In search of History & Rum!
This was originally meant to be a travel report from Sri Lanka but the terrorist attacks on that island forced us to find another destination for our honeymoon at the last minute. After typing ‘All inclusive honeymoon’ into Google Jamaica was up there and we booked it the same day.
Words and Photograph by Simon Hastelow
I should probably note that we still very much wanted to continue with our Sri Lankan trip. We’d been looking forward to it for a very long time and figured it was probably the safest time to go. However the UK government in their Health & Safety driven wisdom declared it a no fly destination and our tour operators just cancelled the holiday and issued a refund without even an apology. But I digress, let’s get back to Jamaica. The one big advantage of choosing a holiday destination at the last minute is that we did not know what to expect. All we had read was the details on the hotel website, coupled with a basic knowledge of where it sat both geographically and historically we set off on a voyage of discovery. (Well actually it was a Virgin flight from Gatwick but you know what I mean). I won’t bore you with the details of the rest of our holiday, it was our honeymoon, it was an all inclusive resort where the bars don’t close. Fill in the blanks yourself! However, on our ‘Welcome’ meet and greet with the fantastic resort staff they showed us around the facilities on the resort and also listed a few off-site trips we might be interested in. As soon as the words ‘4x4 Safari’ were uttered my gorgeous new bride cast a knowing, if slightly resigned glance. I suppose it could have easily been interpreted as “Don’t you dare!” but I was already reaching for the credit card. The company organising the trips: CHUKKA, offered a range of adventure excursions including quad bike safaris, pony, trekking, kayaking, etc. So I figured it would be an adventurous trip even though I was firmly told that I would not be allowed to drive. And all the photos featured Land Rover Defenders in fairly mild but definitely ‘off-road’ conditions. Let’s Go!
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THE MUD LIFE MAGAZINE
