Greg J. Hipius'

Online Photo Gallery

Caribbean Cruise - July, 2005:
Coyaba Gardens (Ocho Rios, Jamaica)

In Jamaica, we had two shore events booked.  Our morning one, a submarine ride, was cancelled due to weather (the system holding Hurricane Dennis was already causing some chop at times, which kicked up the sand on the ocean floor, preventing any visibility).  We took a strange self-guided adventure in town through some shops with some of the most aggressive salespeople I have ever met instead, and then returned to the port for our afternoon event, a trip that included both the Coyaba Gardens, and Dunn's River Falls (a long, moderate-grade waterfall that some visitors - not I until I am in better shape - hike up from bottom to top).  These photos are of some of the more interesting shots I got at the Coyaba Gardens.

 
The gardens are located in a jungle, along a regulated river, which produces some lush vegetation and beautiful pond scenes, like that to the left.

Many of the plant life you'll see in these pictures is amazing to look at, and I must admit I know very little to share about it, so some of these pictures will have to speak for themselves.

The strange cactus-like plants above seemed out of place in a jungle area so rife with moisture sources.

The bright and vivid colors produced by some of the plant life in the jungle are truly stunning to someone used to the subdued forest colors of the Atlantic Northeast.  The tree on the left sports remarkably bright flowers, and the plant on the left is as eye catching in color as it is in unusual architecture.

What a strange looking plant.

I have not the slightest idea what it could be.

So please don't contact me, FBI.

Boy, these little guys are as common down there as squirrels are up where I'm from.  Fast little guys, too... check out the best my digital camera could do once the guy on the left started darting away (above right).

On the left, Pam is passed the bud from one of the local tropical plants.  On the right, she wears her usual impish grin as she even finds ways to get into trouble a quarter of the way around the globe.

On the way out to the bus, in the parking lot, we were treated to a display by one of the largest peacocks I've ever seen.  On the left is my best picture of it, while the picture on the right includes some people to show you the scale of the bird.

 

Click here to return to the Caribbean Cruise 2005 Album page

 

Note: All photos in this gallery are in an adjusted, altered format from the originals, in order to conserve disk space on the server.  If you would like a copy of the original, higher quality file, maybe because you or someone you know is in any of these pictures, or maybe just because you're a little strange, email me and I'll do my best to accommodate any reasonable and non-spooky requests.

Oh, yah, one other note.  We're pretty loose about who does the shooting... I don't personally take credit for all these shots, as it isn't unusual at all for Pam or one of our friends to fire off a few too... just to be ethical about everything (Do you REALLY want me taking all the shots?  Didn't think so.).

Click here to go back to my online photo gallery.

Questions?  Comments?  Email me at gjhipius@twcny.rr.com. 

 
© 2005 Greg J. Hipius, All Rights Reserved. This page was last updated on January 03, 2009