well it happened, 1st time in before noon for a few years and we did not hit Mariposa till dark, that's right 6 and 1/2 hour trip accross, wish I could blame it on the road, but hey
James Street
Gambio back up on strip
Top off digicel right next door
top off gas (The Palms is closed with a for lease sign on it) but got 1st patti in Hopewell
then Valerie's in Sandy Bay for chicken and that 1st appleton's & coke (would you believe they had a wedding reception the night before and were stocking up for a Heroe's Day party and what do you think the liquor bottles were, no not Appleton's, not even overproof, it was Smirnoff Apple swear to gawd)
Peter's cold beer joint turned into a wait on some folks that landed a couple hours behind us (get the idea we are already slowed down), the wait included a few games of dominos and a swapping of the jokes, other folks caught up
On through Lucy to Bigga's, 15 minutes to chicken, conch soup and an auto parts store next door and Bigga explaining that scotch bonnet in sauce does not have to be hot - it's the blend of spices that give it flavor but here let me dribble in some ketchup and watch the blend get outta whack and now the sauce is scorching hot how does that happen with no more peppers hmmmm passed the time, Bigga chopped a couple hens and through them on foil and we all stood around getting our appetizers for dinner down
Split up group as the other folks were headed to Rooms and we headed down to the currently being re-paved and re-facaded Valu Master for Rum Cream, Appleton's, Spicy Bun, milk, New Zealand Chedder, water crackers and enough coffee to get us through the night till we get get igloos and see what we had left behind from last trip
Pull up to property in the dark and some jerk is blocking the drive, wait a minute that's my cousin who landed 3 hours behind us and is already unpacked at CoCo La Palm
To room and bruchetta and teeth numbing cold rum and cokes then we share 2 pasta dishes from Gino's on the balcony and have enough energy to throw our clothes into drawers and bags under beds before we throw ourselves down for the night,,,,
Ah heck wake at 5 but just about right time to hit the Shell station at 6 for a cup of coffee (darn forgot rum cream - I love those little bottles at the gas station) and run the hills to pick up igloos. Oh man haven't had a car this small in years, back seats folded down and 1 igloo seat belted into passenger seat I'm back at property by 7.
Breakfast at Gino's, eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, juice, fruit platter mango - papaya - banana - pineapple for $10.00 U.S. including tip I can live with it especialley since they provided a sea rolling in just feet away. Have to have a swim before we work on those coolers.
I have 5 igloos in Ja, some igloos have soft sided coolers inside them, you know over the years we have gotten pretty good at this. Machette & tools & cloths lines and cloths pins in that igloo. Cereal bowls, big coffe cups, 3 qt thermos's, cutting boards, knives, coffe filters in that igloo. Tanning lotion, shampoo, lotions, dish and clothes soap, reppellant , etc in that igloo. Booze, cooking oil, honey in that in that igloo who thought we needed drink umbrellas in that iglooo, toaster, coffee maker, juicer, blender (invest in the metal pitcher type) in that igloo. Electrical cords, surge protector multi strips, more wire ties and bungee cords than god distributed through out all. Now the trick is to only pull out the essentials and know where the rest is when you need it.
Let's pick up cuz and run up the cliffs, Dennis is out says hi, not open today, somehow we end up back at Valu Master for week long supply shopping, china mans for beer and booze, shamrock for ice and head to the beach,,,,,,,, and that is sorta what 24 hours looks like
Multi stops of the week:
Out of Town Pastry - coco bread and a hunk of cheese with pineapple juice carton is just to good (maybe I play the taxi man and have a shot of JB overproof on occasion) - caloloo patties are darn fine
Juici Patti (forgive me lord but their fried chicken is to die for - now all I have to explain is that I don't want the fries) for beef patti's
Coice's when Coleen and I were by ourselves or if we just wanted something smooth to slow down all the spice, a little secret the same fried chicken from his dinner is what he puts on the Chefs salad, the way he cuts up his cucumbers is to die for and one night off the menu he made us a grilled cheese tomato and onion sandwich hmmmmm heaven
That ice cream shop next to Juici Patti, rum raisen multiple nights
Best of the week:
Grilled lobster at Cosmo's, had never thought of Cosmo's for grilled lobster before, what with all the other conch and goat options, but as we sat there that night we remarked that we were behind on our lobster quota and ended up with some of the best and I might add biggest grilled lobster tails we have ever had in Negril and I might add that I would bet the butter was New Zealand unsalted,,,,,
Oh Catcha, Oh Ivan's, she has to be one of the premeire Chef's on the Island, they now offer the jerk shrimp, bamboo chicken, crab cakes as 1 appetizer platter, the shrimp pasta is to die for and once again (for those that remember Feb I had Strogonoff in Jamaica - what with that chef if she is offering Stogonoff as a special I'm all in and it was from another planet) I went off the Island with Sphagetti Carbonerra,,,,, a bottle of wine per couple a teeth numbing Reisling for us and the becoming angry waves making the blow hole sound like an angry whale every few minutes made for delightful evening. Drivers this is a small parking lot with a superb guide, let your riders out and take advice, he backs you in pointing out, worth a 500J tip every time
The biggest darn pear (avocado) I have ever seen combined with scallions and tomatoes turned into guacomla dipped with pan fried trotilla chips followed by jerk chicken from the road and pasta with fresh veggies and toasted hardo bread accopanied by wine (thanks for the cork screw Gino's) and rum and coke on the patio (that only took about 3 or 4 timeless hours
Pasta salad made in the room with spinach rotini, scallions, tomatoes and white cheese eaten from bowls on a lazy afternoon on the beach as our feet are bathed by the surf
Memories:
Bringing our own ice, vodka and oranges to Whoopies and swinging the car around as a boom box. Dennis your working to hard at farming those goats today I'm the bartender and you are the guest.
Buying tires, still laughing,,,,
Having my cuz trying to explain to Fidel the difference between a joe and a bow as a karati fighting stick and having Fidel laugh as he picked up a walking stick and did a execution of a well trained movement (yes watch out for those Rasta's they have skills you may not realize)
Sitting at The Love Nest and getting lost in time trying to bring long exposure shots to the frothing waves
Sitting with Coleen at the end of a fulfilling day and sharing the decadence of crepe's flambeau at 5:30 in the afternoon as the sun began to dive into the sea (the cucumber carving that the neopolitin ice cream nestled in was very cute)
The mutiple trips to a house that is a dream, crawling on the roof, exploring the breaker box wiring and plumbing, walking through the magical jungle at the back of the property,,,,,,
A ride to school with a young man that is taking his form test that I use to carry to school when his back pack was bigger than him, the up and over north to south to a friends new farm down in the flats and seeing the pride and industry involved in turning it into a producing concern
Name me the heroes? to a young man that was asking donations for school, watching as the surrounding beach crew helped him through (6 heroes 1 heroine and everyone I heard said it that way - nobody said 7 heroes like we would in the states) and watching him proudly recite them to another crew I was with down the beach an hour later
Afternoon rain dripping from the eves of metal roofs in the craft market or bouncing off oversized tropical plant leaves as we lay in bed with the french doors open or lulling you back to sleep with the statacco drum beat off plant leaves when you awake in the middle of the night,,,,,
Time with someone you love in a majic place,,,,,
If you love Jamaica let me see your hands,,,,,,,
