Negil 2012...a trip like no other..

Day 1... Other than very little sleep and the early wake up to arrive at the airport at 5am, all is
good. Arrive in Mobay ontime, grabbed the luggage and head out to ground transportation area.
Looked around for Roy from Thriller Tours and did not spot him....of course many other drivers
are offering to provide a ride. One of the other drivers asked if we had a phone number for Roy
and after a quick call, Roy shows up in less than 2 minutes. We make our first stop at the Mega-
mart to grab a few things. I had mixed emotions as I walked through the mart... almost
too many things... suddenly felt as we had not arrived in Jamaica yet.
On the road and the Jamaica feel sets in as we head to Negril. As we reach Green Island, I
make a call to our hostess for the first five days of our stay. We meet with her husband on the
beach road in Negril and follow him to our home for the next few days. The guesthouse is about
two miles from the Negril round-a-bout towards Sav, near the Negril Hills golf course.
As we enter the yard, we are both pleased to see the progress that has been made to the
property.
We have known for years they were building a place for guest, but had no idea it would be like
this. Concrete walls, tile floors with the shine of the Taj-Mahal and nice flowers and shrubs on
the edge of the yard. The yards next to us were all well kept, some by owners trimming every
few days and others by a small heard of goats that roam the area every morning.
We take a few minutes to relax and chat before starting the unpacking process. There is also a
bar very close with ice cold beer and a pool table.... We are home and loving it already.
Had plans to be on the west end for a party on the first night...but plans in Jamaica need to be
flexible and we flexed our choice to stay put and blend into the surroundings. There were no
other tourist in the area.... many of the neighbors were family of our host... the others were
long time friends and the feel of the neighborhood was very warm and hassle free. I went to
the corner bar with my new friend Enrico and we carried a few cold beers back home and
enjoyed the evening on the nice porch or as some people prefer..'veranda'.
The first nights sleep was very good and the only plans for Saturday were to get a new chip for
the Jamaican phone and head to Seastar later in the evening to see Luciano. I was ready to
head to town for the chip, when the owners sister offered to make the run for me. She was
back in less than 20 minutes with my new chip and enough phone credit for the next few days.
I calle my other long time driver friend Paul to let him know we had arrived. Paul showed up
a few minutes later and after the usual greetings, he took us into town to change some money.
After a quick stop at the Chinamon's shop, I now had some $J and was set for the evening.
We decided to make a stop at 3 Dives on the way to SeaStar Inn to catch the sunset before
the Luciano show. We were very please to know Luciano would be there on our first Saturday
night as usually we see signs in Negril of big name acts that either play before we arrive or a few
days after we leave. We stop in 3 Dives and grab a cold beer and enjoy the sunset
Soon we arrive at Seastar and even though we had seen pics of the remodeling of the bar
and dining areas... we were amazed at how great the place looked. Chris and Francine have
worked very hard to make a place that was already very good to the level of awesome !!
As we entered the area, we noticed a few familiar faces.... first one is Spottycatz who we
had met in 2008 and knew for sure we would be freinds for life. Spottyz had a table for us
and we talked for a few minutes with them as well as Rob & Lisa and then another longtime
boardie friend Rasta Stan walks up and takes the 4 of us to his reserved table near the stage.
The good times just got better !!!
I can't even desribe how good the show was.. from Steven West, the Seastar Drummers and
then Luciano himself gave a very high energy performance. I remember during the show looking
at Spottyz and saying 'and you thought the food was good !!'
And yes, the food was off the hook good, jerk chicken, roast pork (Cindy's favorite),
fried fish (my favorite), salad and more.

Sorry the above pics are not in order....

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Nuff Respect Indy and Cindy!

You guys flex like a local and that is the real secret to living large in Jamaica!

I hope our paths cross again someday soon. I will be in Jamaica at my home in Accompong Town from early September to early January of next year. Perhaps that will work for you guys. You always have a place to stay in my home..... just don't stay TOO long! :p

All my best to the both of you.

Peace and Guidance

How did you get Cindy to stand still long enough to get a picture? :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Guirigay

How did you get Cindy to stand still long enough to get a picture? :)

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LOL,,, shooting Indycars for 40 years helps....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by indybob

LOL,,, shooting Indycars for 40 years helps....

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LOL!!!:D

Enjoying your trip report so far, Looking forward to reading more!
It was so great meeting you guys!

I like the way you guys roll...

Pt 2.........................................
After an amazing night at Seastar..(everyone we seen the next few days commented on what a
great night it was)... we started our Sunday morning with pancakes on the porch from our hostess
and watched as most of the people in the area prepared for Sunday morning church services.
As the pancakes were being devoured... our hostess reminded us that Sunday dinner is on and
we said we might be heading to town, not sure when we will return and she said 'no problem,
if you are here, you will eat, if not, there will be plates waiting for you'.
I was curious as to how long a walk to town would be, so I walked to the main road and headed
west. I arrived at the Chinamon store in 25 minutes, changed some more $$ and then walked a
little way up the beach road, grabbed a taxi to Sun Beach and began my beach walk. I was
expecting to see my old friend Dennis aka Captian Kirk at Sun Beach, but did not see him or
his boat. I walked up to Crystal Waters and said hello to Clifton and told him we were back in
town and would be arriving at CW on Wednesday. As I walked back down towards town, it
seemed a little slow at first on the beach and then people started moving about. I was going
to White Sands to get something to drink and I hear a voice 'hey old friend, welcome home',
I look up to see Captain Kirk with his usual huge smile and heary handshake. Captain has been
batting the sugar and has lost some weight, but otherwise looked great. We chatted a bit and
I moved on thru White Sands to the road to avoid the water near the Boat Bar and then
made a stop at Montanas Cafe to say hello to Tony, grabbed a cold ting, took a chill and
talked with a traveller from Germany who was admiring my Jamaican style tennis shoes.
I got the shoes in Indy, but everyone thought they were from Jamaica and wanted them. I
should have brought a suitcase full to whell and deal.
I walked for a few minutes more, then grabbed a route taxi, told him I was heading inland
toward the golf course and would pay double fare... he says no problem. I actually paid
tripple ($300J) and returned home very quick.
Spent the afternoon playing some pool and having a few cold ones in the 'Hot Chocolate Bar'
while listening to some tunes and the stories of the day from a few of the regular patrons.
Returned back home just in time for the Sunday meal and it was awesome. Chicken, tuna
macaroni, rice n peas, salad, and FRESH crab...caught in the bush just a few feet from our place
and followed by a great drink of fresh mango puree with grated ginger.
Cindy was now ready to go to town too... so we called Paul to see if he was in Negril and
he took us to SeaSplash for the afternoon webcast. Entertainment was very good, can't
remember the kids name, but he was maybe 15-16 years old and played a violin like I had
never seen or heard before. Bea had arrived today and showed up at SeaSplash as did
a few other boardies and the party was on. Dancing, hugging kissing and drinking seemed
to the theme of the day... Cindy was soon dancing in the water with new friend Tizzy
as the sun set on another great Jamaican day.
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Ahhhhhh I miss you guys!!! had so much fun, I know you're lurking Cindy...I MISS YOU, fun times!! :))