Jamaica T-Shirt Trip Report

I am certainly not as eloquent as my husband, Monty, but I thought I would give this a try. Before I get into the actual trip report, let me start with this…

Thank you SO much to those who have contributed and received a t-shirt or donated to the St. Anthony’s Soup Kitchen. These contributions and donations have really made a huge impact on the owners of the participating businesses, as well as all of those served through the soup kitchen! Monty and I were blessed to be able to meet Fr. Jim and everyone listed with the exception of Whoopees, which is temporarily closed.

***On a side note, according to Father Jim, the St Anthony’s Soup Kitchen is serving around 400 meals a day by a paid staff of 7 (which means they are providing jobs in a place with such high unemployment). For approximately $20 US, they can supply 4 meals, just FYI. Also, we plan to keep the NegrilStore.com open for t-shirt purchases through the end of July. We must have at least 25 purchases in order to have them printed. If you or anyone you know wants to buy a shirt, please do so soon.

We saw tears of happiness and smiles like we’ve never seen before. Just seeing people wearing the shirt was so exciting to them. We have never been more proud to wear a t-shirt, THAT t-shirt! We heard stories about how they weren’t sure how they would pay the rent…that JPS was just there and was planning to cut the current if a payment wasn’t made…same with the water company. So, THANK YOU, from the bottom of our hearts and more importantly these Jamaicans’ hearts!!

We were too excited and forgot to take pictures at each place, but here are a couple!

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Now, on to the beginning of the trip report…On Friday, June 11th, we started our morning early (like 3:00AM early), getting up and heading to the airport. For the most part, the trip was uneventful until just prior to landing. The pilot came on and said we were going to have to circle over the island for a while. Apparently, a storm had just passed through and was delaying the planes from landing. 2 planes had just landed, which left 3 planes still circling. We were third in line to land. This is when your first thought is…the line to immigration is going to be insane. However, quite to the contrary, MBJ did an excellent job getting everyone through. As a matter of fact, we made it through and out the local exit to meet our friend/driver in just 50 minutes.

The ride to Negril was wet…lots of rain and some flooding of the roads, but Bryan got us to our second home, Rondel Village, safely…just in time to change clothes and get to happy hour at 5:00. We hung out there with Delroy and the crew, then headed to Chicken Lavish for dinner and to see Doc. Dinner was excellent as usual. We always have the same meal on arrival day, Sweet and Sour Chicken for me and Curried Goat for Monty. We managed to stop briefly and Bar Negril when we saw that Rob and Lisa there and said hi to Kayla, then back to Rondel. Delroy was still tending bar so we had one more drink…then off to bed around 9:00 exhausted but happy!! I'll post more later!!

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Saturday began like most of our days...Monty leaves around 6AM for his 6 mile walk, to Sandals and back, and I sleep until 7:30ish. We head to breakfast then hopefully, on the beach by 10:00. Rondel added a wonderful breakfast sandwich that I have been asking for...toasted bread, eggs, bacon, tomato and lettuce (if they have them). Delicious! We always sit at the bar at Rondel, instead of the restaurant, so we can be closer to the sea. Here is the view from the bar...Not bad at all!!
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It is so quiet on the beach…too quiet. We still have our regular visits from the vendors. It seems as if there are more fruit vendors than ever before. They were all very nice and seemed to take “No” for an answer better than our last trip. I wish we had won the lottery though. I would try to buy something from everyone! After reading under our favorite almond tree for a while, it was time for a swim…or should I say float. It was really humid, which is to be expected this time of the year, but the water temperature was perfect!
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Soon, it was time for a visit to Tony’s Hut. I really think Tony’s Hut and Sunnyside should have a competition to see whose beer is the coldest. It would be a very tight race!
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We headed up to Sunnyside later to see Maureen but she wasn’t there. Robert was holding down the fort and providing the ice-cold beers. Our typical day is breakfast, beach, beach walk (to include Red Stripes) then dry off and head to Red Ground to Red Dragon and the amazing Collette! Today was no different!

Today was, also, Hope for Hunger delivery day! If you haven’t checked them out, you should. They have been accepting donations and making deliveries all through this Pandemic. For $20US, you can donate a bag of food to someone you know or just whomever needs it the most. Here is the picture of everything included in the bag…it’s quite a bit of food!!
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Dinner this night was Kenny’s Italian. I know there are varying opinions about this place but we have always had a good meal. Service is iffy, but we enjoy the atmosphere. My biggest problem with Kenny’s is…Serve me a COLD Red Stripe. It’s doesn’t really cost any extra to make it cold. Sorry, I just had to say that! Back to Rondel and off to bed!

After seeing all those smiling faces I was inclined to push the button and made a tee shirt order this morning. I also made a donation to Father Jim to help with his efforts and I challenge all of my Canadian friends to do so now. My only beef is with Rob....Rob, is that a Motts Clamato Cesar tee shirt you are wearing. Being a person of American heritage, that's almost an offence punishable by "keel hauling". A Clamato Cesar is what makes us Canadian. I suppose we could swear you in as an "honorary Canadian", Lisa being from Winnipeg and all.

Great Pics! Looking at them, it seems like there's not alot of depth to the beach!

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Originally Posted by ukran1ans

Great Pics! Looking at them, it seems like there's not alot of depth to the beach!

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It must be the photographer (me) then because the beach was really deep this trip!

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Originally Posted by brownsd54

After seeing all those smiling faces I was inclined to push the button and made a tee shirt order this morning. I also made a donation to Father Jim to help with his efforts and I challenge all of my Canadian friends to do so now. My only beef is with Rob....Rob, is that a Motts Clamato Cesar tee shirt you are wearing. Being a person of American heritage, that's almost an offence punishable by "keel hauling". A Clamato Cesar is what makes us Canadian. I suppose we could swear you in as an "honorary Canadian", Lisa being from Winnipeg and all.

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That's amazing! Thanks so much! We are needing to get to 25 shirts by the end of July so we can place an order.

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Originally Posted by Monty&Melo

Saturday began like most of our days...Monty leaves around 6AM for his 6 mile walk, to Sandals and back, and I sleep until 7:30ish. We head to breakfast then hopefully, on the beach by 10:00. Rondel added a wonderful breakfast sandwich that I have been asking for...toasted bread, eggs, bacon, tomato and lettuce (if they have them). Delicious! We always sit at the bar at Rondel, instead of the restaurant, so we can be closer to the sea. Here is the view from the bar...Not bad at all!!
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It is so quiet on the beach…too quiet. We still have our regular visits from the vendors. It seems as if there are more fruit vendors than ever before. They were all very nice and seemed to take “No” for an answer better than our last trip. I wish we had won the lottery though. I would try to buy something from everyone! After reading under our favorite almond tree for a while, it was time for a swim…or should I say float. It was really humid, which is to be expected this time of the year, but the water temperature was perfect!
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Soon, it was time for a visit to Tony’s Hut. I really think Tony’s Hut and Sunnyside should have a competition to see whose beer is the coldest. It would be a very tight race!
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We headed up to Sunnyside later to see Maureen but she wasn’t there. Robert was holding down the fort and providing the ice-cold beers. Our typical day is breakfast, beach, beach walk (to include Red Stripes) then dry off and head to Red Ground to Red Dragon and the amazing Collette! Today was no different!

Today was, also, Hope for Hunger delivery day! If you haven’t checked them out, you should. They have been accepting donations and making deliveries all through this Pandemic. For $20US, you can donate a bag of food to someone you know or just whomever needs it the most. Here is the picture of everything included in the bag…it’s quite a bit of food!!
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Dinner this night was Kenny’s Italian. I know there are varying opinions about this place but we have always had a good meal. Service is iffy, but we enjoy the atmosphere. My biggest problem with Kenny’s is…Serve me a COLD Red Stripe. It’s doesn’t really cost any extra to make it cold. Sorry, I just had to say that! Back to Rondel and off to bed!

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We would love to donate to the Hunger drive. Can someone please direct me? Love your report! Sounds a lot like our trips! We'll be there in November. So looking forward to seeing everyone! Enjoy your vacation!!!

M&M,
Please check for a private message from me. Thanks

Excellent trip report, loving it!!

Sunday started the same as Saturday. Due to the early curfew at 2:00, we decided this would be a NSD (No Shoe Day) and we spent the entire day on the beach! I can honestly say…there is something really relaxing about not having to go anywhere. We hit the local spots, Tony’s (with bartender Julie) and Sunnyside (with Robert...one day we will see Maureen but it gives us a reason to keep visiting), enjoyed walking the beach and I can’t forget watching this guy lifting weights on the beach. I wish I had gotten my phone out of my bag quicker. If you zoom in, you will see that he made a weight set out of a tree and cinder blocks. It was crazy watching him lift this for his routine. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get the picture taken faster.
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We enjoyed happy hour at Rondel with Delroy. It’s great to see him in action, smiling, singing and slinging drinks!! For dinner, we decided to have the Jerk Chicken Pizza and the Spring Rolls. Both were delicious! We stayed at the bar with him until the last person left then we said goodnight.

Started Monday the same as Sunday. (See a pattern here?) We left around 1:30 to meet Rob and Lisa at Red Dragon. After a couple cold beers and a visit with Osheba, we headed out to meet the business owners listed on the back of the t-shirt. First stop was Just Natural, followed by Sips and Bites. Monty and I had never been to these places before. Wow! Just Natural has the most beautiful rustic scenery and Sips and Bites has an amazing view of the sea. They were so excited, just to see us wearing our shirts…when they found out they were receiving more contributions, they got tears in their eyes and huge smiles on their faces!! They asked that we pass along their Thanks! We can’t wait to go back when we have more time, but we still had more stops to make.

Next stop was Natural Mystic…time to get a cold Red Stripe from Susan! We love this little bar and the view out back is extraordinary! After visiting with Susan and enjoying our beers, we headed over to Sandra’s Place. Obviously, she has an outstanding view as well. Susan and Sandra were just as happy to see our shirts and totally surprised by the additional contribution money. We received hugs from all and as I mentioned at the beginning, I couldn’t be more proud to have helped in some small way!

We left Rob and Lisa and headed back to Rondel for a little while before going to dinner. It was one of those, “I’m just going to lay here on the bed for a bit” moments that ended with Security knocking on our door to wake us up. Apparently, Bryan came to pick us up and we weren’t waiting for him outside so he called our J-phone but the ringer wasn’t working. I guess that’s what happens when you have more than one beer at each location. Oops!! Anyway, once we woke up enough to get to the front, Bryan shuttled us off to Chicken Lavish for dinner. We always go see Doc at least twice during our visit. This time I opted for the Fried Chicken which never disappoints! Monty can’t get enough of his Curry Goat! Sufficiently stuffed we left for Rondel.

Geez...I'm here in Negril and part of your trip report...BUT...I still get excited reading it & seeing what everyone gets into...more please!!! 😆

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Originally Posted by Monty&Melo

Started Monday the same as Sunday. (See a pattern here?) We left around 1:30 to meet Rob and Lisa at Red Dragon. After a couple cold beers and a visit with Osheba, we headed out to meet the business owners listed on the back of the t-shirt. First stop was Just Natural, followed by Sips and Bites. Monty and I had never been to these places before. Wow! Just Natural has the most beautiful rustic scenery and Sips and Bites has an amazing view of the sea. They were so excited, just to see us wearing our shirts…when they found out they were receiving more contributions, they got tears in their eyes and huge smiles on their faces!! They asked that we pass along their Thanks! We can’t wait to go back when we have more time, but we still had more stops to make.

Next stop was Natural Mystic…time to get a cold Red Stripe from Susan! We love this little bar and the view out back is extraordinary! After visiting with Susan and enjoying our beers, we headed over to Sandra’s Place. Obviously, she has an outstanding view as well. Susan and Sandra were just as happy to see our shirts and totally surprised by the additional contribution money. We received hugs from all and as I mentioned at the beginning, I couldn’t be more proud to have helped in some small way!

We left Rob and Lisa and headed back to Rondel for a little while before going to dinner. It was one of those, “I’m just going to lay here on the bed for a bit” moments that ended with Security knocking on our door to wake us up. Apparently, Bryan came to pick us up and we weren’t waiting for him outside so he called our J-phone but the ringer wasn’t working. I guess that’s what happens when you have more than one beer at each location. Oops!! Anyway, once we woke up enough to get to the front, Bryan shuttled us off to Chicken Lavish for dinner. We always go see Doc at least twice during our visit. This time I opted for the Fried Chicken which never disappoints! Monty can’t get enough of his Curry Goat! Sufficiently stuffed we left for Rondel.

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No, that's what happens when you meet up with Rob & Lisa!!! :biggrin-new:

At least that's always my experience...

Tuesday is pretty much a duplicate of our usual. Monty walked the beach, we had breakfast, had beach time and visited Tony’s Hut and Julie. We left the beach a little early this day so we could have lunch at Sandra’s Place. I can’t even begin to tell you all how delicious it was…OMG!! I had the fried chicken and mash with the most amazing gravy. Monty had curry conch and octopus. He cleaned his plate as well. Next trip will definitely include a lunch trip to see Sandra!! Later in the evening, my stomach wasn’t feeling well (too many Red Stripes) so I hung out on the balcony of our room reading my book. Monty stayed at the Rondel bar with Delroy then walked to Best of the West for Jerk Chicken. I must admit, when he came back to the room, it smelled wonderful! I ate one festival and some coco bread and was feeling much better.

After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to start Wednesday. The morning was the same but today we finally got to see Maureen at Sunnyside…yay!! She was caught off guard by the contribution we delivered to her and was absolutely thrilled. She told us that frequently, a day will go by with no visitors at all. It is crazy how empty the beach is right now. We have been to Jamaica several times during slow season…this is slower than slow!

After our visit, we changed clothes and headed out with Rob and Lisa. We had an exciting afternoon planned. First on our list this day was Connie’s Honky Tonk Pub and we were privileged to meet Connie and Sasha. Once again, like the other business owners, they were so excited to see us wearing our shirts. We enjoyed a couple cold Red Stripes and discussed the current situation in Jamaica. They are hurting like everyone else due to virtually no tourists. She confirmed that a number of businesses are having their current and water cut off and are facing the unknown as to how to pay their bills and rent with little to no money. They are forever grateful for the contributions to help ease their suffering for a bit. Needless to say, they were very excited to get more contribution money.

After saying goodbye, we headed to Miss Sonia’s. If I had to pick just one person who touched me the most, I would have to say Miss Sonia. While I got teary eyed at the other establishments, Miss Sonia totally made me cry. She was so appreciative and surprised. She’s just a total sweetheart!

Next on our list was Fr. Jim. We gave him the 3rd batch of donations for the St. Anthony’s Soup Kitchen. Let’s just say…this was a total pleasure. As soon as we arrived, we gave him the t-shirt he purchased (he was the first person to buy a shirt to show how much he supported this endeavor). He immediately went inside to put it on. We talked at great length about the tremendous need but also, the resiliency of the Jamaican people. Through all of our visits, everyone we met still had a smile on their face, love in their heart, were so welcoming and were working so hard to make it through all of this.

The last of the businesses to visit was Quality’s Sea Breeze. He was completely surprised by the money we delivered. He says he is truly blessed! Actually, we were the ones blessed to be able to deliver this money to everyone and see them in person. We can’t thank you all enough for all the purchases of shirts and donations to the Soup Kitchen. While we were at Quality’s, what else could we do but eat a delicious meal? Of course!!! Monty had a curried whole snapper, mash, veggies and fruit and I had the fried shrimp with the same sides! His food is always so fresh and amazing!
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It goes without saying that we went to bed very happy that evening!

week flies by so quickly while my work week moves at a snail’s pace.

Monty took his walk and I sat on the balcony reading a book. We got ready and headed to breakfast. We are quite boring…I think all week we have eaten the exact same thing, breakfast sandwich for me and ackee and saltfish for Monty. We enjoyed our beach time under our favorite almond tree and swimming in the sea. The weather we had this week was wonderful. Thank goodness we missed the previous two weeks of solid rain.

We made our regular stops to Tony’s and Sunnyside, then walked down to Firefly to meet Rob and Lisa for happy hour. The beers were cold, and the company was great!! We ended up having to leave in a hurry though, so we could get back to Rondel for our Covid test for our return to reality. Rondel scheduled to have them come to the hotel lobby for the tests so we didn’t have to go anywhere else. This made it so much more convenient…and they even picked up the fee. Just one more reason to love Rondel!

We decided to get cleaned up for dinner and headed out early enough to make a pre-dinner stop to see Collette. After our visit, we went to one of our long-time favorites…Catcha! At least once every trip, we go to Catcha for dinner…starting with a cocktail at the bar. Monty usually gets the Category 5 Hurricane and this night was no exception. I tried the Hawaiian Sea Breeze which was delicious.

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We started with Firecracker Shrimp for the appetizer and…Wow! It was terrific! For dinner, we had the Jerk Chicken Pasta…another amazing dish. The view was as spectacular as the food. I could sit there all night and just stare out at the sea, moon and stars!! Back at Rondel, we paid a visit to Delroy at the bar. One of the good things about curfew was that we ate dinner earlier which allowed time to get back before the bar closed.

Friday, our last full day on the beach was filled with more of the same. This was another NSD (no shoe day) since we weren’t leaving the beach! I get terrible sand gravity in Negril…at least once per trip, I need a full day with only the beach! Friday, also, happens to be one of Rondel’s happy hour days (Friday, Sunday and Wednesday) ... 2 for 1 drinks and discounts on food. For those of you who know Delroy, you know how much fun it is watching him in his element! He gets so excited and happy to be serving everyone. If you don’t know Delroy…do yourself a big favor and show up for happy hour. His drinks are fabulous, and he is famous for his Delroy Special.

We had dinner at Rondel with special friends to celebrate a birthday and the food and company couldn’t have been better. In typical fashion, it was back to the bar after dinner. Saying goodbye to Delroy is always tough, but at the end of the night we said good night and headed for bed with a tear in my eye.

Saturday, we had Bryan pick us up around 10:45 but since we had a later flight we had the chance to make pit stops. First stop was Red Dragon. I’ve never been there so early that it wasn’t even open yet. Gardo was inside setting up so he let us in. This was our first real chance to talk with Gardo. He usually leaves before we show up for the day. Rob and Lisa met us there. The four of us had a discussion about whether it was too early to start drinking or not. It was decided that it’s never too early! We were lucky and got to see Osheba before we moved on.

Collette’s was our next stop. We, obviously, had to enjoy beverages there as well. Wink, wink!! After spending about an hour, the time had come for us to leave. This is so hard to do…you would think it would get easier every time, but I think it only gets worse. Business was so slow at Collette’s, that she and her daughter decided to ride with us to the airport just for something to do. It was so sweet to have that extra time with her before we had to leave.