We had a great day of fossil hunting this past Sunday on the banks of the James River. There’s a certain level of excitement that comes over you when you find a tooth laying in the sand. It makes you think about what the world was like and how these sharks met their death millions of years ago. If you want to find fossilized teeth the best time to go is after we’ve had long periods of rain and storms. Look for tall banks that have been washed out over time and you’ll have a better chance of finding teeth.
Part two is going to be short and sweet. I’ll start this post with randomness that I’m going to call Brian’s tips and thoughts on Couples Tower Isle…
Activities
Watch the Silver Birds Steel Orchestra perform. I’m not sure how often they play at CTI, but don’t miss them if they are playing during your visit.
Visit the island. I give you the reasons why in my first post. Go here and read it.
Crab Racing. Once a week they have hermit crab racing that you can bet on. We didn’t participate, but we did watch. This was a lot of fun to see!
Take your iPhone or iPad with you to the beach and relax. It’s nice having WIFI connection anywhere on the resort.
Snorkeling. The resort has two boat trips each day for snorkeling. We also brought our own gear and explored around the island and resort.
Food/Drinks
Eat dinner often at the Verandah. They had the best meals from appetizer to dessert.
Choose the returning guests dinner over the beach party. You’ll have to choose one or the other because they are held on the same night. We made the wrong choice on that one, but now we know!
Room service pizza. I’m not sure what it was called, but it had bacon on it and was delicious!
Couples gives you two water bottles that you can fill and take with you anywhere. They work great and it was nice having them by our side when we were lounging in the sun.
Have a Bob Marley shot. It’s Jamaica, you have to drink at least one.
Don’t drink the coconut water! You’ll blow the toilet up at 2AM! Three showers and three hours later I finally got back in bed.
Those were just a few things that I wanted to mention. They have a lot of activities that we didn’t do like scuba, volleyball, flag football, tennis, windsurfing, paddle boats, movie night, and more. As for the food, I was going to tell you in detail about the meals that I ate, but honestly I couldn’t tell you what half of it was even called. I probably should have taken a picture of the menu each night. I’m also not going to describe the resort because I put together a little video tour that can be seen below…
I’m sure we’ll return to Tower Isle again in the future. I just hope the next stay doesn’t include the explosive diarrhea!
My wife and I made our second visit to a Couples brand resort this May. Last year we visited the beautiful Sans Souci resort in Jamaica for our honeymoon. This year we stayed only a few miles away at Couples Tower Isle. Couples resorts are all-inclusive, and by that I mean they do everything they can to make your stay amazing, and without you ever having to reach for your wallet (or purse).
It takes almost two hours to get to Tower Isle by bus from the Montego Bay airport. The ride is scenic and with Bob Marley’s “Greatest Hits” on repeat it helps make the travel time less painful. When arriving at Tower Isle you are greeted with a wet towel and a rum punch. Check-in was quick and in less than ten minutes we were in our room. We stayed in a premier ocean view room on the third floor of the main building. The bed and pillows were comfy, the TV was a new flat screen, and our mini bar had everything we needed. The bathroom was roomy and our shower was huge. The balcony had a great view and was a nice place to sit and relax or to eat lunch.
The main attraction to this resort is the island that you see out front. There’s a boat to shuttle you to and from the island during daylight hours. However, if you want to visit the island you’ll have to let it all hang out. That’s right, the island is “au naturel” only! We were newbies to this but decided to give it a try on our first day at the resort. It didn’t take us very long to become comfortable with being naked. Nobody stares at you, and there were people of all different shapes and sizes. There were no creepers out there and the resort doesn’t allow you on the island without your husband/wife/partner.
For six of our seven days at Tower Isle we ended up spending time out on the island. The island is by far the most private place on the resort. Most of the time there would be less than ten couples out there. The lack of people makes it great if you want to swim or snorkel, because more than likely you will have the water to yourself. The pool and swim up bar is the social spot. Most people we talked to were cooling off in the pool, and when we weren’t in there it was rare that anyone spoke to us. The little tower has a restroom at the bottom and stairs that take you up to the top. The top of the tower has great views of the ocean and the resort. The stairs going to the top are a little steep, but it’s great once you are up there.
The hermit crabs were everywhere on the island and provided us with entertainment while we relaxed. The snorkeling is very good around the coral that is located just past the stairs that lead you into the water. We were able to see plenty of fish on the days that the water was high. Just be careful around the coral and urchins.
Each day lunch was brought out around 12:30. There was always a great assortment of food such as chicken, fish, fruit, veggies, cookies, and cake. Another good thing that we found out is that the resort WIFI signal does reach out to the island. Most of the time we had enough signal to browse Facebook or send text messages using iMessage. If you take pictures while you are out there, be mindful of other people and make sure they aren’t in your shots. Don’t forget to put sunscreen on everything! And before anyone asks, no we didn’t meet any swingers.
We had a great day of fossil hunting this past Sunday on the banks of the James River. There’s a certain level of excitement that comes over you when you find a tooth laying in the sand. It makes you think about what the world was like and how these sharks met their death millions of years ago. If you want to find fossilized teeth the best time to go is after we’ve had long periods of rain and storms. Look for tall banks that have been washed out over time and you’ll have a better chance of finding teeth.
