rocknrollfarmer - I love your signs...and it seems I always take pictures of them.
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Day 6 continued...
So we arrived at the beach at Half Moon and just took it all in. I LOVE the hustle and bustle of 7 Mile - but this was simply glorious. It was so quiet and peaceful, even though there were several people out and about. I imagine this was what Negril was like many years back. We hung out and took it all in. Tom went and bought a round of RS Lights and we just hung out. Before too long, Marvin pulled up in the boat to take us out to the island. Last year we had planned on coming here, but (as Brian would say) sand "paste" got us. We planned to come out on Thursday - but rum got me. So here we were...on Monday. Marvin was a ton of fun and we spent some time throughout the day just chatting with him. What a great guy! So he took us out to the island - some pictures of our approach...
Upon our arrival - we found we were the only ones there - with the exception of Livingston. He was getting the bar set up while we explored and got settled in. We weren't sure how long we would stay out there...until we decided to leave I suppose. But we just didn't know if it would be a couple hours or most of the day. Some pictures from the island.
We ordered up a round of beers and took it all in. We had the place to ourselves for about 45 minutes. It was heavenly. We chatted with Livingston before others arrived and he got busy. He was an exceptional host! Quick with a smile and a laugh! They have found the perfect guys to work for them - Marvin and Livi are gems! We LOVED our time out there.
Watch out for these little guys - they are all over! Sharp if you step on them! This was my favorite little fella - he was about the size of a pencil eraser!
Pretty soon the place started to fill up. Kathy Gillespie and friends arrived along with Charlotte and Luna. The kids added a different element - but they were mostly busy with tiny crab races. Livingston was busy preparing lunch and had taken our order. The food was plentiful and reasonable! It was by far the biggest plate of food I have ever had in Jamaica. You had a choice of jerk chicken, fish, or lobster. I chose chicken and the other three got fish. It also came with rice and peas, macaroni salad, coleslaw, and potato salad.
After a bit, I decided to get in the water. They have done a great job of clearing out the sea urchins in front of the dock so you can get in the water without shoes. However, I would recommend water shoes of some sort if you plan to spend any time in the water. Naturally, I didn't have any! Kathy and the kids had decided to head in and she saw me without water shoes. Very kindly she offered up a pair she had brought out for me to borrow. Just leave them at the bar when you get back, she said. So kind of her!
Pretty soon, Tom and Amy decided to go snorkeling. So, the water is pretty shallow and it can be a bit disorientating. We are all used to snorkeling in deeper water where you can "stand up" straight without touching the bottom to adjust your mask or snorkel. This wasn't the case and Amy was having a bit of a struggle. I decided to give it a whirl and Tom and I went out. After you get out a ways - there are a million sea urchins. This was unnerving to me - but we kept on. Saw some great coral as we snorkeled just out towards the reef from the dock. Tom and I stopped and I asked him to be next to me or in front of me (he was staying behind so he could keep his eye on me) but I needed to be able to see him too so I wouldn't get panicky. He obliged and off we went. As the water got deeper - I felt a little more comfortable - minus the sea urchin forest below me!
So I felt comfortable until I wasn't. You know when you are snorkeling and you can hear someone yell? I heard someone yelling my name - loudly! And over and over again. I stopped and looked towards the dock - we were quite a ways out by now and Tom clearly hadn't heard. I see Brian waving his arm in (what I thought) was a come back motion and yelling "JEN!" Whelp - that's all it took. You only have to be faster than the slowest person. I FLEW across the water...seriously...like Jesus...across the top towards the dock. Poor Tom didn't realize until I was long gone. Brian and Amy were in tears laughing and I may have just run a marathon....fear and fast swimming will do that to a girl! Tom eventually joins us and Brian and Amy were still laughing at me. Brian explained he was pointing AT something - maybe a turtle or a ray? Something was near the top of the water and they weren't calling us in - but pointing it out to us. However, I'm done now. My heart calmed down a bit and I got out of the water.
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We hung out for a while longer and Marvin came back out. We sat and chatted with him for awhile and then he took Tom out further to the reef to snorkel. Amy went along in the boat and Brian and I hung out and talked with Livingston. People had come and gone again - but it was pretty quiet as there was only one other couple out on the island with us by now. Here are more of my pictures from the island.
Tom, Amy, and Marvin came back and he took the other couple back while we cleaned up our stuff, had another round, and settled our bill. Before we left we had to snap a group picture of with our new friends...
We can't wait to go back next year, as this really was a perfect day. We walked out to the road and were hoping for the best - to find a cab to take us back to Negril. This is a little out of my comfort zone - because normally - we charter with someone and have a prearranged time to be picked up. That just wasn't how the wind was blowing us that day - so we were taking our chances. Not long after we reached the road - a taxi stopped. Inside was a man and a younger lady. We asked if he was taking going to Negril and he said yes. However, it seemed that the others in the cab weren't going to Negril yet. So he pulled back over and they got out. Arrived back to Rooms and headed down to the beach. A lovely couple were looking for chairs when we were leaving in the morning and we told them they could use ours and our floats if they wanted. They did and were still there when we got back. We sat and talked with them for awhile - while Tom and Amy decided to walk down to the Harley Davidson shop. We passed and decided to hang on the beach.
Several times during this trip - we commented on how "our little birds were flying the nest!" haha They were way more comfortable this time going and doing what they wanted. This worked for them and for us. We decided we were going to head up to the room and get showers - but then realized it was happy hour (which we often missed) so screw it - back down in our bathing suits for happy hour with Kelvin. Tom and Amy had "happy houred" down the beach back to rooms and we finished it up with Kelvin. Then we headed next door to Woodstock for their happy hour. I really liked their rum punch - it was different than I had anywhere else. Kamani Marley had been there the day before and Kamani (our waiter) showed us his picture with him yesterday. UGH - WHY DO I ALWAYS MISS THIS?!?!
So after another hour of happy - we were starved. We decided to not change because that seemed like a lot of work - but instead threw on a dress over my bathing suit and we walked down to Kenny's Italian Cafe. We got two pizzas and ate every bit. Clearly we WERE hungry! The service wasn't great, but the pizza was fantastic. Came back to Rooms put our feet in the pool to cool down.
Side note: Does anyone else get Fred Flinstone feet in Negril? I'm not sure if it's because my feet are always dangling off tall stools? The heat? The beer? The rum? The phenomena happens to me at night in Negril - never at home. Weird.
Anywho - finished up the night and off to bed. Tomorrow's another day in paradise....
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Quick question but first I want to say I love your report... "I FLEW across the water...seriously...like Jesus...across the top towards the dock." I was laughing out loud at my desk!!! Qhwn you went to breakfast at Canoe and then hung out there, did they provide the chairs? And could you order the buckets of beer from them (ice and buckets included?) or did you bring your own buckets? Thanks again for the great report!
Really enjoying the report Jenn! I too want to know about the chair situation on the beach at canoe. Calico Jacks looks amazing. Great reporting and looking forward to more Loving the pictures. And now my mouth is watering for some of that fried chicken from the corner bar. That was one of my fav meals the last time. 19 more days!!!
@ Jesswade - Canoe does have some chairs available. Most were being used but we were able to grab a couple. We ended up giving them to some other people to use since we weren't in them a whole lot and it seemed selfish on our part to be using them to hold our stuff. Next time, I would probably bring a sheet or something to sit on (not my towel) for their beach. When you buy a "bucket of beers" it comes with the bucket and ice. Just return and refill. hahaha They have the buckets available for that.
Jess and never - thanks for the compliment! I'm looking to finish it up tonight. Stay tuned....
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Jenn I love your trip report. Your photos are terrific. I know you have posted loads of them but the one which caught my eye the most, for some reason, was the tiny green crab.
Last edited by SLP; 04-03-2017 at 05:49 PM.
Irie Sue