10 Years, 12 Nights, 6 Hotels, ONE LOVE - April 2012 Trip Report

You have me feelin' good and crying like a baby, Clarity .... Incredible report!

Wish I had a agree button. This is Incredible! fellin'good & crying like a baby.. How remarkable and blessed you are to be able to complete this journey.

Wow! Daisy, how amazing for you to have found so many wonderful family members! I'm trying my best to follow along with the family members, is the 90 yr old woman your great grandmother?

I cannot wait to read a future post from you titled, "GUESS WHAT?! MARKUS AND I ARE MOVING TO JAMAICA!!"

Love it! Keep the report coming!

Someone pass me some tissue, please! Thanks for sharing this incredible report with us!!

So you got the hook up on jobs huh? hahahaha

Love you Daisy, this was so sweet. You are blessed my friend <3

This is just awesome, I am soooo happy for your guys. Truelly Blessed:)

Loving the pics and additional details, Daisy. The hotel is really sweet!

This is an amazing story! Thanks for sharing it with us. I've only been to Negril once, and I have only stayed at an AI (Couples) but I love reading this board and dreaming about our next trip. I'm amazed at your adventure.

I am speechless as well. THANK YOU for sharing.

So blessed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Clarity

If anyone ever visits the Mandeville hotel, check out the plague to the right when you first enter. It tells the whole story.

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This had me cracking up cuz I was still bleary-eyed on my first read through and thought: "What?! The plague is in Jamaica--OMG!!" :rolleyes: Duh!

i think its time for more of this...Im ready to hear more~

Thank you Ralonzo, Mavmaiden,Seveen, Spottycatz, Negrilaholic, Juli, Eden, Sisse, Tizzy, Gerryg123, Guirigay, sbeth, Wilteddazies, Fun in the sun, for your comments and for coming along on this journey with us! Trip reports are so much fun to write because it takes me back to this really special trip and I get to re-live it for a little while. I'm sorry for the delay in-between updates, I was out of town for a while but I'm back.

Wilteddazies – your remark about the plague had me cracking up! I didn't realize that typo! Lol!

Eden – That was a Grand Aunt :)

It's late and I have to be up early for work tomorrow - so this next update will be a short one. Longer one coming tomorrow though.

Trip Report Continued....

We drove up the hills of Mandeville into an upper class residential area and stopped before big iron gates. A guard emerged and slowly swung open the gates for us. We drove inside to a big curving drive way.

I knew The Mountaintop villa was going to be beautiful, but I wasn't prepared for how huge it was. It was like a mansion. 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. My cousin manages the property and rents it out to groups. Luciano stays here when he performs in Mandeville.

My Jaw dropped...I was in awe. We were going to stay here?!

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ne82/house.jpg

We unloaded our luggage and the guard brought it into the foyer. This was surreal.

Diana gave us a tour of the property.. the different rooms... the entertainment area...huge kitchen...the lanai and backyard pool with a view overlooking Mandeville...

“You can choose any room you want”, She said. “We have no other guests tonight, so the entire Villa is yours to enjoy”

“Surely I'm dreaming right now. “ I whispered.

My cousin left for a few hours to give us some time to get settled. I immediately fell asleep on the big comfortable bed in one of the top floor rooms...I was just so exhausted and overwhelmed by everything I had experienced. Markus was too excited to sleep, he stripped down to his bathing trunks and jumped into the pool.

I woke up when Diana returned. She had brought her laptop and a bottle of wine. We cracked open the bottle together and went through some video footage from one of my cousin's recent weddings (the one at St. Andrews church) and some family pictures. It's really amazing how you can feel so connected to family you just met for the first time. She really made me feel at home and shared so much. The best part was when she put on some music and we all danced. She has some moves that I really wish I had.

Eventually she retired for the night, leaving Me, Markus (and of course Manda) alone in the Villa.

So we gave Manda the grand tour of the villa and we all had a party together. Here are some pictures:

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...dadrinking.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...mandafoyer.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...mandeville.jpg

Manda crashed in the pink bed on the second floor.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...andeville2.jpg

Hey Manda, if you're reading this. Hope you enjoyed this little trip up to the mountains. I look forward to meeting you someday in person in Jamaica.

Afterwards, we stood together on the balcony overlooking the pool and the sparkling lights of Mandeville. I felt such a sense of disbelief, like I was in a movie.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ntyreVilla.jpg

“Can you believe this day?” I whispered.

Markus just laughed and shook his head “No I can't. I can't believe we are in this huge villa, I can't believe we just met your family... I'm just blown away by ALL of this, but I'm really really happy for you. All these trips to Jamaica and now the pieces are falling into places. Everything happens for a reason, it all led up to this.”

I thought of my brother and smiled.

I did it Jared.
And I know you were with me every step of the way.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/..._3755730_n.jpg
My amazing brother...

I slept really well that night.

To be continued...
Middle quarters, Belmont and the Bellyflop contest.

Wow Clarity thank you for sharing, your brother is good looking. Glad you still have him in your heart and soul. Sorry he was never able to officially go with you to Jamaica and he is gone too soon. That made me sad. Looked like Manda had fun with you. Good to see you back posting was wondering were you were. Hope all is well.

:)
<3

Daisy :) You're brother is so handsome....I can see such a resemblance. And like you said, I have no doubt he was along for this journey. Love ya!

Clarity... seriously! I'm supposed to write my grammar school report while you've got this thing going on! :)

It is lovely. Your experience was just amazing!

And you really think you would miss this place.... Heck no! Go live in Jamaica!!!!! I know, easier said than done!

Your brother is beautiful Clarity!

I'm so jealous of Manda right now.

hahaha THIS IS AMAZING!!! I showed my brother the Trip Report and the pictures .. he's pretty impressed that I've been included in all of your reports and have yet to meet you all lol Love that you took the time to have a nice glass of wine with me and it looks like Markus and I had a nice chat there and I'm sure after hopping up all those stairs, that bed was a dream!!! I have to say I'm a little jealous of my stick self right now. You guys are amazing truly and thank you sooo very much from the bottom of my heart for including me in such a wonderful experience. <3

Thanks Angel, Marley, Tizzy, Garysteph (or should I say GregTiffany? Lol – I'm loving your trip report so far btw!) sbeth, Maryann and Manda81 (can't wait to finally meet you outside of “stick form”!) – Next update coming up now – It's a little late, so I apologize in advance for the typos.

Trip Report Continued...


Day 5

I woke up the unfamiliar sound of a door bell ringing. It was an elaborate door bell and the sound echoed. I sat up in confusion and looked around the bright room filled with sunshine. Fancy curtains, plush blankets, and carpets... For a second I had no idea where I was.

This confusion was due to the fact that we've been moving so much. 3 different beds in 3 days. I enjoyed this adventure, but I will say that it's a little exhausting moving around so much. I don't recommend the six hotels in twelve days approach, It's not for everyone.

It was 7:30 AM and I wanted to sleep for another few hours. I wasn't ready to wake up. I fell back into the warm sheets and nestled next to Markus..

The doorbell rang again.

I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed and stumbled to the door. I groggily walked across the expansive top floor entertainment area and peered down the curving staircase the front door below.

The guard was opening the front door and My cousin Diana entered. She waved up at me. “Breakfast at Mandeville Hotel in 45 minutes. We're going to meet up with another relative, Did you sleep well?”

“Yes! The bed was amazing!”

I returned to the bedroom and shook Markus awake. Then walked through the glass doors to take in the view of Mandeville over the balcony of The Mountain top Villa.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/.../01pool1-1.jpg

I still couldn't believe we were here. My exhaustion was replaced by excitement. This was really a dream come true for me.

Breakfast at the Mandeville Hotel was delicious. Fresh Ackee and Saltfish.. My favorite Jamaican breakfast.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...saltfish-1.jpg

I also got to meet another relative that couldn't make it to yesterday's reunion. He was incredibly intelligent and had a lot of interesting views to share. He adheres to a more Rastafarian diet and explained why this is important and healthy approach to consider. He had the most piercing blue eyes I have ever seen. He and Markus got into a very deep conversation about life.

We then returned to the main house to say goodbye to my grand aunt and to go through the family book. She showed me the family tree and pictures of my relatives back in the day. It was fascinating. So much to learn and digest.

Then we said our final goodbye's to the remaining family that lives in Mandeville before beginning our drive back to Negril.

****

“So when is your father coming back to the Island to visit the family?”, Diana asked as we drove down the curving mountains. “Does he have a trip planned?”

“No, but I've been working on convincing him... for almost a year now.” I said “I'm sure once he hears about THIS experience... he will want to come, I'm sure of it”

She pulled her cellphone off the dashboard and handed it to me. “Here”

I held the phone and stared at her in confusion.

“Call your father” She instructed.

“Right...now?”, I asked

“No better time”

I hesitated.

I hesitated because I love my father dearly but we don't always see eye to eye. We don't really talk to each other on the phone very much. We don't have the kind of relationship where I just call him out of the blue to chew the hay. There usually has to be a reason, like Father's day or a birthday. I wish our relationship WAS better …. but I digress...This is a trip report, not my autobiography

Our last conversation had been 2 months ago and it kind of ended on a sour note. As a result, he didn't know that I was in Jamaica, unless my mother told him...

This should be interesting.

I took a deep breathe and dialed my father's number. I listened to it ring. I gazed at Markus at the rear view mirror and I could see he was watching me intently.

My father picked up “Hello??” He sounded groggy, I probably woke him up from a nap.

“Hi Dad. It's Daisy!” I said quickly “Guess what? I'm in Jamaica right now!”

“(long pause)....Jamaica, West Indies?”

“Yes!”, Then it all spilled out at once “I'm driving through the countryside with your cousin, Diana and we just met a whole bunch of family and they told me all the stories about your time in Kingston, your visits to Mandeville and your summers in Negril. They all want to see you so much, I really think you should come to Jamaica...soon.... Dad real soon”

“You're in Mandeville? Right now?”, He laughed, There was a total change in his voice. It switched from guarded to really warm. “You're kidding me! Diana?! Your driving with Diana?”

“Yes!” I laughed feeling more comfortable “And it's been AMAZING!”

We talked a bit longer and then Diana took the phone. They ended up chatting for a good twenty minutes together.

She hung up with a smile. “Done and Done”, She said matter of factly “Your father is coming to Jamaica this summer.”

Wow.

(NOTE: She was right. My father booked tickets a month later. He and my mother and my two sisters are going to Jamaica this August!!)

We opened up a lot during that car ride. She told me about the importance of family. “it's not always easy, Sure, We fight at times and get on each others nerves. That's life. You just have to forgive and LOVE. Life is too short not too. Family is the most important thing.”

She gave me a lot to think about.

*****

The landscape was beginning to change, it was less hilly and very lush.

“We're in the Middle Quarters right now”, Diana explained “We're going to stop at one of my favorite road side vendors. Have you ever had pepper shrimp?”

“No, But I've heard about it.. I've always wanted to try!”

We pulled over to the side of the road and we were greeted by this smiling face.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...lequarters.jpg

For those that were on the Magic bus trip, this woman will look VERY familiar. Do you recognize her?

She and Diana are friends. They greeted each other warmly. She introduced us to her (I wish I could remember her name!) and we ordered a bag of pepper shrimp and some fresh fruit.

I was really surprised when I pulled out my first pepper shrimp and gazed at it.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ppershrimp.jpg

It looked more like a craw fish. It had it's head, antennas and legs still attached. How on earth do I eat this thing?? Diana took one out of the bag, ripped off it's head and shoved the whole thing into her mouth.

“You keep the legs on it??”, I asked in surprised.

“Yep, it's delicious” She said.

“Hmmm...” I reluctantly pulled off the head and stuck it into my mouth. I chewed really fast because I kind of felt like I was eating an insect.

It was REALLY good and very spicy too. I handed one to Markus and he enjoyed it too. We devoured the entire bag as we continued driving through the middle quarters.

Then we pulled into a town area close to Black River.

“Have you ever had coco bread?”, Diana asked.

I shook my head.

She sent Markus into a bakery with instructions to order some while we waited in the car. He returned with a warm loaf of the most delicious creamy bread I'd ever tasted...

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...scocobread.jpg
Markus eating Coco Bread.

“We're heading to Belmont, Blue fields now”, Diana said “Is there anything that you've never tried that you would like to try for the first time?”

I immediately thought of the song “Sugarcane” by Shaggy. I've never tried Sugarcane and I was very curious.

Diana made a phone call

As we were driving I started seeing the ocean through the trees. The bluest most beautiful ocean ever! It was absolutely stunning! Now I understood why Brasi likes Belmont so much!

We pulled into an open air restaurant on the side of the road with access to the beach. I immediately gravitated towards the beach...

Wow...Gorgeous!

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...lmontocean.jpg

We entered the restaurant and I was greeted by a man with a huge walking stick of some sorts. He smiled and introduced himself. It turns out we're also distant relatives.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...ugarcane-1.jpg

He handed me the big stick. I didn't quite know what it was... or why he was giving it to me? He could see the confusion in my eyes.

“It's Sugarcane”, He explained with a smile “Diana said you wanted some sugarcane. Here it is”

I laughed “Um, I don't know how to eat this...”

“Don't worry, I have a knife. I will cut it open for you”, He said. “Come with me”

We walked over to the side table and he began to cut it up with a knife into little cubes.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...tsugarcane.jpg

I put one of the cubes into my mouth. It was delicious, sugary, watery..kind of fruity at the same time, like a pear sort of. I can't describe the taste. I just know I really liked it... The problem was, I couldn't figure out how to digest it... I just kept chewing and chewing in confusion until it was this hard piece of fiber that I was pushing around with my tongue in my mouth... now what?

“You chew it, sucking out the juices and then spit it out”, He explained with a laugh. “Don't swallow it!”

Oh! I was learning a lot on this trip!

We met another man, that explained the secrets to winning at dominoes. Apparently he is the domino champ in Belmont. No one can beat him and he's very proud of that. I recorded his monologue and I'll post it later.

Lunch was ready and we all sat down to enjoy it. It was a land crab of some sort, cooked in the shell and breaded/spiced. Soooo good.

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...elmontcrab.jpg

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...lmontcrab2.jpg

I didn't want to leave... the fresh ocean breeze, great conversation, all the amazing tastes and sensations. I was just so happy and so relaxed in that moment.

That's when I realized the time! The Bellyflop contest would be starting soon, we were going to be late!

It was time to say our goodbye's and hit the road. I had signed up for a judge and I had a duty to perform. I was ready :)

We hit the road

http://i1181.photobucket.com/albums/...01belmont2.jpg

To be continued:
Bellyflop contest, Checking into Seasplash hotel & Roots Bamboo.
Markus is back and he's up next

What an adventure. Your trip is NOT like most peoples vacation. So much more.
Thanks

Oh, I agree...Belmont is so beautiful! Your pictures of the Mandeville Hotel make me want to visit. It looks so wonderful.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Clarity

Trip Report Continued...


Day 5


For those that were on the Magic bus trip, this woman will look VERY familiar. Do you recognize her?

She and Diana are friends. They greeted each other warmly. She introduced us to her (I wish I could remember her name!) and we ordered a bag of pepper shrimp and some fresh fruit.

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I ABSOLUTELY recognize her! I basically proposed to that kind woman and told her I needed to have her pepper shrimp soup every day of my life! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Chicken is friends with her too, and her sister
But after tasting that soup and that shrimp I can't imagine ANYONE not wanting to be HER friend!


Awesome! :)

Great report Daisy! Love the photos of Mandeville! So, if I understand it correctly, you are related to this Jamaican family by marriage (your uncle's marriage to a Jamaican woman? ) Just trying to understand the connection and follow along! Sorry, I think I missed where you mentioned the details. I can totally understand you not wanting to leave Blue fields. It's just so gorgeous and peaceful looking! Forget a belly flop contest (sorry turtles!:-), but I think I probably would have stayed there all day getting to know my newly found cousin, haha!

Great report, Clarity. You're pulling out all the stops. Absolutely fantastic.

Plus, the way you roll from town to town, with each hotel or guest house better than the last, you're bigger than Popcaan!

Please don't keep us waiting!!!! Great job!!!

This is pretty amazing! I love that the pepper shrimp lady shows up in everyone's report!

:cool:
Incredible! I really would like to sit down and meet with u and HM...
I was thinking~~ I think you should make a book for yourself and a copy for your mother and more importantly father.
You could include pictures and print it out ...with pictures of course.
I think this could be a good bondoing experince ~ your father could have an insight to your travels and the person you are!
The way he warmed up when u told him you were with your cousin,that same warmth could come across in your book 4 him.
It does my heart good to know people like u abd your husband exsist in the world.
Class act n full of Style.

excuse my typos !

Excellent idea!! Daisy, you could make one of those books very easily on a site like Shutterfly. What a special gift that would be for your dad. I know you mentioned that your dad is going to Negril in August. Will he also get a chance to visit Mandeville? I cannot even imagine the range of emotions that your dad will experience when he "returns home" again and reunites with family. Just, wow! Thanks for sharing your incredible story with all of us. I now have to keep a box of tissues handy whenever I read your updates.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fun in the sun

:cool:
Incredible! I really would like to sit down and meet with u and HM...
I was thinking~~ I think you should make a book for yourself and a copy for your mother and more importantly father.
You could include pictures and print it out ...with pictures of course.
I think this could be a good bondoing experince ~ your father could have an insight to your travels and the person you are!
The way he warmed up when u told him you were with your cousin,that same warmth could come across in your book 4 him.
It does my heart good to know people like u abd your husband exsist in the world.
Class act n full of Style.

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I just got caught up.This is by far the BEST trip report-IMO!!!~~IRIE!!!!Gave me chills at the end reading.~Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Yay Daisy--more of your incredible story, and of course as always, it melted my heart. The family connections, stunning photos of the land I love, and just the amazing good karma and destiny playing out is just over-the-top amazing. I should know better by now and not read your reports in public as I always cry like a baby. The family stuff just really hits home.

That Villa was out of this world gorgeous. I can't imagine staying in a spot like that even for one night. So cool your family put you and Marcus up there. Breath-taking views. And your breakfast at the hotel is my favorite breakfast dish.

A million thanks for your continued sharing. I know I have said it before as have other boardies, but this is such great book material.

I always find my eyes welling up with tears every time I read your reports. Thank you so much for bring all of us along on this amazing journey with you. And what an incredible blessing that you were able to talk to your father on that car ride, possibly change your future relationship with him, and become the inspiration for his journey back to Jamaica and family again.

Killer update and now I know why you were late to the flop. I'm with Eden, while it was great having you and glass breaking in the pool guy there, Bluefield is so beautiful that I have to get down there and spend some time. Brasi has warmed up to Belmont and if I had to guess it's the people and complete lack of hassle. I hope you take some time off when you get home to relax from your vacation..........

Oh man Daisy that is so awesome how it came to be that your Dad is coming down, I am so happy for you! And I have been looking at the Bluefields/Belmont area for a while now and plan on definitely spending a day down there myself next month, it looks lovely! And you have the best family! :D