Our first rum in Jamaica
This is part two of our vacation to Jamaica. Read part one here.
While my bag wasn’t waiting at the baggage claim, a bag very similar to mine was there. I realized quickly that my bag most likely made it to Jamaica but got mistakenly carted off by another passenger, thinking it was his. I checked the address tag on the bag and got the name of the owner, a guy from Pittsburgh. It seemed only a matter of time before he realized his mistake and I would be reunited with my bag.
The family and I went outside the airport and met our pre-arranged taxi at the curb. Our driver, Byron (which he pronounced “Barry-um”) kindly drove us to the hotel and provided us tips about what we should see. Zipling, snorkeling, and a trip to Blue Hole were all discussed. Byron offered to be our tour guide for a day at Blue Hole or the nearby city of Ocho Rios for a flat fee. We took his card from him as he dropped us off at the Holiday Inn Sunspree, about 10 minutes east of the airport.
Like many hotels in Jamaica, the Holiday Inn was sat behind a wall and gate from the main road. The lobby was open air and people milled about. We bypassed the lengthy check-in line at the receptionist desk and were escorted to the VIP check-in room.
The kids plopped down on the couch in this air-conditioned room while we waited to be served. Several African-American New Jersey kids in their 20s were already seated and we bantered a bit. One of the men took a picture of Kelly and me once we had been delivered the first of our rum drinks.
As we were handed our room key, I brought up the issue of my missing bag, asking that hotel staff be aware that it might be delivered at some point. With that, we headed to our room and unpacked what bags we had with us. Kelly and the kids waded out into the Caribbean while I spent the afternoon waiting by the hotel room phone.
Finally the lost baggage agent called me and said the guy who took my bag would be returning it shortly. I was to check it carefully to make sure nothing was missing. If all seemed well, I would call Southwest back and give them permission to release the guy’s own bag to him.
The Holiday Inn Sunspree is a bright and sunny place
I was told the guy would meet me in the hotel lobby at 3:15 PM. After waiting in the lobby for 30 minutes beyond when the guy told me he would be there I was fuming. I marched out to the beach to where Kelly and the kids were and declared that if the guy showed up I was going to take my sweet time getting his damn bag released.
I picked up a rum drink and walked back through the lobby one more time when I spied a flustered couple at the desk with a jittery cab driver in tow. The guy was apologetic and I could tell he and his wife must have been running around like mad trying to get this sorted out. I got the feeling he’d gotten an earful from his wife over the episode, too. A quick look through my bag showed everything intact, so I spoke into the cabbie’s phone and told the Southwest agent all looked good.
With my bag in one hand and a rum punch in the other, I headed back to the room to change into my swim trunks. Finally the fun could begin!