Ocho Rios

After packing up our belongings we went down to the small transportation station. It took about 1 ½ hours before the minibus drove off towards Ocho Rios. Here in Jamaica they have no bus schedule. The bus drives whenever it is full.

And I mean full. The Jamaican know how to squeeze 6 people on 4 seats. Luckily we had kids sitting next to us. But still the 3 hours ride to Ochi – how the Jamaican say to Ocho Rios – was pretty uncomfortable.

At the busy bus station we had to get our barring and found James Avenue in the local center. Ocean Sands was a Jamaican run hotel at the beach. Well, the beach is quite small but at least it had one. The hotel itself is a bit run down but you can see how the Jamaicans struggle with all those massive All-Inclusive Hotels.

It seemed to be that the whole city gathered around the clock tower and with big speakers music was swapped over the crowd. Touristy downtown seemed to be deserted. Reason for those empty streets already mentioned, the tourist preferred staying in those All-Inclusive Hotels and gambling in the hotel’s casinos.

Well we enjoyed submerging into the crowd and had some fantastic patties and jerk. Patty is a pastry stuffed with chicken, beef or cheese. The food is really tasty so we also had to try the typical dish – ackee with saltfish. Ackee is a fruit and has a very unique taste. Michael didn’t like it too much.

After a couple of days we got ready for our last stop in Jamaica – Negril. This time we traveled with the luxury Knutsford Express bus via Montego Bay to Negril. Let’s have some beach time for Christmas.

Accommodation: Ocean Sands

Price: US $53 per room, own bathroom and balcony with ocean view

Comment: The hotel is situated in the heart of the town. Ocean Sands looks a bit run down from outside but the owners renovate a lot. The rooms are clean and big.