Travel Report February 2024 - Part 2

Sorry for the delay fellow boardies. Life keeps getting in the way.


The first week of my vacation coincided with the arrival of the cold front. I started that Tuesday morning with a delicious callaloo and cheese omelet with coffee and OJ at Sips n' Bites. You could see the waves crashing and the water coming over the top out back of the restaurant. The server was incredulous at how angry the ocean was.


After breakfast, I got my stuff together and started walking towards town. I know that I am not a wily veteran like many of the boardies here, but I have never seen the sea as it was on that day and Wednesday. Looking out from the road at some of the bays and the size of the waves coming in had me thinking that I had transported to Hawaii or Costa Rica. Many of the locals I spoke to said that they had never seen it like that either. While it was entertaining to watch, I know that it caused a lot of damage to the beach and some of the west end businesses as well. Indira from the grocery store was stressed out after the front passed as I believe she has rooms out back of her store and they had sustained some damage that she was scrambling to repair. The toll it took on the trees and plants was huge as well. They just shriveled up and died from the sea spray.


I figured the beach would not really be an option on Tuesday, so I strolled in to town and decided to do some shopping at the new grocery store. My VRBO had a kitchen with a gas stove, toaster, microwave, full size fridge, kettle and everything necessary to cook for myself. As I entered the store, Lee Issa was there greeting customers. I said hello and congratulated/thanked him for everything he was doing for Negril. I picked up some eggs, bread, vegetable spread, instant coffee, carrot and mango juice, milk and cheese. That way I had everything I would need to whip up a toasted fried egg and cheese sandwich with coffee and juice to enjoy on the balcony on a half dozen days. I really loved that. Kind of made me feel as if I was living there, a feeling I could get used to. Sit on the balcony, have some breakfast and watch and listen to the traffic go by on the west end road.


Hung out close to home for the rest of the day. Hung out on the balcony, listened to some tunes, smoked some ganja, drank some stripes. A perfectly lovely day to do that. The power was intermittent during the day so I made sure I charged all of my devices when it was on, which proved to be wise as at one point it went out and didn't come back on until the next day. Ended up having the brown stew chicken from Sips n' Bites, eating by battery powered lantern, which was another very convenient thing my suite was equipped with.......2 of them in fact. The food was amazing......absolutely amazing. Spent the rest of the night sitting on the balcony listening to tunes in the darkness.


Wednesday was another angry sea day. Started the day by heading to Canoe for french toast with caramalized banana, side of bacon, french press coffee and a glass of OJ. Absolutely delicious!! Spent the rest of the day checking out the damage on the beach while stopping for a stripe at various fave spots such as Sunnyside, Sunbeach and Firefly. Also a stop at the Scotia ATM in Times Square, one of many during my 2 week stay. Dinner on that night would be jerk pork at Pushcart. Again, absolutely freaking amazing!! Just the perfect amount of heat for me. A nice smoky burn on the lips and tongue would linger for a couple of minutes. Thinking about it now makes me want to book a ticket back. The chef even came out and talked to me and I had the chance to personally thank him for his wonderful creation! Ended the day as usual, on the balcony, listening to some reggae, spliff and red stripe on hand. Gawd I miss that.


Thursday started with breakfast on the balcony. Really enjoyed that. Not having to figure out where to go, not rushing around. A nice, easy relaxing start to the day. This was another cooler (relatively speaking) day. Perfect for walking around town. Headed in on foot, passed by a couple on the way. They were going at a nice leisurely pace, which made me realize that I needed to slow down a little and enjoy everything I was experiencing. They would figure prominently in my travels that day. I stopped by Patsy's for a smoothie and kept walking. The plan was to go to Red Dragon the back way. Cut through the Corner Bar parking lot and up the steep hill, past the pretty little church and up and around until I arrived at Red Dragon. Must have been doing something right 'cause they were just serving out the jerk pork when I arrived. A quarter of jerk pork and a Stripe for $450J. Is there a better deal to be had in Negril?? As I'm sitting there, who should walk in but the couple I passed on the west end road. Waved hello, finished off my beer and headed over to Collette's.


I was wearing my I Love Negril shirt and when I walked in Collette immediately came over and gave me a hug. What an absolutely lovely person. Ordered a Stripe and had a sit and talked to the people hanging out. Ordered another beer and while I was drinking that, who shows up but the 2 folks I had originally passed on the road and saw at Red Dragon. Finally had a chance to chat with them. Turns out they're from Edson, Alberta. Had a great chat about the things they do there and there time in Negril. Even gave me a spliff, like I needed more. :friendly_wink: Good smoke......I had a nice buzz on when I continued on my journey. Went on down the road, stopped for a beer at Rocky's and then ended up at the Corner Bar. Of course, as I sat there having a beer, the Edson couple wandered past on the opposite side of the road. Waved hello and they continued on. Great people at every turn. Absolutely wonderful. Dinner that night was grilled lobster at Kool Vybes. The joint was jumping. As soon as a table opened up, it seemed like it would be filled with another customer within minutes. Great aromas and vibe. Had a wonderful meal and then back to the suite for balcony time.






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For some reason I knew it was going to be the couple from Alberta....great report, FB!

Shiela and Dennis.

Sounds like you had an awesome trip! :eagerness:

FB,

Reading your TR makes me ache for Negril....

Great stuff and more please!

Enjoy,

VVHT