It was a pleasure to meet you as well. Plans are currently that we will return to negril next spring break.Quote:
Originally Posted by 68Stang
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It was a pleasure to meet you as well. Plans are currently that we will return to negril next spring break.Quote:
Originally Posted by 68Stang
Day 5 -
Sorry, got mired down in reality, but I do want to finish this trip report.
The next morning we had to be up and down to coconuts early to get some breakfast and catch our chartered boat to the island. I love boating, and we have a boat ourselves at home, so I had been kinda itching to get out on the water all week. Bernard was there, along with his girlfriend Veronica, my wife, my sister and her husband, and a few of the locals, including the owner of coconuts.
The boat ride out to the island was about 45 minutes, and during this time, Bernard and Veronica were explaining to us the petition to stop the building of the breakwater (jetty). Their main concern was the preservation of the coral reef and that the breakwater would damage it. Coming from Virginia Beach, I told them how jetty's built there really did a lot to actually improve the beachfront conditions and preserve erosion, but that our situation was different because we didn't have a reef to have to protect.
The island was gorgeous. There was a little hut structure with a thached roof in the middle, next to a camp cooking firepit that acted as the kitchen.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-d...3_resized1.jpg
Our tour guides unleaded everything, started a fire and began to prepare the meal.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-L...8_resized1.jpg
My wife and Veronica immediately set out looking for pretty shells and pieces of coral. There was a little shaded cove of several trees together right on the beach with a 2x8 for seating, where you're feet coule actually touch the water. Beautiful spot.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-X...2_resized1.jpg
This island seems to be over run with feral cats. Bernard came up to me and said, "See all these cats? This is why we are worried about the breakwaters."
"What's cats have to do with a jetty or coral reef?" I asked.
"This island is owned and maintained by the same agency that wants to build the breakwater." he answered.
I countered with, "But this is probably a pretty good spot for the cats. They don't seem to be hurting anyone." as I watched my wife feed a young, slim black cat with a bright pink nose a sliver of her fish.
"Yeah, but this is *supposed* to be a bird sanctuary."
Point taken.
Our meal was delicious.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-a...6_resized1.jpg
After we ate, we were lounging around on the beach when a storm rolled in, rather quickly. It was lightening, and you could see the rain approaching. We had to decide to cram in under the shelter on the island and wait it out, or quickly make for the shore in the boat. In my experience owning a boat, I said we should wait it out on the island. But the captain pointed out that the boat had a roof and would provide some shelter. Others in our party insisted that we should listen to the captain and head for shore. Reluctantly, I allowed myself to be persuaded, and we quickly packed up and shoved off.
I will tell you this. Jamaican locals know a lot about a lot of different things, but apparently, being out on the water during a storm is not one of those things, as this was a mistake. It rained harder that afternoon that I've seen on a long, long time, with raindrops bigger than a US quarter. We headed straight for the shore, next to where Hedo is located, but because of the rough waters it took a good while to get there. All of us were absolutely drenched.
I forget the name of the place we stopped at, but we were able to order up some red stripes, and continued the party. Before too long, the rain stopped, and we boarded the boat once again and headed back to coconuts.
In all, it was a fairly entertaining excursion. I'm definitely glad we got to see the island and spend time there with each other and our new friends. I'm not sure we'll go back there next time we visit, but it is something I think everyone would like to see.
Once back, we decided to take a nap and prepare ourselves for the evening. Tonight was Thursday night, ladies night at the jungle. And we planed to close that place down. :-)
Next Installment - Day 5 (cont.) Ladies Night at the Jungle.
Right next to Hedo would be Point Village, on the other side Sandal, maybe Boardwalk ?
I do remember it was right next to Sandals, now that you mention it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Thatswhatshesaid
Its probably Boardwalk then or the place next to it, Our Past Times. Those are the only 2 places up that way where you could purchase a brew, everything else is AI.
Stayed there in Feb. , also have stayed at Our Past Times. Both nice places.
It was Our Past Time, Select...I remember that much. :)
Man, that rain in the storm was just brutal, wasn't it, lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by N5_
I am loving your report! Where is Coconuts?
It's a couple of venues north of Burbon Beach. Bright yellow, next door to a kayack rental place.Quote:
Originally Posted by cleome
Thank you for this great report,Select....What was the name of the island with all the cats? Thanks, Don
I'm not sure I heard anyone call it anything other than "The Island", but I just looked on the map and it looks like it's called "Booby Cay"Quote:
Originally Posted by don+shelley
Yep and when the Hedo boat unloads its really Booby Cay!
Ya Mon!
This is awesome. LOVE your report. ya'll seem like a lot of fun and it comes as no surprise that you got into your Negril groove right off the bat. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
The Hedo boat no longer goes to Booby Cay, but you can kayak to there. (Not sure if you are supposed to or not)
nice report! y'all covered some ground . . . good job
Thanks. Read your report before we left, and you seem like a lot of fun too. ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by TizzyATX
A few more pictures from that day.
Here's me, the owner of coconuts (I forget his name) and Bernard (on the left)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2...7_resized1.jpg
Good pic of the storm rolling in...
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-8...3_resized1.jpg
My wife and my sister on the island.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c...5_resized1.jpg
My wife fasinated by the hermit crabs...
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5...9_resized1.jpg
I thought Miss Angie and Kitty owned Coconut International?
That would be Angie's son Sheldon.
Yup, that's exactly right. Sheldon. pretty cool guy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggs of the week
[QUOTE=select;138534]My wife an supposedly the son of one of the guys in the reggae band Culture.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-i...4_resized1.jpg
That's Kenyatta Hill, son of late Joseph Hill of Culture.
The place you went to is called Fi Wi beach bar and Hiyah Grade Band plays there every Sunday. Kenyatta did a guest appearance that Sunday and is not a part of the regular setup. Sundays at Fi Wi are always nice vibes and come like a jam session, but that particular Sunday was wicked! You sure picked a nice Sunday😊
I did enjoy the vibes at Fi Wi quite a bit. A much as music is part of the culture in JA, it is kind of difficult to find live music during the day. Not to mention that we thought this was one of the better live shows we saw while we were there. That Sunday was a lot of fun! And we met some cool people, including Kenyatta. Shared a sub with him, and he was a cool guy.Quote:
Originally Posted by utenlov
Reverse! Rewind! haha.
i am enjoying your report...waiting for mre!!!
Select,
I have to chime in with others to give you props on such an awesome report. I had to keep reminding myself that this was your first visit to Negril because you and your wife moved about as if you were returning home. I’m a fan of going to Booby Cay. Taking a quick putter to that little piece of sand covered with trees and cats is a must for me although I could do without the cats. So appreciate you sharing your visit and looking forward to more.
the food at coconuts is really good, but I felt you weren't given enough for the price. I left still feeling a little hungry both times. I wanted to ask Sheldon to fix me a plate he would stack for himself...lol
Thanks. My sister and her husband (_N5 on this forum) have been to Negril a couple dozen times, and were there with us the same time as we were. Knowing us, and how we like to party, they hooked us up with the right people, and told us the right places to go.Quote:
Originally Posted by *vi*
We're not big breakfast eaters, so the portion size at coconuts was good for us. Sure beats the $15 per plate at Kuyaba. And we enjoyed the more "local" feel to the place.
Select, hope you come back and finish your report, I've been looking for updates!
I know, I know. After starting strong, I really fizzled out with this report. On the plus side, only 8 months until we go again! My memory is a little fuzzy, now that it's been a couple of months, but I'll do my best to at least wrap this up.
After our adventure at Booby Cay, we decided to head back and take a nap, knowing full well that this was Thursday, the infamous Ladies Night at the Jungle, and we were not going to miss that.
We hooked up with Bernard and Veronica at Bourbon Beach, our usual meeting spot. Finally, after asking all week, we were finally able to talk Veronica into going out clubbing with us! :-)
I forget exactly where we had dinner at, but we headed to the Jungle shortly after 11pm. I wanted to make sure we got there early to get some decent seats, and sure enough, we were one of the first in there. We started out upstairs, as per Bernard's suggestion. Got a cool 4 person high top. It wasn't long at all before the DJ got started and the dance floor filled up. My wife was loving it. When they say 'Ladies Night', that's exactly what they mean. There were hot chicks everywhere.
We had a brief confrontation with a guy who wanted my wife's empty seat since she was on the dance floor. Bernard stepped in and argued with the guy for a bit, but we wanted to have a sub anyways, so we ave up the table to go outside for a bit.
I will say that there were plenty of working girls there, some of which were very attractive, and some of which were a little aggressive. They were surprised when they asked me if I wanted a date and I told them they had to ask my wife, and my wife would look them up and down speculatively, lol. We politely declined all of them, tho. We might be open minded, but we're not interested in paying for it.
We went back in, and found another spot upstairs. Bernard apparently saw a group of people he knew, and told me he'd be right back and would introduce us. Turns out it was a party from Hedo that included the owner of the resort. I think his name was Harry, and he gave us a poker chip as a business card. He said that if we present that chip at the front desk, we'd get 50% off of our stay there. Pretty cool older guy with a pretty hot wife. We were invited back to their suite for a more intimate party ;-). Again we declined, as they weren't exactly our types. We did mingle, dance and flirt with their party for an hour or so. We eventually decided to venture off to see the downstairs.
The dancefloor downstairs was much different that the upstairs. Instead of everyone dancing at once, small groups would jump in and basically put on a show for everyone. As the night progressed, the dancing took on more and more of an edge until each dance move was some sort of mock ****ing. Everyone was having an absolute blast, and it was a rpetty good show to watch.
The music stopped at about 4am. On our way out, after the show was when the working girls were most aggressive. Where previously they were more reserved when they saw me with my wife, now they were a little more brazen in asking us if we wanted company for the rest of the night. We were tempted once or twice, but again we declined (professionals really aren't our thing) and headed out the the street where the taxis were. We were surprised that at 4am, the street outside the jungle was actually packed with vendors. There were at least 20 different vendors, up at 4am, calling to patrons leaving the club.
Anyways, I think we got some curry goat or something, and called it a night.
Next Installment - Shopping at times Square and One Love Pub Crawl.
Thank you so much for continuing Select! The only thing I like about the jungle are the jerk barrels and soup pots lined up outside. Not my kinda place anymore but glad you and your group have a good time there.
Can't wait to hear about the crawl.
Still surprised by how many of them there were out at 4am. I think it's busier there at 4am than at anytime during the day. Love the jerk chicken, but only if it's been on the grill cooking slow for a very long time. Also loved the pork, but it was hard to find. The curry goat was rare, but delicious.Quote:
Originally Posted by *vi*
Proved to be a great snack at 4am tho.
Thanks for the installment Select!