First trip to Negril - Travel Report : Coco La Palm - DAY 5

Okay, it's been two months since we've returned from our first trip to Negril and we're still not finished with this trip report.

I realize I'm going to have to pick up the pace here before I begin forgetting what happened.

So finally here we go..

Day 5

(If you missed the first four days, you can find those entries here: http://negril.com/forum/blog.php?127-Clarity )

I woke up at 10:30 AM.

I sat up in bed and The events of the previous night came back to me... The live band at The English Rose, Dancing at Alfreds.. We didn't retire until 4 AM and now my head was pounding. It had been such a fun night..

Markus was still curled up in the sheets sleeping deeply. This bed was the largest and most comfortable bed we'd ever slept in. We were surrounded by sheer curtains hanging from the canopy and they were swaying softly from the breeze coming from the overhead fan. Sunlight filtered in from the big balcony doors of the Honeymoon suite.. it was like waking up in a caribbean dream. I had to pinch myself.

I pushed aside the sheer curtains and climbed out of bed. I opened up the balcony doors

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and stepped out into the morning light.

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the weather was beautiful.. warm and perfect. I could hear the sound of the gentle waves and birds chirping in the trees. I gazed at the blue clear ocean water glistening in the distance past the lush trees. I'd never been in a hotel room with a view of the ocean before. This was really something special.

I went back into the room and started making some fresh blue mountain blend coffee. Markus shifted awake in the sheets and then sat up with a huge smile on his face. I could see how much five days in Jamaica had changed his appearance. His skin bronzed from the sun, his hair all wild and his face entirely relaxed.

We had coffee together on the balcony while Markus pointed out the birds from his book. There were even more birds here in the trees at Coco La Palm than at Grand Pineapple. Different species that we'd never seen in person before.

After coffee we decided to take advantage of the perfect weather and hit the beach right away.

We passed by the bar/restaurant area

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and the volleyball court

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The beach at Coco La Palm is massive compared to the ones I've seen in front of other hotels. It grandly stretched out before us with plenty of loungers to choose from.

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We found the perfect spot close to the water and I requested a floatie from the Coco Beach barn. (next to the lunch grill). I happily carried my pink floatie into the water with me and proceed to just float aimlessly, bobbing gently in the calm waves.

Markus swam up to me with his snorkel and mask. "Come on in the water with me.. lets swim together"

So I put on my snorkel too and we held hands swimming through the clear waters together. There isn't much to see this close to the shore, but I can't describe how relaxing this is... just weaving through the warm water picking out shells from the sand and exploring. we discovered a group of little sargeant majors by the buoys, they were clustered around some coral attached to the ropes. There was also a spotted snail and little white fish with black tails darting around.

I branched off from Markus and began to swim with the little white fish, following them as they meandered around in a school together.. they were completely unphased by me joining their group. I was fascinated with how they traveled and where they were going. They were around on all sides and bumping into my legs.

Now when I'm feeling down or stressed out I think back to that day swimming in the ocean with that school of fish, just lost in that moment of fascination mixed with utter contentment.

Eventually I climbed out of the water and dried off in the warm sun. I closed my eyes, and felt myself drifting off...

When I opened them, I noticed that Markus was washed up on the shore. He was in really shallow water with only his snorkel sticking up out of surface It was a funny sight. A little Jamaican boy around 4 years old was watching him from the shore. He tentatively stepped into the water and peered down at him curiously. He tapped his head with his pointer finger. When he didn't get a response, he stuck his ear to the end of Markus's snorkel.. which cut off his air supply. Markus sat up with a start and the boy jumped away laughing. They started playing together in the water. Markus showed him how to use the mask and see underwater.

We had an extra set of goggles, so I brought them over to the little boy.

"Here you can have these", I said.

"Thank you!" He excitedly slid it over his head and adjusted the goggles onto his eyes. He stuck his head in the water and swam off happily. He was so cute.

At this point we were starving, so we decided to get changed and grab a bite to eat.

We started feeling water droplets when we walked back towards the room. I looked up and saw dark clouds moving in rapidly overhead. The droplets turned into a massive downpour of rain and we broke into a run.

We met Maria on our way back into our suite. She had just finished housecleaning. The room was spotless and now there were little hibiscus flowers arranged on the perfectly made bed. It was such a sweet touch. We chatted with her for a while. She was so warm and filled with positive energy.

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The rain was still pouring down, so we pulled out the laptop, connected to the WIFI and checked the information for the Luciano Concert that night at the Seastar.

Our stomachs were growling, so we decided to venture out in search of food despite the rain. Everyone at Negril.com had mentioned "Best in the West" and said it was across the street from Coco La Palm. I figured that would be the perfect place to grab some lunch.

We ran across the street, ignoring the honking from taxi drivers and searched for this "Best in the West" restaurant. I was picturing a building with tables inside and a restroom, like "Jerky's" and I was surprised to see a tiny hut on the side of the road with a cooker generating a plume of smoke on the side.

We were drenched from the rain when we plopped down on the bar stools and met Eddie. We decided to just order one 1/4 Jerk chicken and an ice cold ting to share.

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The smells were deliciously intoxicating... we watched the cook flipping the chicken on the grill. Although the rain was still coming down heavy, we were warm and dry under the thatched roof.

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I have to say that this was hands down the best jerk chicken we have ever had. The meat just fell off the bone and the bread was so thick. It was perfect for sopping up and savoring the jerk sauce. Every bite was heavenly.

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"Best in the West" began to fill up.

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We met someone that told us about a wedding that would be coming up that afternoon at the Coco La Palm. "Yeah, My friend is getting married.. I'm one of the best men. This is my first time in Negril. I don't want to ever leave..."

"Neither do we.." This reminded me of the fact that we only had 2 days left in Jamaica. I quickly pushed the thought away. It was too sad to contemplate that our vacation would soon be coming to an end. I just savored the moment.

We ordered a dirty banana and continued chatting with the other patrons until the rain finally let up.

We said our goodbye's at that point and walked back to the Coco La Palm. We decided to explore the grounds a bit.

That was when Markus discovered the biggest bug I've ever seen in my life. I backed away quickly, but Markus knelt down to check it out.

And of course he picked up this monstrosity which caused goosebumps to shoot up my arms and I involuntarily shivered.

But I'll let Markus take it from here..

There was no denying it. The rain season had begun midway through our trip and showers were noticeably more frequent than in the first 3 days. I am not saying that to deter anyone from coming to Jamaica during late April. Quite the opposite.

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As I have mentioned before the reaction nature has to the change is absolutely astonishing. If part of the reason why you travel is to see new, rare and otherworldly wildlife; Jamaica is the place to go. A lot of the birds and insects found here can't be seen anywhere else, or at least only in a very few other places.

Even the pigeons are special. With their heads topped with little white caps and and their neck ringed with strange shimmering plates, they seem to be sprung from Avatars Pandora or some other far away Galaxy.

As we walked back through the coco la palm grounds, I saw the huge black underside of a beetle laying on the beach. I bend down and checked for signs of life, but he seemed to have passed on. I gently picked him up and yelled over to Daisy in excitement.

Me: “ Hey, look at this! Isn't he amazing!”.
Daisy: “Yuck! Put that down!”

We don't all appreciate the same phenomena.

Daisy: “You are not going to bring that back to the room, will you ?” she gave me a stern look.
Me: “Well, we have to document it.”
Daisy: “I don't think so!”

I stick my nose up in the air and do my best impression of a British Dr Livingston.
Me: “Did you know that from the estimated 1 to 100 Million species of beetle only about 300.000 are documented? We don't even know how many are out there. I mean 1 – 100 million, you caaaan't even call that an estimate. This is our duty, dear! You may fall back in line now!”

With that I marched firmly ahead, not allowing any further debate on the matter. Daisy followed with a disgusted look.

Inside I carefully place the beetle in a well lit area to take some pictures from all sides. Daisy busied herself with what ever she could do far away from the carcass.

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I later found out that this was unfortunately not one of the unknown species, but a already classified Jewel beetle called Chromeus Gigantea, non-the-less a rather rare species with much media attention. Among other things, he had had his own Magazine cover in the 90's with a picture very similar to this one. So there!

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When I was done photographing and Daisy needed a nap. I was just in the right mood to go exploring Nature around our honeymoon, extravaganza luxury suite.

The first thing one must notice are the beautiful plants all over the hotel grounds. My favorite is the travelers palm tree with its fan shaped leaves.

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As a kid I had read in a book about Magellan travels, how he had encountered this tree, while searching the shoreline of Central American for supplies for his arduous undertaking of finding a passage to the Pacific. Upon inspection it was found that the sheaths of the plant's leaves can hold enormous amounts of rainwater. One can drill a whole and hold a bucket beneath to collect perfect drinking water.

The description and a black and white picture, which I had found at our outdated local Library, fascinated me completely. Ever since I have stood in awe whenever I saw one, always imagining myself right inside the stories of the early gentlemen explorers like Magellan, Humboldt or Darwin.

Equally fascinating is the Breadfruit tree. As a kid the name just baffled me. I just could not imagine such a thing, a tree with a bread-like fruit. Impossible, yet there it is!

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I checked all the little hidden corners - discoveries everywhere, like air-breathing crabs.

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Even the omnipresent cats are a sight. Lean and muscular they roam the grounds like miniature tigers. Some of the kids had made friends with them I observed, but they don't give their trust easily.

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I squatted down in front of someone else s balcony holding my hand out, offering some imaginary food-stuff. After a few minutes mama-cat came close enough to touch. She sniffed my hand unsurly, then circled me twice. When I let her slender tail glide through my hand on the last pass, she let out an elongated open mouthed hiss, letting me know, this touchy-feely behavior was a little too risky, especially in front of her kids.

I let her go respectfully.

If you look closely every fence post every tree stem and branch is claimed by one of the many lizards.

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Not the size of a Mexican Iguana, they still proudly flash the colorful flap below their throat trying to make a memorable impression when observed.

On the fence to the neighboring hotel I found a lively flock of Banana-quits. Just like my bird-book had described they were busy piercing flowers with their curve shaped beaks. Unlike most nectar feeding animals they just don't play by the rules and avoid the whole getting-dusted-with-pollen and fertilizing business by cracking the petal vault from behind, sucking out the nectar without any benefit to the plant. So cute and yet so sneaky!

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I was getting hungry at this point. So I headed back to the hotel room

I'll hand this narrative back over to Daisy..

I woke up from my nap alone in the hotel room and was relieved to see that the huge creepy insect Markus had brought home was no longer there.

I got up and washed my face. A few minutes later, Markus came excitedly up the steps. “come I have some stuff to show you!”

We walked around Coco La Palm, and he pointed out all the wildlife and plantlife unique to Jamaica. I love that he sees the beauty in everything around him. He always notices the things that I sometimes overlook.. it makes me appreciate everything so much more.

The ¼ Jerk chicken wasn't enough to fill our stomachs, so we went to the Coco La Palm grill and ordered a jerk burger with fries.

I noticed that the little boy we met earlier was still swimming around in the water sporting his new goggles.

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When he saw us, he came over with another woman from the hotel.

“I think his father is at the For Real bar”, She said. “He's been hanging out with me and my boys all afternoon. He's such a sweetie, I don't know his name though. He wants to be called “Elephant”

She helped the little boy onto a stool next to us and left to get him some fruit from her hotel room.

Little “Elephant” gazed up at us with his big eyes “I like these”, he said pointing up at his goggles, still around his head.

We shared our french fries with him and he gobbled them up, laughing because his mouth was so full. He captured our hearts with his smile. He asked me to take pictures of him and then he wanted to see it on the digital camera screen. Then he'd ask me to do it again while he made a different funny expressions. We were all cracking up.

The wedding started and we watched from the sidelines in the distance with the other guests of the hotel. It was a touching ceremony. We observed the bride before walking down the aisle..surrounded by her bridemaids.. nervously adjusting her gown and wiping at her eyes. The groom had a look so filled with love when she approached him.

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It was particularly moving to watch because Markus and I were celebrating our 9 year wedding anniversary. It brought back memories of our own wedding day..

Afterwards we had a round of Dirty Banana's (2 for 1 happy hour CCLP) and then sat on the sand to watch another beautiful sunset.

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The security guard at CCLP offered to take our picture and we happily handed him our camera


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After the sunset, I looked at my watch and realized it was time to head over to the SeaStar to see Luciano live in concert...

I was really looking forward to seeing this show and I couldn't wait to catch a glimpse of the famous Rob and Lisa, perhaps meet a few of the other boardies that had helped us plan our trip.

To be continued..

This is so wonderful! I love your reports and all the adventures you were in. And i love the pictures ! You two are getting so TAN now..:) Only two days left..:(