Marley and Ninja: Having Their Cake And Drinking It Too! Trip Report - April 2012

Around here, Tiz, we call that Cryling (crying and smiling at once)

:)

Wonderful stuff Marley, mixed emotions all the time. x

Cryling....of course! I've been doing a lot of that since the bale came into my life. LOL And I'm not much of a cryler. hahaha

Loving all the turtle references! I know I feel the need to return again and again ...

Enjoy reading all your trip reports, it helps with the Post Negril Syndrome. Keep em coming
Looking forward to returning to that beach in December and maybe meet some other turtles.

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Love it!!! Your pictures and words brought me right back to Negril for a while. Miss you guys so much!

Oh noooo… there’s that dreadful shot of the switchblade operation again. You know when Booger posted that same picture; I threatened to throw a sea urchin at him. You’re lucky that you’re my sister. Lol! ;)

Man, you guys are moving through your trip report at record speed compared to us! You are tag teaming superstars! We’re still on Day 2… We’re not even at the Luciano concert yet… I feel like we’ll NEVER make it to the Magic bus trip..

Thanks Bjritz, for the sympathy. I healed up well…It’s a good thing Sandie was there!

Daydreamer - I LOVE that picture!:)

Clarity, ha...I know I know.....I didn't want to post that picture but I felt it was necessary to the content of the story.....lol.....how else would everyone feel your pain without seeing the surgery and the KNIFE! lol
You are a good sport....and WAY better than I would have been in that situation...I am a BIG baby when it comes to pain (ask Ninja)
Thanks for not throwing a sea urchin at me, sis! hehehe
If it helps, I will help you throw one at Booger though....just for fun :)

Speeding? It's almost 2 months since the trip and we are on day 4.....I wouldn't necessarily call it speeding LMAO

And yes...Daydreamer- awesome photo....I am really loving all of the turtle references and hidden meanings that just keep popping up! It's awesome!

Ok, I am going to eat dinner and then hopefully finish off Day 4...stay tuned! ;)

Day 4 (cont).

So we have herded all of the turtles back on the bus and we are on our way home to Negril. Now typically when you go on a long and adventurous day trip, the ride back home is usually pretty quiet or uneventful as most people usually fall asleep or are just plain worn out from all of the fun…..well not THIS group, No Suh! If anything, they were MORE rowdy and loud and fun and playful on the ride back home.
The bus pulls out on the road from Black River and we take one last look at that amazing sunset.

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Then we crank up the tunes and the party bus moves down the road filled with happy turtles singing and laughing. Due to the roads, it is nearly impossible to play a cd so Chicken switches to the radio and we get a little dancehall going in the bus. It seems the turtles approve as everyone is singing and dancing along. But just about the time everyone got really into the music the radio just cuts off….and then of course there is a big AWWWWWWWWWWW that rings throughout the bus. That’s ok, as Chicken proves, it is nothing a hard BANG to the dash can’t fix! BANG! And yep, there we go….music once again! LOL Cheers ring out throughout the bus and the dance party continues. Now if you have ever listened to radio (or any music for that matter) in Jamaica then you know that they are big on the sound effects. Lots of horns and sirens and various other noises all throughout dancehall tracks. Probably one of the most familiar is the Air horn sound, it is played very frequently in dancehall tracks and tonight was no different. This noise made the turtles very happy. It was as if it was some instinctual mating call or something because every time the radio played it the turtles repeated the noise all in unison! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKK!
I just remember laughing..then Chicken laughing….then everyone laughing. You would continue singing or talking or whatever and then there would be the horn again…..and then everyone, in unison….HOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKK! Then the radio would go out…..another BANG from Chicken and then the radio would be back on and soon another HOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNKK! LMAO

Right about that time the gang realized they had finished off all of the Red Stripes and they started to pipe up about it.

“Any more beer?”
“No”
“Are you sure”
“Yes”
“Did you check all of the coolers?”
“Yes, and none have beer”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes”

And this went on and on. So we made a stop at a rum bar. The turtles got off….took beer breaks, potty breaks and smoke breaks, every kind of break you can think of. This continued on several times until we reached Negril. It typically takes about 2.5 hours to reach YS or Black River from Negril, and I remember thinking it took us much longer to get there since it took us so long to actually get on the road that morning……but then I realized that was a breeze because I have no idea how long it took us to get home but I can guarantee it was WELL OVER 2.5 hours. It was definitely a long full day…..a long day FULL of fun! We finished off the ride by *attempting* to finish off the rum punch (aka gasoline). Rock star points go to Mrs. Spottycatz who I believe was the only one able to down some of that without choking! You go, girl! Even better than that, I think I recall her actually saying she liked it! Lol

So the bus finally rolls into Negril, I would say by now it was probably 9pm or later. The first stop was Seasplash to drop off Hubbity. At that point Hubbity invites everyone to join them for an evening at the Seasplash bar and just about everyone takes them up on that offer. However, I told everyone that since I had spent all day and night on Monday in my bathing suit, and then again all day today in my bathing suit, I was desperately looking forward to a nice shower and some actual clothes so I told the gang that Ninja and I would head back to Catcha to change and that we would meet back up with them after. So the bus headed back up the cliffs and we took Guirigay and Sweetiepie as well. They were tired and chose to return to their yard for the evening, so we dropped them off and then the bus headed back up to Catcha and dropped off Sweetness and Ninja and I. By this time it was 10pm and Ivan’s had just closed. Ninja was hungry and we realized we hadn’t eaten dinner so he decided to head down the road to Eddies to get some jerk while I took a much needed and anticipated shower. We figured we would eat and change and then if we felt up to it we would join the party down at Seasplash. That was the plan. But plans change….and sometimes you realize that maybe you make the decisions you make for a reason. We never made it to Seasplash that night, but I have no regrets for why. In fact, I am thankful that we made the decision to go back to shower that night because otherwise we would have been partying with everyone else and I could guarantee I would not have heard my phone ring when a friend called me.

The phone call was from Guirigay and Sweetiepie, they needed our help (and I will let them explain that story in their trip report: http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...pened%E2%80%A6)
I am so glad we were there to answer their phone call, and after our showers and dinner, we headed over to the Seastar to hang with them and have some drinks and conversation to finish out our night. We never made it to Seasplash, and though I heard the next day that we missed out on quite the party that night, I was not sad at all about our decision to go back and shower. Everything happens for a reason and I think we were in the right place that night and for that I am thankful.

What an amazing day this was. I am not sure I can explain what really happened on this day, because it seems like perhaps it is other-worldly, or magical or maybe just unexplainable. What I can say is that it was one of the best days I have ever had, it was beyond fun, it was full of laughs and good times and good food and good friends, and I think this day alone (for so many reasons) solidified the bond that this amazing group of people now has with one another. I have been asked many times what was my favorite day of the trip and though I have answered “All of them” most every time, and I truly mean that, I think this day tops the charts. Every time I think back on this day I smile…..every single memory makes me laugh or smile. Every single memory makes me miss my friends. Those crazy turtles are my family now and I look forward to traveling back every year to hang out with them all!
Speaking of turtles, there were a couple of them that I got to spend a little more time with this day that I hadn’t previously, but after this one day, we were ALL family! Solidified by this Magic Bus trip for life! :)

Becky – What can I say about Beccajean? She is the originator of “Herding Turtles” I still remember when she said that and how we all laughed. I remember saying immediately “Oh that is a perfect description, I bet we will wear that saying out today” Ha, was I ever right! I remember when Becky first came on the message board. She dove right in and volunteered for everything she could, and I think that is a true testament of who she is. But I also remember how she was so worried to be traveling alone. Ha, that makes me laugh now to think of it. Was she worried about not being invited or included in the party?!?!? LOL….Becky made the party wherever she went. Shy, she is not. She is outgoing and immediately jumps right in to any situation. She is outspoken and as she says “tells it as it is” Hahahaha so this woman who I thought was worried about traveling alone and being shy or not included??!?!?!?! Where was she? I never met her! Ha! Instead we met Becky, who is instantly your friend, laughing and cutting jokes with you from the moment she meets you. She might try to tell you that she is abrasive or tells it as it is, but underneath you will soon know that she has a very big heart and loves everyone and just wants everyone to have a good time….including herself! “Herding Turtles” :)


Spottycatz – ok so I am sure I have said this before, and will probably say it again about just about every couple (and I mean it every time I say it), but…Spottycatz is the coolest couple EVER! Lol But I am serious! Have you met this couple? If not….you are not living! I could probably dedicate a whole trip report to them, but instead I will just say, go read theirs here: http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...erding+turtles and I will just give you the cliff notes version. First off….they BOTH did the rope swing….I mean really… how kick a$$ is that? Secondly, Mr. Spottycatz wardrobe alone is worth some sort of cool points nomination….those hippie pants were killer. And let’s not forget his singing and dancing abilities, I can still picture him singing at Canoe (more on that later in the trip report) and I smile every time I think of that moment. And Mrs. Spottycatz smile and love of a good strong roadside rum punch, already sets her at a notch above most. Speaking of a couple who can start a party anywhere they go, I think the Catz invented that concept. I repeatedly watched them both walk into several situations where they knew little to no people and yet you would never know. I am pretty sure they treat strangers as long lost friends everywhere they go. They always have a drink in hand, a smile on their face, and a party in sight. They have some of the best stories and some of the biggest hearts. I could go on and on with my love fest for this couple of cool Catz but if you have met them, you know! And if you have not met them….you HAVE to! I consider myself beyond lucky to have met them, hung with them and now consider them family. Damn, my family is cool!

Ok, so that ends day 4 for me…up next is Ninja with his day 4 wrap-up (and maybe even a little special surprise) and then stay tuned for Day 5….the One Love Pub Crawl :)

Beautiful!! This entry made me smile, It was a truly magical day for sure and you summed it up wonderfully!
That's a perfect description of Becky and Spottycatz btw
I agree 100% - Becky has a heart of gold and Spottycatz are definitely the coolest couple I've ever met as well!
I miss everyone so much!

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That was nice. xx