I've got to find my way back, back to summer paradise - Nov 2011 Trip Report

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Originally Posted by max2

I'm enjoying your report very much.

My husband hears "Wah wah wah who wah" each time a Jamaican speaks to him, too. I find myself translating for him. The Jamaican speaks to my husband. I then translate what the Jamaican said to my husband. My husband answers the Jamaican........and on and on. My husband cannot understand how I know what is being said. In fact, most times when the Jamaican people speak to each other, I can undrstand evem that.

I have no idea why this is the way it is but, I just wanted you to know that it's not just the two of you that have the problem. By the way, we have been going to Jamaica since 1989 and he is still in the dark much of the time when a Jamaican speaks to him. I hope you two do better than he has done.

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Thanks for sharing that Max. I can imagine that that is how it is going to evolve with Sunshine and I. By the end of the trip I was picking up a few words here and there, but he was totally lost. It is good to know that we have a quite a few years to practice before we need to feel behind the eight ball!

Our dinner done, we made quick pit stop to freshen up and we headed to the door only to discover it is now pouring rain. Oh well, guess we will be getting wet. At least it is warm out. Our waitress grabs our attention and tells us to just wait here, that this fellow will give us a ride back to our hotel. Hmmm, I am not so sure about this. It must have shown on my face, because she adds an extra don't worry, you will be safe.

Decision time and I quickly run the variables. These webcast folks didn't look that scary and if the folks at Canoe weren't good people I don't think that they would have a webcast drawing tourists here. It is pouring rain and getting a red plate in the rain in the dark may be rough. Accepting the ride wins out. Sunshine's only concern through all of this? He hears the guy talking to the kitchen, telling him he will pick up his fries when he gets back. Sunshine's already decided we are in no danger; he just doesn't want this guys fries getting cold.

Our mystery driver runs out, gets the car and pulls right up so we don't get wet, which was really kind. We get into a vehicle that is absolutely not a red plate. Based on other vehicles I had observed in Negril, I would go so far as to call it a luxury ride. I asked if it would be alright to make a quick stop at Shamrocks (I need my morning OJ after all) and it is "No problem, man."

This fellow is very friendly and starts into a long tale that goes like this "Wah wah woh family wah, hill woh wah wah Jet Ski wah who wah." I think we are making progress, as at least I picked up a few words. To be fair, I am not sure he even said hill, but he pointed up in that direction, so I was guessing.

I admit I felt a bit defeated. I had been here for six days and I still didn't understand the ENGLISH that people are speaking to me. Thankfully, it seemed not to bother our ride that the conversation was slightly one-sided. I think at some point, I pieced together Booby Cay and tell them Kirby sent you. So, whoever our ride might have been, sorry we weren't much on conversation. Thank you for getting us home in the pouring rain.


After our quick stop, we were at the gates to Rooms. I had already tucked cab fare in my pocket, so I offered it to our ride. He shrugged like we were slightly slow, which I was beginning to believe was true, but he accepted our fare.

We dashed back to our room and waited out the storm with a sub and a good book. As the weather seems to do in Negril, the rain didn't last all that long.

Yet again, we capped our night drinking red stripe with our feet in the water. Sunnyside was well used to our routine by now and they were pulling nothing but the coldest Red Stripe for us. When he boarded up, we took it as a sign that it was time to head in.

Another day in paradise, come and gone. Tomorrow, we are will be at the dreaded last full day. 

Hehe...Kirby is the owner of Canoe!

Don’t feel bad about being shy. We were too shy to speak to Lisa and Rob during our first webcast too. We didn't get to know them until our second trip to Negril when we overcame that and finally introduced ourselves :)

So glad that the dark clouds over sunshine’s head cleared and that he started having a great time. I can relate to that. Markus went through a similar mood shift during our first trip to Negril. It took him some time to adjust to it all. I love that picture of the two of you in the ocean! Those are great smiles! You both look so incredibly happy in that moment!

Omg That waiter picture had me cracking up!!:D

I’ve been truly enjoying every single update of this trip report! Thank you for sharing all that you have so far. I really feel like we traveled along with you every step of the way. I love your outlook on life and your sense of humor. I’m sad that your last day is coming up because I really don’t want this trip report to ever end! It’s been such a fun ride! I’m looking forward to hearing about your upcoming trip to Negril in 13 days. Are you packed yet? I usually pull out my suitcase at the two week point lol – the week before the trip is like torture because it can’t come fast enough. Despite all that, I’m usually running around like a headless chicken 2 days before trying to pull together all the last minute stuff.

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Originally Posted by TizzyATX

Marley....dont click on the link to the song!!!!! Cherry I love the song personally, but Marley is terrified of country music like Clarity is scared of bats....and lion fish. And sea urchins. hahaha

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LOL Tizzy!!:p

I have been reading your report and loving every minute. I just thought of a funny story that pertains to the whole language barrier deal. Our second trip to JA my nephew came along with us who is 30 and has the same problem understanding the language. We were all doing a little shopping at the Sunshine Village Plaza and my wife and I were chatting it up with one of the shop keepers (my nephew just standing there nodding his head like he new what we were taking about). She told us about her children and we offered her some candy that we had brought for such an ocassion for her to take home with her for them. She was very appreciative and asked my nephew (as we were getting our back pack open) if we were christian. My nephew replied no, Xtabi (where we were staying). She didn't know what to say as my wife and I fell apart laughing. My nephew just turned beet red and walked away and let us carry in the conversation. :)

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Originally Posted by CherryNorth49

I think at some point, I pieced together Booby Cay and tell them Kirby sent you. So, whoever our ride might have been, sorry we weren't much on conversation. Thank you for getting us home in the pouring rain.

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If it was Kirby that drove you....he is the owner of Canoe! LOL
:)



Oops, just saw Lisa beat me to that ;)

[QUOTE=T&A;72063]. She was very appreciative and asked my nephew (as we were getting our back pack open) if we were christian. My nephew replied no, Xtabi (where we were staying).

That made me lol

Awesome report Cherry!

:cool:Hey Cherry - where is Shamrock's? We'll need to get OJ for our morning mimosas and I've heard it's great juice LOL

CherryNorth49 ; you guys eat alot of subs ;)


We were at rooms around last Christmas too. I've been meaning to write a report long time now, but it looks like I am a good procrastinator. I don't feel no way now though seeing your report coming in almost a year later. Bless up ...wha whoa wha

HoneyBee, write it. Go for it.

There is fresh juice on the beach every morning. From Flex and his delicious orange, and mango and pineapple. Were the guys not offering juice on the beach?

Speechless

Shamrock is on the road across from Alfreds / Grand Pineapple. It is a great place to get OJ and do some shopping for snacks.

I can relate to several parts of this trip...first my wife cannot understand a word...I ALWAYS have to translate...Its pretty common for someone to say somethnig and she looks directly towards me before she answers..She used to just nod, but kept finding herself ordering stuff she didnt want, agreeing to things that she didnt want to agree to, etc...very funny...

Our first trip, we didnt speak to any boardies, rob or lisa, just a few jamacians...since then we have opened up...

and the rum punches at canoe, my first trip to canoe, had a couple 2 for 1 punches on empty stomach, and well, uh.....gee, thats about all I remember about this story....Janet found me hugging the wall outside of canoe, got us home, and I woke up in the middle of the night, with no idea where I was....I tread very lightly on the punches,....hehehe

great report, cherry.....since this report is coming to an end, I am already looking forward to the next trip...you will be more comfortable with the runnings and it just gets better and better....

Shamrock - I love that store and the OJ!! Last couple of trips we were right across the street, this year it will be quite a walk, but worth it!

More questions while we wait for today's installment - how long would it take to walk from Country Country to Shamrock's? Can you walk up the beach and then cut over? Is the juice that good or would we be better to buy from someone on the beach?

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Originally Posted by Bnewb

Hehe...Kirby is the owner of Canoe!

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I saw that and LMAO'd! You had the owner of Canoe stop for your OJ at Shamrock....!!!!!!
Kirby is a kind dude!

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Originally Posted by Lady Jane

HoneyBee, write it. Go for it.

There is fresh juice on the beach every morning. From Flex and his delicious orange, and mango and pineapple. Were the guys not offering juice on the beach?

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Either its Kenny or Keith...one does the jerk pork and the other does the best juices on the beach....I can never keep the names straight...being around Kuyaba between 10 and noon is a sure bet for both...

Cherry, I absolutely LOVE this report and relate to so many things you have said.

We definitely need to get together during our stay!

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Originally Posted by RockRobster

Either its Kenny or Keith...one does the jerk pork and the other does the best juices on the beach....I can never keep the names straight...being around Kuyaba between 10 and noon is a sure bet for both...

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Dean is the jerk pork vendor. Not sure what is Flex's real name and there is another juice guy whom I have yet to meet.

It is interesting how as we get towards the end of the trip, your minds seem to be turning towards the return voyage. That is very much how it went down on the trip too.

Bnewb, Marley and RockRobster – I don't know whether to hope it was or wasn't Canoe owner Kirby who drove us home that night – I did really want that OJ and I didn't want to walk back to Shamrock's in the rain, but still :o

Clarity – Thanks for the kind words. The only reason I haven't started packing is because I have been too busy with this trip report! Working on it has been a nice distraction from the countdown. I said to Sunshine this morning that the suitcase was coming out this weekend; his response was that he was surprised it wasn't out already. Regardless, I will still be shuffling things in and out at the last minute.

T&A – I am on your nephew's team on this one, but I am still LMAO! Laughing with him, of course :D

HoneyBee – there are a lot of sandwich artists in Negril, the temptation was just too great for us. I don't want to make it sound like a free for all though. For any newbies reading, it is worth noting we were almost exclusively enjoying them within the confines of our resort. One doesn't need to attract unwanted attention. Now HoneyBee, get on that trip report.

Lady Jane – they were guys selling juice on the beach, though we were often late to the beach and missed them. I like to enjoy my OJ in bed, so we needed to get it the night before.

Groove – I am beginning to think there are more of us just smiling and nodding our way through their trips than I previously thought. Love the Rum punch knockout story. I am looking forward to returning, meeting more people and maybe, just maybe, understanding something of what is going on!

Mamade – we are in the same boat with the walk this year, but I am sure it is going to be worth it. I think am going to have to find an alternative up on the cliffs though. That is just too far!

2nutz – I imagine you could cut through from the beach at Alfred's. I have no idea how long the walk would be. Our experience with chartering a cab was that making quick stops along the route didn't add to the fare. If you are heading back from the west end, it is east to stop on the way past.

Rina – We will for sure have to connect – I'm sorry that we will be arriving just a bit too late to crash the wedding!

Now, back to Friday in Negril...

YAY, Friday!

Chapter 11

“It's often just enough to be with someone. I don't need to touch them. Not even talk. A feeling passes between you both. You're not alone.”
― Marilyn Monroe

Friday started with the sun shining, which seemed to be how it went every day. This being our last day, we were determined to be willing victims of the sand gravity. Are you still a victim if you are almost begging for it?

Shamrock's OJ in the room, along with some coffee. Sunshine drank the stuff that came out of our in room coffee maker. I thought it was terrible. Down to the beach for a couple of fruity cocktails. It counts as a good breakfast food if they blend real fruit in, IMHO.

We snacked off the vendors for a bit and then decided it was time to go for a walk down the beach. For you dedicated beach walkers out there, you will probably be appalled by this, but it was our last full day and we had not been more than 50 feet north of Rooms on the beach side. I had read that Niah had some of the best patties on the beach, so we set off walking to find some lunch.

Though we hadn't even left Negril yet, I already knew we would be back and I wanted to see some of the other properties beaches first hand. I understood that the beach had been on the move last year, so there were a couple of spots along the walk that we literally had to take to the water.

We continued along the beach, up past CocoLaPalm. I had my map and knew that I should have seen Niah's already and then the patty man appeared pushing his bike. We grabbed some patties and coco bread from him. Now food in hand, we realised we hadn't quite thought out how to eat this away from our own beach. I had my flip flops in one hand and with a patty and bread in the other it was a bit of a juggling act. Never fear, a friendly fellow at a bar waived us over and for the price of two Red Stripe, we had a table to enjoy our patties. (I know now that it was Dennis from Sun Beach who hooked us up).

There were a couple of resorts I noted. CCLP had a lovely wide, deep beach. Idle Awhile had great shade and wasn't crowded. Charela Inn had nice umbrellas and the lounge chairs looked comfy. Nirvana on the Beach was wide, deep and shady and didn't seem to have much built up on it. Lazy Dayz had a great porch style swing raised above the surf.

We eventually wandered back to Rooms and lazed about like sloths on our loungers or floating in the sea. We chatted back and forth, alternately solving all the world's problems and solving none of them.

We talked about our trip and wondered about how we were every going to describe the whole experience to our friends and family back home. We agreed that it kind of seemed like we had been hazed by Jamaica, but not in an unpleasant way. It felt like we had to earn our stripes before we could claim a piece of Negril for ourselves and that, like most things you have to work hard for, we would value it more in the end. Time away has not altered this perspective.

Sunshine was walking tall. He still had no idea what most anyone was saying to him, but he wasn't bothered by it at all. His spirit was easy and I could see his mind was at rest. He seemed to find some extra pep in his step on that beach, which in all honesty followed him home.

It had been a great trip and I didn't want it to end, but that afternoon there was a part of me that was ready to go home. I was getting tired of everything being new and was ready for a bit of the familiar. I had stretched about as much as I was going to that week and I was getting to the end of my rope. There was a bit of time that afternoon where the risk of my turning into thundershower was high, but Sunshine's enthusiasm was so infectious, it turned out to only be a passing cloud.

I have really mixed feelings - I don't want it to end....but I want to read the rest! Sure hope we get to hear about your upcoming November trip when you get back - it's been a fun report!

"Tanfantastic – I am going to think that in my boss' direction for now – that four letter word funds my Negril habit!"

Unfortunately my dad did make me a trust fund baby so that four letter word pays for all our habits as well!

Cherry, I stay at Nirvana, I love it there. We stay 3 weeks

Cherry, I'm really loving your T/R and I'm kinda sad it's coming to an end...We still have a while to go 'till our next trip so we depend on these reports to help us through (sounds like some sort of addiction doesn't it ?) so...now finish this one up, finish packing, and get to Negril and on to another adventure so you can write another T/R and feed our appetites and sooth our longing for our favorite place. :-)
~Dave~

Then it was sunset and it would be our last, for now. It was a heck of a show.

Seriously, could Sunshine look any more relaxed? I just love the light at this time to day. It really was a golden hour.

http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/...IMG_0130-1.jpg

This shot may look familiar. It seemed like the perfect shot for my avatar; Sunshine caught me at one of my favorite passtimes, sunset.

http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0132.jpg

The colors of the sunset seemed extra vivid that night, so much more red than we had previously seen.

http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0137.jpg

The very last sliver of the sun dropped and just like that, we had shared our last sunset in Negril. I had hoped all trip to catch a green flash, but no luck. Just add that to the list of reason why we have to return.

http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0144.jpg

I did take a video of the event. It is nothing more than 3 minutes of sights and sounds of sunset. I wanted to have it for those extra dark cold days of winter.

http://youtu.be/6F3FZu39RNc

We were both so perfectly at peace at this moment and I think it shows. I have set Sunshine's profile picture on my phone to this shot. Every call and text from him sends a little piece of the magic of this moment back my way.

http://i1327.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0152.jpg

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She was very appreciative and asked my nephew (as we were getting our back pack open) if we were christian. My nephew replied no, Xtabi (where we were staying). She didn't know what to say as my wife and I fell apart laughing.

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Easily one if not the funniest thing I've found on this board! T&A - Nice!

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We agreed that it kind of seemed like we had been hazed by Jamaica, but not in an unpleasant way. It felt like we had to earn our stripes before we could claim a piece of Negril for ourselves and that, like most things you have to work hard for, we would value it more in the end.

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You have zoomed in on exactly what it is like on the last day, brilliant writing, so there with ya.

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Seriously, could Sunshine look any more relaxed? I just love the light at this time to day. It really was a golden hour.

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That pic has perfect light, wow! And yeah, he's so chill.

Your sunset video is just awesome! Love it. Emailed it to all the other Negrilophiles at work.

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We were both so perfectly at peace at this moment and I think it shows.

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It shows in every bit of this wonderful trip report. You've really nailed what a Negril trip is about. Thank you.

Having already had our big splash out dinner two nights before, we were looking for simple food on our last night and decided to head out for barrel jerk chicken. We should have gone back to Step-a-side, but I wanted to try some place new. It was good; it just wasn't nearly as good.

Though we were both reluctant to bring it up, in the morning we were going to have to set an alarm, pack up and leave. Our JTL pickup time was at 9:25 am, which would seem really early. Having skipped the hotel breakfast every morning, we decided not to ruin our streak. We had a nice piece of brownie left and with one last bottle of Shamrock's OJ, it would be the breakfast of champions. It would certainly make the drive to MoBay more interesting.

On the way to get our barrel chicken, we hit Shamrock's and scored the last bottle of juice he had. There would be no more until tomorrow afternoon, so I felt extra lucky to be able to enjoy it one more time.

We also stocked up on a few of the local snacks to fill in the extra spots in our suitcases. I don't remember exactly what all we brought back. I know we bought St. Mary's Sweet Potato Chips, Rough Top Coconut Drops, a range of cheesy Holiday snacks (I love the chili cheese ones, and the big feet), Shirley biscuits and Jamaica ginger cookies. It wouldn't be the same once we got back home, but if we closed our eyes, for a moment at least it might take us back.

Anyone care to guess how we wrapped up our last night? You would be correct to suspect that we were drinking Red Stripe in the surf. The waves on my feet were like a gentle balm for the soul, gently scrubbing my worries away. I was at peace and we were already dreaming about the next time.

Tomorrow, we must journey home.

That makes me wanna cry haha

I'm so glad that Negril affected you and Sunshine the way that it did, it's a special thing.

Oh Tizzy, don't cry yet, save it for the airport! When we booked the trip is seemed like such a random destination. Having been, maybe the choice wasn't so random. It was more like finding a second home.

I prefer to think of it as karma, or even serendipity if that works better. Negril really attracts and then speaks to a certain kind of people. And we keep going back, keep connecting with Negril and each other, and keep thinking of that next trip and of how that place just gets under your skin and into your heart. Most people I know always ask me why I keep going to the same place over and over - and it's not something you can explain. I just know that I am a better, happier, more fulfilled person for having been there!

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Originally Posted by CherryNorth49

Oh Tizzy, don't cry yet, save it for the airport! When we booked the trip is seemed like such a random destination. Having been, maybe the choice wasn't so random. It was more like finding a second home.

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Amen Sistah!

Thanks again Cherry for the TR is was a pleasure to read...I have my notes of different places to visit and tings to do from your report as I'll be stayin at Rooms (My first solo trip) soon come... Oh and the sunset pics of you and Sunshine is amazing!!!

Enjoy!

There is one chapter left, I will get you to the airport and slightly beyond. I will suck every minute of joy out of Negril and Jamaica I can. :D I have a few photos left, too. That is Saturday though, so I will post it tomorrow...

speechlesser

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Originally Posted by Lady Jane

Dean is the jerk pork vendor. Not sure what is Flex's real name and there is another juice guy whom I have yet to meet.

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Ya, you are correct. Dean is jerk pork guy. Keith is the juice guy. Neville is the patty guy. I don't know "Fruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuit" Lady's name.......but she makes me lift that damn heavy basket off the sand and onto her head every time I buy something!!!

There's also the baked goods guy...actually there are a couple....try the gizzada!

Last reach I saw an Ice Cream guy...first time for that since I was a kid!

Great report! The video of the sunset with the snorkel boat passing by was off the hook!

Really enjoyed this.. thanks for sharing your experience