Cruise Day 4: Jamaica Jungle Canopy Tour

Montego Bay, Jamaica, was our final port of call. Though Kingston is the capital of Jamaica, Montego Bay (or MoBay) is its tourism capital. Located about 90 miles south of Cuba, Jamaica has a size of 4411 square miles – 51 miles by 146 miles – and a population of 2.5 million, with 120,000 living in Montego Bay. Here’s a shot from the ship on this cloudy, drizzly day…




Christopher Columbus discovered Jamaica in 1494 and actually lived here for a year while shipwrecked on his second voyage in 1503. It was Spanish for 167 years until Cromwell captured it for the British, and it remained British until declaring independence in 1962. Its name means “land of wood and water.”

The highlight on Jamaica (and the trip) was the Chukka Jungle Canopy Tour. The drizzle stopped and sky partially cleared, although little light made it through the dense jungle foliage. We were driven up over the mountain into the next valley, given instructions, bug spray, helmets, gloves, and our harnesses, and climbed up a hill to the first of 6 traverses on zip lines, the first of which takes Ellen across the river in this photo…





For increased safety, each traverse utilizes double overhead lines, with a pulley riding on each line and connected to your harness, as well as having a safety line attached to the pulleys and your harness for a third point of contact. You can control your speed by braking with your gloved hand, though that was only necessary once. Below are photos of some traverses…







The final traverse is claimed to be the longest traverse of all canopy tours in the world – 1065 feet in length and 285 feet above the valley floor – and we reached 35 mph as we flew down the lines above a gorgeous valley. Exhilarating!