thought it would be fun to ruin our day, but suffice to say we wound up being sent back to Air Jamaica.

When we finally did get off the ground, many hours and security checks later, we had a great flight. Air Jamaica has great food (Food! On a plane! Gasp!) and champagne and lovely people. Our group had narrowed down since the cruise and there were now eleven of us for the duration. At first glance Jamaica was hot and dark and a bumpy bus took us from the airport to the Morgan's Harbour Hotel in Port Royal. We first met our guide Collin and our driver Charles, two wonderful people who were to accompany us for the whole tour. The lovely Jackie, manager of the hotel, greeted us with very welcome hors d'oeuvres and punch. Unfortunately since we were late we missed the lecture we were supposed to have about the Sunken City – Port Royal sank almost completely under the sea in a 1692 earthquake – and I know both Touché and myself among others were sincerely disappointed that this was not able to be rescheduled.

Poor Lindsey's luggage was lost for the second time, leaving her with one outfit for the rest of the trip. Despite the fact that American Airlines had lost the bag, she was given a generous settlement by Air Jamaica and was eventually able to buy a change of clothing.

Morgan's Harbour was recently refurbished and is an absolutely gorgeous place. The crabs scuttling over the ground were first noticed by Touché, which put him at the butt of many jokes for the rest of the trip. One of the little demons scuttled into the room I was sharing with Shotzi and was duly stomped to death by the Captain, who at first mistook it for a roach. The rooms at the hotel were spacious and well-appointed, with all the amenities one hopes for while traveling. It was far above in quality what I expected and I was exceptionally pleased as we had three nights there.

On the hotel grounds are a pool, restaurant, bar, marina and the Pirate's Gold casino, at which I actually managed to come out ahead – not by much, but enough for a bottle of rum. I split my winnings with Touché since they happened on his quarter.

We all had fun attempting to translate the exchange rate, which is about $58 or $60 Jamaican to $1 US. It was very amusing to have a pocket full of thousand dollar bills! I did very little shopping in Port Royal as it is not a very commercial area, though I did pick up a lovely carved wooden parrot in the market in Kingston. I blew all my cash a few days later in Ocho Rios.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 – Each day breakfast was included at the hotel, and we had Jamaican specialties like callaloo, ackee and saltfish, stewed chicken, and jonnycakes. It was really good, but I am glad enough to come home to my cornflakes and yogurt. It was sunny when we first got up:

But too quickly it was raining:

We swapped out our planned walking tour of Port Royal for a driving tour of Kingston, including a stop for lunch at Juici Patties for incredibly delicious Jamaican patties – Diosa's idea and a brilliant one. The cost was under $3US for two patties and a drink. Here you can see Touché and his sisters along with Rick and Shelby enjoying their tasty lunch:

After lunch we were privileged to visit the Devon House, the 18th century home of George Steibel, Jamaica's first black millionaire. There is a wonderful article about the Devon House at this link.

l. to r. Diosa, Hurricane, Touché, Shotzi, Oryginal Cinn, Collin – eventually named "His Fault" so we could blame anything that went wrong on the trip on him – though of course, it was not!

When we got back to the hotel that evening the rain had stopped, so although the sky was grey I used to opportunity to snap a few photos:

Because of the soggy weather the British Dinner which was supposed to be held at Fort Charles, the fort which inspired the one occupied by the British Navy in the Pirates of the Caribbean film, was moved to our hotel. Although we found this extremely disappointing, we still had a fantastic time anyway! Everyone dressed up in period costumes and we were the pretty while we ate and listened to the rhythms of a Jamaican Mento band. We did a tasting of Appleton rum and after that were all ready to dance the night away.

Shotzi in our hotel room, looking absolutely stunning:

l. to r. Diosa, Hurricane, Shotzi, Touché, Oryginal Cinn, Lindsey, Shelby, and Fearless.

I look drunk or sunburnt or both, but man, check out my cleavage!

The band

Our waiter got into the act with his bandanna and Touché's hat:

Yes, we were having a good time!

After dinner we all played in the casino, including more wonderful singing from the Pyrates of the Coast band and a hilarious stint of bouncing rubber balls with eyeballs painted on them in a not so solemn tribute to Pirates of the Caribbean's Ragetti.

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 – We were up bright and early and glad to see that the rain had put itself on hold for a few moments.

After breakfast we boarded our shuttle bus with Collin for the Bus Ride of Doom through the mountains. Reminding me sharply of Joan Wilder's expedition in Romancing the Stone, we traveled a winding two lane road up the side of a sharply dropping cliff filled with twists, turns, dogs, chickens and goats. We all got a kick out of Charles' ringtone – his phone played "Heaven" by Bryan Adams every time it went off, causing us to break into a chorus. The bus had a cheerful little horn that I was referring to as the Happy Horn of Doom since every time it sounded it meant we were going around a blind curve possibly over a cliff or into a truck. Luckily, Charles was In Charge and we survived nicely. Well worth the harrowing journey was our visit to the Jamaican Blue Mountain (Jablum) Coffee Factory:

The ladies who sort the beans work their way through a 28 pound bag each day, usually finishing work before noon. Their pay averages about $9US per day. 75% of the coffee is sold to Japan and only a small amount goes to the US. The cost to purchase it here is around $30 a pound and we were able to buy it for $14 – needless to say, I bought a lot. We were treated to a sample cup and I must say it was easily the BEST cup of coffee I ever had in my life. Those of you who know how much I love coffee know I don't say such a thing lightly.

After this delicious experience, we bounced even higher up the mountain to visit Flamstead, a property generally not available to most tourists. It was once part of the pirate (who eventually became Lt. Governor) Henry Morgan's holdings and is currently the family home of Ambassador Peter King. Ambassador King was meant to host us for lunch but was unfortunately called away on business as Ambassadors tend to do, but no less delightful was our host Vivien, his godson and the architect of the house. High atop the mountain, the view is amazing. The mist rolled in around us while we were there, leaving us with the feeling that we were truly up in the clouds. Vivien gave us a tour of the property and a tasty lunch.

Our whole group!

After visiting the current house, we were able to explore the ruins of the previous Great House:

Fearless takes a picture of me as I take one of him on the bus ride back to Port Royal:

On the way back we attempted to see the British Naval Cemetery but it started pouring the moment we stepped through the gates. Eerie. My photos were not all I dreamed.

Dinner that night was another wonderful Jamaican meal accompanied by an Afro-Caribbean dance group who despite having lost their sound crew in the rain were fantastic. They made do with our clapping and drumming with our silverware. This was our last night in Port Royal at the Morgan's Harbour Hotel – high marks to Jackie and her staff and their gorgeous resort!

Thursday, June 16, 2005 – Somehow our 5:30 a.m. wakeup call came at 4:30 and our 6:30 breakfast at 7:30 so I was already tired when this very long day began. However, it was well worth it. We never did get to have the included CD recording session, but I think we much preferred the tour of Port Royal we had wanted so badly! How exciting it was to see Fort Charles, including one of its out-buildings, the Giddy House, which an earthquake has sunk into the ground at a title, called "giddy" which is the Jamaican expression for dizzy. It was easy to see how Fort Charles inspired the fort in the movie:

Next we moved along to St. Peter's Church, where we had the honor and the privilege of a private viewing of some of the spoils of Henry Morgan's sack of Panama. What an amazing thing, to hold in your hands plundered goods once carried by a pirate! We were all awestruck.

We couldn't miss the signpost!

And what visit to Port Royal would be complete without a visit to Gallows Point. We could only just barely see it from the dune we stood on, but we all doffed our hats to Calico Jack and the many other fine pirates hung out on that spit of land:

Here Touché reenacts the "Stranded" exhibit from the Pirate Museum in Nassau:

Our next stop was a church in Spanish Town near the jail and courthouse where Calico Jack, Mary Read, and Anne Bonny were tried:

Then on to the Jamaica Historical Archives where we were able to view actual documents from Morgan's time!

The two hour bus ride through the mountains to Ocho Rios passed quickly enough – first Collin did a reading from trial of Calico Jack, Mary Read, and Anne Bonny, then we all dozed off afterwards due to the early start we had gotten. After a distressingly quick pass of the Seville House we were out of the bus at Green Grotto Caves for a tour of two caves. One had previously been a disco for a time, and part of the James Bond movie "Live & Let Die" had been shot there as well. As a long-time Bond fan and a fan of caves in general this was a thrill. My cave photos are not terribly wonderful, but here they are:

After the caves, we arrived at our resort in Ocho Rios, Crane Ridge. Though it could not compete with Morgan's Harbour, it was lovely, had a fantastic view and perfectly adequate rooms. The only drawbacks were the several times we had to walk up the steep hill after returning from town! The sun was just setting as we got there and we planned to walk down to Margaritaville for dinner, but a power outage left us searching for other altrnatives. We found a nice little place which had both Chinese and Jamaican food and after that were done for the night.

Friday, June 17, 2005 – This was our free day and most of us planned to spend it wastin' away again in Margaritaville. I snapped some early morning photos of the resort:

We headed into town and were delighted to find this casino:

Come dine with me, Ocho Rios…

Finally at Margaritaville, complete with waterslide

A wonderful day led into a breathtaking evening as we first visited Firefly, another Henry Morgan property and the home of Noel Coward, and Goldeneye, home of Ian Fleming. The view from Firefly was stunning:

I can understand why both Coward and Fleming found Jamaica so inspirational. I could easily have taken up my pen and applied my craft all day and all night looking out on the stunning views at both of these former homes. Though the view was arguably better at Firefly, Goldeneye won my heart even more thoroughly. Although it is now outfitted as a multi-bedroom rental property ($6000 per night for the whole building) as opposed to a museum like Firefly, it was opulent and seductive, and we had a fantastic meal, one of the best on the trip, and watched the sun set:

Entering the property

Outdoor showers for the guest rooms:

Undeniably thrilling: Touché and I get to sit at Ian Fleming's desk where he wrote every James Bond novel:

Sunset:

After a magnificent evening we returned to the pirate casino for a few hours (what else would James Bond do?) then retired to our rooms at Crane Ridge Resort for a quick sleep before heading out to catch our flight in Montego Bay. The airport had a Margaritaville so I was able to check one more off my list even though there was no time to eat. Our Air Jamaica flight back to Miami was trouble free.

Despite so many troubles and things going wrong and being eaten alive by mosquitos, this was a tremendously inspirational trip for me. The beauty of Jamaica and the friendliness of everyone we met will live always in my heart, and I hope to return one day soon.

Hmm, think I'll write another pirate novel…I did have some thoughts while sitting at Ian Fleming's desk…

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