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True That..!!!..Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob
this is definitely a serious thing..!!..:-(
it *means* there's gonna be (for me) some serious competition on the bokkle-collect-ing thing-y
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..
i'm putting-out a request
of all boardies
IF you on-island,
in Negril
from now 'til NewYears
PLEASE save your empty bottles for ME.
i'll come to you to collect
please please please save the bokkles for me please [[pretty-please, with sugar on top]]
ummmmmmmmmmmmmm
a *thought* JUST pop-ed into my likkle-likkle feeble-minded pea-brain
If BambooVilla is cough-ing up Ja$8 for empties,
then WHAT is D&G paying for same-bokkles...???...is it Ja$10..???.... or is it more..??..
'cause i KNOW Bamboo-place AIN'T got that '..we buying..' signage, and dem ain't making some kind of profit ---- Believe Dat..!!..
again:::>> what's the REAL-price of an empty...??..
IF you asking about my two trusty Nikon Coolpix 990 cameras, the answer is YES.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
:-)
The Red Stripe bottle shortage in Negril should be eased somewhat now that Bogger and PGW have gone back home.
lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
lol
lol
you always gotta *support* the *neighborhood*
:-)
for-you the *dividends* soon-come, mi fren
'round-about mid-January
and more-so
'round February 1st
some *dividends* you won't be aware-of, won't see, won't recognize ---- but they're there. The big-plus is that the *dividends* won't be flowing just in the *neighborhood* ----- they'll be trickle-ing down along the beachfront, in-town, and other-places in Hanover/Westmoreland.
hahaha!Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
Well they better stock up on the bottles....I'm going to be there in 30 days!! Here's a fair warning! :)
Not too fast, I'm still here.......
Our flight on Monday was cancelled, so we actually leave today.
hello Kahuna,
i am familar with Red Ground. where are the villas located?
thanks
Smith – Me ‘ave t’ree bokkles that me gonna put aside for you.
Last posting I said I was going to talk about the Top Three Negril Tourist Complaints. I’ve decided to put that off for a while, since yesterday’s post about visas could have been considered somewhat negative – which is not how I meant it, at all - I was just sayin’. So I don’t want to risk casting a negative pall over my report by talking about tourist complaints. Not that I consider such a discussion negative – but some might. So . . . latah.
Yesterday, mid-afternoon: A huge crackling thunderclap broke directly overhead the yard. Got me right up off the couch. It caused car alarms to go off all around us. More thunder boomed off in the distance and Booby Cay was shrouded in rain. I love thunderstorms and I was looking forward to a good ole tropical downpour to freshen things up. We have such a great vantage point from which to watch storms roll in. Unfortunately, this one’s bark was worse that its bite.
Later in the afternoon everything was quiet. I heard a guy coming up the road, talking loudly, apparently to himself. He was having a really good rant. As he got closer I could make out some of what he was saying. He was laying down a long blue streak of “Bumbas!” and “Rass, dis an’ dat!” and some conjugated ‘Pussies!’ and a lot of other things I didn’t catch. He was clearly pissed at somebody or something. He stopped in front of our gate and loudly held forth for about a minute, flailing his arms about as he did so. Then he carried on. Bea and I were both listening to his rant with interest. As his tirade faded away down the road, Bea looked at me and said, “You can’t buy that kind of entertainment!” She’s right. It was another priceless Negril moment.
Here’s another one:
Walking down the road today, near the Corner Bar, we came across a guy who was washing his car. He was rinsing the car off with a hose. As we approached he directed the water stream at a woman who was standing beside him. He doused her from head to foot. Then she lifted up her shirt exposing her bra, and he hosed her chest and belly down. Then she pulled the front of her shorts open and he filled her shorts with water. OK – nerver seen that before, a roadside bath – of sorts. But this is Negril and ones sees a lot of ‘different’ things around here.
!!!! STOP THE PRESSES !!!!!
I have an important announcement to make!
I have a new ‘Best Gizzada in Negril’.
Check it out – see how nicely mounded it is. The pastry was flakey to perfection and the filling was al dante and soooo devine. It took me a full ten minutes to eat this culinary masterpiece, I relished every morsel. Check it out:
Attachment 31929
Ackee and saltfish on our cooktop. We've been cooking local - this meal cost $350J. It was so very good. I cooked it myself.
Attachment 31927
Luna visiting last night. We have a rent-a-dog! She gets her leg dressing off today, it has gone from pure white to dirty red(ground).
Attachment 31928
See, now that PGW has departed, the beer supply is being replenished.
Attachment 31930
Lovely gizzada! Hammonds?
Kahuna it was great meeting you the other day! Got home at 1 am last night and now at work, waaaa! So I can't wait to get a big cup of coffee and start reading this report from the beginning...it will help ease the depression a little haha, and anything from you will be a treat to read.
Spanky - We are right across from Hill Top Villas.Quote:
Originally Posted by original spanky
Crusher - don't worry - should be plenty RS for when you arrive.
Tizzy, nice to meet you too. You shoulda stayed on - we have a fouton :)
Goldilocks - sorry I just can't tell you the source of the new 'Best Gizzada' - it would be like revealing the location a favorite fishing hole. Sorry :(
Okay – here we go. I broach this subject with a little trepidation because I know how this type of discussion can go off the rails – but my intent here is not to be disrespectful to Jamaica or Jamaicans. I love Jamaica and love Negril.
The Top Three Complaints That Visitors to Negril Have:
I got this second hand, but it sounded right to me. In no particular order, they are:
- Motorcycles
- panhandlers/vendors
- trash and litter strewn about
Obviously, these are not complaints that a typical AI client would have, where the biggest complaint might be, “The food here is really good but it’s getting boring.” These are complaints from people who experience Negril from 'beyond the gate’.
Personally, I totally agree with the ‘motorcycles’. And if it were up to me, that would be number one, by far. That’s because along with motorcycles, my biggest complaint, every year, are the noise levels in Negril. And the motorcycles are one of the biggest contributors to the noise pollution. The first thing I notice when I return home from a long stay in Negril is how quiet things are – and we live on a fairly busy street.
But motorcycles – yes. We walk the roads in Redground and we are passed by dozens of motorbikes, roaring along at the absolute maximum speed possible and often just grazing past by six to eight inches. So much for ‘respect’. It’s scary, no two ways about it. Occasionally, a bike will pass at a reasonable distance and speed – then we wonder if maybe the bike is malfunctioning or maybe the driver has fallen asleep. But those are the rare exceptions. Speeding is not just problem on Beach Road. Vehicles speed on One Love drive and on the road to Sav. Everywhere. Speeding and reckless driving is the norm in Negril. I’ve always thought that young Jamaican men would make world class race car drivers. They have absolutely no fear and their entire driving experience has been driving at high speed on bad roads - so their reflexes should be good. They might take a while to get used to not having a horn, however.
Virtually all of the motorbike drivers (mostly young men) have removed the baffles from their exhaust mufflers. PGW and I were talking about this. I appreciate the sound of a big powerful engine just as much any gear-head does. In fact, I revel in it. Finely tuned, throaty, purring engines crank me up. But the un-muffled racket that emits from the likkle bikes they have around here is just obnoxious noise - a loud annoying mechanical rattle – not an appealing or impressive sound whatsoever. Annoying - like a crying baby.
Here’s a thought. If they put mufflers on all the motorcycles, cars and trucks, disconnected all the horns on all the vehicles, including motorcycles, and everybody drove the speed limit – imagine how safe and quiet Negril would be! Except for the music of course, but that would be OK.
As for panhandlers and vendors (“Friend! Friend! Smoke?’) and the money change guys (“Hey! Change, buddy?”) and “Taxi? Taxi?” and all the rest of it - that doesn’t bother me. I’ve learned to tune it out, like background noise. For the most part it doesn’t even register with me. When it does I just ignore them or give a slight shake of the head. They get it.
The trash/litter problem is real, but it will take a generation to fix it. Children need to be taught in school not to litter and to pick up trash that is lying around. Take them out on organized school trash pick-up excursions and the will soon be scolding their parents and older siblings for their littering habits. There are some obvious clean-up efforts being made, but there is a long way to go.
'Hey! - when's the coffee going to be ready!'
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Attachment 31945
I agree with the bikes and all the noise, dangerous driving and what not.
I also agree with the comments about the peddlers & vendors.....after your first couple of reaches you learn how to deal with them and tune them out if needed.
The trash I think you nailed it.
Great report so far, Kahuna. It took me quite a few trips to train myself against the constant stream of hustlers by not looking them directly in the eye. Perhaps it's rude, but I found the action instantly cuts down about fifty percent of 'em.
I'm digg'n this. Be careful, you're toeing the line in the sand!.....Keep it going, Walk Good!
OK so the gizzada thing! That would be one of my favourites as well, I tried the overpriced guy on the beach with his sun glasses falling off his nose!
I also have tried the lady in front of Chances on JT,s recommendation, they were kinda burnt and not very good.
I have made them myself here in Canada, pretty good if I do say so. A cook at a villa in Silversands showed me how and I made a video, but that one you showed the picture of looked really good!
So whats with the secret location, I don't even fish?
I agree with PGW. Give up the info! Those things look amazing! (my fav too)
Great report too by the way. Thanks!
I remember posting a trip report here 10 years ago about the astounding amount of littering on the west end.
The biggest discarded item then was phone cards. Thousands of the red/green digicel cards littering every road and lane.
It ain't visitors littering the place up. These are residents.
Cleanups do happen; but that isn't attacking the problem.
Yes, it is so true ! Take a look at the school yard in Sav early afternoon.
I'm enjoying the report, but I'd really like to know where to find those Gizzadas. I don't fish either.
Hey Kim! – Yup, toeing the line, maybe a likkle over, but going back now :)
Gerryg123 – I can get away with ignoring them, they just think I’m old and am hard of hearing.
PGW, Big Shiny and Just Chuck – re Gizzadas. I am really reluctant to reveal my source. But I’ll seed a clue in the photos that follow.
The other night we went down to Susan’s Bar for our pre-sunset libation. Susan’s Bar is located on One Love Drive between The German Bar and Swordfish. It’s a small, basic structure located on the sea side of the road. It seats maybe, six or seven patrons. You walk in the front door and you can see all the way through, out the rear door to the waters of the Caribbean Sea out back.
Susan's Bar
Attachment 31980
Noches, the bar cat, was lounging comfortably on one of the few bar stools. I considered asking him to move, but one look at him told me he wasn’t going anywhere. He’s the cock-of-the-walk. I found another stool. It’s a well-stocked bar, all the liquor displayed behind it in shelves that go way up, there are ‘custom-made’ Red Stripe bottle pendants that light the bar top. The wiring to these lights looked a little dodgy. I wouldn’t want to change a bulb in one of them, in fact I wouldn’t put my hand anywhere near them.
Noches - don't mess with him.
Attachment 31981
The bar has a, homey, convivial atmosphere. Susan is very nice, the ultimate bar hostess. She has an open friendly manner and makes you feel immediately at home. She has a projection TV displayed up against the rear wall of the bar. While we were there it displayed music videos with the occasional commercial. One commercial caught my attention. It was for a weight GAIN product. At first I thought it was a spoof commercial, a-la Saturday Night Live. But as I watched it I realized that it was legit. It had testimonials and before and after photos; before - a young skinny Jamaican girl with a down expression. After; same girl, but smiling and showing off her big booty. We laughed.
'The Scream' - Jamaican style.
Attachment 31982
Speaking of weight gain, we joined the Fitness Express gym. It’s on the road to Sav in a little plaza just beyond the Texaco station, a twenty-five minute walk from our place. It’s a good little gym, new equipment, small and basic. Good music and it’s AC’ed – a plus. We do the gym three times a week back home, so since we are living here for the winter, we thought we’d keep it up, otherwise starting up back home would be brutal.
Attachment 31983
Yesterday we were walking to the gym along the roadside and I noticed it was unusually quiet. All the cars, buses and motorcycles were driving at a reasonable speed, no beeping and there was no maniac passing going on, as is the usual case. I mentioned it to Bea. “What’s up? This is weird!” It was weird, but in a nice way.
We were approaching the Negril Police Station when the reason for the good driving behaviour became apparent. Two cops, one armed, and a cruiser were parked at the police station entrance watching the traffic pass by.
Then we noticed that the roadway, on both sides, was lined with small brown paper bags sitting upright on the ground and spaced about twenty feet apart. The bags were half filled with beach sand and atop the sand were the remains of burned down candles. It was odd. We couldn’t figure out what they were for. The sacks lined the roadside from the Shell station all the way out past the Texaco. I asked one of the pump attendants at the Texaco about the paper bags.
She explained that someone had been killed on that stretch of road the day before in an accident. In the evening, the local residents lined the road with paper bags and lit the candles. Then they paraded up and down the road, played music and sang. So the bags had been part of a roadside memorial and vigil for the accident victim, Jamaican style.
Attachment 31984
Attachment 31985
Wow, a call box!!! International style. Haven't seen one in Negril for years.
They sell gizzadas at Express Fitness? That seems counterproductive. :rolleyes:
Did you think its was gonna be a gimme? Noooo, grasshopper, as Yoda would say, "Seek advice you must, worthy of an epic quest, these king gizzadas are."Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG SHINY n Mango
Nice! I love a good adventure!
Catching up! Loving your rants. Kinda Rick Merserish! ;)
that *route* takes you pass the Negril car/bus park (if it's still there)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
for me,
around lunch time,
it was always a '..Must Do..':::
to visit & dine at one of the likkle cook-shops waaaaaaaaaaaaaay in the back, on the right-side.
GREAT food..!!!..
c-r-a-z-y IN-expensive prices..!!..
cooked-FRESH from-scratch daily (except weekends)
and of course,
i'd stop/pause to get some sweeties from the ladies sitting around/in the bus/car park. .... i always took-a-pass on the produce (if any) there:::: over-priced; don't look good;
Interesting...I've never personally seen the paper bags placed immediately after an accident...but just for further info...Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
The paper bags with the candles placed inside line a section of the road(usually) heading up to the location of a Wake. It's done in memory of that person's life & offers direction to the celebration/wake of that person's life for that evening.
the *custom* seems to vary.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bnewb
but just for further info
i recall a couple years ago,
the day after
a female BeachesSandyBay employee
was run-down & killed on the BeachRoad.
her co-workers put loooooooooooooong row of bagged-candles along the roadside (the following night)
'twas a pretty sight, too
long line of glowing paper bags
with a nice Negril sunset in the background
It was a beautiful day today in Negril; clear and sunny, warm with a fresh breeze. A perfect weather day.
I went to Samuel’s Hardware store to get a piece of rope. I want to hang a chair from the almond tree out front, like at Sun Beach, but a hammock chair. Although I’ve walked by the hardware on numerous occasions, I’d never been in the store before. So, upon walking through the door I was a little surprised when I saw that the customer accessible portion of the store consisted of a narrow section bordered by a long counter that spanned across the very front of the building. Several customers stood around in front of the counter, waiting to be served by the gaggle of people working behind it. Behind them were long aisles of storage shelves that disappeared way into the back of the building. Obviously, all the merchandise was behind the counter, no browsing. This was not Home Depot.
I walked up to the counter and got the attention of the lady who was taking orders. “Do you have rope?” I asked. She half-turned to a young guy who was standing nearby. She said something about a ‘rope board’. The young guy rustled around in a pile of stuff a bit and came up with a piece of board with about a dozen short lengths of varying types and thicknesses of ropes tacked to it.
I pointed to the 5/8 inch polyprop. “How much per foot?” I asked.
“We sell it by the pound,” he replied.
“OK . . . . ah, so how much would about 12 feet of 5/8 inch poly weigh?” I asked.
He consulted a chart. “About a pound,” he replied.
“Then I’d like a pound of 5/8’ths,” I said.
I’ve bought a lot of rope in my day, but always by the foot. It felt odd ordering it by the pound.
So the order lady (who was as friendly as a French waiter) used her machine to print out an order and the young guy dashed off into the bowels of the building to get my rope. I gave $500J to the order lady. She took the money and the order printout and sauntered over to a cash wicket and handed it to the lady inside the wicket. After a minute, yet another lady came back with my change and handed it to me along with my order printout. It had been stamped as paid. After another minute or so, the young guy came to the counter and handed me my rope. I went to give him my order, but he pointed to another guy who was sitting at a small table by the door. I went to the door guy and handed him the order. He looked at it, looked at the rope and scribbled something on the printout and took the top copy. I left the hardware with my rope.
It took five separate people to complete the rope transaction.
I’m just sayin’.
Look at all the different plants growing in this big beautiful cottonwood tree that sits at the intersection of One Love Drive and Hermitage Road.
Attachment 31997
This is the local bar in Redground that we call 'The Dominoes Bar'.
Attachment 31998
Where else in the world would you get a view from a booth in a Burger King that is a good as this one?
Attachment 31999
Thanks so much for keeping the reports coming!! Sitting here (in the cold I might add) taking a break from packing. Leaving Tues am, bright and early at 6:45am. Just weighed my "big suitcase" and it was 45 lbs...so, I am under the 50 lb limit and good to go with no extra fees.
So, just reading your reports about the perfect day in Negril.......gazing at the pictures, is truly comforting. You have no idea how much it soothes my soul and makes the waiting just a bit easier. Thanks again!! :)
Hey Yetta,
I can feel the vibes all the way down here in Florida
OK so as far as the gizzada,s go I am a regular at Susan,s bar and know the only food there is the pizza delivery from the Greman bar. So since I never been to that plaza with the gym I guess there must be a place in there with them overstuffed gizzadas!
Attachment 32000Attachment 32001
These would be the best ones I have had so far, but that overstuffed one!
Quote:
Originally Posted by captaind
Thanks Captain!! You know me too well. LOL Hope to see you and Miss G. soon!!
kahuna wrote:
It took five separate people to complete the rope transaction.
can you imagine how frustrating it would be to build a little house?
Wife and I wondered into the hardware store a few years ago just to look around. The lady behind the counter asked what I wanted, replied
just looking around. She led us behind the counter and walked with us up and down every isle, we said thanks and left.
Was slow at the time, no other customers in store.
Soooo..... real curious.... what's the filling in these mysterious confections??? Wondering if they are worthy of a quest???
5 people to sell you a pound of rope? Gotta love Jamrock!
M3...it's a brown sugar, coconut, kind of mixture with nutmeg, egg, and cinnamon. (some might have chopped nuts)......deliciousness in a small pastry.
I never knew what they were called before but they are fantastic.
Thanks again K3!!!
Thanks Yetta - I really appreciate the positive vibe. And I'm happy to be able to send even a little warmth back up north. My friends and family in Ottawa are really suffering right now - I feel sorry for them - because I know only too well what its like.Quote:
Originally Posted by yetta
Hope your weekend goes well and your trip down here next week is smooth. BTW, the weather here is warm, tranquil and sunny with just a trace of background reggae.