This trip report is fabulous!!
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This trip report is fabulous!!
Awesome report and pictures,thanks for sharing and please keep it coming!
Great report. We are in the planning stages of our wedding, we were thinking about beach house villas. My other half has a huge family. Thought about putting them up there.
Great report. I went on the pub crawl last December and it was fun. It's really great to see your pics. I just booked a trip for next December and I can't wait to head back to Negril
St. Patrick's Day! Wedding day! The reason we were all there in the first place.
Steve and Sunshine picked St. Patty's Day for many reasons, but mostly so Steve would be able to remember their anniversary date.
Speaking of Sunshine, there were several times when she would be up in the penthouse and Steve would be down on the beach, looking up, hoping she would see him so he could tell her something without having to climb all the stairs. He would call out to her, but she wouldn't hear him. So Bujo would come out of no where and yell, "SUNSHINE!" and she would appear. Bujo would smile that big grin of his, Steve would give him the fist bump, and he would go about his work.
I'm up kinda late due to the fact we closed the Ocean Breeze and moved the party to the first floor porch. I'm not sure what time we called it, but I bet the neighbors could tell you. Michael was already on duty, so I brought him some coffee and shot the sh*t with him for a bit. I was feeling a little ruff, so I decided to go for a swim. There is nothing like laying in the water doing the dead man float. It clears your mind and washes away the cob webs better than anything. After the swim, Steve, Jamie, my wife and I all decided to take a walk to the store and cambio. I had promised the patty guy across the street that I would buy some veggie patties from him. When I saw him, I told him to get the patties started and I would pick them up on the way back. "No problem, mon!" We walked down to the store, hit the cambio at Bar-B-Barn and headed back to BHV's. Along the way, the goat poo and glue guy came out to say good morning and ask for a cigarette or two. We obliged. I stopped to grab the patties while everyone else continued back to the villa. The patties were good, but the pastry couldn't hold a candle to Wheelers. But hey, I haven't met a patty I didn't like. So as I'm walking down the pathway from the front gate to the beach, some green thing falls from a tree right in front of me. I pick it up and head for the villa. Along the way I run into Bujo, who says,"Bread fruit!" I say, "What's bread fruit?" He says, "Take it to the chef, have him cook it for you". I go over to the kitchen were Sheldon is cooking. I show him the bread fruit and he smiles. "I'll roast it on the fire, cook it up with some ackee and salt fish, you'll love it". Cool. After about a half hour on the beach with my wife, we decided to take a stroll. The further we went the busier it got, so we headed back to the villa. About that time Steve comes down and wants to go snorkel the reef out front. So I grab my gear and we head out. We were making our way down to the reef when Steve points to a conch shell laying in the grass. I dove down to grab it, but just as I was reaching for it I noticed a long black tail with white spots coming out from under it. Eel alert! Best to leave it alone. So we swim the reef for a bit and then head into shore by the public beach. As we were walking back to the villa, a lady caught our attention. There was a large star fish 10 feet from the beach and she wanted me to hold it up so she could take a photo, and then swim it out to the deeper water. Which I did. It was cool, dropping the star into 15 ft of water, seeing it land on it's back and then slowly flipping itself over. Mission accomplished, time for breakfast.
The ackee and salt fish with the bread fruit was fantastic. I shared it with my wife. The next morning, Bull brought two of them to our villa. Man, how I wish I could eat that every day. Who would have thought you could substitute eggs and bread with fruit?
The rest of the group spent the afternoon laying in the sun, meeting other villa dwellers, and the venders on either side of our beach. My wife made some fast friends with the ladies out in front of the abandoned resort next door.
Someone mentioned the old T-Water. That was the place next door. Patrick told me the story of that place on our drive to Mayfield Falls. I guess he use to drive cab and that was where he had first met Bull and Bujo. There was never any worries about having that property next door. The venders over there were very nice and we even got to meet their kids. I'm not sure how long it has been abandoned, but the jungle is defiantly beating the bank for ownership. Natalie has the booth closest to the BHV's where she sells jewelry and trinkets. Very nice lady. Angelia and her baby Warren have a booth just down from her where you can get your hair braided and a massage, if your into that sort of stuff.
While everyone else was out enjoying the sun and sand, I was hold up in the villa trying to write a speech for the wedding. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. It ended up being a bit of a tear jerker, but that's the way it goes when you've known someone your entire life. Anyway, everything was set. Isabelle made sure it went off without a hitch. The funny thing is, the power went out just as Sunshine was having her hair done. But in true can-do style, the lades curled her hair with their fingers. Of course, as soon as they were done, the power came back on. Now my job was to keep Steve occupied until it was time to go. He was a bit nervous. I kept him busy getting dressed. Isabelle brought us corsages to pin on, but no pins. We improvised. I had brought a first aid kit in my carry on, and in that kit were 2 medium safety pins…just the ticket. That's the only time we needed that kit, but it sure did come in handy.
The wedding itself was beautiful. Sunshine looked gorgeous. She had a very simple yet elegant dress (which she donated after the wedding). It looked like Roy was fighting to keep the tears back as he walked Sunshine down the beach. My wife was the maid of honor, and I was having the same trouble as Roy when she came out. I felt sorry for the minister. It was hot! hot! hot! and he was dressed in a full on suit and tie. Wonderful man, just wish I could remember him name. No one objected to the union, and they both said."I do". So it was done.
Now, I don't know how Isabelle and the wedding photographer pulled it off, but as they were taking pictures at sunset, a cloud way out on the horizon formed into the shape of a heart just as the sun fell behind it. Seriously, it happened, and when the pictures become available, I'll post one.
Alrighty! time for food and drinks. The Ocean breeze made jerk chicken wings and pizza for everyone. They even made an ackee and salt fish pizza with callilou on it. It was great! A glass bottomed boat full of people stopped in and hung out for awhile, complete with a bordie on board…eh, WestEndGirl? We hung out on the beach and in the bar most of the night. Treo was bartending and Mark was in the kitchen. My wife got the two of them to put on a bunch of crazy St. Patty's day gear we all had brought. I won't embarrass them with photos here, I'll save that for their x-mas cards. As the night was winding down, the moon was coming up. It was a full moon. We all went up to the roof top deck and took some picture in the moonlight, then crashed the penthouse for cake and nightcaps. A perfect end to a perfect day. Steve and Sunshine will never forget it. Beach House Villas, where the sun sets behind heart shaped clouds on your wedding day!
One final note, Bull and Bujo busted their asses setting everything set up for the wedding. They built the bamboo arch and collected wood for the beach bonfire. Then after the ceremony they built a killer fire. It burned all night long. Those two even cooked breakfast on the coals in the morning.
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Wow, that is absolutely a beautiful story for the wedding day not to mention the clouds in heart shape and you all look fabulous. I would say the right person was smiling down on all of you.
Lovely !!
Just beautiful. I love the picture of the newlyweds next to the fire.
Awesome! My neck hurts- but its kewl...
very good report. excellent details. two thumbs up.
This is great !!!
Tuesday, March 18th was the end of the line for Roy and Jacky. Back to reality.
Patrick shows up at 10am sharp with another driver and two vans. One van is for Roy and Jacky's return to Mobay for their flight home, Patrick and the other van is for our trip to Mayfield Falls. Sunshine had requested that we go there after he parents left. She thought it might be too difficult for them. She was right. Good byes were said and off they went. Now it was our turn to head out. There were only six of us going as the Canadians decided to stay back. Neither one of them were into hiking in the jungle or swimming in the river. No worries. I could write another 1000 words describing the trip and all the fun we had, but I think the following video will suffice. I would just like to note that our guides for the day were Odell and Nico, both fantastic, competent, and knowledgeable. Nico (in the purple shirt) knew all about the plants and flowers, and Odell (in the white shirt) knew about the landscape and history. They were both comedians to boot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMrqyKn9gnA
After our return to BHV's, we all showered and dressed for dinner at Kuyaba's. It was getting dark and the rain clouds decided to visit our location, so we just hung out at the Ocean Breeze until 8pm. Now, we had had a few drinks and were somewhat worn out from the day, so when we left BHV we really weren't paying a lot of attention to our surroundings. We walked and talked and said,"No thanks, man. We're good" about 20 times before someone asked, "Where is this place anyway?" "It's just a little further" I said. Finally We decided to stop and ask for directions…at Rondell! Kuyaba is maybe 200 yards down the beach from BHV. We had walked about 2 miles. So we grabbed some more drinks from Delroy at Rondell and headed back down the beach.
We were walking back, kind for split up, talking within our little sub groups. Steve, Sunsine, my wife and I were in the lead. Steve and I were talking about one of the Jamaican guys we had met earlier in the week. He told us he was going to go back to school for math and english to better his chances of getting a job as a security guard. I commented to Steve that he was the kind of guy that would make a great teacher and could do a greater service teaching kids and inspiring them to dream bigger dreams then working for resorts or security companies. Just as I finished saying this, a Jamaican man quickly passes us, shouting over his shoulder about kids in Jamaica not needing to be educated and accepting their lot in life. We kinda just shrugged and held our tongues. Not 2 minutes later this guy comes out of nowhere and steps into rhythm next to me. We had this great conversation about the Jamaican government, the education system, and the use of religion in keeping the people from bettering their lives in order to provide cheap labor for greedy multi nationals. His mother was Jamaican and his father British. Apparantly he was being sarcastic earlier. He tested my personal space the whole time we were walking, bumping my shoulder with his. I guess I passed his test, because I don't really have an issue with personal space. I bumped him back comfortably. We walked and talked for the rest of the way back to Kuyaba, at which point he says,"There's your restaurant, enjoy your dinner and perhaps we'll meet again". It was the highlight of my night.
At dinner my wife had the escovitch fish with the head on. She loved it. The waitress was impressed with the fact she ate all of the meat from the head and that the eye balls were gone (we eat salmon heads all the time.) I had the curried conch. It was fantastic. Everyone else in our group enjoyed their meals as well. I would recommend Kuyaba. The food was good and the price was right. I especially liked the bathrooms…I was half expecting a gnome to offer me a towel. After dinner we all went back to the Ocean Breeze and hung out with Treo, Mark, and Bernard. I know there were a lot of other places on the beach to go, but hanging out with those guys was good fun for everyone.
Great report, need some sun! I have almost the exact same picture of the boat near Alfreds as above. :) You'll see it soon...but I promise, I'm using mine, not yours!
Love this report, thank you! The Mayfield video....ahh :)
What a report!! I've just had a wonderful read and it's brought back memories of my wedding day in Negril.
Superb report, thanks for sharing.
Love a new trip report on Sunday morning!!
You made my day with this one...Thank you :)
That Mayfield video is seriously one of the best ever...
Congratulations to your friends. You are a hell of a best man...
Great video.
Thank you for this great trip report and especially for the video of your day at Mayfield Falls. It reminds me of the reason that I always encourage people to take a trip into the countryside. I just love Mayfield Falls!
Ok, time to finish this up.
Tuesday was Mayfiels Falls and Kuyaba. Wednesday We all decided to head over to Orange Bay and go snorkeling at Rhodes Hall Plantation. Everyone was up early, ate and got geared up. My wife and the two Canadians were going along for the ride, but not the swim. We grabbed a couple of taxis and headed over around 10am. Rhodes Hall is about a 10 minute drive from BHV's. They have some kind of arrangement with BHV's so we did not have to pay for a day pass. When we arrived it looked as though no one was there. Most of the guests must have been out on day trips or at the beach. The place was so quiet. What a change from Long Bay. We were shown around, my wife and the Canadians were taken to the pool, and the rest of us were lead to the beach. The pool is a saltwater mineral pool. Very nice. And the beach, although small, was very private. We left our bags and extra cloths on a lounger for the time we were out in the water without any worries. We swam from the beach to the reef in no time. It was really cool. The reef is large and there were fish everywhere. We swam for a couple of hours out there, exploring the shallows, checking out the deep channel, and just goofing around. Eventually we had to head in. Steve and Debbie had to be back to the villa by 2:30pm to meet with the wedding photographer to pick out pictures. We figured we would have lunch at Rhodes and then go back to the beach. Lunch didn't work out to well. We waited for 30 minutes just to be told it would be another 10 minutes or so before they could take our order. There were only 2 people in the restaurant but I guess it takes a village to make food there. So we went down to the gift shop, grabbed some Stripes and had a liquid lunch while we waited for our taxis to arrive. It turned out to be ok, as we got to hang out with some of the employees and shoot the sh*t. After we returned to the villa, everyone except Steve and Debbie hit the beach for some more sun time. The Patty Man was around, so patties it was.
That evening we ate at the Ocean Breeze. Mark made us some Curried Goat. It was fantastic. We hung out at the bar most of the evening, talking with Treo and the boys. Mark and I talked about traveling, places he had been, and of course food. He had brought a soursop fruit for us to try. It was really good.
Thursday was our last full day in Negril. The entire day was spent on the beach. We walked the beach and shopped for souvenirs, laid in the sun, and generally tried to soak up as much of the place as we could. That night, Mark decided to make my wife and I a spacial dinner. You see, most of our group were not the most adventurous when it came to their food. Jamie tried the Curried Goat one night and liked it. Steve tried it too. But for the most part it was Jerk Chicken, Tuna Melts, lobster, patties, and pizzas. Boring! My wife and I ate everything Jamaican we could get our hands on. So for our last meal at the Ocean Breeze, Mark went all out and made us an Ital stew. He brought all the ingredients from his own garden. It was the best meal I ate the whole time we were in JA. I can't explain the flavors…it was like there was butter, milk and cheese in there, but there wasn't. Vegan food, right? Ital that is. He asked if we wanted some fish in it, but I said, "No thanks, just the way it's supposed to be." So if you go by the Ocean Breeze sometime, stop in and ask if Mark is cooking, and if he is, request the Ital stew with festival…Mark's festival was the best…and you won't be disappointed. The rest of the evening we sat around and soaked up the warn air and friendly vibes, downed a bunch of Stripes, and wished the rest of the world would go away so that we could stay in paradise forever. No such luck.
Friday morning, Patrick showed up right on time and drove us all back to MoBay for our trip home. We got to the airport with enough time to grab a bite and beers before boarding our plane.
So, there were lots of things I wanted to do in Negril that I didn't get to, which means I'll have to go back there soon. Never made it to Rick's, Canoe, or Boat Bar. Didn't make it to the lighthouse or Belmont Beach, either. Next time we'll go without such a large group in tow. Perhaps just the two of us. And I think we'll stay longer then one week…like maybe a month.
How does one go about staying there permanently? I may need to find out. I loved it there.
The thing I miss the most are the people.
Welcome home to Jamaica, indeed!
ty very much for the trip report , we really enjoyed it
Nice report.
much respect for sharing...
Thank you! The smiles in that last picture say it all :)
Bravo!
great video!
]great video and trip report! Thanks for sharing! I went to mayfield falls with my grand daughter several years ago. By the time we got up to that parking lot there was a torrential downpour and it was too chilly[.
after seeing that video, I am going to put that on my bucket list hopefully for this year!
Excellent report,thanks for sharing!
Sweet.
great report!
Really a nice report! Thank you for sharing :)
Thanks for the great report. You laid out the vibe perfectly and connected with the locals in meaningful ways. Loved the pics and vid, really nice report.
Thank-You enjoyed it.You were in good hands with Patrick,Buju and staff of BHV.I'm sure everyone enjoyed and can't wait to return.