08.30 We have awakened in our room at Arawak Inn, Nassau, Bahamas (http://www.arawakinnbahamas.com). We have rested and are ready for a new day. It is a day when we will see caged animals.

09.22 Now we have arranged with breakfast. Today it will be breakfast in the room. I have treated myself a cup of coffee for my breakfast. Bottled water heated in the microwave oven and instant coffee did the trick.

09.53 We can not remain here. We have not traveled to the Bahamas to be lazy and watch TV. The TV and the AC are now turned off and we head out in the tropical heat.

10.15 We have, once again on our travels, come to a zoo. This time we are at Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Centre (http://www.ardastra.com). We have made it here for two reasons, we like animals and this zoo is in a smooth walking distance of the Arawak Inn. It only took us 10 minutes to walk here.

10.26 We had trouble finding the entrance but eventually found it and paid the entrance fee, got a map of the area and have now sat down to wait for a dance performance. It's smooth and orderly here in the Bahamas but unfortunately, our bodies are not in the best shape. Yesterday I was without energy and appetite, and today Christer is feeling tired, lacks energy and desire to eat. We have, most likely, some micro-organisms from Haiti remaining in our bodies.

It was a short walk to this day´s destination.

Christer is ready to visit a zoo today.

10.41 Ten trained flamingos dance for us and the others here. We sit at a small venue located centrally in this small zoo. In the middle is a grassy area where the birds and their coach are wandering around. Facts about flamingos are mixed with entertainment of the pink birds. The most fun is that facts are mixed up with various fabricated allegations that the most important food for flamingos is toddlers, etc. Now, me and a few others from the audience are asked to dance.

10.45 I have become the man who struts with flamingos. I stood in the midst among them and moved in pace, well almost in pace or to tell the truth, moved. Now, we think about what more we want to see here at Ardastra. We sit on a bench, sweat, rest and make plans.

11.26 We're back on the bench we sat on earlier. Now we have seen some lizards, a capuchin monkey, a capybara, a boa constrictor, free-range flamingos and some other animals. Now we are planning again. What remains to be seen how long we'll be here and when/how do we eat lunch or have coffee break?

12.23 A short distance away, we hear various sounds from a parrot, I think they are called, African gray parrot. It sometimes sounds like a ringing phone, gurgles and say "hello!” Sometimes it lets also like to answer the phone. It might have been living in an office. Now it has its own cage, the reason is that it is shy. We have treated us a bit to chew on, purchased from the kiosk here at the zoo. It's nice to just sit down and take it easy.

Flamingo show this Saturday.

Peter is dancing among the pink birds.

We visited these interesting owls.

Inside the green lush Ardastra Zoo.

The flamingos are allowed to stroll around Ardastra Zoo. They are after all main attractions here.

12.55 We decided to try to make a movie and get a statement from the gray bird that likes to imitate sounds. Then, it was decided to first mimic a clam and then a stone. Suddenly it said nothing. Christer filmed it for three minutes and all it was uttered something that sounded like someone who blows his nose. Then it's more speed on some other birds here. Down by the water at a dam a duck did its best to look finer. Then a black swan swam by and attacked the duck. The poor fellow jumped straight back and stood and glared evilly at the villain. The black bully later tried the same thing on a turtle. It just remained still.

13.11 We had difficulty finding the entrance when we came here. Recently, we tried to walk out the entrance. It did not work. It is not easy. The visit here has been nice and interesting. Now we will see what our energy is enough when it comes to the rest of the day. There is an old fort near one can visit.

13.43 Now we are home again in our cleaned room. On the way home, Christer has bought bananas from a larger stall by the road. He also surfed the Internet at a stone wall just close to our accommodation. He has better WiFi connectivity there than here in the room. We have also been at the petrol station and bought drinks and learned that one gallon of diesel costs US$5,07. That makes US$ 1,34/litre. Outside our room stands a Rolls Royce. It is a beauty but it has seen better days.

We met capybaras in Brazil 2010. Now it happened again.

Some birds are allowed to mingle with the guests.

Christer is having a light lunch among the parrots.

A map of Ardastra Zoo.

16.32 We remain in our room. Our afternoon plans have been floated away. It's raining here outside of us and we stay indoors and enjoy some Kalik, the country's most popular beer.

18.10 It is not only raining outside, true downpour. Now it's raining inside too. It leaks in at least two places in the roof. The water is dripping. We have also heard some lightning rumble. Outside the door, it is like a wall of water, not the time to go out with other words.

20.15 It seems to hold up out there and even here it has stopped raining. It's time to go out for the last dinner here in the Bahamas.

20.56 We then sit for a while, waiting for our dinners. We are back at the neighbouring restaurant Bahama Grill (http://www.bahamagrill.com) where we were even last Thursday.

21.53 The food arrived and I aided a small girl at the table next to us during the meal. First she dropped a drinks list that she played with. I picked up and gave it to her. A little later she lost her pacifier and I gave to her father. My thought was that he would clean the pacifier. The small angrily took it from her father but he took it back. The man was part of a party of two couples each with their own children. They were from Chicago. They wondered if we were from the US. We told them where we´re from and they wondered about our journey. When we mentioned that we both passed the hundred in the case of countries visited, they were greatly impressed. We gave them business cards with the link to our website for further reading. Now we are home again to end another day.

Christer is buying bananas.

The rain is falling outdoors. We are hiding indoors.

Sunday 20th of July

08.45 Now we slept in and we will soon end our Bahamas stay. It's nice here but the prices mean that the number of days must be limited. To get to any of the other islands require expensive boat trips or flights so it is also difficult to see other parts of the country than the main island New Providence.

09.30 We just had another breakfast at home in the room. With juice, coffee, bread and yogurt in the stomach, I´m ready for this day.

09.35 Christer stood at the door to check the internet then there was a knock on the door. It was our host Lloyd that wondered if we needed a taxi for our departure. We thanked him and said that 11:00 is a good time. We have realized that the flight to Jamaica will be longer than we think. Jamaica is actually an hour "behind" the time we have here right now.

11.07 We are heading on in a vehicle again. Just before the taxi came, an older woman went into our room to clean. We don’t know if it is Lloyd’s wife or someone who has continued to work long after retirement. Now our car turned for refilling. There is something classic when it comes to our travels. The unique that it is not the car that need to be refilled, it is the driver. We are not at a gas station; we are on KFC's drive-through.

11.30 We arrived at the Lynden Pindling International Airport. There we shook hands with the taxi driver and he said, see you next year. Is he going to Sweden? Did he think we'll come back? It is certainly time now to go to the airport for the usual routines.

Arawak Inn, our Bahamas home for a couple of days.

Peter together with the Rolls Royce car that can be found at Arawak Inn.

12.31 I've been around and looked for a luggage trolley. It was easy to find one. I took it and was immediately told that it was not OK. Was it because it was busy? No it was not. Apparently, only some of airport personnel are allowed to handle these rather long luggage carts. I did not ask him to drive the wagon with our backpacks. It seemed easier to ignore it all.

13.18 The check in was beyond thorough. First, the man wanted to see our paper for the flight to Jamaica and that is OK. Then he wanted to see the paper that we would leave Jamaica and that we can understand. He also wanted to know if we had a ticket from Cuba as well. It's a little harder to understand. He didn’t want to see our train tickets from Arlanda to Sundsvall though. Now we are in the area between security control and the gates.

14.04 We went to Dunkin 'Donuts for a small lunch. Both ordered the Ham and cheese sandwich and black medium coffee. I got coffee with milk and Christer got chocolate. Both got the sandwiches we ordered. At payment, I left my loose change into a cup.

14.49 We have boarded Caribbean Airlines B 737-800 bound for Jamaica. Now we will just relax and fly.

JAMAICA

15.49 We set the watches for Jamaica time. Outside the plane is Jamaica and Kingston's international airport, Norman Manley. People have applauded the pilot's and stepped off the plane. We have not applauded and we remain. We will not get out here, we will fly on to Montego Bay.

16.08 The plane remains, we remain. On two consecutive occasions, we have shown the boarding pass and passport for staff who look through the plane. Why did we have to show them twice?

17.00 It seems to be time to take off again. The journey continues.

A plane from Bahamas Air is on the rain-soaked Lynden Pindling International Airport.

On board the plane that will take us south to Jamaica.

Our plane is about to touch down in Kingston.

The journey is nearing its end. We lower ourselves down to Montego Bay in western Jamaica.

18.10 Now we landed and we arrived at Montego Bay, at the airport Sangster International Airport. Before we got stamped in the country we had to go to a health desk. We have according to the staff been in countries with malaria and cholera so we had to promise to seek medical advice if we were to become ill. We understand that we who have been in Haiti need this, but those who have only been to the Bahamas and were told that there would be malaria in that country, was mildly surprised.

18.21 As usual, there is a certain amount of chaos when coming out of the airport's protected world. It was not easy to find a working ATM and helpful gentlemen who will arrange taxis for us circulates here. This was pricey but it may be worthwhile to get out of here fast.

18.47 After a short taxi ride and a smooth check-in by a nice girl I sit on the balcony of our room at Caribic House. We had to walk up several flights of stairs before we arrived at the room. The room number is 17 and it's nice to be here. This is the one hundredth country that I keep a journal in.

18.52 We have a lovely balcony with views to the west overlooking the sea. If we look down, we see the street below, a street which is called "The Hip Strip". The official name of the street is, Gloucester Avenue. We have just enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Now there is darkness.

19.10 Hey, what is this? Yesterday we had a room where it rained in. Today we have an accommodation with incontinent air-conditioning equipment. Water flows from it. It is leaking, spilling water over Christer as well. That however depends on that he is in the shower right now.

Caribic House, Montego Bay.

Beautiful view from our balcony.

A beautiful sunset became one of our first Montego Bay experiences.

The steep stairway we use to get to and from our room.

20.05 We are down at Biggs BBQ Restaurant & Bar (http://www.biggsbbqmobay.com) for dinner. The restaurant is fairly new, is not mentioned in any guidebook, but is across the street. It feels like a good reason to test it. The waitress who welcomed us informed that there was no pork tonight. I'd forgotten about afterwards when it was my turn to order. Leaning against one of the walls is a four men bobsleigh in the Jamaican colours. It has previously run in a Winter Olympics.

20.38 A young American couple at the next table has warned us to carefully check the change when we pay the bill later. Some are playing the billiard on the other side of the room. We are sipping on our Red Stripe beer. Biggs is not a cheap restaurant but we can afford to eat here once.

21.25 There was plenty of food. The waitress was surprised that we did not want a new beer when the food was delivered. Is it a business idea to be late in with the food so guests have time to drink many beers? Now, we walked up the street a bit and bought soft drinks from a happy Indian man in a small shop.

23.08 The darkness has embraced the sea. We sit and look out over it and the street below. At the moment we enjoy a Red Stripe and a Talawah. They are the first balcony/evening beers here in Jamaica. Thereafter, it is probably good night.

Dinner at Biggs BBQ Restaurant & Bar.

Different Jamaican sports culture on display at Biggs restaurant.

A Jamaican national team bobsleigh in the restaurant.

Balcony beer at Caribic House.

Monday 21st of July

08.26 The sea is still there and all its inhabitants are out there as well. Even Montego Bay (locally known as Mo Bay) is there. Today we will get to the ocean for a short visit. Before that, we have something else to do, among other things, see what the city has to offer. First in line is to get us a breakfast. It does not include or even able to find at the accommodation since it has no restaurant.

09.38 We have left Caribic House, asked at reception if our WiFi login is not working (half the screen goes black on the home page) and started walking south along Gloucester Avenue (The Hip Strip). We have been called from the souvenir shops and we have seen some things we might want to buy but it may be later. We are looking for food, breakfast.

09.59 A nice tourist police in white helmet told us that the restaurant The Jolly Roger would be five minutes away. We continued walking along Gloucester Avenue, found the place and were first offered manicures, pedicures and massages. We said no to everything and ordered breakfast instead. The restaurant is small and simple, the supplies are limited.

10.47 There was a lot of food in the styrofoam boxes we got. It felt more like lunch than breakfast. We got to try the local cuisine with assorted root vegetables that were unknown to us. On the way we took some pictures of and were greeted by two giant long gentlemen. They walked on stilts and had really long legs on their trousers. The last thing I did was to buy postcards and a souvenir glass in a small shop. There they played some music of the island's great son, Bob Marley. Yesterday was the Four-Man bob today it is one man Bob. Now we are back in the room for a while for some peace and quiet. It is hot today.

Breakfast in plastic boxes.

View towards Montego Bay, the bay that gave the town its name.

Christer at Old Hospital Park.

Christer is walking along Gloucester Avenue.

Christer is meeting some locals on stilts.

A tall man is waiting outside Café Tease.

12.54 Peace and tranquillity is dangerous, we become lazy. There is no ink in my pen so I've just switched to another. We are about to leave the room for some coffee and some shopping.

13.49 It's time for some food at Café Tease. Café may not be the right word. It is a small house with a window facing the street and a few rickety tables and chairs outside. I just finished my ten inch hot dog. Christer is still waiting for his food. I do not know if we were unclear but this lady did not understand our orders at all. We had to repeat and point a number of times.

14.03 It seems that the lady in the cafe misunderstood Christer completely. His ordering of drinks to his food seems to have been understood that he did not want anything at all. The long wait was because she perceived that he repented and did not want to eat at all, strange! Now I try to order a coffee. I wonder how it goes and what I get. At the next table is a couple with what I think is a water pipe. It resembles a rough ball-point pen. It is a mixed company where at least one girl is from Malaysia.

14.40 I got my coffee and after a reminder, Christer finally got the food. There was no luxury meal this but anyway satisfying. Now we are back in Caribic House to prepare for a visit to the beach. We must equip ourselves with appropriate footwear and appropriate pants for swimming. If you walk along the sidewalk here in Montego Bay so it is called to us from shops and taxis, a typical tourist place in other words.

15.00 We were, after paying US$6, allowed into the beach. The downside of having to pay to get to the beach is weighed up with the fact that we will avoid meeting hawkers and other boring people. The beach is called Doctor's Cave Beach (http://www.doctorscavebathingclub.com). Above us is an aircraft heading in for a landing. This is a beautiful beach filled with sand, shallow and light bathed. The beach is counted as Jamaica's most famous beach, and has been named by a physician started a swimming club with a beach that was reached through a cave. The cave was destroyed, however, by a hurricane 1932.

The wind has worn out the Jamaican flag.

An airplane is arriving with more tourists to Montego Bay.

Peter eats sausage lunch at Café Tease.

Doctor´s Cave Beach, Montego Bay.

Peter is documenting his beach visit.

Baywatch, Jamaican version.

15.43 We have had time to do what we could on the beach. We did swim, enjoyed the warm water, tanned a bit and now we get dry by sitting on some nice benches overlooking the beach we just left.

16.10 We´re going out again to do some shopping.

16.57 Now we're back again. We have arranged with a breakfast for tomorrow morning, some gifts for our nephews, money has been taken out and stamps purchased. In stores have more music by Bob Marley been played. He is certainly popular but isn’t he mostly played because that tourist expects to hear his music when they visit Jamaica.

18.12 We sit on the balcony, enjoying, taking it easy, waiting for the sun set and listen to/see what's happening on the street below.

19.22 Today we are both efficient and lethargic at the same time. We are heading out for tonight's dinner. After some discussion, we decided to walk to a restaurant we saw during the morning walk.

19.44 Now it feels safe and homely. We are at China House, a Chinese restaurant. It is a safe alternative, the same type of food wherever we find ourselves in the world. Now we got the drinks.

21.07 Chinese food is usually good and filling. Moreover, in many locations it is surprisingly cheap, so also here. Now when we come home, we have been told that the Anglican Church approves female bishops. It was probably no female bishop who shouted after us from the darkness below the restaurant. The lady who absolutely wanted us to talk to her seemed unsober, somewhat crazy or maybe both?

The sun is soon saying good night.

Peter is dining at China House.