The Bride & Groom Arrive (Jamaica Day2)

The big news at the Riu Resort Saturday was that Mike & Mel had arrived. At 7am I hit the gym for my first 20 km ride and met a few people. On the way back I ran into Mel's grandmother, who is also an early riser, had some juice and talked for a bit. The kids came in at 11:37am and since their room wasn't ready and they couldn't wait to get to the beach, they left their bags in our room. The whole gang went to the swim-up bar, played some volley ball, had a swim, got some sun and then back to the swim-up bar. You'll notice that there's no mention of any food or rest. And that's where Mike and Mark's day went for a bit of a turn. Since booze is literally cheaper than water and the resort is all inclusive, the fire water flows freely. If you wanted to sit under a palm tree and nurse a 40 oz. bottle of rum you just have to ask. Mike and Mark did something pretty close, without the palm tree or the nursing. Bojo, their favourite bartender, was mixing all kinds of wonderful concoctions in 40 oz. bottles and then simply pouring straight into their mouths, saves on washing all those glasses. We were on the beach a good 100 yards away and we could hear Mike laughing over the roaring of the surf, time about 1:30pm. The gang came down for a quick swim but Mike was missing. AJ, Brad and Mark swam out to the man who sat in a boat at the edge of the swiiming area selling t-shirts, beads, necklaces, and a strange smelling tobacco-like product. None of the kids bought anything but they kept us all entertained. I'm not sure why this guy assumed people would have cash in their swim trunks but he must have done some business as he was out there all day long every day. (behind AJ in the pic)

We noticed about this time that we weren't hearing Mike anymore and Mark had disappeared. Then we got word that we had to see them. The lack of food, rest and too much sun, not to mention too much liquid refreshment had taken its toll. In a lobby just above the pool, there they were. Mike in a chair with his head on a pillow resting on a pillar (he had discovered the pillar was sort of hard) and Mark still in his straw hat sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. They remained motionless for better than an hour. I kept checking their chests to make sure they were still breathing. After getting the pictures (first picture at 3:47pm) and sharing their story with 100s of passers by, we decided they needed to get to a room. Mel and Jill went to check in and find some help. We got their bags and off they went for another half hour. When they got back they reported the rooms were too far away for the guys to walk, not that they could walk any distance at this point. We had seen some wheelchairs and decided to put them to use as 'one of our grandparents is too tired to get to her room'.

We got Mike upright, into the chair (4:52pm) and began the trek from one side of the resort to the other. They were on the far end of one of the U shaped buildings and the elevator was out at that end. This meant after going through the entertainment hall, the main lobby, around the 5 restaurants and the other pool, we had to enter the opposite end and then push all the way around. Each floor has 80 rooms and except for a few on the ends there are rooms on one side of the hall only. A return trip took about 30 minutes and then we did it all again to rescue Mark. We never saw Mike again that day but Mark was up and about later in the evening. 

Sal and I had reservations at the Japanese restaurant and enjoyed the quiet meal. There were only about 3 tables occupied at the later sitting. After supper we went to catch the end of the entertainment for the night, a beach party and bonfire. The resort has a very talented bunch of kids that do the show every night and mingle with the guests on the beach during the day. Our first full day on the island was a memorable one for everyone. Everyone but Mike and Mark that is.