Is sand gravity a choice? Trip report 2014

Well, we didn't want to come home but didn't have a choice. The hotel wouldn't let us stay for free, the restaurants wouldn't let us eat for free and the airline wouldn't give us an open ended free ticket home. Sigh...oh well. We had a truly wonderful week in Negril. Stayed at Idle Awhile, our fourth time, and loved it as always. I don't have to tell you all what the beach is like there but I will say it anyway - incredible, beautiful, peaceful, relaxing, healing, wondrous. Anyway....we spent a whole lot of time doing nothing. On our second day my husband said "I think I'm just going to let the sand gravity take over today." As if that's a choice!!!! We traveled from Sunday to Sunday this year for the first time. The travel was fairly uneventful. Our flight in was on time, plane was full but we were the only ones going through customs and immigration so very quick. The flight home was delayed. The plane was fully loaded and captain had just announced that we were actually going to be able to leave a little early so everyone fasten seat belts, etc., which we did but then we sat there and sat there and no take off. You could see people gathered at the front of the plane. Uh oh, that's never a good sign. Captain then announces that they can't get the door to the plane locked (ooops) but not to worry there is a manual override so we shouldn't be delayed much more than twenty minutes or so. Okay, these things happen. Fortunately the air conditioning was left on. About half hour later captain comes back on and informs us that they still can't get it locked and are calling for maintenance crew, but there are two other planes with problems ahead of us (????, two other broken planes?) so we may have a bit of a wait and may have to evacuate the plane. Shoot!! About another twenty minutes go by and the announcement comes on that the maintenance crew is there but they have to wait for the paperwork to get there from the terminal. Oh no, waiting for paperwork in Jamaica, this is not going to be good. Several more minutes go by of watching people at the front of the plane. There is a man seated a few rows behind me that has been loudly complaining the entire time. Now in my opinion this only makes the wait more difficult and also does absolutely no good whatsoever. After awhile he gets himself pretty geared up and gets out of his seat and marches up to the front of the plane. There you can see him waving his arms and being very animated with the co-pilot (he thought it was the pilot but it wasn't). After a bit he comes storming back down the aisle and announces to those of us in the back third of the plane that he has spoken to the pilot and that they can't fix the problem and they're going to evacuate us all. Lots of conversing over this statement and people actually start to pack up their belongings in preparation for being evacuated from the plane. The two women seated next to me and my husband all looked at each other and just sat back. We'll wait for the official word if you don't mind. Not five minutes later the captain announces that the door is closed and locked and we may be able to make up some time in the air so we probably won't arrive more than an hour late. Guess that guy felt a bit foolish! And that's exactly how late we arrived, one hour. Not too bad at all. Rather arrive home an hour late than arrive in Negril an hour late.
At Sangster Airport our driver was there to meet us and off to Negril we went, catching up with him during the ride on what had been going on since last year. As I mentioned this was our fourth time at Idle Awhile. We love this property. The staff recognized us and we them and it felt like visiting old friends! This trip was particularly lovely because there was such a great group of people staying there for the week. I love how a feeling of community springs up at Idle Awhile because of the wonderful staff and because it is such a small and intimate resort. There were several families staying there this year and we so enjoyed watching their interactions all week and getting to know them. There is a couple who stays here every July for two weeks and we recognized them from last year and became reacquainted with them. Every day it was like meeting up with friends as we all talked about various places we had been to and things we had done. Where we had dinner the night before and what our plans for the day were and just hanging out with them on the beach where conversations would swirl around and carry out into the water. If someone wanted to buy something from a vendor then that vendor would often become part of the conversation as well. We were never hassled or bothered by any of the vendors (although we have been on past trips) and of course recognized many of them from past trips. The fruit lady of course was a daily visitor and I will post some pics of her later. We bought patties on the beach from the pattie man (whose name I can't remember) and pastries from Anthony who we had bought pastries from last year. My husband had two massages from Sandra who operates next door at Charela and we bought some jewelry from Jimmy and his beautiful daughter on his weekly visit to Idle Awhile where he sets up a table for the day. Jimmy is a wonderful jeweler and has some unique pieces and what I really get a kick out of is that Jimmy color coordinates his table set up so that all his blue jewelry is together, all his green, etc. He is meticulous about this!
The people who care for the beach at Idle Awhile take great pride in the cleanliness of their beach, the beauty of it and in assuring that everyone has the chair set up they want. Eric is there so early every morning and works all day setting up chairs, raking the beach, cleaning up the plants and always with a smile. He and my husband had many conversations during the week. Aaron is the lifeguard and also helps out setting up the chairs and distributing towels. A few extra dollars assured that we had beach chairs right under the tree every morning and believe me nobody else was going to sit in those chairs, Eric and Aaron both kept an eagle eye on them. But if we weren't going to be around, we let them know.

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View from our beach chairs.

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Obligatory foot on the beach chair picture!

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The beach through the tree as I looked at it every day!
A story about those beach chairs, though. On our second day there we were having breakfast and if you aren't familiar with Idle Awhile's set up, their restaurant is right on the beach and is basically a covered bar next to a wooden floor where all the tables are set up with a fabric sail roof. In other words it is all open and right on the beach. Our chairs were set up with a table between them and folded towels laid out on the back of the chair. To the front and a little to the right of our chairs were two more chairs set up exactly the same way under a small palm tree. There was a very nice woman who was staying there with her daughter and I see her walking by the restaurant to the beach where she heads right for our chairs. Now honestly, I'm not that fussy about where our chairs are because if you aren't set up under a tree they will set up lovely umbrellas to sit under and it's all on the same beautiful beach so what's the big deal. HOWEVER, if Eric is going to set up our chairs under the big tree every morning and save them for us, I'll take it. But I see this woman head to the chairs Eric has set up for us and then I see Eric come over and tell her that they are set up for someone else and he leads her to the other two chairs under the palm tree. So she sets up there but after a few minutes she gets up and walks back to our chairs and is sort of looking them over, then walks back to her chairs and then back to our chairs, etc. so I kind of get the idea that she really wants to sit on those chairs, she likes that set up better than the one she has. We are leaving right after lunch that day for an excursion so I point out what is happening to my husband and suggest that since we're only going to be there a few hours maybe we can let her have those chairs. No big deal. He immediately agrees and after finishing breakfast we head to the chairs and he walks up to the woman (we never did get her name) and suggests that it's fine with us if she wants those chairs. She immediately agrees, jumps up, collects her stuff and heads over to our chairs and settles in. Now we didn't want to hurt Eric's feelings either as he had gone to so much trouble to protect that spot for us so we explained to Eric that as we were leaving early we were switching, no problem. So we settle in for the morning enjoying our lovely spot. Later on while we're in the water I notice this woman pacing the beach again going from her new spot to her old spot and back again and something in her posture just told me that there was something up again, she was unhappy. Sure enough my husband goes back up to the chairs while I stay in the water and after a few minutes I see her walk over to my husband and say something and then walk back to her chair. Then up she is again and walks over to him again and says something and they have a short conversation and she goes back to her chair and sits down. When I came back to the chairs I said to my husband "That woman is still not happy is she?" and he tells me that she came over and commented on how hot it was and that there was no breeze where she was sitting and then came over a little while later and said again that it was so hot and no breeze and did we have a breeze where we were sitting. It became obvious to my husband that she felt we had somehow pulled a fast one on her and stolen the better spot! People are so funny! My husband offered to switch back again if she wanted, happy to do it, but no she didn't want that. We left soon after that so don't know what happened for the rest of that day but the next day when she came out she headed right to the two chairs under the palm tree and never gave a second glance to our spot. No good deed goes unpunished!
Hope you have enjoyed my report so far, more later on and more pics as well! Thanks to all the people on Negril.com who share their trip reports and pictures!

Great report and we'll be happy for more!

Nice start. I am guessing you were on the Caribbean Air flight that leaves JFK at 6AM in the morning. We love that flight. And we sail through customs and immigration.

Great report please keep it coming!

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Originally Posted by MoFromMonroe

Nice start. I am guessing you were on the Caribbean Air flight that leaves JFK at 6AM in the morning. We love that flight. And we sail through customs and immigration.

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While we have taken that flight I believe, a few trips back, this trip it was the 9:05 a.m. flight out of Newark that got us in at 12:05 Jamaican time. For some reason this was the best flight we could find for the dates we wanted. The 6 a.m. flight is great, gets you there super early which is awesome but it was out for us this trip. I actually seem to remember now that just as we were finishing immigration a lot more people were starting to come in and the lines were getting longer. We were just lucky I guess!

Glad you are enjoying, thanks for the comments!
Of the many memories and experiences from this trip I will start with my first night stupidity. First of all, I am afraid of flying and although I'm working on it and it is getting better we have found that the trip is so much more pleasant for both of us if my doctor prescribes me some Xanax for the flights. I take one an hour before flight time and then another just before getting on the plane. Tremendous help! I don't consider that part of the foolishness, that followed later, since I only fly two to three times a year that's only eight to twelve xanax a year. I think I'll be okay with that. The foolishness was that I forgot that Xanax isn't just a nice way for me to fight my fear of flying, it's a frigging narcotic for God's sake! So, I had a Bloody Mary on the flight. Okay, okay, it's the beginning of my vacation. Then of course I had to have an ice cold Red Stripe handed to me by our driver the minute he saw us. That wasn't so awful, was it? Then the hotel gives out free Rum Punch when you first arrive, it would be rude to turn that down, right? Well, you see where this is going don't you? I definitely overdid it, definitely considering that I still had Xanax in my system. And when I indulged in one other treat offered up by Jamaica I went right over the edge! I quickly become nauseous, dizzy, paranoid (I kept telling my husband not to let me fall asleep because I was afraid I was dying, that's pretty paranoid), overheated and barely able to walk. Now you guys don't know me so you'll just have to take my word for it that this is not how I usually spend a Sunday evening!!!! Well, thank God for a sympathetic and cool headed husband who put me in the shower, gave me glass after glass of ice water and tucked me in bed reassuring me that with a little sleep I would be okay and held my hand until I was asleep. That was about 6:00 p.m. At 8:30 or so he woke me up to see if I was hungry, which I was and feeling better. He had saved me half his dinner (poor guy had to eat alone his first night of vacation!) which was a pasta dish from the Idle Awhile restaurant and some garlic bread. I remember looking at it and thinking I am too sick to eat this but as soon as I took my first bite I was so relieved that he had already eaten so that I could finish it off. It was really good and the carbs were exactly what I needed. As soon as I finished dinner, I was back in bed and slept straight through until 7:00 a.m. feeling so embarrassed and apologetic. I missed my first night in Negril!!! What an idiot and it could have been worse! You can bet I won't repeat that mistake.
My original intention was to write a trip report on site, sitting down and reporting a little each day. Forget it though. I don't know how people do it. I simply couldn't focus my thoughts or muster enough energy to actually do it. But on either Monday or Tuesday morning I was on Negril.com with just that intention in mind when I read that there had been a fire at Country Country. We stayed at Country Country in 2008 with my brother and sister-in-law and liked it very much and had also eaten many meals at their restaurant. And the odd thing is nobody was talking about it on the beach, not even the staff, so I didn't quite believe it. But we decided to take a walk down the beach and have lunch somewhere and check it out. Sure enough the restaurant had burned to the ground! I know it's already been covered on this site but below is another pic.
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I have no idea how it happened but it was such a cute little restaurant I was very sorry to hear about it and shocked that we didn't hear any commotion during the night while it was going on.

Now that was an interesting first night. Haha I had one of those a few visits ago only I was just staggering drunk. No sleep for almost 24 hrs. Went in the sea late at night which I would never do sober. Then went in the pool and stumbled and scraped my knee getting out. Felt great the next morning though.

great trip report ty

Loving your trip report but you're making me awfully lonely for Idle Awhile as it's the only place we stay also. We also run into the same people and it's like a homecoming. Also loving your detail.... I can just picture Eric chasing people out of your spot (which btw we'll have to fight you for if we're ever there at the same time! LOL). Keep the story going, we won't be back until November and it seems like forever!

Enjoying your report and pictures. Please continue. :)

Thank you all for your comments! I'm enjoying them! I am about to pick my granddaughter up from camp for the night but will try to post more tomorrow. Don't want you to think I've run out of steam!

Love your report, I think sand gravity is not only a choice... But a requirement for at least part of every trip. Keep it coming... I have four months til we go back, and stories like yours make the wait a bit easier :).

Would like to read it but I just can't look at the block of text. Makes me dizzy...paragraphs, paragraphs!

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Originally Posted by MikeyNYC

Would like to read it but I just can't look at the block of text. Makes me dizzy...paragraphs, paragraphs!

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:)

i've been known to over do it that first day --- and the last day --- and the days in the middle lol

enjoying your report - keep it coming!

Your report is great so far! We are going to Idle Ahwile for the first time next week. This is the first time at a non all inclusive, so I am having a little trouble with how much money I should bring. We are staying in room #205. The last time I was in Negril , it was October 2012, and we had to stay another day because there was a hurricane and the airport was closed. I know hurricanes are dangerous, but it was so cool to be there and experience it. Negril wasn't directly hit, it came through the Kingston area. Those resorts closed up tighter than drums!

Please keep the report coming!

Love those chair floaties at Idle Awhile...just like Couples....in fact, the Issa family owns Idle Awhile I'm told..that's why all the buildings, furniture, and everything mirrors the Couples resorts...love their little beach bathroom there, too. No one ever seems to mind us stopping there for a pit stop while we are walking the beach..

Is there a blender in the suite?

please come back --- don't make us all suffer . . .

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Originally Posted by MoFromMonroe

Now that was an interesting first night. Haha I had one of those a few visits ago only I was just staggering drunk. No sleep for almost 24 hrs. Went in the sea late at night which I would never do sober. Then went in the pool and stumbled and scraped my knee getting out. Felt great the next morning though.

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Well, I hated missing my first night but I felt great the next morning too. Up nice and early and right into the ocean!

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Originally Posted by NoWorries4 me

Loving your trip report but you're making me awfully lonely for Idle Awhile as it's the only place we stay also. We also run into the same people and it's like a homecoming. Also loving your detail.... I can just picture Eric chasing people out of your spot (which btw we'll have to fight you for if we're ever there at the same time! LOL). Keep the story going, we won't be back until November and it seems like forever!

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I will never fight you for it! It's a great spot but I don't mind moving, so long as Eric sets up an umbrella for me. I also love being under the palm trees by the way. Nothing wrong with that!

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Originally Posted by cleome

Your report is great so far! We are going to Idle Ahwile for the first time next week. This is the first time at a non all inclusive, so I am having a little trouble with how much money I should bring. We are staying in room #205. The last time I was in Negril , it was October 2012, and we had to stay another day because there was a hurricane and the airport was closed. I know hurricanes are dangerous, but it was so cool to be there and experience it. Negril wasn't directly hit, it came through the Kingston area. Those resorts closed up tighter than drums!

Please keep the report coming!

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How much money is always a tough one for us, too. But there is an ATM in town at the Scotiabank which you can walk to (long walk) or take a quick cab ride to. My husband did that one morning and he was back in 1/2 hour and I think the cab was $10.00. Also, many restaurants take credit cards so that cuts down on how much cash you need. You will love room 205! Upstairs, right on the beach (where we stayed the first five nights of our trip) overlooking the restaurant. You are kind of in the tree tops so that blocks your view a bit but provides lovely shade and you can still see the ocean through the trees. There is a blender in the kitchen, it's a pretty well appointed kitchen and I remember thinking all it's missing is a microwave. You will love it, believe me and the suite is really, really gorgeous. Have fun!!!

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Originally Posted by lisapat

Love those chair floaties at Idle Awhile...just like Couples....in fact, the Issa family owns Idle Awhile I'm told..that's why all the buildings, furniture, and everything mirrors the Couples resorts...love their little beach bathroom there, too. No one ever seems to mind us stopping there for a pit stop while we are walking the beach..

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Love the floaties!!!! They never seem to mind people stopping by and it's a great place to stop for a meal!

Thank you all for the comments! I am so missing Negril this morning and our early morning dips in the ocean. We would get up in the morning, go for a dip and by the time we came out King, Needle or Sonia would have a pot of coffee and two cups waiting for us at the table. We ordered coffee one lazy morning in our room and almost by the time I had hung up the phone they were there with the pot! My husband had been sitting on the upstairs balcony in his underwear and didn't expect them so quickly. Thankfully he threw a towel on around his waist before he opened the door as he has a tendency to become way more relaxed in Jamaica than he is at home! Although, honestly, I doubt they would have batted an eyelash if he had opened the door in his skivvies. I think they see a lot of let's just say "different" behavior there!
We always have these great plans to go to different places for breakfast and lunch but that old sand gravity kicks in again so most days we had breakfast and lunch right at Idle Awhile. Some of the lunches came from the beach vendors and those were my favorite (with a freshly made banana milk shake from the restaurant). I mean how can you beat sitting on the beach having your food choices paraded in front of you for you to choose from?
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View from our table at the restaurant.
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Looking back through the tree at the restaurant.
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Looking back at the front building from the walkway. That's the room we stayed in for the first five nights on the top floor, room #205 (for you Cleome).
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The balcony of Room 205.
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The view from the balcony.

We did manage to get to Treehouse one day for a very nice lunch and very cold Red Stripes. We were in Negril last July as well and it was balmy and warm. This year it was HOT and once you got away from the water it was so humid!!! I always felt soaking wet whether I was in the ocean or not! The air just sticks to your skin and turns to water as soon as it hits. When we finished our lunch at Treehouse the waitress sent Gail the owner over to our table and introduced us to her and we had a very lovely chat with her. So hard to imagine Negril as it was when she first arrived and one of my few regrets in life was that I didn't find a way to get to Jamaica sooner with my kids!
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My husband on the walk to Treehouse. I like that you can see the beach and water behind him and then reflected in his glasses as well.
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Treehouse! You can see that even though it's off season Treehouse was pretty busy!
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AAHHHH. Can't you just taste that ice cold Red Stripe with the ocean breeze blowing?

I love the pictures! 205 looks great, I can't wait! The picture taken at Treehouse with the sailboat in the background is vibrant!

Loving this report!

yes! the picture of your husband is perfect . . . irie is written all over his face

Loved our lunch at Treehouse but can you believe that Treehouse is as far as we got on the beach in that direction? We were soooo lazy this trip!

We did rouse ourselves one morning to go in the opposite direction up to Mariposa's restaurant (darned if I can remember the name of the restaurant, eaten there a few times can never remember the name, it's Italian) for breakfast. Aside from one other man we were the only people in the place. I was disappointed to see the place a little bit run down but we had a really good breakfast. The coffee there was the best I had all week. The waitress was the only staff on duty (don't know her name) and she brewed us up a fresh pot and then steamed the milk! It was really yummy. After she made our coffee she announced to us that the chef wasn't in yet but not to worry she would cook our breakfast but just know that she would be in the kitchen for awhile in case we needed anything. Again I thought, oh no this can't be good but I was completely wrong. The breakfast was very good, cooked perfectly. I had a bacon omelette with bammy, which was very good and my husband had the $10 special and again everything was great. I don't have any pictures of the food but here is one of the entrance to the restaurant and the dog that was hanging out there and some other pics from our walk up and back.

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Great pics

Although we've been to Negril a number of times (it's never enough though, is it?) I'm always looking for new places to eat and new excursions. Found Zimbali on Tripadvisor and it sounded really fun and interesting so I booked a dinner there along with a riverside facial.

If you haven't heard of Zimbali yet check it out! It is a small retreat/farm in the mountains of Negril, above Little London (if you know where that is). The couple that own it have grown it from a one room cabin to a small retreat with, I think, two cabins and three rooms, cooking demo/dining room, and working farm. If you go for a meal they will pick you up at your resort and bring you back and give you a tour of the farm before dinner. We decided to also take advantage of the river mud facials before dinner which were awesome.

Our day consisted of being picked up by Neil McIntosh (which I thought was such an interesting name for a Jamaican!) in the Zimbali van at about 2:00 and driving through small towns and then up the mountain, which alone was awesome. Upon arrival we were greeted by the manager who gave a brief welcome and overview of the farm and then led us into the small lodge building which in the back is a sitting room/veranda overlooking the mountain with beautiful wooden floors, Jamaican made wooden furniture and huge overhead fans (which were greatly needed! I thought it was supposed to be cooler in the mountains!). It's a lovely surrounding to sit in, relax and enjoy the homemade ginger drink that he brings you. Very peaceful and the juice was out of this world.

At about 3:00 we were led to the river by the two massage therapists who did our facials. The river is very small, really a large stream and shallow. They had placed two lounge chairs in the river so you lie on the chairs with the sounds of the river and the jungle around you while you enjoy your facial which included exfoliating, mud mask and a neck, arm and hand massage with cool cucumbers laid over your eyes. It was so peaceful and actually spiritual.

After our facials we walked back up the hill to the resort lodge where we were given another cool drink and there we met our companions for the evening. The meals at Zimbali are cooking demo meals done in the beautiful kitchen. You sit on stools at a counter top and the chef leads you through each dish from start to finish. Many of the ingredients are grown on the farm but all are gotten from local resources. Wine is served with the meal and it is a four course meal.

Before dinner you are given a tour of the farm by their gardener "GG". A very sweet and knowledgeable man. Let me tell you though that it was HOT on that mountain and so humid. I was literally drenched the entire time! My hair was hanging wet in my face! But it was a very beautiful place and really interesting to learn about the many naturally grown foods that they have in Jamaica and that they are cultivating on the farm. (Did you know that there are seventeen types of yams?) The couple we were with was great company, both were easy and comfortable to talk to and liked to laugh so we all hit it off very well. The tour takes about an hour, maybe a little more, I started to lose track of time around now but at the end we were again led to the verandah with a cool drink and we sat and talked for awhile before being led into dinner.

The dinner was great, really fun and very good food. As I said it was just the four of us, the wine was good and the chef (a young woman who's name I have forgotten, darn it) had a great sense of humor and didn't take any of our ribbing seriously and gave it right back! They have a fully stocked bar and after dinner we crowded around the bar and had another drink. However, when you realize that you are the only people there and that the entire staff is waiting for you to leave so they can go home you finish up and pile into the van to be driven home. We were asked to take the chef and the woman who made the juice drinks with us in the van and drop them off and it was during that ride and talking to them that we realized just how long their working days are! They had each been there since early that morning and when we dropped them off they still weren't home and had to either wait for a ride home or the bus. By this time it was after 9:00 p.m. It is astonishing how hard these people work and the long days you are expected to work in Jamaica!

We enjoyed our day at Zimbali very much and I encourage anyone interested in seeing a different part of Jamaica and enjoying a good meal and meeting new people to try it.
I'm going to post a bunch of pictures from our time there in the next entry because I'm not sure if I can fit them all in this one. I hope you enjoy them!

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Once we got out of Negril, past the towns, this is what the road looked like. But it wasn't a deserted road. There were many little houses, farms, farm stands and those little store/bar buildings you see everywhere in Jamaica.

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Such as this one!

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The road leading past Zimbali. You can see the entrance stairs to the retreat on the right.

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The entry gate.

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Entry to the lodge building.

We did Zimbali in April of this year and loved it! The food was delicious and the tour was great. We were about 10 people. There was a small band that played after dinner was served and we "cut the rug" before heading back to Negril.It was a very special evening. This is a "must do" while in Negril.

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Sitting area of lodge.

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The river.

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View of some of the farm from the veranda.

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More of the farm.

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Coconut sushi! Really, really good.

Great report on Zimbali!

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Originally Posted by Seveen

yes! the picture of your husband is perfect . . . irie is written all over his face

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Thanks Seveen. That is pretty much the look he has on his face the entire time we're there and for at least three days afterwards!

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Originally Posted by justchuck

Great report on Zimbali!

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Thanks! My husband must have taken twenty pictures there so it was hard to choose which ones to post. We very much enjoyed it.

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Originally Posted by nicollet

We did Zimbali in April of this year and loved it! The food was delicious and the tour was great. We were about 10 people. There was a small band that played after dinner was served and we "cut the rug" before heading back to Negril.It was a very special evening. This is a "must do" while in Negril.

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Yes, they told us they had an African Drum band on Wednesdays but Tuesday was just a better night for us. I'm glad we went Tuesday though because we spent more time with the couple we met on Tuesday during the week and really enjoyed it. Maybe next time we'll go on the night there's music!

Wow! This is great, another cool place to add to my list of want to do things. Great pics of your drive to the mountains.