Gerry G's TRAIL OF ASHES TOUR Final Chapter -- The Mighty Californian's return

Here are some pics:

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First thing I do in Jamaica is score some Coke -- and some Cherry juice!

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Here's a shot of a local gas station


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Felt good to hit the beach again

Het G,

Look like you lost some weight....I think I found it

Yes, just what I needed to cure my Negril fix for now.

Gerry wicked mon, wicked good report, love your writing and love your on the ground videos, oh how I miss that "ya-mon".

I hope you had/r having an awesome trip.

Jamb

Thursday in Negril. Jungle night.

Good thing I didn't have spear-fishing quite so early at the usual 7 a.m., having pushed the starting time till 10 a.m. for a meetup with Vincent and Roger at Seasplash, as usual.

Nevertheless, I was up early. It's part of my routine that includes an afternoon nap, though on this reach I didn't nap much. I ran pretty much on adrenaline the whole time.

Seastar Inn makes a nice breakfast every morning that's free, including a big glass of OJ, plus continental stuff like muffins, bagels, cereal with milk, coffee, that sort of thing. Sometimes we order a little somethin' extra like an egg and bacon to make a little breakfast sandwich. I did so this morning.

Later I motored down the hill, enjoying the sights and sounds and smells. Past Rockhouse and BLue Castle on the left and No Limit Bar and then the school and Mi Yard on the right, through the Roundabout to Bourbon Beach.

Memphis Mike was in Room 9 upstairs, enjoying a great deal. Fifty per night with a 25 dollar food/drink credit every day. I flipped him some money in the beginning and kind of made Bourbon Beach my beach home, claiming so by leaving my greeen raft with one of the workers, Shagger ((I think that's the name), a cool Jamaican with a warm smile featuring gold teeth.

Wow you did take off some weight, lookin' great!!

So I'm sitting at Bourbon Beach, enjoying the ocean view and hangin' with Memphis Mike. Meantime, there are about eight locals at the bar, mixin' with the the two or three employees, and a couple of them get in a heated LOUD discussion, screaming in Patois back and forth enough so that you can hear 'em from probably 500 feet away.

There are guests at Bourbon Beach, but no one says a word to try to quiet the two down. They're not fighting, just arguing very loud, and the whole scene is NORMAL for Negril. At the Hilton in USA or the Marriott or Sheraton or Hyatt or Best Western or any place like that, the security guards would be rushing over, the employees or tourists (not sure who was arguing) would be told to be quiet immediately, and perhaps 911 would be called; there would be a written report. Here, it is NOTHING. One of the key differences between the USA and Jamaica -- that extreme level of tolerance needed to cope on the island.

The differences become less subtle the more time you spend in Negril, but even for long-time returnees like myself, some of the scenes can startle you when you first arrive.

I downed some coffee and jumped into the water, still early in the morning. It's best on the beach early before all the vendors and beggars arrive, though this week there aren't that many folks period because it's so quiet in Negril.

Clouds are rolling in. Dark clouds. One thing about Negril, it's VERY hard to predict the weather. You don't know if a storm is going to last a minute, an hour, a day, a week. Even the locals, with a feel for the sky after living here for decades, have no idea. They just shrug when I ask if they think it's going to rain for a short time or long time.

Here are some shots from the countryside .....

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Hey gerryg, I dig the TR so far. I think one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with Jamrock and Negril in particular is the fact that it is considerably less PC (or should I say non-PC) than at home. I am the kind of person who sorta tells it like it is myself, and that can really rub some people the wrong way at times. (even my wife) So I can totally relate to what you were saying about the "little argument" you witnessed. You said it perfectly about the level of tolerance you notice when in Jamaica. To them....things like that are really no big deal, but back home you would NEVER see something like that go on for long. Keep it coming man! Respect! BS

GerryG. One thing I always notice about your TRs is your ball caps. I have seen several teams.

What's the deal dude? You just like the hats or are you a multifan?

I just like hats, especially for the sun.