Old School trip report!

I wrote this is 2009. Every evening I would sit on the verandah and write about my day. I had full intentions of posting it here shortly after my trip but with login trouble thought I was denied access. I guess better late than never?

Wow, I have enjoyed reading so many trip reports and never thought that it could actually make someone nervous posting one. After reading this, I now realize- we really were boring vacationers! I can assure that they few trip we have taken since this one have been a bot more exciting. Not A LOT more mind you....but a bit.

July 3, 2009

Up at 2:45 AM to get showered and dressed for the drive to the airport. We flew US Airways from Louisville with a short stop in Charlotte North Carolina. both flights went well and were an eventful, thank goodness. The lines for immigration were a bit long but seemed to move quickly. We got our luggage and headed to customs. No wait at all. when we stepped outside our driver, Leon, was waiting for us. We loaded up and headed out of Montego Bay. It was about 12:oo pm. The traffic was pretty heavy getting out of Montego Bay. It was way worse coming in though, so we will have to remember that going back. Don't want to think about that. We told Leon that we wanted to go straight to the high-level in Negril. Then we would go to the room at Nirvana. We spent a little longer than we thought at hi low because it took forever to change our money. After we stocked up on snacks and food we headed straight for Nirvana. We got here about 2:30 PM. So, really it wasn't too long of a journey after all. After unpacking we headed straight for the beach. Right into the water we went. Felt so good! The water was more rough than I've seen it. Not "going to surf" rough, but more wavy. We headed over to White Sands for a drink, my husband got a dirty banana and I got a Caribbean sky. Yummy! We stayed in and ate sandwiches for dinner. Too tired to go anywhere else. Embarrassed to admit, but we went to bed before the sun set. It started to rain and we just came back to the room and crashed. We were falling asleep in the chairs on the veranda so off to bed we went.

July 4, 2009

After a lot of sleep we were up and ready to go at 6 AM. My husband got up first and made coffee. We sat on the veranda and sipped coffee while watching the waves. Murf, my husband, started with the rum punch pretty early so he was feeling fine by 10 AM. We went out and parked ourselves in some beach chairs. In to the sea to cool off, out of the sea to Sun and rest, into the sea, out...this was most of our day. At one o'clock the patty guy showed up. I got a chicken patty and coco bread. Good thing I got the coco bread because that chicken patty was too spicy for me. Murf mine too! more of the same- sea, beach, sea, beach,. We came back to the room to cool off a little. I decided to walk up the beach for some fruit. Saw the fruit lady and got some mango, pineapple, and banana. We made it back in time for a storm. Loud thunder, some lightning and some rain. After sitting on the veranda for a while we thought we had better head out for dinner. We had planned on Mariposa -- I have been craving it since last reach two years ago. It was closed! Closed until the end of July. We walked on down the beach and ended up at Rondel. Food and service were both good. Got back to Nirvana for sunset. It was cloudy -- so no big show. Any sunset as long as it's in Jamaica is great though. We went with a couple of red stripe to the little hut in the center of the property and visited with a few other guests and the night security guard we liked so well. Came back to the room -- we both took showers in the outdoor shower, we do have one inside but just prefer the outside. Then we just sat on the brain that listening to the night sounds. The waves are crashing loud tonight. There is also a band playing down the beach that we can hear really well, watching lightning way out in the sea. We will probably set out here on the veranda reading and talking, then turn in.

July 5, 2009

Up at 6 AM again. Murf made coffee and we sat on the porch for a couple hours sipping it and watching the beach area wake up. Murf took our beach chairs to our favorite spot, under a nice big palm. After changing into our swimsuits we headed out for a day of serious relaxation. The sea was again a little more wavy and there was a nice breeze all day.we were resting and sunning then into the sea to cool off, back to the chairs, over to white Sands for piña colada day, chairs, sea, bar, sea, chairs. I came back to the room to get out of the sun and heat for a little bit. We had some sandwiches in the room along with fruit for lunch. We went back to the beach for a couple more hours. What a beautiful day! Murf fell asleep in his chair! I bought some ankle bracelets and bracelets to take back home to the kids. Supper time -- we come back to the room and get dressed. Trying to decide where to go, we decide to walk down the beach and play it by ear. Sun beach is where we ended up. I had the grilled lobster and Murf had the curried chicken. Both were so good! We made it back in time to grab the bug spray and head out to see if there would be a great sunset show. Not tonight, too many clouds. That's okay, any sunset in Jamaica is good. We head back to the room and Murf gets out the blender . He made us some rum punch drinks and used the fruit left over from lunch to blend with them. Yummy! We went to the hut in the center of the property and drank them, listening to those lovely Negril night sounds! back to the room and out to the porch. I read the rest of my book and Murf drank his rum punch. Around 9 PM -- in the bed we go!

Monday, July 6

Woke up around 7 AM. Had some coffee on the veranda. We decided to take a walk down the beach this morning. We walked a long way. We made it from Nirvana almost to the flea market. We decided to take the road back. Oh my goodness, it was so hot today. I didn't make it too far on the road and I was telling Murf we needed a taxi, oh no -- we continued to walk. His idea, not mine. We made it back to the room and stayed in to get cooled off for a bit. We got changed and went to the beach. We put our stuff down and went straight to the water. I finished swimming first and got in the chair. Just started to relax when a lady came over from lazy days and said the vegetable truck was here. I waved Murf in from the sea and head over there to pick out some vegetables. We decided to buy some lobster from a local fisherman and cook it in our room for dinner tonight. We got some vegetables to put in the electric skillet. the fruit lady tells us how to cook the lobster, we have never cooked it. We bring everything back to our room, then realize we don't have garlic or better. We decide to make a trip to the hi-low. Since we are going to go ahead and stock up on a few other things. on the way back from the store, we are so hungry. We ran through the drive through at Burger King. This is our third trip and our first time there. We say the only thing American about it is the wrapper.

We come back home, unload the groceries, eat lunch and head back to the beach. We swam for a bit, then get in our chairs. The jet ski guy comes on the beach to talk to Moses, our security. So we decide to take his jet ski out for a bit while he was visiting some friends on the beach. What a fun ride. Murf drove, as it was my first time on a jet ski. We went over by the cliffs and back. Once we finished, we got back in the sea for a swim. I got out first again as usual. Two young boys came by selling bracelets with your name on it. They make it right there in about five minutes, so I bought a few of those and send Murf back to the room for some candy for them. It started to thunder and get really dark so we sat outside until the rain came down. Nice shower to cool things off. We went to see the fruit lady so I could get a coconut and sat on the beach watching the sunset, still too cloudy. Time to fix dinner. I get the big pot of water and put it on the burner. Murf is chopping the veggies. I am waiting for water to boil. Murf cooks the veggies, they are all done. I'm still waiting for the water to boil. veggies are getting cold, I'm still waiting for the water to boil! We put the pan in the electric skillet, no -- that doesn't work either. Luckily, there is a stove in the office that we can use to boil our water for the lobster. Murf cooks the lobster, I reheat the vegetables. We had dinner on the veranda, finally. I cleaned up dishes then we went out to the veranda for the night. I'm writing this, then I'll read a bit. Before long we will head to bed. Busy and fun day!


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Tuesday, July 7We woke up at our usual time. We had coffee on the veranda. Murf decided to go ahead and take the kayak out early while there was little boat/traffic . He said the water was so clear and calm it was like glass. He could see rays and starfish under the water. I sat in my favorite spot while he was out. He decided to mix of some drinks in the blender early today. We sat on the beach, swam in the sea, to the beach, to the sea. after a few too many drinks and not enough food for Murf, we decided to go back to the room to cool off and fix a sandwich. Back to the beach, Murf napped off his buzz and I read and just soaked in the sea air. We came back and showered, well, we used the outdoor shower, then down the beach or some more small bananas and more coconut from the fruit lady. We decided to go back to Rondel for dinner. We ordered curried goat since we have never tried it before. After dinner, we headed back to the room. We walked around the property here tonight to try and walk off our fullness from dinner. We sat on the porch and read and talked until time for bed.

July 8
We woke up at our usual time again. Murf took his coffee on the beach. He sat and had a great talk with taxi in front of lazy days. We had spiced bread with butter wind in the microwave for breakfast when he came back in. We were in our favorite spot on the beach, ready for the day are around 8:30 AM. We talked with another couple staying here. It's their first time here so we were telling them our favorite places to eat and letting them know about the fruit lady.

We got some drinks from White Sands around 10:30. Into the sea to cool off and back to our chairs several times. it was more humid and less breezy today. The sun was the hottest so far this reach for us. I decided to get a massage on the beach today. Connie came and sat her massage table up right here on the beach. It was nice and relaxing. Afterwards we came inside for lunch. After lunch back out to the beach and into the sea. Around 4:30 PM or so we came up to the room to shower and get cleaned up. We sat on the porch for a bit then decide to go walk the beach. We ended up walking all the way past Cosmos to the public beach. We walked until the trees covered the beach where we couldn't go any further. We didn't quite realize how far it was until we started back. a nice long walk. We set out in the hut in the middle of the property for a bit talking to some other guests. Came back to the room and fixed dinner. Spaghetti and Murf had the idea to make grilled cheese garlic bread along with it. It was really good.

Since we ate dinner so late, the rest of the night was spent sitting on the porch, listening to the night sounds, and the waves crashing on the shore under the ceiling fan.

July 9
Once again we are up at 6 AM. Murf took his coffee to the beach and I sat on the porch with mine. we had plans to go visit Moses at his house this morning. Our driver got here around 9:30 AM and off we went. We made friends with Moses when we first came here five years ago, and have kept in contact with him. He has done a lot of work to his home and we were honored that he wanted to have us over. After a quick visit with him, we came back to our room. We had some lunch and then to her favorite spot on the beach. Into the sea to cool off and back to her chairs. There are two little boys saying here. They were swimming in the sea and both of them got stung several times by jellyfish. Poor little guys were screaming and crying.

I saw a beautiful race today. It was a good size one and came right up to the shore. We had reservations for dinner at rock house tonight, a sunset dinner to celebrate 10 years of marriage today. This was our very first trip to the Cliffside. Oh my goodness! It was so beautiful. We are actually considering splitting our time next week, part on the cliffs and part on the beach. The view was breathtaking and the food was terrific. No problem getting a cab home either. The rest of our night will be spent on the porch as usual. I can't think of a better way to spend our 10th anniversary. We are truly blessed.

July 10
Our last full day here. We got up again at 6 AM. We both went straight out to the beach with our coffee, trying to soak up as much as we can. We came in and had some breakfast. We were trying to eat our leftovers from the grocery trip so we had muffins and spice bread. We got on our swimsuits and headed back to the beach. Into the sea to cool off and back to her chairs, back and forth like this for a lot of the day. When the fishermen came in we bought some fish from him to fix for lunch. We put it in the fridge and headed back to the beach for a little longer. It started to rain so we thought it would be a good time to come in and cook the lobster. Again, we had to go in the office to use the stove there to boil the water. It started to rain hard, then harder! We ended up having a pretty good storm and losing power. We ate the lobster on the porch, then took a quick walk down the beach since I was out of Pepsi. We went to the bar at Sun beach and their power was out as well. no worries though, our power was back on by the time we got back to our room.

Swimsuits on and back to the beach. Not before Murf made some frozen fruity drinks to take with us. We spent some time with Moses this afternoon to say goodbye. It's always so sad and hard for me to tell him goodbye. It really wasn't a goodbye though, it was more of a see you later. Once the sun was starting to set, we decided to head out for dinner. We wanted something quick and light, so we went back down to island twist and got some burgers and fries. Back to the hotel for some more goodbyes.

We sat on the beach for a bit tonight, then took a walk back down to some beach for more drinks. We are going to set on the porch for a while longer, then start packing some. We are planning to get up extra early tomorrow trying to get as much as we can.

July 11
Oh no! Today we had to come home. We were up around 6 AM. We both took our coffee to the beach this morning. We sat out there as long as we could. Said goodbye to the beach then came inside to shower and finish packing. We were picked up at 9 AM. There was no traffic on the ride to the airport so we had plenty of time. Both flights home were fine except for the fact that it was leaving Jamaica instead of going.

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I sure hope I haven't broken every rule with this post! I am certain yall will let me know if I have though! LOL!!

Lovin this report!

Great report, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for taking the time to post! Sounds like you had a very nice, relaxing trip :)

Thanks for the report! Love it!

Thanks for sharing Mandy! You guys definitely know how to have a chill vacation!

Mandy....I was quite impressed with the Nirvana layout on the beach while walking past last week...lotsa shade, nice deep piece of beachfront....but, too many rotten children!~!! what's the deal???

Thanks for sharing the "old" trip report (not really that old) ;) I enjoyed reading it...I guess this means I should post some kind of report of my own...I did promise to "show you mine" :rolleyes: