SANDALS PRYMER

 A QUICK ONCE OVER
There’s really no reason to read this “primer” in order enjoy a visit to a Sandals resort. One can just show up and have a great time. This all-inclusive, adults / couples only chain of Caribbean Resorts is quite able and willing to cater to your whims and make your stay as enjoyable as possible. Greeted on arrival with “welcome home,” it is not simply a hokey sentiment, but a great attitude. Staying at a Sandals is always a pleasant, relaxing time, but with the easing of COVID restrictions and the world slowly opening up again, these endearments are closer to the heart and both guests and staff (happy to be working again) smile and breathe a sigh of relief.

JA MON

Readers of this TRAVEL blog may denote a change of heart from this adventurous scribe, for traveling to a resort like a Sandals doesn’t mean you are seeing another country. It was difficult to ease up on my quest for adventure and immersion into other cultures on my excursions. One doesn’t travel to a Sandals, or any other resort for that matter, to immerse, but to imbibe. If not for the trace differences at each location they would all begin to be the same. The ubiquitous Jamaican “Ja Mon,” offered by nearly every staff member at the Sandals Jamaica South Coast as affirmation of our drink order or menu selection, was probably the only bit of local culture hedging onto this secluded resort, reminding us we were in a tropical paradise and not just Lavallette, NJ.

GORDON'S PIER RESTAURANT
BAHAMAS

ESCAPE FROM PARADISE?

Of course, it is a stretch to compare a Sandals resort to New Jersey, the shore of my youth, for the serenity and luxuriousness of a Sandals is insulated from reality. And, at Sandals South Coast in Jamaica the world is very far away. The resort is set on a two-mile stretch of a private white sandy beach which is abutted by a 500-acre natural preserve. Because of COVID restrictions put in place by Jamaica we are effectively quarantined on the resort. That’s okay because one could walk a long way in every direction on the resort before having to turn around and slake their thirst at one of the seemingly countless bars.

On the previous trips to a Sandals, I did manage to get off the grounds for a bit of exploring, while Janet squeezed in a last day of diving. Beyond the gates of Sandals Royal Bahamian there is a busy road and a quiet neighborhood and a post office where I purchased some colorful stamps. 

At Sandals Grande Antigua I took a short van ride into nearby St. Johns, an interesting little town, but fled for the solitude of the resort again when massive cruise ships docked at the port and disgorged their charges who descended on the warrens of shopping kiosks like locusts.

RESERVE IN ADVANCE

There are a lot of restaurants on a Sandals, some are unique to that particular resort and some, like Schooners, Bayside or Eleanor’s are found in many of the resorts. 

Not all restaurants require reservations, but it’s a good idea that you reserve all your dining engagements as soon as you check in at a Sandals, even before you head out to your room. That way you won’t have to wait in a line if you simply walk up to the hostess’ desk. Some prime places require a reservation and you may not get the seating time you want unless you book in advance. Do not wait for the day you want to eat to book a reservation, you may not get in. Don’t worry the staff are very accommodating.

In Antigua our favorite restaurants were Barefoot By The Sea with tables set on the sand and Soy, their sushi restaurant. Their Bayside is very elegant and romantic with the tables set right up to the beach.

We ate at the equally elegant Caribbean cuisine restaurant, Eleanor’s, in both Antiqua and Jamaica where men are required to wear long pants instead of simply resort casual shorts.

Oddly in Antigua they had a Tex-Mex restaurant called OK Corral, which meant they had Don Julio Tequila for their margaritas, but you have to ask for it! In fact, rather than ask for a “Dirty Banana” or some other odd drink, ask your server or bartender for a specific liquor, like a Don Julio, or an Appleton 12-year reserve. They will willingly crack open a bottle for you with an appreciative nod. Really, the only thing you want in your rum is some ice, and according to some locals that’s too much.

In The Bahamas their Belle Epoque designed French restaurant, Baccarat, is a tough reservation to get, but it’s a beautiful atmosphere. Next door is the equally elegant Crystal Room which features a massive chandelier, but no reservations required…but you know the drill, reserve when able. And, Gordon’s Pier Restaurant is also a very romantic experience as you dine outside overlooking the Caribbean Sea

In Jamaica we ate several times at the Jerk Shack for lunch, but their Asian fusion restaurant, Jasmine's, as well as Sushi On The Sand, were also favorite restaurants for us. 

Admittedly, I'm not particularly fond of eating Italian in a Caribbean setting, but their Giuseppe's was very good.

At all the restaurants they will hand you a wine list. Ignore it. Unless you're into spending extra money their house wines are good enough. I mean, if you're going to spend extra money on an expensive bottle of wine why are you reading this blog about being cheap? .

BAREFOOT BY THE SEA - ANTIGUA

PLAN AHEAD!

If interested in diving, go down to the aqua center to sign up for lessons or if certified the next day’s dive excursion. There is a limited capacity on the dive boats, especially now with COVID concerns, so you can’t just show up for a dive. 

Also, it's a good idea to book any excursions or tours on your arrival; they can get overbooked..

WRINKLE ROOMS

Typically, the Sandals family of resorts attracts an older crowd, but there’s a revelry that still goes on with some of the younger couples and the swim-up bars during the day can be a bit frenetic. Thankfully there’s always a piano bar somewhere on the resort and that is sedate environment. 

We call them “wrinkle rooms” for the older clientele they attract. In Antigua the bar is located above the Courtyard Bistro area. In The Bahamas, the walls of the bar were decorated with memorabilia from when Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII used this hotel, the former Balmoral Club as their getaway after he abdicated the throne and became governor of The Bahamas.

Sadly, because of COVID the Jamaica South Coast piano bar doubled as a disco after the bewitching hour and we went scurrying whenever the throbbing music spun by the DJ began. The better choice is the Latitude Bar which is at the end of a pier and offers wonderful sunset views.

LATITUDE BAR, SANDALS SOUTH COAST

IN CASE OF RAIN

Spend down time like rainy days to plan ahead for any tours that you might be interested in taking, or going over to the Loyalty Desk to plan a return trip to Sandals. If you book, even tentatively, a future visit you can get a discount (plus a Sandals t-shirt...anything to delay laundry day).

Another perk as a returning visitor is their member appreciation dinner. Speeches are given, certain members are honored, and bottles of rum are handed out to all attendees. It’s nice, but I hope they never call us up to “honor” our multiple travels to Sandals.

Thanks for reading

Janet and greg

©2021 by Greg Dunaj

LIVE LOVE TRAVEL

SCUBA DIVING IN JAMAICA

FISHES AND LOBSTERS AND SEA CUCUMBERS... OH MY

Diving has become our most favored activity when we travel to a Sandals Resort, but because of COVID restrictions it almost did not happen on this trip to Jamaica. It wasn't until a week before our scheduled trip to Sandals South Coast in Whitehouse Jamaica that diving was finally allowed again. I had put in a lot of work and training during our last two visits to a Sandals in order to pass my PADI Open Water certification. I was finally able to just dive for the fun of it. We had already delayed this trip to Jamaica, my first to this island nation, for 6 months, hoping all the restrictions would finally relax, and luckily everything fell into place at the last minute. Timing IS everything.

DIVING IS EVERYTHING

Diving is an incredible sport which allows one to swim in the biodiverse world of coral reefs that teem with all sorts of fish and other critters. It’s a safe sport, especially with the dive teams at every Sandals watching over you. They are patient, attentive and helpful to all the divers on their excursions, from the novice divers (like us), to those trying to get certified, either for a resort certification or PADI Open Water certification. Once certified it is a cheap sport, all equipment is provided by Sandals except for an optional wetsuit that can be rented at a small price. We wore UV shirts which worked perfectly in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.

PADI DIVING INSTRUCTION 

We were looking forward to this our third trip to a Sandals, not just for the location, food or drinks, but for the diving. This was the first time I did not have to go through any “certification” tests. I had already done my testing and taken the last of my “check-out” dives when we were in The Bahamas. 

Certification can be an intense endeavor, there are a number of safety things you should know, like “am I running out of air,” but, that was all completed and on this trip to Sandals South Coast in Jamaica I could finally just get in the water, follow the divemaster and marvel at the beauty of the coral reefs. It would have been a huge disappointment had the COVID restrictions for diving not been lifted  

THE BACKBONE OF OUR EXISTENCE

Coral reefs only cover 1 percent of the world’s oceans, but 25% of the marine life live in the reefs. They are the backbone of our shores, absorbing most of the surge of waves preventing erosion of the shores and lessening the impact of storm surges and currents. The largest coral reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, followed by Belize and then the Great Florida Reef which is the only coral reef in the United States.

Many of the dive sites at Sandals South Coast were just a few minutes off shore. Standing on the beach we could see waves breaking on the reefs. 

Diving is a “lazy-man’s” sport and once you get over the claustrophobia that some people experience and not fear the occasional reef sharks that ponder the return on investment in biting you and watching Moray Eels and spiny lobsters watching you from their coral reef crevices or seeing an occasional manta ray flit out from beneath the sand as you near it, and you relax and breathe easily through your regulator, the diving experience is incredibly beautiful. The reefs teem with fish and invertebrates and the living coral are majestic displays of nature in a biodiverse universe only seen from under the water.

Most of the dive spots in Jamaica are just a few minutes out from shore so it was possible to go on a two-tank dive, meaning a first dive around 40-45 minutes at around 60 feet depth and then another shorter and shallower dive, around 30 feet in depth after a surface interval, and still be back at 11:30 and in time for lunch.

GOING WITH THE FLOW

All our dives in Jamaica are “drift” dives which go with the current. This was a first for this novice diver with the Sandals resort. In Antigua and the Bahamas, the dive boats were anchored. We were taught to first swim against the current at the beginning of the dive, this way you’re not fighting the current on the way back and potentially running out of air… you see there is a pattern here.

COVID compliant Stringbean
and Me

Drift diving there really is no swimming. Fins aren’t really used to propel, but just for buoyancy control and we meandered behind the divemaster, Stringbean, who claimed to have over 7,000 dives, and who pointed out things we might have missed, like a Moray Eel giving us the evil eye, lobsters twitching from their coral crevices, a stingray, a flounder, and a docile pufferfish that didn’t seem to mind being petted gently. On the one day I didn’t dive, Janet’s Stringbean team saw a female dolphin and her young calf. On another day we saw something out of a horror film. Stretching out from a coral reef along the bottom was a Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber. This long tube-like creature anchors itself inside the coral reef and stretches out a good three feet to forage for food. Disturbed, the sea cucumber rapidly recoils, before slowly inching out again. Some cultures each sea cucumbers! UGH! 

Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber

The drift dives were quite relaxing. We simply went along trailing behind the divemaster until it was time to surface. On the deeper dives we always had to take a 3-minute safety stop at 15 feet below the surface to allow our bodies to acclimate with the surface pressure. On the anchored dives at the other resorts there was always a safety ladder to cling to, but on this drift dive we had to rely on our depth gauge or simply watch the divemaster. 

Happy Pufferfish

Once it was time to surface the divemaster would unfurl an inflatable surface buoy, we’d inflate our vest and bob on the surface chatting about what we’d seen and admiring the mountains of Jamaica and how the clouds were already gathering for the late afternoon storms until the dive boat would swing by to pick us up.

Sandals also has snorkeling adventures and sea kayaks, paddleboards and Hobie Cats for use on a first come basis. On our surface day before we flew home we took out a sea kayak. THAT was more work than the scuba diving!

Because of the expertise of the dive teams and the free equipment Sandals is going to be on our future list of travel destinations.

Thanks for reading

Love Janet and greg

© 2021 by Greg Dunaj

JAMAICA ME CRAZY

FINALLY...NORMAL? 

Given the arduous tasks and the precise adherence to COVID protocols that were required of us JUST to have permission to fly to this Caribbean island nation, is it any wonder that we ripped off our masks at the first opportunity when we finally arrived? After all, this was our first international trip since the “pandemic” hit the globe and despite being weary from all the precautions and fear-mongering we had endured we were still willing to abide by all rules in order to get to Jamaica, even taking the extra step of getting vaccinated. Interestingly a vaccination was not required by Jamaica or the United States to travel, just a negative COVID test.

Once there though, we were like guilt-ridden Catholic High School kids finally graduating and free or hyped-up Amish kids going wild on Rumspringa!

No sooner than we got our room keys the masks came off the swim suits donned and we were in the swim-up bar outside our room in the “French Village” section of the Sandals South Coast Resort in Whitehouse Jamaica, swaying to the reggae being played by the D.J. It felt normal...finally. Though the entire staff of Sandals wore masks, we (every guest) largely ignored the signs about wearing masks indoors, although many complied with requests to use hand sanitizer whenever asked.

BEACH DON’T BITCH

The mask wearing by the staff was a strange sight, but because we were basking on a two mile stretch of a white sandy private beach along a placid Caribbean Sea and plied with plenty of alcohol any lingering worry about COVID quickly dissipated and what seemed ludicrous at first soon became commonplace. Even our divemaster, Stringbean, wore a mask before gearing up and getting “wet”, quickly replacing it when we got back on board the dive boat. Did we care? No we did not.

Why, we even became appreciative of the staff’s adherence to the COVID protocols, as that meant our safety was important to them.

Jamaica heavily relies on tourism and in order to keep this major industry churning the government has devised the notion of “resilient corridors” along the north and south coasts. Basically, if you stay in your resort you don’t have to quarantine against the virus, although protocol-compliant businesses can take patrons on tours.

I had asked about seeing a live reggae band and was told that everything was closed down. All the bars in Negril were shuttered for now and so that opportunity will have to come sometime in the future for us. 

Every detail at Sandals though is tended to and staying on the resort was fine for us. We went on two-tank dives nearly every day. The dive sites were sometimes just a five-minute cruise out, so we were always back around 11:30 a.m. That left the rest of the day making the hard decision as to where to eat lunch and later where to lounge, at the pool or what section of beach and later where to eat dinner. You see it’s a full day!

Two days before our scheduled departure, Sandals requested we take a COVID test. One of the rooms on ground floor in the French Village served as the testing site. We walked in one way and after passing the rapid test (I tried to slip her a $20 so we’d fail and have to remain in Jamaica for a while longer, but they don’t accept tips at Sandals), we walked right out to the pool and got a refill on our drinks.

It may be Jamaica Me Crazy to do all this in order just to travel, but after a year of hiding it is worth it!

Thanks for reading!

Love to all

Janet and greg

©2021

By Greg Dunaj

HEARTBEAT OF MUSIC, RUDE BOYS AND ANTISEPTIC DISPORA

FIRST TIME GOING SOMEWHERE WITHOUT SEEING IT

I’ve been particularly fascinated by Jamaica and its rich musical history. After all ska which began in the 1950’s, rock-steady which had a short-lived popularity in the 60’s and reggae all were birthed here and could fill the sound track of my life. Reggae especially, whose beat echoes my own heartbeat! Well, here I am finally in this revered place and I’m regulated to a “resilient corridor” because of COVID and here at Sandals I’m a prisoner to the DJ’s predilection of tunes. Unfortunately, there is little choice. Bars are shut down still and though this island nation should throb with the beat of reggae it is currently stilled.

SKA RUDEBOY

Of course, staying at a Sandals resort still gives me the opportunity to swim and dive in the Caribbean Sea, overeat and slack my thirst with sweet rum drinks and Red Stripe beer and that’s really nice, but I’m not seeing Jamaica. Sure, I’m experiencing the warm, friendly Jamaicans who cater to my whims with a wide smile, albeit hidden by a mask; some wear buttons emblazoned with their picture to show what we are missing; but I’m not seeing any part of the country.

Of course, Jamaica IS a poor country, her people scattered around the world in search of better lives, and off the resorts there are parts of Jamaica that are poor and CAN be dangerous, and not just because of COVID. Perhaps when the world can breathe again, we’ll return and see and hear more.

Sandals remains a wonderful experience though, and at Sandals South Coast we are blessed with a serene and private white sand beach that is two miles long. None of the other resorts in the Sandals franchise can claim that, and with a 500- acre nature preserve abutting the resort, South Coast is the most secluded. Speaking with the manager of the hotel today he said no other Sandals resort offers such serenity as well as the over-the-water bungalows, the Latitude Bar also over the water that is ringed by hammocks and gives patrons an incredible sunset view and an over-the-water wedding chapel for those looking to get properly hitched. It is a lovely place, even though you could swear you’re somewhere else and not necessarily Jamaica. But, when you visit a Sandals there's really no reason to go off campus. Catering to your whims, the staff at Sandals are very thoughtful and detail oriented.  

The resort is broken up into three European style “villages.” We are at the far western edge of the property in something called the French Village. Our walk out room is just a few feet closer to the pool than the beach. From our porch we could see the pricey over-the-water bungalows that contrast with these “cheaper”, rooms. Working back towards the center of the resort there is a “Dutch” Village, whose walk-out rooms splash into a long curving pool, separated from the “real” pool by a slab of cement. 

JANET AT OUR
FRENCH VILLAGE POOL

The bar here has no swim up feature. The pool in the Italian Village looks like a fountain, and Italian opera arias softly spill out of speakers located throughout the property. Though the Italian Village’s pool is negligible it is a short walk to the massive main pool and a beautiful piazza that is ringed by flowers and nearly all the restaurants.

Come for the sun, sea, the serenity and the rum drinks…I’ve taken to Appleton’s Reserve Rum on ice, and ask the DJ to mix in some Luciano (reggae) and Ziggy Marley to his mix.

LUCIANO

ZIGGY MARLEY

LATITUDE BAR WITH OVER-THE-WATER BUNGALOWS IN THE DISTANCE

Love to all, thanks for reading!

Janet and greg

© 2021 by Greg Dunaj 

SANDALS SOUTH COAST JAMAICA SERVICE

 NO TEQUILA?

A quick timely note about the Sandals family of resorts. Headquartered on Jamaica with a number of resorts throughout the Caribbean, Sandals has maintained a level of attention to detail and service to their customers that is remarkable. Greeted on arrival with “Welcome Home,” Sandals is a pleasant wonderful experience. This is our third trip to this all-inclusive, adult couples only resort and each visit is as relaxing and elegant as the last and we have never heard the word “no,” until yesterday. 

JAMAICA DIVE SITES

There are several bars scattered throughout the grounds and after our two-tank dive in the morning and lunch at Neptune’s I wanted to have a well-deserved tequila, as it was May 5… Cinco de Mayo…. But two bars didn’t have any tequila on the shelves. We had to go to the main desk for something and while there I asked if they served tequila at Sandals. The woman said “no tequila?” and asked our room number. She wrote the information down and said nothing else and we left. .

We returned to our room, changed from our diving clothes and made our way to the pool outside our room, put towels down on a choice chaise and waded up to the swim-up bar and in that relatively short amount of time there were two full bottles of tequila waiting for us. Thereafter every bar we ambled up to also had two bottles of Cuevo Tequila on their shelves. It took Sandals less than half an hour from hearing my petty gripe to making it a reality for this very large resort. Come for the sun and sand, the service and the tequila!

Tequila!

NAVIGATING IN THE NEW NORMAL

 VeriFLY = SPEEDY DELIVERY TO JAMAICA
I once was late for a flight out of Santorini. I woke up late, hailed a cab and we caromed down the goat paths to the small airport where the plane was already taxiing. Flashing lights and a couple of honks stopped the plane and the crew opened the door and I was able to board.

THAT would never happen today. Between TSA checkpoints and pandemic protocols such “fluidity” is impossible, but if you’re a frequent traveler there are ways to cut through the churn of travel logistics in the new normal.

As we are traveling to Jamaica today there was another layer of security as we had to gain a required Travel Authorization form from the country and take a COVID test. Passports too of course. All have to be brought to the airport and perused by the check-in staff. It can be a wieldy, lengthy process, unless you use a new app, VeriFLY.

The app began in November 2020 and works for a still small, but growing number of international flights with American, Aer Lingus, British Air, Iberia and Japan Airlines. Visit the website for eligible flights.

VERIFLY APP

The App speeds you through the airport check-in process by creating a single file for all the paperwork needed for your international flight.

After downloading the app there’s a button for trip information. Immediately the required forms/information comes up, including, in the case of Jamaica, the Travel Authorization form, proof of insurance and results of your COVID test. You create a profile which HAS to include your picture and when it’s all completed you get a green checkmark with the words “ready to travel”. Janet put both our profiles on her phone. 

American Airlines sent us an email recommending we look into VeriFLY and we were very happy we did so. We sped through a separate check-in bypassing the hordes. Even the agent at check-in was overjoyed with the App saying it made her life easier.

It doesn't beat honking a car horn to catch a plane ride, but it's close!

Thanks for reading.

Love Janet and greg 

©2021

by Greg Dunaj .