Our Breezes Vacation

Basil Waine Kong

We took the opportunity of my wife’s birthday to drive over from Kingston to celebrate at Breezes in Runaway Bay. My wife and I have been privileged to visit many resorts in Jamaica and throughout the world, many superior to Breezes, but absolutely none give you as much value for your money as this slice of heaven in Runaway Bay in our Island in the Sun. For a modest charge that is equivalent to about the food charges at other resorts like the Ritz or the Half Moon; you can play unlimited golf, unlimited tennis, receive unlimited entertainment, food and beverages, unlimited water sports and more importantly, unlimited hospitality. The staff (particularly Amoi Leon) is always at the ready to bring everything up to your expectations, assist you to book reservations, tours and to answer your questions.

Yesterday, for Stephanie’s special day, we woke up at six and helped ourselves to coffee that is available 24/7 and went to their fabulous beach to watch the sunrise and wade in the healing waters of the Caribbean. We brought our snorkeling gear as we anticipated seeing a variety of fish on a nearby reef within the swimming area. We were not disappointed. When I located a number of sea urchins, I went back to the beach, found a stick and destroyed several of them. My wife was delighted as the fish then swarmed to feed on the exposed sea urchins.

The sunrise was colorful; the water was warm and the company delightful. We learned long ago that there are no angry, frustrated or unsociable people on a beach in the early morning so we delight in engaging whoever we saw with “Mawnin”. It is just a wonderful way to make friends. Strangely enough, the aches and pains from playing golf and just being old disappear. My wife (a physician) believes that the salinity of the water provides buoyancy that takes the pressure off the joins. My grandmother (from St. Elizabeth) told me that the therapeutic minerals penetrated the skin and provided relief from whatever ails you. She often asked whoever was visiting the ocean to bring back a bottle of sea water to slap onto her arthritic knees.

We went back to our room to shower and get dressed for breakfast. We find that we shower several times per day after each swim, golf or other activities as well as in anticipation of our meals. At breakfast, we chose a table overlooking the ocean where we enjoyed a cool breeze while dining on a combination of American and Jamaican treats. As a roots man, I am one of those people who like to eat dinner for breakfast, so I take healthy portions of escovitch fish, liver and onions, Callaloo, boiled bananas, yam and dumplings. They ignored my request for corn pone. Stephanie loved the omelets lovingly prepared by Latasha Morris,(a real egg breaker), and we both absolutely love the variety of fruits in season. Our fruits man (Owen Anderson) makes a lovely smoothie with mangoes, bananas, melons, pineapple, yogurt, wheat germ and honey. That will definitely put lead in your pencil. Half way through breakfast, there was a downpour that created a pitter patter on the roof. Stephanie and I looked at each other, smiled and without saying a word, took each other’s hand and made our way back to our room. Nothing like rain on a zinc roof to put us in the mood.

On our way to the golf course, we got a flat tire and after putting on the spare, were sent all the way to St. Ann (10 miles away) to have the tire fixed. So, our tee time was delayed until 10:00 am. The Breezes course is in great shape but the real treat is to meet and even get a lesson from a true legend, Head Pro Mr. Seymour Rose, the only Jamaican to have played on the PGA tour. In his many years in Runaway Bay, he has eagled every hole. While the course is long and difficult, it only took 3.5 hours---walking. For the past four years, during the last week in February, Mr. Ken Wimberly from Atlanta , brings a group of us to Breezes for a week of golf and fellowship and we always find the accommodations and the golf course a great test of our golfing and social skills. A good time is always had by all.

Today, it didn’t matter that the scores were high as the wind picked up and the sun beat down from above, we enjoyed the good natured caddies. They started out laughing with us but they ended up laughing at our game. We finished in time to get back to the hotel, shower, have a quick lunch and meet the horsemen at 2:30 pm for a leisurely carriage ride (accompanied by Champagne) around the residential areas of Runaway Bay in the company of newlyweds from Chicago. Breezes is a popular destination for weddings.

On our return from the hill and gully ride, we took a nap, checked our e-mails, called friends and relations, caught up on the news and took a walk on the breach to watch the sun set and in the process buying two beautiful pieces of art from our local Rastaman (Chini).

We then went to the Japanese Hibachi Restaurant to enjoy hot sake, shrimp, beef and chicken prepared by a chef that neither spoke Japanese nor did the usual tricks with his utensils but cooked a marvelous meal. A birthday cake was brought out to the singing of “Happy Birthday Stephanie” and well wishes from the staff and seven other diners. She loved her cake and card.

Immediately after dinner, we got front row seats to hear “Tommy T and Craig” (wonderful singers from Montego Bay). They are really great entertainers and we danced the night away. We were tired but happy campers when we retired for the evening.

Every day at Breezes is sweeter than the day before. This is definitely a place you can come to get into healing water or ever hot water (hot tub), try a different routine like wake up when you should be going to sleep and sleep when you would normally go to work. Whatever time of day or night, there is always something fun to do. While we are too old to participate in the goat races and other organized fun and games on the breach, there is no shortage of things to do regardless of your age or interests. We look forward to coming back. Happy Birthday Darling!