TizzyATX Trip Report - 1st Timer

[TizzyATX]

This will be my first trip report…ever. I’ve managed to procrastinate on this for over three months, and my memory’s not the best, so we’re just gonna roll with the punches and see what we come out with. Hoping this will bring everything back to me. I can warn you though, the first part may be a little slow as things did not go according to plan.

Can we just talk for a minute about how bad I needed a vacation. Full time working single mom of two here…and haven’t had a vaca in about 9 years…a family trip to Kauai when I was 19. So there you have it, I’ve been long overdue. Got my tax return. First thing that came to mind as I held that check in my hand was clear water, sand, and sun. There was no choice in this matter. I need this to maintain some resemblance of sanity.

After a little research and a little time lurking around this board, there was no doubt I would be staying in Negril. Got everything booked right around my B-day…Happy Birthday to me!

Not everyone was as excited as I was. Thing 1 and Thing 2 seemed shocked, “You’re going to leave us for 5 whole days?” Yep. And I’m not sorry about it either! Muahahahahahahaha

Just wish I could have stayed gone a liiiiiittttle bit longer.

[tranquilitygurl]

Okay, so this is going to be a great trip report.

I can so relate the long overdue vacation after 9 years. My first reach to Negril was in 2003. I am a married lady with three sons. I had not had a vacation away from my family to go anywhere the first 12 years after giving birth to my oldest son! Oh my, I think we can share some stories. I can't wait to hear your first trip report!

Keep smiling

[TizzyATX]

Day 1 (Travel)

Not sure I was thinking rationally when I booked a 5:40 a.m. flight. After 3 hours of restless sleep…decided I would have been better off having not gone to sleep at all. Lesson learned. Shower. Coffee. Cigarette. “I’m going to Jamaica…JAMAICA…snap out of it”
Car is already loaded up, HA. That was pretty smart at least ….

My ex is driving me to the airport. We have to stop to pick up a friend that is going with me…lucky ass…basically scored a free trip to Jamaica.

I digress… Originally I booked back in April, to go with a long-time friend. T-minus 21 days, dude tells me that he can’t go. “what you mean you can’t go???” He says he met someone…been dating for a couple months now, and he wouldn’t feel right going to Jamaica with me because it might hurt her feelings. “Are you kidding me right now? F*** her feelings…we’re going to Jamaica!!!” hahahaha, actually I wasn’t laughing. He asks if I could find someone to take his place….Shoooooot….you serious? I asked him if he thought he was going to get his $ back, ahahahaha. He already knew better than that….could have given me more of a heads up though ….no worries, someone’s gonna jump on this! So after a brief freak out, I find a friend with a passport, cancel his flight, and rebook for her. Girlfriend only had to cover the difference in flight, and the fee to renew her passport. Bam. Now I don’t have to go alone (looking back, maybe I should have. Hindsight’s a big B****)

Ok back on track…my friend is ready to go as soon as we get there….at 4:00 AM. Good, cause I don’t want to wait. She drags her boyfriend out of bed to load her luggage in my car, lol, he seemed thrilled…not even being sarcastic, think he was ready to get rid of her for a few days, and now I understand why. Airport in Austin is pretty dead. God I hate flying. Xanax...coffee...cigarette, we get through security quickly. More coffee. I’m no good in the AM but this is just stupid….silver lining… I’ll be in Negril by lunchtime!! I’m wayyyy way way too excited…big water baby here. Been to Hawaii, and the Virgin Islands with my folks when I was a lot younger, but I’ve never been this giddy about a trip… always wanted to go to Jamaica.

Land on time in Atlanta…I’m wide awake now and feeling really great. We get off the plane. Connecting flight leaves in an hour. First order of business is to find one of the smoke rooms…

I almost died in there. No joke…something wrong with the ventilation in there…

Grab a McMuffin and head to our gate. Bunch of people sitting there waiting. Awesome, we have time to eat before we board. There’s a voice over the intercom telling “stand by passengers to go to such and such gate”. All the people get up and leave. Hmmm. Something is very wrong with this. I ask the lady at the desk if they already boarded. She looked at me like I was crazy and appropriately so, because somehow we missed our flight. Well that’s just swell. Sat there eating McDonalds while my plane was taking off. We go to the Delta Customer Service desk and tell them what happened. They put us on Stand by and send us on some crazy stand by adventure. From one gate to another we run…we wait for them to call stand bys…of course they don’t call us. I know nothing about this standby nonsense. I haven’t flown in over 9 years. My feet hurt. I’m tired, yes I’m being a little dramatic…. decide to book the next available flight which isn’t until 8:00 the next morning. Delta gives us a complimentary overnight pack. Included is a bootleg toothbrush, toothpaste, something labeled “deodorant” but looks more like a rock, an oversized t-shirt, and some laundry detergent. Fantastic. After a trip back to the death room, and a bloody mary, I start making changes to our arrangements. Call Tracy to see if Alfred can still pick us up from airport. Yep. Call work to extend my vacation time. Yep. Call the hotel. Yep. Things are looking brighter…and girlfriend looks like she’s asleep? Yep. Guess I’ll take a nap too… should go ahead and get comfortable cause we sure aint going anywhere anytime soon.



After a really lousy nap on the floor at the airport, I break down and opt to get a room. Delta comes through with a $50 room voucher. Ride the shuttle to the hotel, decide it was good to get a room, well worth it.

A night in Atlanta really isn’t so bad…one of my long time friends lives there and works at a bar in Buckhead. Haven’t seen her in a few years so we hop on the Marta and ride down to have dinner and some drinks. Fun place…great food. Brisket quesadillas and Garlic Chicken wings. Had a few rum drinks, then on her break we walked over to another bar. Guess I forgot that whiskey is the devil (mine anyways)…funny how things like that slip your mind when your on vacation.



Was good catching up with my girl but time to go since we have to catch a flight in the morning…and damned if I’m going to miss this one. We get back on the Marta at about midnight. Get in a drunk fight over something really dumb and girlfriend get’s off the tram…it’s definitely nowhere near our stop…meh, whatever, she’s a big girl, she can find her way. Eventually she strolled into the room carrying a pizza. I guess we ate it and crashed. She doesn’t get much better….sucked pretty much the whole trip. More to come.

[TizzyATX]

Tranquilitygurl....I think moms should be required to take a vacation every couple years at least. They acted so devastated when i told them, lol. I said, "Kids, trust me when I say you are going to LOVE me when I come back"

Would love to hear more about your first trip....bet things sure have changed since then!

Thanks for reading!!

[Aud-A-Sea]

Waiting to hear more...hopefully day 2 is better than day 1

[TizzyATX]

Day 2

Alarm blaring…feeling ill. No time to nurse a hangover…got to get to the airport on time. Once we are there we decide it might be clever of us to check in at our gate FIRST this time. Ok, we’re good on time. Now we’re off to find the death room in this concourse. When we get there we are pleasantly surprised. This one is clean, ventilated, with windows, and we are the only ones there. Bowl of fruit loops, two bloody marys and a couple smokes later it’s time to board the plane for Jamaica. Yeaaaah Mon.

I’m excited on the plane….want to talk about it….all girlfriend wants to do is sleep! What is up with this girl. I want to look out the window and she’s arguing about needing to sit there so she can lean on it to sleep. Are you serious right now? I’m not missing my very first glimpse of Jamaica so that you can take a nap. Did you think to bring one of those neck pillows, sleepyhead? No? How unfortunate. This isn’t my usual nature but this chick’s been giving me all kinds of attitude since I picked her up for her free trip…

Eventually I see the water start to turn different shades and I catch my first glimpse of da island!!!! I’m officially vacating. Touching down was crazy….runway is so close to the water you can’t see the ground. Looks like you’re just going to land right there in the ocean, and I honestly wouldn’t mind if we did.



We are one of the first ones off the plane…follow the leader….get to customs/immigration. Friend can’t find her passport. Seriously? I even took the time to buy her a little passport holder/wallet with a strap to go around her neck… This irritates me a little bit, but no worries…I’m in Jamaica. I hand this nice young man my little customs card that I filled out on the plane. He looks at me and starts laughing, “You’re from…divorced? I never heard of dat place.” We both start laughing at my mistake. Would you believe that was my second try at filling that thing out? He says yes. I scratch my head… feeling pretty special. In my defense, it’s been a long trip and I’m not on my A-game right now. Girlfriend gets back with passport in hand. We breeze through.

We step over the threshold from the sanctity of the airport into the crowd of cab drivers, and we get swarmed, but I was prepared for that lol. I can’t even hear what they are saying, I just shake my head “No, no thanks I’m alright”, and keep walking. Finally get to light up, ahhh yesss. I find Alfred easily. He laughs as he tells me how he came the day before to pick us up…I apologize, I tried to give him notice but I guess he didn’t get the message. He just laughs, very good natured guy, I like him already. Turns out he is waiting on another larger group so he sends us with a dude named Edward…he is quiet but friendly. As we drive through MoBay, there is so much to take in, and I am looking forward to the drive, but first I ask Edward to stop at the MegaMart for us to pick up a few items. MegaMart was cool. Lots of stuff, and my ADD kicks in but my friend keeps me on task. We grab a collapsible cooler, some munchies, and bottled water then make a stop in the liquor store for rum, vodka and mixers. Change money…this currency thing is throwing me for a loop…that’s ok, it’ll take a minute but I’ll get it.

We on our way now! Not long before we get stopped by 5-0…Been in JA for less than an hour and the cops are already f’ing with us? hahaha Not really, seems they just wanted to check Edwards driver papers? This took a long time. I don’t know what they were talking to him about, I don’t understand when they speak patois so fast…from the bits I picked up on, seemed the conversation turned into friendly chatter about life. Sorry, I appreciate that everything is all friendly and stuff, but I have limited time on this island and hanging out with cops just wasn’t part of the plan lol. I love the heat, I’m from Texas, but this hot ass air in the car is stagnant and it’s starting to bother me a little. My friend seemed on edge during the ride…white knuckles gripping the “Oh **** bar” (thanks for the term Manda) lol…me personally I loved it, and I am constantly marveling at the effiency of the way Jamaicans drive. These folks get where they are going! No BS. Somebody driving slow in front of you, just get around, no matter if there is on coming traffic, just squeeze through, and tap the horn a couple times! Love it! I’m trying to take pictures but we are going so fast that buy the time I snap a shot, the picture is something completely different than I intended. Not worried about it, because everywhere I turn there is something to see, something that reminds me I’m not in Texas anymore. The drive is beautiful…lots of activity, very different from home. Reggae and dancehall coming from all different directions. Colors. Everything is SO colorful….


Sorry the pics aren't better....like I said....Fast driving = Bad pics



The drive into Negril was interesting because although I’d never been there in my life…It felt familiar yet foreign. Norman Manley, we zooooom past all these places I had been reading about on the board. I liked the fact that I couldn’t see the beach from the road, left me in anticipation. Approach the round about and start to head up the West End, and I’m already pretty sure that the cliffs was the right choice for me, but still had no clue just how much I would love it here. We pull up to Samsara and Edward helps us unload our bags at the entrance. Check in was fairly easy, although they had made no record of the changes to our itinerary. Young JA woman at the desk…nice but confused, “You suppose ta be here yesterday?” Ok, I’m not sure who I talked to yesterday about the change, but she clearly didn’t find our conversation important enough to make note of. lol Our room will be ready in about an hour ½. No problem…We’re starving so we cross the street…wasn’t as intimidating as I was expecting from all the talk about West End Rd, but yeah take caution when crossing, they drive fast and there are a lot of blind curves. We get a table at Ciao Jamaica. Staff there is friendly. Diana (waitress) asks if we’d like something to drink….feeling really dehydrated so I ask her for a large glass of cold water. Waters never been more quenching. I expected to wait awhile for the food, so asked for a mango salad to start. It came quickly and was delicious and refreshing. Ordered a really delicious pasta dish for my entrée and friend got grilled lobster that was superb. Afterwards we chatted with a woman downstairs, and I got the feeling she may be the owner of the hotel/restaurant. Not sure, but she was nice and made us feel at home. As we left the restaurant, it was raining a little. No biggie right…actually it IS a big deal…Texas hasn’t seen rain in what seems like years, this foreign substance falling from the sky is nothing less than a gift from God….one not to be taken for granted.

We’re led down a pathway that is lush with vegetation, and real freakin slippery when wet. Almost ate the ground a few times on the way. We reach our room, I’m pretty sure I called twice to reserve a “king cottage” but they put us in a “standard oceanview”. Maybe because we were a day late? Come to find out they had plenty of cottages vacant. Lol Anyways…”Standard Ocean View” I think that’s a little misleading considering the view of the ocean was completely blocked by huge palm leaves. LOL I’m not the type to complain and both rooms were the same cost…plus I don’t plan on doing anything in there accept showering and sleeping…but if I was more high maintenance they might have had a problem with me. I’ll say this much, the room was nothing to complain about it. Certainly not fancy… but I’m not fancy. It was clean, AC, had plenty of room/shelves/drawers. The bathroom was clean and up to date. Two queen beds were a bit firm, but that’s good for the back. See…I’m an optimist. Had a little balcony with table and chairs….and of course, an incredible view of a palm tree!!! I didn’t take really any pictures of the room…in fact I really didn’t take that many pictures at all now that I think about it. I can say that is my one regret about that whole trip…shoulda snapped more pics...that and the fact that I didn’t stay longer, and missed out on most of the restaurants/bars that I wanted to hit. Dang.

No time to waste… I get my suit on and have my towel in hand, lickety split. I see my friend is over there unpacking her suitcase….putting all her clothes neatly in drawers…strategically placing her toiletries in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, and setting things up on the dresser as if she’s moving in. I’m sitting there scratching my head wondering the point of all this. If you must give into these compulsions, can’t it be done later? Eh, we all have different ways of traveling. Anyways, I’m not hanging around here any longer, the sun has come back out, and I wanna go burn one on a cliff hanging over the Caribbean. Yep. You go ahead and keep nesting…

Attempt the slippery-ass walkway again…I develop a strategy pretty quick. If you step on the mortar, it’s all good. I pass the bar…it’s quiet, not many people…definitely apparent that it’s the slow season. Pool is on the right. Straight ahead are the cliffs and beyond that is the most beautiful water I’ve ever seen. I sit with my red stripe on the edge of the cliff and get lost in all the shades of blue and turquoise of the water below. Serenity. Peace. Give thanks.

[TizzyATX]

Day 2 (Cont)

Not sure how long I was down there guess I was having a good ‘ol time, staring into the water, chasing crabs, and wandering around the grounds of the hotel. It was about sunset when my friend finally emerged. She just didn’t seem to be affected by this place the way I was. But make no mistake....i'm in love with this place, it's just breathtaking.



We sat on the cliffs and watched as the sun sank into the ocean. Marvelous. Ordered a rum punch from the bar…bartender hands me two! Ha! Take a sip….Wowzers, she don’t play around!!! Two of those and I’m tipsy. lol Headed back to the room for whatever reason, I can’t remember. My friend get’s on the phone with her boyfriend….oooookay, now I get it. She has separation anxiety or something…I don’t really understand it actually, just hoping that she’ll loosen up and start to enjoy herself. I’m not really trying to sit around and listen to her make love on the phone… so I grab my stuff, and head back outside. Nighttime at Samsara is quiet. Nobody out, bar is dead…fine by me. I find a little crevice in the cliffs that goes down almost to water level, perfect little chill spot with my name all over it…feels like I’m the only person within miles. Just me, the water, the stars…OH MY GOD the stars. Climb back up to the top of the cliffs and decide to lay down on one of the loungers (Samsara has cool loungers). I must be really exhausted from travel because it didn’t take long for me to doze off to the sound of the water crashing on the cliffs. I guess I slept down there for awhile….long enough for my friend to start worrying, cause she came down to get me. Yeah and that’s about all she wrote. Quick shower then asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

[Patricia]

Good stuff ~ looking forward to more

LOVE SamSara, too ~ heading down later this month.

[irieworld]

nice--loving your trip adventure so far. Samsara was the first place I ever stayed in JA-- I was hooked at hello. I have since found other places that suit me better but for a first time stay traveling solo and trips to the beach to the sister resort Legends--I really I think it was a great intro. Plus I got flight and lodging for a song back when Jamaican Air did packages. I had no idea what I was in for or that I would fall head over heels for this shining island--just booked the trip on a whim and am hooked for life.

[Rumrunner]

Your trip report made me lol a few times. Very entertaining! Seems like you picked the wrong travel companion. Looking forward to reading more. BTW, I love your sarcasm.