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Continued from previous page..
I let the boys have their “guy time” and I retired to bed for a nap.
It was nice having some alone time to kind of decompress.
Stepping out of the Jamaican heat into a cool room is the best feeling. I took a calming shower and slipped into the king size bed. The bed was huge and incredibly comfortable. I just stretched out in the soft sheets and pushed all the plush pillows under my head.
The view from the bedroom window was utterly relaxing. The Hammock and the lush tropical trees. In the distance I could hear Stephen West's band tuning their instruments for the show and the distant sound of a drum beat.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...eastarview.jpg
I really liked the laid back and comfortable vibe of the Seastar Inn. It doesn't feel like a hotel, but more like a little studio apartment.. with the kitchenette area and the table, and the warddrobe. I could see this becoming kind of like a “second home”. All my worries about moving over to the cliffs were unnecessary. I was already enjoying it here.
The gentle hum of the air conditioner lulled me to sleep...I closed my eyes and drifted off....
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When I woke up, it was completely dark in the room.. I could hear the concert in full force in the distance. Markus was sleeping beside me, snoring with his arm draped over my shoulder.
I sat up with a start. “Honey! I think we're missing the Luciano Concert!!”
Markus just mumbled something incoherent and rolled over.
I looked at my watch and realized it was just the opening act.
I tried again to shake Markus awake, but he was out COLD. I tried again to shake him, harder this time. “15 minutes..”, He slurred into his pillow.
I went outside to the balcony and lay down on the hammock. The music from the concert drifted over clearly. I could hear it all so I just chilled out and listened with my eyes closed.
A half hour later, Markus showed up on the balcony and climbed into the Hammock with me.
The music, the warm carribean air, feeling Markus beside me, swaying back and forth in a hammock together. I realized that this is what heaven feels like. These relaxing intimate moments, when you feel your worries, fears, concerns and stresses just kind of dissolve. You're just fully in the moment and happy.
We decided to try to wake up Jamar and head over to the concert. I knew he'd be upset to miss the Seastar drummers and Luciano.
Waking him up was not easy. Jamar emerged with bleary bloodshot eyes from his room after ALOT of door pounding... We nearly had to carry him over to a table in the concert area. I didn't know how well he was going to hold up, but he was adamant about not missing this show.
And as Jamar just mentioned in his trip report, He quickly perked up when the Seastar drummers came on stage and after that he was dancing all night long!
This concert was very different from the last one for me. Last time we kind of hid in the corner and didn't know anyone. This time I saw a lot of familiar faces and had the opportunity to hang out with so many amazing boardies. Bella Bea, Blandy1 & her husband, Irie Always, meinvancouver and his awesome wife, Dolly. (It was her birthday!) That's just naming a few.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...astarnight.jpg
I also saw the cool couple we had sat with last time! They were sitting right across from us! Unfortunately, This time without Choochy.
I finally got to meet Lisa, I was surprised when she came downstairs to greet me with a hug. I remembered how last time I had been too shy to even approach Rob & Lisa at all. I was afraid it would bother them.
Not this time. I discovered that Rob and Lisa are really approachable and friendly. I have a lot of admiration and respect for what they do. (thanks you two for making the night a really fun one for us)
The buffet was delicious. Markus had three plates and licked them clean. I think this was his favorite meal in Negril. He can't get enough of those mashed potatoes.
Luciano's performance was amazing! Everyone was dancing and having a great time.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...tarluciano.jpg
At some point, it all became a fun blur.. I remember running around with Bea a lot. She is such a blast to hang out with and such a sweet person.
The staff from Catcha falling Star showed up.. Ty, Kevin and crew. They were there to celebrate Dolly's birthday. Such a cool crew! They had me cracking up!
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...catchacrew.jpg
I have a lot more pictures, but I think there might be a“what happens in Negril stays in Negril” code. I don't want to post them without everyone's permission. Next time I'll do what Gerryg123 did in his last TR, which is ask everyone after taking their pictures.
Rob, Lisa, Bea, Markus, Jamar and I closed down the bar. Time went by so fast that I didn't realize everyone else had already left and it was early morning! How did that happen?
We returned to our room in good spirits.. it was nice not having to worry about finding a cab, we could just walk through the gates and straight upstairs.
It was a really really fun night
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DAY 5
I woke up to a loud scream coming from the bathroom. “AAAAAH!!”
I sat up with a start. I turned to the right and saw that I was alone in the bed.
“Markus?!..” I asked.
No response.
I lept out of bed, my heart pounding and ran towards the door. Markus emerged from the bathroom jumping on my one foot. “I stubbed my toe again”
“Oh.” I sighed and rolled my eyes. The two of us hadn't mastered the art of stepping up when exiting the bathroom yet. He had nearly given me a heart attack with that howl.
It was 9 AM and we had to check out at 12. I went down to the breakfast area and poured two cups of coffee for us to drink on the balcony. Seastar Inn offers a complimentary breakfast. Nice!
We relaxed on the balcony and enjoyed the coffee together. We just sat and reflected on our experiences in Jamaica so far. I was grateful that we had two more nights because I really didn't want to leave.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ingseastar.jpg
Jamar came by an hour later.
“Alright guys, This is where the road splits”, He said giving us a hug.
It was weird to separate! We had spent every day of our vacation together up to this point. Now he was heading over to Blue Cave Castle and we were moving over to Catcha Falling Star.
We made plans to meet at 3 Dives later that night for dinner. 7:30 PM and said our goodbye's
At that point, we dragged out our suitcases out again and packed up our stuff. Unfortunately it was time to leave the Seastar. I wished we had more time to really enjoy the grounds and soak up the vibe.
Next time we will.
Sadly we rolled our suitcases out to the staircase, pick up the the keys from the counter and closed the door for Room 3.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ngseastar2.jpg
(view when you step out of room 3)
The grounds looked even more beautiful in full daylight.
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ngseastar7.jpg
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ngseastar3.jpg
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http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ngseastar6.jpg
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ngseastar4.jpg
(the waterfall jacuzzi)
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/.../01seastar.jpg
I wished we had time to jump back in the pool for one last swim and relax on those beach chairs... just one more dirty banana..
http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...01seastar2.jpg
Markus checked out at the front desk, while I used the internet computer available to guests. I figured it would be a good opportunity to log onto Negril.com and let everyone know we were still alive. (Our laptop at this point was useless without the plug)
We were prepared to just walk over to Catcha Falling Star. Chris (the owner of Seastar Inn) told us that Henry could drive us. “That road is kind of rocky to be dragging your luggage down. Henry will take you. It's not a problem!”, He explained.
We said our goodbye's to Chris and told him that we would definitely be back. He really knows how to make his guests feel at home. You know it's a good hotel when you only stay one night and the experience of being there leaves a lasting impression on you.
We packed up the van and we drove down the bumpy road towards Catcha Falling Star...
To be Continued...
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Now thats a Dirty Banana, wooohoo, for real
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Even for one night, at least you got to stay at the Seastar Inn ... that bonds you with the boardies more than ever, Clarity!
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Digging your details on room 3!!!!
"The music, the warm carribean air, feeling Markus beside me, swaying back and forth in a hammock together. I realized that this is what heaven feels like. These relaxing intimate moments, when you feel your worries, fears, concerns and stresses just kind of dissolve. You're just fully in the moment and happy."
Can't wait to crawl into the hammock with my honey...
And digging the more frequent report outs....:p
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OMG! That dirty banana looks so good, even at 7 a.m.! Beautiful photos of Seastar.
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Really digging this trip report! The pictures are great!
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Lionfish are invading coastal waters all the way to North Carolina. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...-Lionfish.html there is even a bounty on them in some places and in the Keys there are Lionfish derbies. A nasty, nasty invasive species
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"I woke up at 7:30 to the sound of chirping birds and sunlight streaming in through colorful wooden shutters of the Grand Pineapple hotel." I love waking up to the birds and from our upstairs at Country Country we hear the patois of the people starting breakfast in the kitchen. I've read people complaining about the sounds, the voices, but to me it is the song of Jamaica, those birds, insects and of course the sweet voices of the Jamaicans.
