40 years later

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Piggymon we are new to the forum and want to thank for your rich history lesson. I'm an American woman living with my Jamaican husband not far from Tip-Top. Wow he remembers all of the people you talked about. He says yes Presidente was the only one who could take people down to the water. He says Jason is still here in the neighborhood.We can't thank you enough for sharing. This is important information for our history in Negril. One Love and blessings Nigel and Jessica

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Originally Posted by Piggymon

My how time flies when one is having fun. I remember the first time I heard about Negril. It was 1971. I was with my college buddy, Bobby, and we had escaped the cold Pittsburgh winter and were hanging out on the beach in Key Biscayne's Crandon Park. We were having a great time, but there was a guy on the beach who was telling some girls near us about the terrific time he had in Negril. He said that you just flew into Montego Bay and then took a taxi along the beach road to Negril where there was 7 miles of white sand beach. He said that the accommodations in cottages were cheap and people were friendly.

We were staying at Coconut Grove at the time at the house of a relative of Bobby's and we did not have much money, but it sounded like fun. We went to a Travel Agency in the Grove and bought two cheap tickets on Air Jamaica to Mobay. I remember that this was in the days before age discrimination, so we were able to buy youth tickets that were cheaper than regular tickets. My memory is a little fuzzy, but it seems like the tickets were only $90 round trip. Of course minimum wage the minimum wage back in those days was $1.60 per hour, so $90 was still some good money.

Loved the rum drinks on the plane down to the Island and the free rum punch in the airport before we cleared customs and immigration. It was the first time either of us had been outside of the country, except for going to Canada, so the clearing customs and having our bags searched new, but relatively painless.

We caught a minibus that was headed to Negril and were soon out of the jumble and hurly-burly of Montego Bay and on our way. We were delighted and entranced by occasional glimpses of the turquoise sea through the verdant foliage. We were in a great mood and were only slightly put off by some of the hard stares by some people along the road in the small towns on the way to Negril.

The driver went directly to Miss Ruby's Tip-Top cottages in Red Ground since we had no idea where we wanted to go. We were a little dubious until we learned that a room was only going to cost us $2.00 per day. Back then, a dollar US was only worth $0.88 JA, but still, $2.00 was fine for a nice clean room with two beds.

It did not take long before a local guy asked us if we wanted to buy some ganga, which of course we did. He rummaged around in the bush for a while looking for something and eventually came up with a smoking device called a chalice. It was an empty coconut shell with a length of rubber hose with about an inch protruding stuck in top and another 12" length of the same hose stuck in about 45 degrees from the top. Into the short hose on top he stuck a limestone chillum, well packed with some local bud. A few hits of the chalice and the sale was made. After making the sale, the teenager gave the chalice a heave back in the bush, presumably so that the police would not find it.

I did not smoke, but Bobby did. Sharing squares with the locals was a great way to get to know them and it was not long before we were friends with Mrs. Ruby's son Eddie and a little guy known as Presidente. Presidente also appreciated a drink of rum now and then. We loved the beach, eating curried goat at the Wharf Club, and drinking rum and cokes at the Yacht Club. When there was water pressure, we took showers under cold water only in the public outdoor shower behind Tip-Top cottages.

The highlight of the entire stay was a party organize by Erica. Everyone staying at the Tip-top cottages kicked in some ganga and some money and did some work helping to make the ganga cake and get the ice, soft drinks, and rum ready. Erica got a little local band to play at the party, three musicians, a banjo player, a guitar player, and El Presidente on the bass or rhumba box. Of course all three also sang and there were volunteers using rattles, shakers, and percussion sticks.

The moon was full, the music was as intoxicating as the rum and ganga, and the girls were beautiful as they swayed and stepped to the beat.

After having such a great time on our first visit, we knew that we were going to be returning to Negril often.

That first trip I walked the entire length of the beach to the island and there was very little the beach back in the day. There was the Sands Beach Club with thatched huts and hammocks. Further on down, there was a guy who had a nice private house right on the beach. He also had a Jaguar and a Cabin Cruiser was often anchored a hundred yard or so off the shore from the house. The last place on the beach before I got to the island was the Sundowner Hotel. This was obviously a high dollar hotel that was way out of my budget.

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Swimming out to the island, there was very little on it except a couple of old fish traps. With a mask, fins, and a snorkel, I saw beautiful coral reefs only a few feet from the surface. I also saw a couple of sea snakes and a very large barracuda that seemed interested, but not afraid, of me.

I saw indications that there was going to be some building done on the area near the island and eventually that is where they built Hedonism. There was not much going on toward the Cliffs when I was first visiting Negril. The Yacht Club was just about the limits of what there was down that road as far as I knew. It was a couple years later that Rick's Café became the in spot to catch the sunset.

Erica and Miss Ruby were always great to Bobby and I. I wonder if anyone on this board can tell me what happened to the people I knew back in the day?

What happened to El Presidente? I heard that Miss Ruby's son Eddy was pushed through a window during a scuffle and bled to death from a cut behind his knee.

What became of Erica? I know that she married a white American, Steve, and had a son with him, named Jason, if I recall correctly. Used to buy balloons in Miami and bring them to Jason to play with. Can anyone on the site tell me what happened to Steve and Jason?

In any case, I am glad that I found this forum and I am able to read that so many people are still enjoying visiting Jamaica and having vacations that they will remember more than forty years later with fondness.

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"Early Morning Vegetable Man on W End Rd (in front of Tayons)

That's a cool pic,things have sped up a bit :)

Nice Rambo

Love the photo. That is the real deal.

Thanks for posting it!

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Originally Posted by vivnyc

More pictures from 1977 and 1978. Included in these photos is a photo of a woman who bought Mirage on the cliffs, then she and her husband built Charela on the beach, in the mid-late 1970s. She was French, married to a Jamaican. I think her name was Sophie--but I'm amazed that I can even remember her name so many years later. This week (4/13) I tracked down with the former owners of Mirage (Lauro and Michela). I got to know them quite well in Paris after they'd left Negril in 1981. I'll ask them the name of who purchased Mirage and built CHarela. Jack, a Harvard-trained dentist, who temporarily practiced dentistry in an open-air house on the beach in Negril in the 1970s, first introduced me to the owners of Mirage in 1977. He was a friend of my mother's. I stayed in the actual cottages at Mirage; they were located across the road in the West End, in a beautiful, well-kept garden. The first year, in 1977, there was no electricity. It was quiet and beautiful. The only way to get around in the West End was to walk. No traffic and not many people. No hustlers on the road. There were "Home Sweet Home Lanterns" for light at night. The bartenders at Rick's Cafe had to turn off the music whenever a patron requested a blender drink--the generator wouldn't support the blender and music simultaneously. Rick's was the "expensive" place in the area, a place we only went to once or twice. The Jamaicans would dive off the cliffs, but not at the place where they dive now. Most of my friends rented rooms--at Sammy's, I think. Showers at Mirage before electricity had limited hot water--hot water heated by the actual sunshine during the day (solar powered hot water). Eating in a restaurant in Negril took hours back then!
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The road in the West End in 1978 Attachment 25634
Rick's Cafe Attachment 25635
Sylvie, Owner of Charela in 1970s Attachment 25636

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Nice pictures and good information. Thanks for posting.

I know what you mean about it taking hours to have a meal in the restaurants back in the day. But after a while, one got used to it and it seemed normal. Since I was usually with friends and we were all stoned and drinking Red Stripes, the very slow and uncertain service was not a biggie. I really did not realize how slow the service was until I was staying at my sister's apartment in Manhattan for a few days after spending a couple of months in Negril. My sister was a model and had left the apartment early in the morning for work. I got up later. Her apartment was high dollar with a doorman and all that, but it was also tiny and there was very little to eat in the little kitchen. But there was a menu and a phone number for a deli that delivered on the kitchen counter. I looked over the menu and the food looked good so I made my choice and made the call. I was only about ten seconds into my order when the voice on the other end of the line demanded that I speed it up. I quickly blurted out my order and address and was cut off with curt OK. I was still smarting over the demand to speed up my order when there was a knock on the door. I paid the bill and the delivery guy was gone in a flash. I checked my order, thinking that they had probably messed it up, but it was perfectly filled with everything just as I had ordered it. I ate my meal laughing at the difference in speed and accuracy between the Jamaican and New York food service. In New York, time was money and you do not waste time or money. In Negril, you gave your order about three times and more often than not, you got pretty much what you ordered. Still, I loved Negril and the vibe there and I always will.

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Originally Posted by Nick

Captaind The People at the Negril Sands made me pay Twice for that Buffet....and it was worth it!

Piggymon...YES! That stretch of highway between DC and the PA Turnpike could get very cold, dark, and lonely. I had an experience finding myself off the main highway somewhere in Georgia around 1970 that could be the opening scene for a movie.

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A girlfriend and I hitchhiked from Miami to Pittsburgh after a quick trip to Negril. The after the first day of hitchhiking, our ride ended north of Jacksonville but south of the Georgia state line. It was dark and late and there was little traffic, so we simply climbed over the fence that bordered Interstate 95 and put down our sleeping bag on the pine needles under the big pine trees. There were a lot of mosquitos so we pulled our heads under the covers in the bag, even though it was a bit warm and stuffy in there. When day broke, all was fine with me, but my girlfriend had managed to stick her head and one arm out of the bag and everywhere her skin was exposed she was covered in mosquito bites. It looked terrible and I am sure it must have itch terribly, but she did not complain much about it.

Piggymon, I talked to Jason when I was in Negril last week, and when I mentioned your screenname Piggymon, he said "Oh Piggy!", so he believes he knows who you are. He did tell me one story about you having to run out of Negril back in the day. I didn't have my computer with me to show him your picture, unfortunately. Just wanted to let you know I finally got to tell him about you!

Good Stuff! Permanent archives for this one please!