18:10N 76:19N

 

Port Antonio was a stunning anchorage.  Surrounded by lush vegetation including Royal palm trees, hibiscus and bougainvillea it really was just a lovely place to be.  Sadly, the town was rather shabby and we did get constantly hassled.  There was a real sense of unrest amongst the natives – they do have chips on their shoulders.  Jamaica, we decided, was a place to go to only if you are staying at an upmarket resort.  Travelling was difficult although we did take a taxi and do a tour to the eastern tip of the island one day.  Sadly the driver and car were both pretty dire – the first drove way too fast for our liking and the second sprung a radiator leak calling for several “cool down” stops.   We sampled the famous Jamaican jerk chicken at beautiful Boston Bay and then visited the Blue Lagoon, where the movie of the same name was filmed.

 

The Erroll Flynn marina was a great spot to be anchored off with fantastic facilities including showers, laundry and wifi but they charge heftily for it – US$15 a day.  As we pointed out to the marina manager, we’ve never paid to anchor before.  Perhaps if they made the anchorage “free” and charged for the secure dinghy dock and marina facilities it would go down better.  Three of the other four boats in the anchorage complained about the anchoring fee....so it wasn’t just us penny pinching.  The day we paid the bill we were stung by a US$30 pump out fee.  We’d done the right thing and used our holding tank in the anchorage and it needed emptying....but $30??  When we complained and said the most we’d ever paid was $5 they shrugged their shoulders in that infuriating Jamaican way and basically told us tough.  The office girl  went so far as to say we were the first yacht to ever complain about the price.  Sorry love, can’t believe that.  In the States pump out was mostly free.  $30 is ridiculous and will only encourage cruisers to pump out at night.  If you are visiting Port Antonio – be warned!

 

After 10 days in Port Antonio the weather looked okay for the passage down to the San Blas.  This is a notorious strip of sea with winds whipped up by the strong eastern trade winds.  We knew we were never going to get light winds so waited until they dropped below 30.  We visited the markets for the last time stocking up on a huge array of fresh fruit and vegetables and being hassled at the same time, bought a stalk of bananas from a stoned Rasta and set off.