I've got to find my way back, back to summer paradise - Nov 2011 Trip Report

[groove16]

love this report cherry....still not sure about ox tail....

[Lady Jane]

Ate oxtail many times in Grand Cayman, late 1980's. I like your adventurous side, not afraid to enjoy the culture and vibe of Negril. Keep going...and pass the popcorn

[Smokin Kevan]

Cherry, thanks for the heads up on the Rasta...I agree with BR Mon, you shoulda rolled solo to Roots Bamboo,lol... We've stayed at Rooms at least 5 times.... I love coming out about 10p or 11p and hearing the music... We usually just go in the direction of the tunes, along NMB, not the beach at nite...
Very cool that you are patient and know your honey so well....

Happy Travels,

Skb...

[gluecipher]

I love the waiter picture.

[CherryNorth49]

There is a part of me that is really amazed that you all are still following along. I know I warned you this would be long, but this is turning into a novel. Thank you for being encouraging. If you are going to keep reading, I am going to keep on writing

I do have to pay the bills though, so I have to split today in two parts. I will get it all in before day's end. Darn this working for a living thing.

Bob – I almost snorted coffee out my nose with that 3-dives story. Thanks for the laugh.

BR Mon and Kevan – this girl was still a lot too 'deer in the headlights' to be venturing out to Roots Bamboo on her own! There is always this year. And I am with you Kevan, the music in the air at Rooms in the evenings was awesome. It gave the place such great energy.

Ktans – Judging by your avatar, I think you will enjoy our first stop of the day today. Thanks for reading.

Groove – Growing up, my mother would often make Oxtail soup with dumplings. Sounds fancy, but in truth her oxtail soup came from a package by Knorr and her dumplings were Bisquick. I will say though, the soup's flavor wasn't far off of what I ate. Maybe start there…

Lady Jane - I never really think of myself as adventurous, but thank you suggesting I might be

Yetta – Thank you for sharing, it really is about the whole package and I am totally smitten.

Bjritz – 'intimate, but casual' – I really like that, thank you! I think that perfectly captures what I was going for.

Loves2, 2nutz and Coco – I am glad you are getting some laughs in on this. We aren't quite done bumbling around yet…

[CherryNorth49]

Chapter 8

“Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.”
- James Matthew Barrie

Right or wrong, sometimes I feel that I do know the right answer. I am generally the sort who wants everyone to agree to the plan before we get underway, but sometimes, I just need to take charge.

Tuesday morning I awoke to sunshine outside and clouds tucked in beside me. Even on his cloudiest days, things are just better because I get to wake up with my Sunshine. As you know, I am a girl with a list of lists for every contingency. It is time to pull out the 'Sunshine is having meltdown' list and see what we can do.

Over coffee and orange juice in the room, I inform Sunshine that we are going to get a cab and head to Blue Cave Castle for breakfast. This gets a mixed reaction. We haven't yet taken a cab, so he isn't enthusiastic about that but he has heard the word castle and he is intrigued.

"Castle what?" he says.

"Blue Cave Castle," I reply, "It is up on the west end road, up on the cliffs. There is a castle there and they have a restaurant; I hear it is pretty good. It should also be quiet there, no hustlers around those parts."

"Fine, whatever," was the best response he could muster, but I know deep down, he is intrigued.

Down to our hotel parking lot we go to get one of the cabs always lingering there. I know we could go out to the road and try and get a route taxi, but that was far more adventure than I was looking for. When chartering a cab, I had pretty much decided from my research that my going rate was $10 to wherever I was going on the beach road or up to the west end. No one ever disagreed. I am confident our drivers came out to the good on that deal, as we never went far. Was I overpaying? Maybe by Jamaican route taxi standards, but I can't get anywhere for $10 in a cab at home, so I was happy enough with the exchange. We normally tipped a few dollars, depending on the stops we made along the way.

We take off down the road and start winding up the West End. Our cab driver pulls up to the doors of Teddy's Hideaway and through the car window starts pounding on the door, which is locked. Oh no, I thought to myself, please tell me this place isn't going to be closed. The top half of the door opens up, and a few words are exchanged. Our cabbie tells us it is all good man and through the blue door we go.

If any of you have ever been back in the actual restaurant part of Teddy's Hideaway, it is fine, but it doesn't have much of a view. It certainly didn't line up with some of the descriptions I had heard. There are 3 or 4 people in the space and they were clearly all local workers.

We are greeted by Teddy himself, sporting a big wide smile. "Wah wah woh wah."

I literally feel like throwing my arms up in the air in frustration. Why oh why can't I understand a word of the English these friendly people are saying to me. Everyone seems to understand me just fine, so we must be speaking the same language.

On his third try saying the same thing, Teddy has taken to talking real slow, explaining again that we can eat anywhere on the grounds and that he will show us around. He takes us through a narrow, sun soaked passage way, introduces us to his pet crocodile.

We emerge into the main yard of the castle, near the Blue Mountain coffee station. There is not another person in sight.

I can feel the shift in the atmosphere beside me almost instantly. It is like someone has released the valve on a pressure cooker and the steam is pouring out.

[CherryNorth49]

Teddy points out the highlights of the grounds and we pick our table. Being of the fair skinned set, we pick the table in the covered hut near the cave entrance.

Our waitress arrives and we order up our now habitual breakfast Red Stripe. We agree to a bit of sharing with breakfast and order Teddy's famous Banana, Rum and Cinnamon pancakes, as well as the egg scramble with shrimp, peppers and tomatoes.

Our food hasn't even arrived and Sunshine is all smiles. The clouds might still be lurking around the edges, but for now it is clear skies ahead.

I must say that I know why Teddy's pancakes are famous, but that egg and shrimp scramble was one of the best plates of eggs I have ever had. I don't give high marks for eggs very often; I am incredibly picky. It was all perfectly cooked and beautifully seasoned. He has some pretty wicked hash browns to go with; they were a mix of white and sweet potatoes and they may have been deep fried. Heart healthy they may not be, but they were good for the soul.

It was a windy day and the seas were a bit churned up, enough so that the cave was chained off and the swim ladders were pulled up.

We sat a spell and had another round of Stripes, enjoying the breeze and the quiet. At one point, we see a big catamaran sailing slowly by. We've spent some time around boats and generally we always wave when one goes by. Folks on board are waving back. I look a little closer, as something looked different. Oh gee, they are all naked. We both burst out laughing. I'd have captured the moment, but I just wasn't quite quick enough with the camera. Everyone did seem to be having a good time.

We eventually decide it was time to move on and settled our bill. We stopped to visit the turtle pond on our way out.

Blue Cave Castle wasn't our only destination on the West End. Up next, our first adventure in a route taxi.

[iowagirl]

Cherry - PLEASE keep writing your novel! So good, so funny, so true! And I hope you know - the laughs are truly with you. Only Speaking for myself, of course, but I can relate to EVERY new thing you are experiencing. Except the cloudy Sunshine - mine found his happy place in Negril on day one and never looked back. Cannot wait to hear/read/see the rest!! Thank you SO much for your perspective and willingness to lay it all out there!!

[Lovechild]

I love this TR....it makes me want to hug you....not only am I looking forward to the rest of this report, but I'm looking forward to reading your soon to be trip report...keep it coming!!!!

[mavmaiden]

Your report gets better and better! Not only are you a tremendous writer, but you have a delightful sense of humor and a great attitude. I'm so enjoying this! Although, you've raised the stakes tremendously on trip reports. I'm feeling a bit a "trip report anxiety" for my upcoming first trip to Negril in December.