I don’t get off the ship much in Jamaica. Sometimes I just need a day to sleep, do laundry, or catch up on work. Plus there isn’t much to do in the port of Falmouth and there was that whole Corn Dogs and Robbery episode of last year. But when my parents cruised earlier this year I had a look at the tours we offer in this port and realized there are a lot of adventures waiting for me.
My sister cruised with me a few weeks after my birthday and asked me to pick out a tour as part of my present. I chose “Dunn’s River Falls and River Tubing.” I had heard of Dunn’s River Falls. I know that it’s really popular – I would guess that at least a third of our tours go there. I also know that last year a friend of mine went to the falls, slipped, and banged his head off the rocks. I remember this because I got to make the joke, “It’s a waterfall, not a you fall!” I’m hilarious.
I noticed that it said in the tour brochure, “Water shoes or closed toe athletic shoes are required for climbing the falls.” Climbing the falls? Why would anyone do that? I only wanted a nice picture of the falls and truth be told my sister would have been equally happy (if not happier) staying on the ship and laying by the pool all day. But guess who rented some water shoes and started climbing? Both of us!
The parking lot is actually well above the falls. You walk down a nice paved path until you reach a sandy beach. From there you round a corner and see the falls climbing 600 feet through the rainforest. Everyone in our group formed a human chain by holding hands and we got to work.
There were hundreds if not thousands of people climbing the falls when we were there. Each group gets a guide that shows you where to step so you make it safely to the top. Great concept, but think of this as the physical manifestation of the “telephone game.” The message always changes by the time it gets to the last person. And for most of the trip I was the last person.
I hated the human chain aspect. I have discovered that I am more of “scrambler” than I am a “climber.” I even climb mountains basically on all fours. I like to grab hold of rocks, trees, shrubbery, wildlife -whatever it takes to make it to the top. But no, not here. We had to hold on to each other. To me that means if one person falls, we all fall. Not if one person falls, we will catch them. Plus I just really didn’t need the pressure of either catching my neighbor or possibly taking everyone down with me – I had a waterfall to climb.
I have apparently grown accustomed to the white sand beaches I normally find myself on because I found it difficult to walk in cloudy water when you can’t see where the rocks are. But I did okay despite a few slips, trips, bumps, and bruises.
Most of the “path” up the waterfall is on exposed rocks or in shallow water. Interspersed throughout the falls are other attractions such as larger pools for swimming, a natural waterside (I didn’t have time for that. Sad.), and a pool deep enough you can “trust fall” into. It was a little scary – especially since the whole way up the falls I was running into rocks I couldn’t see. But I trusted the guide and leaned back.
We eventually made it to the top and felt victorious. At the time it was something I was glad I did, but had no desire to do again. However, looking back on it, I would do it again tomorrow. It’s so beautiful and exciting.
After the falls we had a nice Jamaican lunch on the beach complete with patties and jerk chicken. Then it was time to relax on the river and recover from all of the excitement earlier in the day.
Jamaica is a beautiful island. Stay tuned for an upcoming post about seeing Jamaica from the sky. How? Why? Come back and find out for yourself.
