Church Corner - I carry a face rag or some kind of bag/pack that I can flash/swing with the hand nearest the traffic lane, it puts a few more inches 'out there' for drivers to notice.
The little cactus at his feet needs a name too!
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Church Corner - I carry a face rag or some kind of bag/pack that I can flash/swing with the hand nearest the traffic lane, it puts a few more inches 'out there' for drivers to notice.
The little cactus at his feet needs a name too!
I usually cross the street to the other side..just for this (deadman ) stretch...Usually I walk facing the traffic
We went for a long walk today from our place in Redground out to Rick’s Cafe. Being Sunday morning, we figured we would take advantage of the lighter traffic and check out the West End.
On the way down Hermitage Road we met some kids, a girl and a boy, walking down the street. They were about five and eight years old. The young boy looked up and me and said, “Yuh goa beage?”
The way he said it, I thought he was asking me something about ‘garbage’. “Pardon,” I said. “Yuh goa beage?” he repeated. Then his older sister asked us, “Are you going to the beach?”
They were both dressed in swimming suits and were quite excited to be going down to the beach. I thought it was a little odd that they were so keen, but then realized that they probably didn’t get down to the beach that often.
Tomorrow they will be returning to school after their three week Christmas break.
We walked the West End Road, which was scary. On the way we stopped in at Three Dives to admire the seascape there. Breathtaking! At Rick’s we waited in the shade of the wall there for a taxi.
“OK, I won’t have to do that again for the next ten years,” Bea said.
I agreed with her – it wasn’t a relaxing stroll.
We’ve befriended a tall, pretty, young Jamaican woman, Tanya, who lives close to us. (No, this is not the beginning of a kinky episode; sorry . . . at least I don’t think it is).
Tanya lives with her boyfriend who works the over-night shift at a place on the beach. He leaves at 7:00pm and comes home at 7:30am and sleeps most of the day. Tanya is currently unemployed but is looking for work. Consequently she has a lot of time on her hands and is therefore, in her own words, “So BORED!” In fact, she is so bored that she often comes over and visits with us in the evenings.
Bea and Tanya have hit it off, which is surprising considering the age and cultural gaps that separate them.
Tanya is confident, outspoken, expresses her opinion readily and is always about ½ second from breaking out in a laugh. She has a vivacious smile.
One evening Tanya was over and she spotted Bea’s computer sitting on the breakfast bar. She asked if she could use it. Bea said yes and Tanya logged into her Facebook account. Tanya has over 2,000 friends. There are only 5,000 people living in Negril.
She proudly showed us one of the 400-odd photos she has on FB. It was a photo of herself and one of her friends when they were recently at a ‘pool’ party. Some portable hot tubs had been brought into the venue and the girls were encouraged to get wet. The photos showed her and her friend in the hot tub, smiling and hoisting cocktails. They were clad in skimpy bikini bottoms and clingy wet, cut-off t-shirts. I assume this must be normal party behaviour for young Jamaican women. I am generally interested in photography so I examined the photos with interest.
Tanya panned through more of her Facebook photos, including one of another girlfriend of hers, posing with her partner, another woman who looked somewhat like a young boy. Given the attitude that many Jamaican’s have regarding gay men, I asked, “What do Jamaicans think of lesbians?”
Tanya shrugged, “We doan care,” she replied.
At that point Tanya’s cell rang. She looked at the display, “It’s my boyfriend,” she smiled and answered the call. Her smile disappeared immediately. What followed was a four minute conversation that was almost entirely incomprehensible to me. She was clearly exasperated and trying to explain something. One of the phrases that I did catch, that was repeated several times, was, “. . . but it was only a pool party!”
Soon she was off the phone. She explained that, coincidentally, her boyfriend had just checked her Facebook page and had seen the sexy photos of her posing and drinking in the hot tub. “Him vexed at me,” she said.
Attachment 32548
Margaritaville has some new toys
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Regarding walking the West End road, you probably already know this but, at a certain time of day, when the sun is it a certain spot, it makes it extremely difficult for the drivers to see. Be careful!
lol smelly but tingly...lolQuote:
Originally Posted by booger
They Call him HAPPI CACTI.... or just cactus erectusQuote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
OK Justchuck - glad you liked the King Gizzadas!!
We just got back from our own likkle pub crawl in the lower west end - hit four places, had a nice evening, took Tanya with us, - will post update and photos tomorrow . .. Love the Sky Bar!
Pretty evening in Negril, cool, light breeze - all is good.
Got some great photos to share
.. . .. . we got so much t'ings to say . . . .
Likkle more . . .
K3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
Man, that right there is my favorite part of Negril. Floating along from bar to bar, slapping some stones, listening to some roots reggae with a bit of dancehall thrown in. I have Mexico booked for my 20th, and I'm struggling to to make the switch. Food for me in Mexico is much better, vibe in Negril is the real deal....... Alright, no one tell Pooper, I'm making the switch......
Can't wait to try out this vibe. I go to Puerto Vallarta every year ( am going with girlfriends at the end of
March). I love it in old town. I have a number of locals I've become friends with and it adds to the charm. Too many people go to All Inclusive's and have no idea what a country is like...I always ask when people tell me what they loved about a place and usually it's just comments about a resort...if you don't get your feet wet and leave the resort you could be any in country really... Gonna get my feet wet in Negril :cool:
Mr. Prickely Dickely
Damn it Booger.... don't put this pressure on me again... don't want to ruin it :)Quote:
Originally Posted by booger
So last nite we went on a little pub crawl. This is better told in pictures, rather than words, so here we go
Starting out at the German bar - One German, one Jamaican
Attachment 32579
An ambush hair braider!!
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This little guy was so sweet 2 1/2 months!!
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Funniest line of the night was when the five year old in this photo pointed to the little baby boy and said, "Me him aunt!"
Attachment 32582
Some babes at the Sky Bar
Attachment 32583
Nice place for a drink in the evening.
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A pool table bar was our last stop - it was a fun night!
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Not sure that little guy could get much cuter! Awesome photos! :)
I must say.... Nice work on the dates for the evening sir!
How do you manage to behave when you're hanging with two hot chicks? Oh, pardon me, maybe you didn't behave :-)
The Sky Bar looks pretty cool. Where on the west end is it located?
Sky Bar is the (old) Tenby's. Right next to Sandra's....a couple lots up from Chicken lavish. Great pics K3!! Can't figure out the last bar w/ the pool table?
Hi KimQuote:
Originally Posted by Kimbobwee
The pool table bar doesn't have a name, it's run by Debbie and is on Hermitage Road near the corner, just a little beyond the church and across the road and down a little track. A lot of sharks in there!
I know Flip - I'm a fortunate old dude. :) I've been married/with Bea (the blonde) for 23 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Flipadelphia26
That bar is called...Palm Court.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
Not sure if that will help...can't remember actually seeing a sign..:)
Thanks for all the updates K3! This is really great... although I am nervous for your move to the beach. White Sands is my favorite place, so while I am looking forward to your reports from there in February, I am also sure the reports and photos will make my wait to return even more painful :)
Looks like a fun night all the way around :)
I will give you two a shout if I see you next week.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahuna3
It's night and I was just out in the yard looking out over the bay. At the far end I saw the lights of Point Village and Hedo. That's where I stayed on my first visit to Negril in 1976. Except PV wasn't there and Hedo was called Negril Beach Village - or something like that.
Anyhow, I was wondering what that guy (the young me) would have said if someone had pointed at the far end of the bay and told him that he ('the-older-him') would be up on a hill at the other end of the beach looking back this way in 2014. I probably would have laughed and grabbed another beer.
I gazed out over water for a couple of moments and felt the vast chasm of time that separated me and that young guy.
Just some photos today . . . lazy or my groove grabbed me, dunno.
More tomorrow . .
This is the latest in Jamaican lighting pendants. Maybe get a few to put up over you kitchen island? There're cheap.
Attachment 32704
You can actually eat sea-puss? Really? Those sluggy things?
Attachment 32705
Don't really know what appeals to me in the photo, but something does. Ladies, it's a guy thing.
Attachment 32706
That time thing is pretty deep.
Quote: Anyhow, I was wondering what that guy (the young me) would have said if someone had pointed at the far end of the bay and told him that he ('the-older-him') would be up on a hill at the other end of the beach looking back this way in 2014. I probably would have laughed and grabbed another beer. Quote
Or maybe you would have laughed, grabbed another beer and said "that would be cool" !
Before there was a Bourbon Beach, it was De Buss and it had a pit men's urinal in the middle of the dance area. It had a waist high wall for privacy but it still was weird peeing with people dancing two feet from you. Maybe it still is there, it's been some time for me for Negril.
Kahuna, are you thinking of a sea slug maybe? Sea Puss is octopus and if cooked right, turns really tender and makes a really wonderful soup. I had a Sea Puss milkshake once - went down sweet and smooth and creamy at first but about half way through it was no difficult hardship to realize that it would be my first and last one.
yes ma'am.... My driver loves seapuss soup and raved about Bigga's in Green Island.Quote:
Originally Posted by Olivia
Also called SeaCat
Is that the stand across from negril escape that has the sea-puss soup?? He only had fruit and such a month ago when I was there....great fresh squeezed OJ every morning, but no soup....I would have had that soup every day! They crank some heavy dancehall music at the place next to him, by the barber shop, most nights (Gerryg your friend Sheldon spins tunes there sometimes and is a pretty good DJ). You will get a kick out of the saying on the awning there Kahuna, check it out next time by there
I love octopus (sea puss) but I've never tasted any in Jamaica worth a sh!t. If someone wants to recommend a place, I'm in for trying it. EVERYONE I've tried was as tender as a Hankook tyre. I don't know if was cooked too long or not cooked enough but it wasn't very good. Good octopus is a treat.
Try Swordfish on of our Favorites. Always very tender. I think they beat the hell out of it (the sea puss)... Stewed down in coconut milk.
Ohh!! Sea puss is octopus - OK. I just couldn't imagine making a soup out of those slugs.
For all of you who are suffering up north, specially my friends in Winter Hell (Ottawa) who have to wear crampons on their boots to walk safely outside, I must tell you that the weather here is sunny, hot and lovely and your time soon-come.
The kids are back to school this week. I just saw a taxi bike going by with five on board; two smaller kids seated on the gas tank in front of the driver and two bigger kids seated behind him. All the kids were dressed in their prim uniforms and all were carrying their little backpacks with them. No helmets, of course.
More on Tanya . . .
She was sitting with us the other evening and suddenly she said, “Me ‘ave a question to aks you! When me watch de American shows on TV, why do de kids all ‘ave der own beds? Ev’ry time dey go to bed, der is only one kid in de bed!?” This was said very quickly, rat-ta-tat-tat. Her rate of speech goes up the more time she spends with us.
Turns out Tanya never had her own bed growing up, even as a teenager.
Down on the West End Road a car backfired loudly – twice. Immediately, Tanya’s expression changed from happy and smiling to one of concern and worry. She glanced at me, her eyebrows raised.
“I think it was a car,” I said.
“You sure?” she said, looking in the direction of the sound. It was then I noticed that her keychain, lying on the table, had a six-inch switchblade attached to it. Tanya had previously told us that she had spent most of her teenage years growing up in Kingston.
Tanya’s boyfriend was working on New Year’s Eve. But that wasn’t going to stop her from going out and ringing in the New Year. When we asked her what her plans were, she told us she was going to get dressed up, then walk with one of her girlfriend’s down to her boyfriend’s workplace, give him a kiss and then head back into center town and hang out there. At the moment she’d had her hair up in a kerchief and was wearing a ragged Hollister top and some old flannel shorts.
We saw here before she headed out, and did she ever dress up! Tanya is tall and slim; she wore a tight short dress that showed lots of leg and generous cleavage. Her hair was all gussied up and her makeup was done to a T. To finish it off she wore a pair of seven inch, glittery pumps. Given her boyfriend’s reaction to the Facebook hot-tub photos, Bea and I weren’t so sure it would be a good idea for her to go and visit her man, the way she was dressed, and all.
Later on New Year’s Day we found that her visit hadn’t gone as planned. Tanya came and got Bea and they had a long woman to woman discussion. Tanya said she was moving out. Her NYE outfit did not solicit the expected response, in fact, quite the opposite. The drama drew out for the whole day. Tanya spent a lot of time at our place, she was on and off the phone a lot. She said she’d had a big bumba argument with her beau, but she didn’t really remember what was said.
However, today, she’s still around and as happy as ever.
Winner's plaza - where the bike taxis hang out in the morning.
Attachment 32712
So if I drink a lot of Red Stripe I'll develop a 21 inch waist? Is that what this ad is trying to tell me?
Attachment 32713
Some shacks on the road across from White Hall Plaza.
Attachment 32714
Obviusly, they eat the slime from the coconut and drink magnum.Quote:
Originally Posted by booger
[KahunaRant]
Those Damn Motor Bikes (!! Venting Alert !!)
The motor bikes here are relentless. If I was a Tweeter I’d tag this #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!!
You may remember, in a previous rant, that I said that my biggest beef about Negril was the #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!! Well that feeling has hardened. The #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!! roar up and down the roads here all day long and most of the night.
Don’t get me wrong; I like motorcycles just as much as the next gearhead. I’ve owned a few myself. And, at least once per trip, I’ll rent a bike and go for a ride in the country.
But the #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!! riders here, are a big problem. This is a list of some of the behaviors I witness virtually every day:
- speeding (like two to three times the speed limit)
- reckless driving, (weaving all over the road for no apparent reason)
- failing to stop at a stop sign (they just beep and ride through the stop guards at Grand Pineapple)
- unsafe overloading of a vehicle – I’ve seen up to six people on one bike. Really, six.
- improper passing – inside, outside, and on blind corners
- riding while drinking a box drink/Guinness with the other hand
- riding while talking on a cell phone
- riding while texting (seriously)
- operating a motorcycle while impaired ( how do I know? ummm, just maybe?)
- operating a motorcycle while stoned
- driving on the wrong side of the road
- operating a motorcycle on a pedestrian sidewalk
- operating a vehicle that creates excessive noise
- riding a motorcycle without a helmet (OK, not against the law and maybe good for the Darwinian principle, so forget that one)
- DWI (driving while an idiot)
There’s a bike taxi guy who runs around up here; this must be his area. The other day he dropped a guy off just down the street from where we were walking. He turned the damn bike around to return in the direction from which he had come. He gunned the bike and popped a wheelie, then, as he passed us, he made his damn bike backfire three or four times. Rude bwoy, rude.
One good thing about the torrential rains we get occasionally; it keeps the #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!! off the road for a while.
[/KahunaRant]
Bike taxi dudes, lounging in front of the 'No Bike Taxi Parking' sign.
Attachment 32731
Attachment 32730
Rude bwoy.....rude bwoy!!!!....lol..agreed! No bikes on the beach....pavements a different story. Don't tell me, You still not digg'n the house on the hill? How many x's do u get awaken in the evening in your blissful sleep? Maybe we should travel one day.?
Actually enjoying this place and really like the neighbourhood. No problems sleeping here, close the windows at night and sleep 'til sunrise. Walking the roads around here (anywhere) is another story entirely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kimbobwee
Sorry for the rant but why does a 125cc motorbike have to make as much noise as a 600hp desert racing machine??
The bikes are the worst we ever heard this year.We stayed at Catcha Falling Star in Pisces and we do not go to bed until very late night/early morning.Every night I was woke up by bikes going by and backfiring like crazy.We never heard so much noise as we heard this year!
I will chime in here too. Stayed at Coco La Palm in Nov/Dec in a room by the road. Lots of nights there was no sleep because of the bikes racing up and down the road in the middle of the night. Where are the cops????