March 99
Our flight out of Newark was very smooth, which actually surprised me. We arrived in MoBay on time, only to wait in line for immigration for an hour. Since it was my cousin's first time in Jamaica, we decided to take the bus ride, which was not bad at all. I think we had one of the calmest drives in all of Jamaica. The ride home is another story!
When we arrived at Hedo, it was raining 8-(. There wasn’t much we could do because our room was not ready (surprise!). "Go have some lunch and relax Mon." So we ate and became familiar with the grounds. About an hour later, we were able to check in and make it to our rooms to unpack. We quickly threw our clothes in the drawers and headed for the beach. It was kind of cloudy so we headed up to the pool for a few drinks and some mingling. Since it was our first time at Hedo, we did not know what was going on (it was Saturday night) so we went to our rooms and changed into our "evening attire." Met some really great people that night and had a great time singing the night away in the Piano Bar. I never realized how much alcohol alters the sound of one's voice. I must say, I thought I sounded pretty damn good! Well, after some tequila shots and Vodka slushes, I was off to the nude hot tub. I was a little nervous and uncomfortable about being nude at first, but that ended soon. Besides, it wasn't like I was the only one without any clothes on! I never saw the sex police that night.
As for the rest of the vacation, I'm a little foggy as to what went on each day. We were very lucky with the weather--it rained for a few minutes each afternoon, but it wasn't enough to ruin a good day of tanning my buns. I had a hard time eating there (I am a vegetarian and do not eat meat or fish) but what I did find wasn't too bad. The Italian restaurant was very accommodating to my eating needs which I thought was great. We ended up trying to eat there as much as possible, although we had a hard time getting reservations after 8:00 a.m.
The toga party was fun. It was great to see how imaginative people can be. "Gee, I never thought a sheet could be tied like that!" I didn't stay in my toga all night--it became a little much after awhile so I went back and changed and headed to the dreaded disco for some late night drinks. I just wish there was another place to get alcohol after 1:00 a.m. (but then again, since it was my first time, I probably don't know the tricks of the trade yet). I never made it to the PJ party. We found that we were having some problems with the Vinnies and felt uncomfortable going. That was our biggest problem with the hotel. Many of the guys we talked to expected much more than simple conversation. Believe it or not, it wasn't the water pressure.
We definitely did not take full advantage of the included water sports. The most I could drag myself to do was snorkeling and the glass bottom boat ride (which was not worth it). The day we went snorkeling, the waters were very rough and choppy, which made for me swallowing lots o' salt water.
Our trip home went well, except for the bus ride back to MoBay. That was definitely an experience! Overall our trip was really great. There is definitely no other place like it in the world. Would I return? Absolutely! As for the people we met there, we have stayed in contact and hope to be meeting again some time in May. It's strange how close you can become with people just after a week. I think it's Hedonsim!