Brasi,
One married sister.
How old are you Brasi?
She has a 22 Y/O daughter who is quite fetching.
There is no one quite like her though IMHO
Brasi,
One married sister.
How old are you Brasi?
She has a 22 Y/O daughter who is quite fetching.
There is no one quite like her though IMHO
Day 8
I realize my story has passed the dénouement, but there are a few days left on my trip. To an extent I see my trip report as payback for the help I’ve received from fellow boardies. I’ll continue the report in hope that other boardies may find useful information herein.
I took Mrs. Peel up on her offer to re-enter the salt water. After coffee, calaloo and fritters we head back into the surf. It didn’t look like her mask was going to work.
Her face is too tiny for the seal. I McGyvered her up. I got the face mask as tight as was comfortable. I put the snorkel through her strap, then we got out our plastic inflatable raft.
Kudos to Gerryg for that idea, don’t leave home without it.
I put the steering reins back on my ankles. I suggested Mrs. Peel then scooch up on the raft so her head was beyond the end of the raft. She could then put her face in the water, breath through the snorkel, see the bottom with only a little water getting in at a time. She had to drain her mask every so often but it didn’t fill up with water immediately. I don’t think she minded being towed around like Cleopatra either.
We brought a bag of bread along for the reef fish. I think bagels would have worked better. We swam out from Xtabi, around the point at Three Dives and into their little bay.
We had good luck with fish but nothing spectacular. Mrs. Peel has had limited luck snorkeling in the past. “I don’t seem to get it.” I didn’t see any point in trying to teach her, with a mask that didn’t fit, and our jerry-rig worked fine our purposes. We spent an hour or so exploring the waters near Three Dives and the Rockhouse.
I am significantly older than Mrs. Peel's daughter. How's that for ambiguity?
"Sarah" was 23...and her parents HATED me because of our age difference.
But thanks for even considering destroying the solid gene pool you have going. :D
She is too old for Brasi ....
There is a thing called a fish scope to view underwater without actually snorkeling. There are factory made ones that are megaphone shaped with the small end at your face and glass on the large end. You will see Jamaican fishermen using one made from wood or even a big coffee can. They will look over the edge of the boat to see if there are fish or what's on the bottom.
Respect,
Col. Andy & "Wildcat" Pam
First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS!! What a beautiful place to get engaged to your longtime love.
I will be in Negril for my first time in June, and while I'm there I will be getting married to my love :) . I will be at an all inclusive (I see most people on here don't care for them too much lol) since that seemed like the 'easy' way to go being a first timer. I can't wait to see the beauty that everyone keeps sharing on here.
One more thing - I'm also from Wisconsin. Looks like all us WI folks have the right idea on where to go to get away and let the good times roll!
Congrats to you Rum and The future Mrs. Rum!
Finally got caught up here Rum, very nice. Early in the week I had mentioned to Sweetie Pie and another couple we were talking to that Pressley would close his place for a relatively small fee. We walked by it several times. Sweetie Pie commented with out any reference at one point that she thought Pressley's looked very Jamaican and romantic. We will visit our next reach. So you rocked the Sweetie Pie Seal of Approval :)
Never had a problem with the sub euphemism, it's frequently used around these parts as my TR will attest. Doesn't anyone watch How I Met Your Mother? :)
Congrats to the both of you .... Great story!!!
Apologies for the hiatus - I just started a new semester so I've been busy.
Soon come?
That afternoon we walked down to Sunset After Dark. We saw an interesting scene take place there – only in Jamaica. A car pulled up outside. A guy went to the trunk and pulled out an arm load of kingfish and a scale. He approached three women that were sitting at a table. The queen bee of the group said (in an American accent), “ I told you I only want one.”
Attachment 11135
Back to the trunk. He returned with only one fish, the scale and they concluded business. Where else can you do your grocery shopping from the comfort of a bar?
We slid down the beach to Canoe (there actually is a little beach there). We had a couple drinks there and took in Canoe’s Van Gogh colors.
Attachment 11136
We talked about going on the Love Bus. We were feeling romantic though and decided just to keep each other company that night.
Attachment 11137
Next stop was Mi Yard. That is a relaxing place. The porch chairs are what I was talking about when I said we found some Cubism too.
Attachment 11138
I don’t mean to suggest that both arms are on the same side of the chair though. That was an art history joke (and I apologize).
We had a couple of beers with ice on the deck and waited for the peanut lady to come by. We could here her steam whistle approaching. The Jamaican peanuts are so good. Alfred says the shells are tender because they don’t use artificial fertilizer. We watched the sunset there.
Attachment 11139
We stopped at Chicken Lavish for dinner. I’d heard good things about their coleslaw. If you like your coleslaw with vinegar dressing it’s good, if you’re into creamy style coleslaw, no dice. We had their chicken combo half jerk half fried. Both were good. After dinner I had a mind expanding conversation with the owner. Mrs. Peel looked beautiful that night.
Attachment 11140
I was happy to be going home with her.
great to have you back, RUM .... good stuff, as always. Very nice pics .... Went to Miyard last reach, but it was in the middle of the day and TOO hot ....
Back at you Gerry!
Glad your back and I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. Any word on a return trip for you two this summer?
Finances will speak loudly on our Summer return.
Mrs. Peel already brought up going back in July, but . . .
We're going to Hawaii in November so we'll have to see.
We both want to come back ASAP.
Yay...I was wondering where you had run off to! Glad you are back and may I suggest a simple solution to your travel problems.....How about Negril in April?!?!?! Hahaha I couldn't resist!
Hey Rum!! A new trip report update! yay! :D It's great to have you back!!
Thanks for the welcome back notes.
4 x year I start a new class.
That pulled me away from the board.
After I was gone for a couple weeks I felt like a leaker for not finishing my report.
I foolishly allowed that guilt to keep me away.
I just have two vignette's left relate.
I'll try to saw that off with some celerity.
I've got my new class is rolling now.
Soon come.
BTW I missed you guys.
Good one Brasi!
I used to be a huge John Sebation/ Lovin' Spoonful fan.
I completely forgot he wrote/sang "Welcome Back".
Nice to see you back Rum. Thought of you and Mrs. Peel several times on our trip. Wouldn't have been quite what it was without the experience of your story and the give and take we had leading up to our departure. Much respect, thank you. This is a whole lot freakin' longer than 9 days, by the way :)
I would skip over priced Hawaii and spend the money on a long reach in Negril! LoL.
Jbizek
All things being equal it'd be a no-brainer and Negril wins.
Mrs. Peel is now a convert.
The reason we're going to Hawaii is that it will be cheap.
Long before I met Mrs. Peel she bought a time share condo.
This year it looks like it will be worth the maintenance fee.
Plus we're going to stay overnight in San Francisco.
There are only two (old) western states I haven't been to (CA and NV).
So that is another selling point.
So much to see,
so little lucre.
Cheap Hawaii? Now that I understand! I've also always wanted to visit SF. My bro in law lives in San Diego and I've always wanted to visit. But I agree the more traveling the better!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rum-polephoreskin
You're free to stop in Los Angeles for a sub sandwich anytime, my brotha .....
Day 10
Our day 10 was that day in the trip everyone dreads, the day before you leave. You are compelled to count up funds that seem to have dwindled like a snow bank under the warm March sun. Wait a minute, I know I brought a pile of green, where is it now that I have to buy souvenirs?
Yeah, I know, boo-frickin’-hoo, at least you’re in Jamaica. Think of your family at home with chill blains and chapped lips, they deserve at least a T-shirt (or something).
Next time I’m buying my souvenirs early,
um,
yeah right.
Regardless we walked down to Sun Island Outlet (cheapest and some would say pleasantest of the souvenir shops). The shop lived up to its reputation, pleasant staff and no pressure. If you’re unfamiliar with this shop, it’s across the road from Canoe (bar).
While Mrs. Peel went inside into the air-conditioning, in an attempt to whittle down her daughters’ wish lists. I chose to stand outside in the sun. I can’t say why I didn’t go in but I’m glad I didn’t. I was standing there aimlessly beside the road, when I saw a woman approaching. Again I can’t say why, but she captured my imagination at first site.
There was a self-assuredness in her stride, self-assuredness in the way she wore her clothing, these signals, vague, yet perceptible, filtered into my brain. I unconsciously jumped to the conclusion that she wasn’t a tourist. I’m stumped as to why I thought that but it turned out to be true and the closer she got the more certain I became. I’m sure if you asked her she’d say, “ Maybe it wasn’t just a coincidence.”
She was wearing a gold colored sun dress that brushed to top of her sandals. There was a confidence in her stride that announced she was completely at ease in Negril and just as at ease in her own skin. I clearly remember that as her feet hit the ground, I was reminded me of the scene in the film “Time Bandits” where the giant emerges from the ocean and the camera cuts to his brobdingnagian sandals wiping out a village as he casually moves inland. This woman wasn’t wiping anything out, but her confidence was a match for the boat-hatted titan’s.
She was approached by a young Jamaican girl in a school uniform. They greeted each other with hugs. I didn’t hear the whole conversation but I did hear the woman say to the girl, “You better call your father and ask him.” Our eyes met about then.
I can only imagine what might have been going through her head, “Who is this freak in a cowboy hat, with one white leg and one brown one, and why is he ear hustling my conversation?” If she was thinking anything like that she didn’t let it show. Instead she spoke pleasantly to me.
“Sun Island is the best place for souvenirs,” she said.
I’m sure I was staring at her by now. “Are you a boardie,” I asked?
She said yes and we exchanged board names. We both had read a lot of each others posts. The conversation played out like one between actual (vs. virtual) acquaintances. I have always fancied her as a “healing-woman” or a white “Obeah woman”.
After the trip I e-mailed her to ask her permission to mention her name in my report. I’m sure she got my e-mail but I never received any confirmation from her so out of respect I’m not going to mention her name. Any boardie would recognize her board name and I have to say in the flesh she comes off exactly like her posts, mysterious, kindly, ethereal yet grounded and above all altruistically caring.
Later that fore-noon Mrs. Peel and I drifted down to the “Corner Bar”. The salient things about the “Corner Bar” are the slot machines lining the walls (the only bar slots we saw in Jamaica) and the bold red writing on the wall:
ABSOLUTELY NO GANJA SMOKING ALLOWED ON THE PREMISES.
Lo and behold, no one was smoking ganja in the bar. Where else but Jamaica would that seem like an oddity?
I think im pretty certain of the woman you speak of..And you discribe her perfectly . I have had the honor of meeting her twice..and agree there is a aura of calmness and kindness about her ...And I LOVE her kind words on the board ..:cool:
Hey Suess you write beautifully Rum! I've been waiting for this and you don't disappoint :)
Congratulations!!! :)
Thank you.
Well chosen name!
Rumpole, you've been missed! Glad you are back to the story :)
Lola,
You are too kind.
Yes Lola, We are glad hes back! And you too ;)
Day 11 The Flight home
It may have been the flight home but we certainly weren’t fleeing (Jamaica).
On that last day the only thing we wanted to flee were the responsibilities that were exerting their gravitational pull on us. Well we all experience that, so it is hardly trip report fodder. I’ll relate two vignette’s from our last day that may be informative, I make no promises.
1
I was sitting on a bench beside the driveway near the office of Xtabi. My chin was resting in the palm of my hand. I imagine I probably did look forlorn. Alfred pulled up, ready to deliver us to evil (OK hyperbole alert – but frigid cold, non-Jamaican surroundings). He looked at me smiling and said, “We don’t put our head in our hands in Jamaica.”
I couldn’t help smiling. My philosophy directs me to enjoy the moment. Not being involved in the present is, essentially, a denial of life. You may not like where you are at any given moment, but to deny it, or wish for the future is to wish your life away. Thanks Alfred. He was right. I was still in Jamaica and there were still things to enjoy. Snap out of it loser (me)!
2
We made a couple stops in town. First I picked up a nice, big piece of Mrs. Peel’s favorite chocolate cake. Then we stopped at the Chinaman’s (Dude, the preferred nomenclature is Chinese-Jamaican) for souvenir liquor.
As we were approaching Mo-bay I asked Alfred to let me know when we were within ten minutes of the airport because I wanted to have my cake as close to take-off as possible. Alfred looked at me like I was a rather backward child.
“You don’t go through customs until you land,” he said. He watched my face to see if his comment registered. I was still in the dark and I’m guessing my facial expression conveyed that. Alfred rejoined me with, “You can eat your cake in the airport . . . no one cares.”
Duh, then came the dawn. A couple hours later (because American Airlines has a policy against leaving on time) Mrs. Peel and I were sitting at a Bobsled table, a square of aluminum foil was spread out between us and we took turns pressing the remnants of our Jenny-cake into the tines of a plastic fork.
I’ve never liked flying. I’ve enjoyed it even less post 9/11, but I have to say that was an enjoyable trip. I’ve never been more relaxed on a flight. I may have even fallen asleep and I’ve never done that (before) on a plane.
That’s my report. I will back as soon as finances allow. Some one asked me why I was going to Hawaii (next) instead of Jamaica. It’s simply a question of money. We’ve got a time share condo opening in Hawaii (about $200 for a week – conveniently over looking the annual maintenance fee). As Gerryg would say, “My heart is in Negril.” I’d rather be in Jamaica than any place in the world (with the exception of Yellowstone NP - the difference is Jamaica is always warm and oh yeah, no grizzly bears). I hope in reading this report you’ve gleaned some useful information. I’ve noticed in using our board as a reference I’ve gleaned much more useful information by reading trip reports than by posing direct questions. Negril . . . soon come!
Awesome Report Rum! Thanks for taking us along!
Congrats again to you and Mrs. Peel (soon to be Mrs. Rum)
Thanks, I really enjoyed your trip report! I picked up lots of little tid-bits that i will be using on the next trip. Congratulations, and thank you for your honesty, as well as sharing your experiences.
Thanks for the report!
Where is the best place to buy chocolate cake from?
Tell your driver you want a Jenny-cake.
They'll get you there.
I'd be more specific but they (the bakers) seem to be intentionally flying under the radar.
It's in the near west end.