If you have the opportunity to vacation in Ocho Rios in Jamaica, you must visit Dunn’s River Falls.
The only way I can describe Dunn’s River Falls is amazing! Begin your tour at sea level from a sandy beach and then your guide will instruct you to make a human daisy chain by holding the hand of the person in front of you and behind you. Your guide will then start you on your journey as you climb 600 feet to the top of the falls.
Now she didn’t know what to expect before she arrived, but she was envisioning a leisurely walk across a river where she would eventually see the falls, but it was so much more than that. These falls consist of a series of mini waterfalls that cascade down a river that sometimes moves quite quickly. You start by making your way across the river walking from rock to rock like you did when you were a kid, trying not to get wet… but that doesn’t last too long because you soon end up in a waist-deep puddle of water. water trying to keep balance. Holding hands turned out to be a very good idea!
In our day there were hundreds of people climbing the river and from below it seemed that this was going to stop us, but it turned out that it was not. Maneuvering across the river requires careful concentration even though your guide will give you explicit instructions on where to place your feet. Sometimes we would walk along the edge of a mini waterfall that would be 6-8 feet high with a strong current running through our legs, but I never felt threatened to fall because we held on to each other and our knowledgeable guide knew exactly where . by the way
One interesting thing we noticed was that the rocks were not slippery. At home, these rocks would have been covered in a greenish-black slime that would have made it nearly impossible to balance, but these rocks were clean, allowing for a good foothold.
Speaking of jogging, water shoes are the best to wear on your feet. Sandals won’t give you the stability you’ll need and could cause your foot to fall off one of the steeper rocks.
There were several children in our group ranging in age from 6-12 and although some of the adults found it challenging to maneuver across the river, the children had to be held tight to help them get over the steeper rocks and faster moving sections. While the adults did their best not to get too wet, the kids who were kids didn’t give a damn and some just dove completely into the pools. It didn’t matter so much in the end though because we all got drenched from head to toe when we stopped at the biggest falls to take a photo with each family bowing down
back against a huge rock with the hot and refreshing water pouring down on us.
What started out looking like a walk along a river ended up being something much more exciting and challenging.
Would we do it again… you betchya!