Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A Little Bit Of...


Random. What better describes this word than our weekend in Jamaica! Even the beginnings of the trip were a little sporadic. In mid-December Brenton had a contact touch base about a tournament in Jamaica. We decided to sign up just before Christmas. We left early this past Thursday morning, with a full day of travel, to find ourselves waiting for a few other coaches. Our taxi took us on the scenic route through the mountain, one to make your stomach churn for sure. The few hour ride to Jakes Place, with our new friends, was good prep time for the next adventure.

















When we arrived, the place could not find our reservation. Shortly after a little follow up, they showed both of us couples to a little cottage we were to share... two bedrooms, one bath, with a little living room and kitchen to share. The other couple was kind to give us the bed with a mosquito net since the little booger swarm me and leave me itching with welts for days. And luckily, our room opened up to the patio and ocean. A serene, restful environment for sure. Brenton and I both agreed our bodies went limp from overcast breezes, resting from the point we woke up, and listening to the waves lap over the rocks again and again. Peaceful.



















The sandy spot near the pool dropped off into a run-down coral reef, with strong under-tows. We never swam but walked around a few of the long dried out reefs once the tides came in. We didn't go far out of Jake's Place as it was communicated by our local contact that we should not venture out and about. There was one sunny day, the day of the tournament.

Brenton had a long day at the soccer tournament where over 300 individuals, both men and women, were entered. Two of his Jamaican players met up with him at the tournament, one whose father introduced him to the previous coach of Jamaica's national team. Brenton also gleaned a lot from the coach we stayed with, who has coached over forty years at a Division I college.


We left on Monday, fifty minutes later than expected. Luckily we made it to the airport an hour and a half prior to our flight. Lunch was a luxury for our beating hearts.

2 comments:

About Brandon said...

So jealous!!! I loved the pictures and hearing about your adventures!

About Brandon said...

That other comment was from Jennifer, but I'd also like to add that those pics are amazing! Glad to hear you had a good time in the warm weather.

Our church has a partnership with a children's home in Jamaica. We have another team headed down in March!

Brandon