Riding With "Precious" Is Not A Problem Unless You Make One
So that makes a good first impression 🙄. He was actually really nice and explained that Precious is his nickname and his real name is Noel, like Christmas. But everyone knows him as Precious and that's what we should call him. He said he will answer any questions we have but he will be focusing on the road because all the other drivers are crazy. We really appreciated that, especially when we asked him a question about an abandoned aluminum plant and he turned around in his seat to look at us while he was talking. We understood why it was important for him not to talk and just drive 😳. We picked up some other tourists at another resort and were happy that they weren't chatty with him, as all our lives depended it on it and they weren't even aware.
We had to stop once on the way to allow a herd of wild goats to cross the road.
We finally got there and used the restroom while Precious got our tickets taken care of. Next to the restrooms was Martha's Garden. There were lots of different herbs and uses for each were listed on the white signs beside them. Zoom into the one near the bottom right 😉.
We were provided entertainment by an older gentleman who played guitar and shook a tambourine with his foot. He sang his own tune to whichever song seemed to pop in his head at any given moment, often stopping one song abruptly and starting another. He had a tip bucket for showing your appreciation. Phil(ip) found him annoying but I thought he was hilarious. I just wouldn't want him to be like, our neighbor or anything 😂.
Precious came to line us up and gave us the only safety precaution we had during our trip to Jamaica...a life vest; with the disclaimer that we didn't have to put it on but had to take it on the raft with us.
The scenery was beautiful! The water is clear when you scoop it into your hand. Our raft captain actually pulled over shortly after we started our float to get a drink straight from the river.
Below is a picture of the people in front of us. The rafts are 30 feet long, made from bamboo. Our Raft Captain told us that they last for about 6 months before they start getting water logged. They then use them to continue making a fence that's about halfway down the tour.
He showed us many different plants and pointed to a huge termite nest that was along the bank in a rotten tree.
Phil(ip) asked him if he and the other raft captains ever raced each other when they weren't busy and he said they don't have competitions but when a cruise ship comes in and they have lots of people waiting then they go faster. He said the more runs they take, the more money they make so then it's a contest to see who's the fittest 😂. I'm glad we weren't there on a busy day because that activity is more enjoyable when you go slow. It's supposed to be a float, not a regatta on the Martha Brae. Not to mention, we drove almost 2 hours to get there so we wouldn't want it to be over so quickly.
Along the river bank are a handful of vendors with the same goods you see everywhere else. They yell for you and try to get you to stop but they aren't super aggressive. One guy was at the river washing something and a tourist on another raft asked him what he was working on. He said he was washing his hammock. His and our raft captains thought it was hilarious that the tourist asked what he was working on. Apparently they don't use that phrase pertaining to leisure activities.
When you get to the end, that's when the sales pitch starts. We should've expected it but I was a little surprised. He brought a black bag on the raft with him but we didn't know what was inside. I assumed it was some sort of raft necessity bag, even though I had no clue what that would entail. Nope. It held some hand-carved calabash shells that were for sale, of course. I must give props to our guy because his sales game was weak, honestly. He was kind of nonchalant about showing them to us and didn't really pressure us to buy it. It was beautiful though so we did.
There's a small circle inside and he showed up how to use it by putting "a little super on it" and sticking it to the bottom to make a stand. When I asked him how much he said, honestly I usually get $35 or sometimes $30, but I take care of you, you take care of me 🙄😂. Seems all Jamaicans know that line.
When you get off the boat, there's another guy who comes over to you carrying some bamboo carved cups. He says something along the lines of, "Oh I see you bought the calabash. Those are nice but I make bamboo. See, they don't break" and he drops it on the floor. Then he says, "Hold it, no charge for touching" and sort of forces you to take it. I was going to tell him no but he said, "Only $5, boss lady. Put drink, pencils, flowers, whatever you want in it. This is how I make my living." He was wearing mismatched shoes, which means 1 of 2 things: he is either really bad at selling things, or he plays a good game with the sympathy card. Either way it worked and I bought one. Lol
I think they're both cool so we have some nice souvenirs from there. I wanted to buy a shirt but we didn't see it until we were leaving. It was a Nike shirt with a Rasta man lying on top of the swoosh and it said, "Just Do It Later. Jamaica" 😂😂😂 That is definitely their motto. The Jamaicans we've encountered are hard working people, they just do things in Jamaican minutes.
When we got back to the resort we were finally able to play in the sea, but still couldn't do the snorkeling trip because you have to sign up in advance. Instead we got to use the paddle boards, and neither of us had ever been on one before. Holly, (#4!) you will be happy to know that skipping paddle board yoga at the retreat was a good idea. Paddle boarding is exhausting! We were only out for less than half an hour and my arms were so tired! Lol. Standing up on one isn't easy. The lifeguard was out in the water on one and came over after we each fell off to give us some tips, like "stand with your feet closer together in the middle" and "don't look down or you'll fall." He told us a few times that he's out on one for hours every day and he never falls. He even stood on one foot and he almost fell and I can't say I wasn't hoping that he did 😝. We didn't get to use the hydrobikes because the Water Sports hut was closing soon after we came back to the beach but that's okay, it just leaves something to look forward to on our next trip!
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