Scenes around San Souci

I had mentioned in a prior post that one of the reasons that Jeff and I really like this resort was because it kept the natural setting throughout the resort.  Let’s take a stroll to check out some of the sights that we like the best….

We love to sit under a palm thatched sort of gazebo every morning (just about), relax and just enjoy being on the beach.  Here’s our view from our favorite beachfront perch!

And, when we do decide it’s time for lunch, we frequently have lunch at the sort of lunch shack (but a bit nicer!) that gives us this slightly different perspective of the beach!

When we’ve had enough of the beach and want to return to our room to hang out on our balcony, this is the most frequent walk that we choose to get from the beach to our room.  I just love the feel of nature and the dappled sunlight!

Five years ago, we got married at this resort, and this was what I guess one could call our wedding venue view!  I like to think Jeff only had eyes for me, but I could forgive him sneaking a glance at this great view from time to time!

There is a pond on the resort property that always seems to be an oasis of calm.  And, this statement is oh, so true!

Enjoy!!

Critters of San Souci

In addition to lots of flowers and palm trees, there are lots of animals that we found throughout the resort.  Some had quite the personality, and had a certain attitude – we call it character!  Let’s meet them up close –

Now, I’m not a fan of spiders, but I am a fan of their webs!!  We came across two of them as they sat in the center of their webs, with little tidbits of things stuck to the web.  I really like the intricate patterns of their webs.

There are kitties all over the resort, and Jeff and I were like many of the resort guests, who heaped tidbits upon them!  However, we did see that the resort does put kibble out for them, so should their appeals not be fruitful, they won’t starve!

As we walked around the resort, we saw 2 cages with parrots in them.  One cage held 2 parrots, both blue and green colored.  The green parrot, named Crackers, had a run-in with me on our last visit.  It was my fault, as I was feeding him seeds the incorrect way, with my palm flat out, and after he finished off the seeds, he tried to take a chunk out of my hand!!!   Ouch!!  And, I truly mean that – it hurt for days! I didn’t feed him this time.

We saw egrets at both the beach and the pond at the resort.  In the mornings, we’d generally see an egret walking along the shore, and when we visited the pond in the early afternoon, we’d see them along the shore.  In the image on the left, you can see small raindrops in the pond behind the egrets.

Pelicans were another animal that we saw at both the beach and the pond.  The pelicans are very active along the beach, splashing down and even diving for some small fish!  When at the pond, though, they seem to be more reflective, while sharing a log with the turtles.

The turtles we did see only at the pond, and they were the reason we visited the pond in the early afternoon, when we could be relatively sure they’d be basking in the sun on the logs in the pond!  I loved the reflections of the trees that surround the pond as they cast a shimmery reflection on the surface of the pond.

Meeting Little Miss Peacock for the first time was quite the surprise for me.  I was sitting in the open air reception area, as we waiting for a new room (Jeff wanted it).  I was just enjoying the calm peacefulness of a Jamaica late morning, not really focused on anything, when I caught some movement close to the floor of the reception area.  It registered that it was larger than one of the kitties, and when I looked over, there was Little Miss Peacock, regally strolling through the reception area and onward onto the patio just off the reception area.  I did see her once later, as she strolled through an open air restaurant!

And our last two highlighted critters are a little lizard and sand crab.  The lizard in the image is a brown one – most that we saw were more like the Geico gecko, bright green in color.  But, he did pose for us until I got this nice shot of him!  I almost missed seeing the little snow crab.  I just happened to see some movement in the sand as we relaxed on the beach, and when I got up to see what it was, this little guy just stopped and peered at me with his bright little eyes!!  I probably scared him, but I truly meant him no harm!!  Hope you enjoyed meeting all the critters that were very hospitable about sharing their home with us!

Enjoy!

Jamaican Palms

Next to the flowers, the palm trees just blow you away here!  One thing that Jeff and I truly love about this resort (Couples San Souci, Ocho Rios, Jamaica) is that it’s an older resort, built in the 1940s, and has kept that charm, along with the style of buildings.  They are a smaller resort by today’s standards and maintain a lush tropical forest environment throughout.  But, for now, let’s focus on the palms! 

We had two rooms, and this was the view from the first room we had.  It looked out over the tops of the palm trees, and they framed the Caribbean Sea very nicely.  The tower that you see off to the right in the image is the elevator that will take you down to the (almost) sea level.  There are so many stairs at the resort, it’s nice to be able to use an elevator to avoid some!

Here’s something that we don’t often get to see, simply because we’re rarely at eye level with the tops of palm trees.  This is a new shoot from one of the palm trees.  Amazing!!

It’s nice to be able to sit on the beach and look at the beach scene through the “fringe” of the palm trees that dot the shore line and provide shade for the sunbathers!

And as I sat in a shaded area on the beach (don’t want to burn!), I looked up to see the palm tree above me!  Blue skies, white fluffy clouds – simply paradise!

And, finally, as we walked back to our room, after a morning on the beach, I stopped to take a close up of a palm leaf.  I love the perfection of the lines, the shades of green, and symmetry of the leaf.  Nature is truly amazing, and it’s nice to take time out to appreciate that!

Enjoy!!

Flowers of Jamaica

Of course, in Jamaica, one can’t help but notice all the beautiful blooms.  Early on in our visit here, we strolled around the resort and I was able to capture these images.  These aren’t all the flowers, but they are my favorites of the ones I captured.

I researched the name of these flowers (above and below) and I believe they are called Jamaican Love Flowers.  I don’t feel at all certain about this, though, so don’t consider me the final word!!  They were very much in evidence here, in both pink and white blooms.  I don’t recall noticing if they appeared in any other colors.  I don’t generally get drawn to all white flowers, but these are the exception to the rule, and photographed beautifully in the shade.

This is such a pretty little bloom.  Its name is Lignum Vitae and is the national flower of Jamaica.  One would sort of assume that one of the very brightly colored blooms would be the national flower since everything about Jamaica seems brightly colored, but no.  This gentle little pastel looking bloom is the national flower.  Good choice, Jamaica.

And, of course, there are hibiscus flowers everywhere it seems!  This is another (rare) good image I have of a white flower.  Again, it was taken in the shade, so there’s no glare from the sun.

Enjoy!