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Last year my girlfriends and I decided a well deserved girls get-a-way was in order. We started planning early and wound up enjoying 6 fabulous days aboard the Enchantment of the Seas - one of many in the Royal Caribbean Cruiseline's fleet of cruiseships. We flew to Florida and boarded the ship in gorgeous Orlando.
We were scheduled to stop off in Jamaica and the Grand Cayman Islands. Aside from a little sea sickness that was quickly held at bay by a hefty dose of Dramamine, everything was wonderful.
The food...the food....the food....the food! All you can eat whenever and where ever you want to eat it. The three of us had an absolute ball.
After sailing along for a day and a half, we finally arrived in Ocho Rios, Jamaica! From aboard the ship the island looked like a tiny piece of paradise. We were all extremely excited but a bit apprehensive once we disembarked and prepared to go site seeing around town.
Shuttle bus and taxi drivers swooped down like vultures anxiously preparing to enjoy their kill for the day - the unsuspecting tourist!
We didn't know whose adventure bus to hop on. Then out of nowhere a sweet Jamaican woman approached us with a warm friendly smiled and offered us what we all thought was a decent fair for our site seeing excursion.
Once in the cab she warned us of the roadside peddlers that would be trying to get the best prices for their "one-of-a-kind" merchandise. She told us to check with her before we purchased any items and she in turn would let us know if it was a decent price.
She was such a "sweet" lady.
After several stops and many purchases, we began to wonder how much "site seeing" we were going to be privileged to. We had visited at least seven or eight roadside "shopping extravaganzas" which were located in very remote parts of the city. At one point our driver pointed toward a hilly countryside and claimed Bob Marley had been born somewhere in that directions. Wow!
We never saw the beach or anything remotely close to being worthy of a digital photo reminder of the experience.
Our final stop before heading back into town was a little make shift village. It consisted of several tin and wood one room shacks where people were scurrying to and fro trying to make a quick buck. In my attempt to let everyone enjoy a piece of the pie, I purchased t-shirts, wooden cups and several dollar store necklace and bracelet sets - all of which took place under the watchful eye of our tour guide. She was such a "sweet" lady.
Finally after spending all the money I had, I came across a kind looking older gentleman who wanted to show me his mule. I walked over to the animal with him and smiled as he asked if I would mind taking a photo with him and the animal. "Of course I don't mind sir. I'll be glad to take a picture with you." My girlfriend took my camera and the man, the mule and I all said CHEESE!
As I began to thank him for this sweet little memory, he informed me that it would cost $2! I was a bit confused. $2 for what I asked him. He then said that I had to pay him for taking a picture with him and his mule. Now this was pretty funny and quite ridiculous. But as they say - when in Rome...get jipped! After paying him $1.50 which was all the cash I had left, I headed back to the taxi. I was ready to leave.
Once we arrived back in town we were dropped off at a "real" shopping center. We had decided to save the real shopping for after our "site seeing" trip - big mistake.
To our surprise, most of the items we had purchased on the side of the road - you know the one-of-a-kind items I mentioned earlier - were all available at stores in the shopping center. The funny thing is the items were half the price of what we'd paid the peddlers in the countryside.
At this point we realized, we had been had. Our driver probably was the master mind behind their little scheme to swindle the unsuspecting tourists out of as much spare change as possible. No wonder she wanted to check with us on the prices we paid for items. She was CALCULATING her take.
When you're made a complete ASS out of you have to be able to see the positive side of it. We really hadn't taken that much cash and this is a way of life for most people there. It's still kind of funny, though especially when I look at the picture of me the old man and the ass. Pictures are worth a thousand words. I saw myself, an old man and an ass. He and the rest of his sales team saw two asses in that photo.
I often wonder what happened to our driver, the sweet little lady with the warm friendly smile. She's probably still hard at work earning her first million!
Roschelle Nelson is a Registered Nurse by profession and mother, wife, freelance writer, mentor, friend and genuine lover of life by choice. Roschelle has achieved success with several business ventures. She enjoys writing, meeting new people and considers life a precious gift. View her blogs Admissible Banter and Sagacious Rambling. Her views on life, current news, work and family are never dull and often sprinkled with humor and wit.
Great article Roschelle! I hate to admit, but had I been you, I would have done the same thing. I am sure that I probably would have made more of an ass out of myself. I better take Mark on my expeditions. lol
In spite of getting the wool pulled over our eyes, we really had a good time. I was just looking through my old pics and thought sharing would be fun. Thanks for commenting.
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