TRAIL OF ASHES TOUR: The adventure continues as Gerry G returns to Negril

We met Bobo at 10 a.m. after a quick visit to Westender Inn, which by now is part of the morning routine. Bobo showed us his house in the hills behind the craft shops, and he even took us on a hike and showed us what the real mountains look like (kind of), and my cabbie friend Shayne came along, too.

I met Presley a couple of doors down from Bobo, a nice guy with a reputation for cooking spectacular meals. We ordered a $40 meal for two of us, shrimp curry and shrimp Italian style, and Presley was right on time. We met back at his little restaurant, and he served us a couple of fantastic plates of food. He's a nice guy, too, with a warm smile and a coming style that makes you comfortable the minute you're in his presence.

Later, at Canoe I met an expat named Ron (he wants to be in the report), who sells wholesale cakes. I ordered a whole peanut butter cheesecake to be delivered to the Seastar Inn, and a few hours later it arrived. There were 12 pieces, and I shared them with Chris and the Seastar Inn staff over the next few days; that cake made me VERY popular!

Here are some pics: (top to bottom):

1, Suzie Q and Presley

2, A light snack between meals, lol

3, Bobo displaying a nice tobacco plant (really)

Like your definition of a "ight snack" :)

Lovin your vids Gerry keep em coming ....and your pics are dope too

Gerryg123 - That “light snack” looks SO incredibly good.

Loving your pics, videos and report, I just caught up with all of it now
That’s so great that you were able to help SuzieQ extend her trip:)

I still dream about that amazing meal at Bentley’s, we ate the leftovers the next morning for breakfast.
It was pure heaven…

And now Halfmoon beach and Blue Hole are now on my list of places to visit in Jamaica

Here are some more pics (top to bottom):

1, Hangin' with Suzie Q ....

2, View from Sir D Lookout

3, Negril Bill at Westender Inn

4, Gerry G n Markus Hubby Man

Looks like SuzieQ and you got a great bond together.Kools pics!!!-Ya'll snorkel at Rhodes?Did ya go see the famous Chef Shane and his crew at Bayview?~Bless

It was a little rough so we did not snorkel at Rhodes .... We just hung at the beach n pool -- it was extremely quiet, just one other guest and the two employees were the only faces we saw ....

Here's a video of Bentley buying fresh veggies for his restaurant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65fL0qGQ-vg

Love that video Gerry! You're like the roving reporter of Negril!;)

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Originally Posted by gerryg123

Here are some pics: (top to bottom):

1, Suzie Q and Presley

2, A light snack between meals, lol

3, Bobo displaying a nice tobacco plant (really)

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My good friend Bobo! He is a really cool guy and lots of fun to be around. You know, I never made it to his house and garden yet, next reach for sure! :)

Bobo is a regular at Debar. Interesting times with Bobo this last trip for sure.

I am in love with Bentley! He is awesome!

I invited Bobo back to Seastar Inn and treated him to some Red Stripes at the bar, and the local seemed to really appreciate it, telling us stories about the old days in Negril and laughing it up with everyone.

I took a leisurely swim and prepared my head for the Bar Crawl, as the bus was set to pick us up soon at the hotel.

It was such a popular bar crawl on this particular Wednesday that the driver had to make two hauls for every bar, and among the spots we visited were Swordfish, C & D, Tayon, Bella Donna, Westender and Sir D Lookout.

At this point, I still had not had a good chance to really get to know Clarity and Markus because through the first few days one of us was either coming or going whenever we had a chance meeting, but this was my chance. Markus is actually a REALLY funny guy with a great sense of humor. We hung for a bit in the back of the bus, then at Bella Donna he noticed me jotting notes in a little pad: "What's that for?" he asked.

"Oh, this is for my trip report. I like to take notes every few hours to remember everything," I said.

"Oh wow, I hope we can remember everything. I'm forgetting stuff already!" he said.

Later, the three of us (Clarity included) went through a little refresher course of their trip, marking the days by the biggest events of the day. I am sure their report will be incredibly good, as it always is. I guess we each have our own little corner of the market on negril.com, with me specializing in raw reporting and pushing the envelope a bit and Clarity reigning supreme in the sensitivity department.

At Westender Inn, most of us immediately headed to the bar that sits against the shore and features an incredible wide-open view of the ocean. This was Clarity's first time at Westender Inn, and a few of us took a walk to the back part of the hotel where there is another bar and a pool and the most incredible view of the green mountains.

"It looks like a scene from 'Jurassic Park,' Clarity," I said.

"It does!" she replied.

I was the only one who made a quick jump into the pool. I had eaten a huge piece of Jenny's cake and needed to refresh!

That felt good, but I really woke up after calling Chris back at Seastar Inn to confirm my whole cheesecake had been successfully delivered.

In Negril, you CAN have your cake and eat it, too. Ya mon.

YaaaaMON

Keep it comin Gerry...enjoying your point of view as well as your photos. As always.

Here are some more pics (top to bottom):

1, The great juice man on the beach (he wants to be in report)

2, Ah yes, a nice blended fruit drink at Seasplash

3, A fantastic morning at the beach

4, Just another day in paradise in Negril

Thats Flex, the juice man. Hes my favorite vendor, or one of my faves. He has a new iPod Shuffle from me and is loving it. Nice guy, honest and fair.

Great report. Love how you venture out and stay on the move.

I promise the next time I’m in Negril I will find Bentley’s just so I can hear that man laugh in person. Well after inhaling a couple of crab cakes of course.

btw…did you see Tayon?

I did see Tayon and spent a good deal of time with him. Poor soul still has a bad leg, and I hope he feels better soon.

Thanks Gerry. I'm glad you spent time with him. Really thought his leg was getting better. I'll have to pay him a visit as well.

By popular demand, one last video of Bentley serving food. It's a little dark, but his great laugh is unmistakable ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3bXNH6MFeg&feature=youtu.be

It was fun meeting a lot of the boardies on the Bar Crawl, including wpyogi from Colorado. She is staying at the penthouse suite at Kuyaba, and that's very impressive because that's one of the best rooms on the entire beach!

The plan was a for a lot of us to meet at Bentley's, but you know how things go when everyone has been drinking all afternoon -- best to plan it by ear. I just told Bentley to have lots of crab cakes and that I would try to pull something together for him.

The first to arrive were Suzie Q and I, then wpyogi and her hubby (great guy, btw), then Katho (always with a big camera in hand), then Gugiray and Sweetie Pie along with Clarity and Hubbyman and Marley and Ralonzo and a few others. It was a real party up there!

Bentley was dishing up the food platters thick and high -- crab cakes, pasta, sweet rice, beans, carrots, spinich, callahoo and cabbage, plus lots of Magic Sauce, of course. Oh yes, and dumplings, the white gooey kind. Bentley makes them better than anyone ....

Oh my gosh did we eat. Markus said it best: "You keep hitting different foods, and one is better than the next."

He also served up homemade fruit juice, and he made everything from scratch while regalling us with great stories about the past, as Bentley grew up right in that house/restaurant up Pee Wee Lane (now called Ella Lane), just up the road from Blue Cave Castle.

I was seated next to Clarity, and I took a little break to whisper into Bentley's ear that Clarity was a terrific and extremely popular poster on negril.com, so make sure to take care of her. The great chef made his way over, pointed out all the different things on the plate, and said: "Look at that plate, you have FIVE things on your plate!" Clarity cracked a big smile, and over the next few days whenever I would bump into her at breakfast or some other meal, I would always immitate Bentley say: "You have FIVE things on your plate!"

It was such a fun time, such a great meal. Everyone really enjoyed it. By this time, it had been a few hours, dining, laughing and drinking in the moonlight, and Suzie Q was itching a bit from too much sunburn and a few bites, so we made our goodbyes (perfect timing, before the check arrived, ha ha just kiddin') and motored back to Seastar Inn.

Awesome report!!!!!!!!Bentley's getting on alot of must do list!!

Here are some more pics (top to bottom):

1, This Red Stripe is for YOU (at Half Moon Beach)

2, Seastar Inn, 7 a.m., with my daily visitor

3, On the open road, hello from Negril!

4, Nice fruity drink at Half Moon Beach

5, Half Moon Beach chef Delmar (he wants to be in report). Great cook!

:D

Bentley’s was so great! Man, I miss his laugh! That food was crazy delicious!
I couldn't believe the size of the portions and that tasty sauce he put all over everything!
soooo good!
That was such a fun night!!;)

I really enjoyed your youtube interview with him too!

I still crack up when you say "And he wants to be in my report". :D Good job man, you definitely get around...

We sooo need a "like" button

Great on-site reporting, kind of like a little younger, wilder Smith744.

Great report Gerry! Love the video from Bentley's too. We are looking forward to eating at his place in Dec! Your 7 am visitor is so cute! Nice to actually see a well cared for dog in Negril. And, you and Miss Suzie Q make the perfect couple!

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Originally Posted by gerryg123

Here are some more pics (top to bottom):

1, This Red Stripe is for YOU (at Half Moon Beach)

2, Seastar Inn, 7 a.m., with my daily visitor

3, On the open road, hello from Negril!

4, Nice fruity drink at Half Moon Beach

5, Half Moon Beach chef Delmar (he wants to be in report). Great cook!

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The only thing missing at Bentley's was dessert, so after properly pysching myself up, I tried some of the peanut butter n chocolate pie, sharing with Chris and some of the workers.

Good stuff. It was like kissing god.

As for tonight, I made it and early night and went to sleep. At least, that's the story I'm going with, lol.

I woke up Thursday ready to take on the world. I'm having so much fun, just really unwinding and really enjoying myself. I have not watched a single minute of TV, I haven't read a single page of either book I brought with me (Jackie Collins' latest along with bio on T Rex singer Marc Bolan). The Jungle tonight. It's going to be a good night. Then the boardie party on Friday, then my last night on Saturday night. Ya mon, I'm not through yet. I still have some livin' to do.

Quote:

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Ya mon, I'm not through yet. I still have some livin' to do.

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Ditto!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gerryg123

It was fun meeting a lot of the boardies on the Bar Crawl, including wpyogi from Colorado. She is staying at the penthouse suite at Kuyaba, and that's very impressive because that's one of the best rooms on the entire beach!

The plan was a for a lot of us to meet at Bentley's, but you know how things go when everyone has been drinking all afternoon -- best to plan it by ear. I just told Bentley to have lots of crab cakes and that I would try to pull something together for him.

The first to arrive were Suzie Q and I, then wpyogi and her hubby (great guy, btw), then Katho (always with a big camera in hand), then Gugiray and Sweetie Pie along with Clarity and Hubbyman and Marley and Ralonzo and a few others. It was a real party up there!

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It was great meeting you gerry (you, too suzieQ!)! Bentley's was an absolute riot that night. I wish we could have stuck around longer for the latter crowd, but as you said with drinking all afternoon, we were playing it by ear.

We spied you a few times later that week cruising the West End Road on your scooter. Unfortunately, our paths did not cross again.

(p.s. the Kuyaba room score was completely due to the excellence of this board)

Here are some more pics (top to bottom):

1, First mate Roger (left) and Famous Vincent on the snorkel boat

2, Breakfast at Seasplash

3, Nice, colorful Negril sunset

4, Folks takin' a leisurely walk through the country

5, Love seeing goats in the road, don't you???

Here is a little snippet video of Robert from Blue Hole. He's a great guide and a nice guy (wants to be in report):

http://youtu.be/xObcUbtc3yE

Here are some more pics (top to bottom):

1, Suzie Q out on the open sea

2, Cheers, mon (notice the note pad?)

3, Enjoying the sunset with the great gurigay

4, Another fantastic beach day

Holy smokes I was squinty at sunset Gerry! That was the day we shared cake I believe... :) Thank you very much!!

All I want to do it laugh at GerryG & Guirigay's picture. Good times/Good friends... The 2 G's!!

Here's a video of the snorkel boat with Famous Vincent, heading to Booby Cay island. Fun stuff ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYfIJ6mX0RM&feature=youtu.be