A Little Taste of Jamaica

It's Valentine's weekend. The plan? Fiance, myself and a friend travelling to Black River for a night. Why? The Black River Tour.
We get to Black River late friday night..and by late i mean all i could do was crawl into the bed at what could at best be called a motel.
It was an early morning for us, and why not...we have some shooting to do :) We drive around and find a little bit of a sand bank with a small river. Stepping carefully, so as not to bring attention of our presence to the crocs, tripods in ready mode for use as weapons, we feel our way around the site. Nice driftwood and logs are present, giving me the feeling this river once filled the entire now sand bank.

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We were at that location for about 30 minutes...when we realized..Hey, the boat guy is coming to pick us up at 7:30. We hauled ass and arrived at the 'motel' at 7:20 to see Mr. boatman waiting patiently. He's early...Good start.
Grabbing our gear we got into the boat and off we went.
The difference of the river when you go before the tours begin is incredible...how quiet, peaceful, calm, amazing it was. Various birds stood in trees and on branches, taking in the rising sun, and the clear waters.

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Watching us as though warning us against fishing and depriving him of his breakfast. Dont worry birdie...no stealing here today.
It was such a great learning experience and great fun. The tour guide was very knowledgeable of his surroundings and was only happy to share his knowledge, and we were all too happy to listen. From the several types of mangroves growing, to the water lilies, to the common hiding places of the crocs, to where the various rivers merged.
It was alot to take in, and i wondered at one point if all four 4gb memory cards would be enough (it was). Our guide was very patient...stopping the boat occasionally so we could compose and take our shots, never failing to point out an interesting landmark or feature of the river.

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On our way back to the 'motel' we were caught in the rough waters of the bigger tour boats passing our way. The boat rocked side to side, forward, backwards (its a wonder i didnt get sick). We all agreed unanimously...its better starting off earlier and being in a smaller boat.
Coming back to shore was amazing....seagulls stalked our boat in the hopes we had gone fishing and brought back some goodies for them. With the boat rocking side to side it was difficult to get good shots of them, but... :)

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We're back at the 'motel' now....im exhausted, starving, but very pleased with the shots i got and the trip on a whole. Time to find some lunch!! Later :)