Now look what you made me do!!!!

It's all your fault! Posting awesome trip reports, telling me about parties and great places to eat and drink. Giving insight into the people and the culture. Not being afraid to move out of your comfort zone........

After travelling to a lot of places in the Caribbean and Mexico we finally gave Jamaica a chance last November. We had always bypassed Jamaica in our travels due to in part to our ignorance of the actual state of affairs in the country related to safety and crime. We had a great trip and knew that we would be back. We stayed at SATP and ventured out a few times to places like Ivan’s, Coco La Palm and Office of Nature. We always felt safe and enjoyed interacting with the different people we encountered.

Now I think most you know what it is like when you getbitten by the Negril bug. Not the sand flea’s, of which I had about one hundred bites, but the bug that tells you that you must go back. I had to work on my wife a bit, she wanted to go back to SATP but I wanted to venture out a little further. Well, I pulled the trigger and we are heading back on March 24th for a week at Rooms On The Beach. I am laying most of the blame on this board and it's contributors :p

YES!!!
Good for you! We gladly take the blame!

Once you go, you know!
Have a blast!

Jamaica is one addiction I don't want to kick!

It's mostly Marley/Clarity/Rastagal's fault I'm going in April!

Poor me..........hahaha...I'm actually getting so close to leaving that I am beginning to feel thankful LOL

This board is full of positive peer pressure...:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brasi

It's mostly Marley/Clarity/Rastagal's fault I'm going in April!

Poor me..........hahaha...I'm actually getting so close to leaving that I am beginning to feel thankful LOL

This board is full of positive peer pressure...:)

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​Let's not forget the man love!!!!

Lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brasi

It's mostly Marley/Clarity/Rastagal's fault I'm going in April!

Poor me..........hahaha...I'm actually getting so close to leaving that I am beginning to feel thankful LOL

This board is full of positive peer pressure...:)

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That's just how it goes...my December trip was because of TicToc and all her talk about parties and such...I had the best time ever! The morning you wake up to head to the airport you will be thanking your lucky stars you decided to go :)

Booger...sorry bro...most def. true!

One of the main perpetrators actually!

My trip report counter is hilarious today, btw:
"1 month 4 weeks 1 day"

Gotta love leap year!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brasi

Booger...sorry bro...most def. true!

One of the main perpetrators actually!

My trip report counter is hilarious today, btw:
"1 month 4 weeks 1 day"

Gotta love leap year!

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That threw me for a loop too.. :D

Just back from Rooms on the Beach and had an awesome time. Since this was our first non A/I in Negril we kept track of our expenses so that we could see how it compares.

Day 1.

Up early for a 6.15 flight from Toronto to Mo Bay. My wife likes flying at this time but I would prefer to fly later. We flew with Thomas Cook and the check in was very fast and efficient even though they do not have self check in. The fight was delayed by about 25 minutes as on of the attendants lost her Government issued ID. She finally found it in one of the overhead bins.

Arrived in Mo Bay and were told we had to have one customs card per person, which we knew from November but crew on the insisted on one each, filled out the form and we were through customs in 15 minutes and our bags already off the belt and waiting for us. The customs line to the right has moved faster than the one on the left both both times we have been through the airport.

Stepped outside and Englebert (Joe Cool) was waiting for us with his sign. I will ramble on later about Englebert but he is is just a great person let alone a great driver. We stopped at the Mega Mart for some supplies and to use the Scotia ATM that is inside. What a great store. Security at the parking entrance so that you feel safe going in.

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My wife works for a pet food company so we had to find the dog food and take a picture.

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For 12 Red Stripe, 4 Dragon Stout, 2 Litres of pop, some fruit and snacks - $4881.81 JA - $58.18 CDN
4 bottles of wine - $5015.82 JA - $59.78. The wine was around the same price we would pay in Canada.

ATM - $20000.00 JA - $237.40 CDN.

Loading up and ready to go. Joe Cool with my wife.

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Englebert is a very good driver and we asked if he was really a Jamacian. He never used the horn once! He has worked his way up from a Security Guard when they were building Breezes to owing his own van and also a smaller vehicle that his wife Latoya drives. We were soon passing this sign.

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And arriving at our home for the next week.

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We were there early so we had to spent a few hours on the beach and that was fine as check in was stated for 3.00 PM. One of the nice things about the beach at Rooms is that you can sit behind the wall, or sit right on the beach. For those that don't want to be bothered by the higglers you can sit behind it. The beach is really nice at Rooms and there is lots of shade with no "towel games" needed.

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We soon visited Maureen at the Sunny Side for our first Red Stripe on the beach.

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Maureen is really sweet and a pleasure to talk to. Not the same vibe when she is not tending bar but we really enjoyed chatting with her throughout the week.

We finally got into our room around 3.45. Garden view with a balcony. Just two problems. See if you can spot them?

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No chance of switching that day but they promised to switch us on Sunday.

We spent the rest of the day on the beach and then headed in to get ready for to go to Sea Splash for the Saturday night show. This was one of our must do things and even though we had been up since 3.00 we went down to meet our pre arranged pick up of 6.35. When no one had shown up at 7.05 we walked across the street for some food at Sweet Spot.

Two fried chicken dinners, two red stripes - $1650.00 JA.

Good comfort food and too much for us to finish. We walked back to Rooms and there was a driver there that had just shown up to take us to Sea Splash but since we had eaten and it was about 7.40 we declined. We were disappointed but what can you do.

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We sat on one of the patios for a few hours taking in the sights and sounds and called it a night.

That is one BIG smile on your wife's face! :)

Love the report. Nice twist sharing prices...and costs!

So how much did u spend per day?

Same here. We had been traveling and thought of Jamaica, but believed the rumors we had heard like, "it's not safe to leave your resort, etc".

When we were in Akumal Beach, Mexico we ran into so many "Logo Gringo's" (travel forum) and they said their other favorite place was Jamaica. Hmm....that got me thinking and all I now is in June 2009 we went to Negril for the first time. Stayed in cottage #4 Xtabi. Went back to the same cottage only 2-1/2 months later in September. Stayed at Citronella January, 2010, Samsara April 2010, Banana Shout November 2010 and Catcha/Banana November 2011.

Hubby and I are venturing outside Negril this year and going to out islands of the Bahamas (Abaco's) for a bit of island hopping and then going back to the Bahamas later in Oct. I am sure after that, we will be back in Negril. You can only stay away so long.

Thanks for the report!

Our total cost for food and fun was $850.00 CDN for the week. This does not include transfers of $60.00 plus tip each way. We could have had free transfers with our package but the private transfer is the only way we will go.

All total for airfare, hotel, transfers, tips, food and drinks our cost was $353.00 per day.

Lots more to come but I should actually be working today!

Great report so far, I really like how you included the cost of your purchases! It's really informative!
I'm also enjoying the pictures. Awesome shot of Maureen at Sunnyside!:)
Looking forward to your next installment!

Thanks for the comments.

Clarity - I told Maureen someone could print this for her and bring it down.

Day 2

An early start to the day. Went for a walk past Breezes and to the end of the public beach. Lots to see and take in. Stopped a juice guy and had a great pineapple juice for $500 JA. Continental breakfast at Rooms is included and was pretty good. 3-4 pieces of toast, a slice of banana bread, muffin or danish, hardboiled egg or cereal, juice, water and coffee or tea.

We then went to church as we had enjoyed the service when we were down in November. A nice community feeling even though most of the people attending were tourists or ex pats. We spoke with a gentleman in front of us and he was being confirmed next week. He politely asked if we could give him a little something to put in the collection plate. I only had larger bills and did not want a poor guy to part with 2000 JA. After the service he approached me to apologize as he just wanted to give something. I passed him some money and told him that he could do with it what he wanted but that he should treat himself or his family to something on his confirmation.

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Back at the hotel we tried to change rooms. The new room overlooked the front desk and reeked of smoke. If you are non smokers you know that this smell will not leave the room in a few days. Back to the front desk to say that it was not acceptable. The poor guy at the front desk has no empowerment to something as simple as change the room, it is all set by Management who is not on site at all times. We told him that this was not an acceptable change and that we would stay in the current room for another day. We then strolled down to Alfred’s. We had a chicken salad sandwich with salad, an order of fries, 2 Red Stripe - $1050 JA. Sorry no pictures from here.

Patties on the beach as snack - $150 JA each for chicken patties. Some pork from B at $100J for a few pieces. Beers from Maureen at $150 JA and a couple on a snack trip from Myrna’s Convenience Store at $140 JA.

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Dinner was at Kuyaba. After eating too much during the day we decided to split a dinner and appetizer. Fried plantain for the appetizer, what a great way to eat this. Snapper with callilou, rice and peas was very nice. With 2 Red Stripes the cost was $2900.00 JA.

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Had some wine on the patio and then wandered down to Roots at 10.00. There was supposed to be a Reggae party but it did not materialize. We had a couple of drinks and then it was closing time. We can say that we closed Roots Bamboo! We don’t have to tell anyone that it was 10.30. We then went to the SunnySide for a couple of drinks.

I know that we could have bargained for better prices, especially from the beach vendors but I figure if you are spending a day walking the beach trying to make a legitimate living I can afford to pass on a couple of dollars here and there.

And now I have to leave this until tomorrow because I have learned from all of your epic reports, including but not limited to Guirigay, Clarity Hubbyman and Matkus, Brasi, Rum and PGW, that you have to leave them hanging.

Day 3 coming up was awesomness squared. It could not have been better. So you better come back tomorrow for more!

LOL....great cliff hanger! We will be here waiting!

Excellent report. Good details.

Quote:

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Clarity - I told Maureen someone could print this for her and bring it down.

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I'm on it!.:)
I’ll be in Negril end of this month!
Really looking forward to seeing Maureen and Robert again.

Love the cliff hanger! Lol - Now I’m Waiting to hear about the awesomeness squared that happens in Day 3.:D

Sorry for the build up. Day 3 was just another normal day! The really good day was not until Day 5.

Day 3

This was a sand gravity day. We bought sugar cane and coconut from a fruit vendor. $250 JA each. One of our fellow travellers was a former farm worker who settled in Ontario who was back for a visit and holiday with his girlfriend. He gave us a niece berry to try. If they could make all fruit taste like a honey candy I would eat it all the time. One of the locals called out a tourist for “preventing him the opportunity to hit on another tourist” that the guy was hanging with. He came up to the tourist, who was sitting on the wall eating his lunch, there was an exchange and all I caught was the local guy calling the tourist a bumba klot. At that point the tourist set down his lunch, took off his glasses and told the guy that he was ready, willing and able to fight him but that he had to throw the first punch so that he would not be charged. The local backed down, security was called, the Police were going to be called, and in the end the tourist said he did not want to proceed any further and even went back to the guy to make peace. He then came back to us to apologize for the situation. We told that no apology was needed and that it provided some entertainment for us.


At 3.00 my wife went to the front desk and our beleaguered front desk told us that our new room was ready. We had packed everything in the morning so we were ready to roll. My wife took a few things and they had sent someone to help us move. When I went back to the room the phone was ringing so I picked it up. “Mr. Hall I gave you the wrong room, the key you have is for oceanfront and it has been booked by someone else. I misread the number; you should have 2701 instead of 2901”. I was going to say that we have the keys so we will keep the room but I know that he had no control of the situation so I agreed to meet him to exchange keys. Our new room was on the second floor of another building and was exactly what we had requested.

Italian Cafe was the destination for dinner. What a great little spot. Don’t tell anyone but there is a quaint courtyard in the back that has some picnic tables and a large lounger with tables as well. We only discovered this after the front lot was pretty full. Bruschetta, cheese pizza, 2 glasses of wine was $1950 JA.

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Stopped at the Shamrock Grocery on the way home. This is a neat little store that is merchandised better than most stores in Canada. They even sell Voortman cookies from Burlington Ontario. 12 Red Stripe Light and 1 small Soursop $1950 JA – Same as dinner!

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On the way out two guys stop us to talk. We chat for a few minutes and the driver wants to show is the “Real Negril”. I gave then each a beer and we told them that we were going into the mountains in the morning to visit some schools with our driver. They were trying to get us to go to a school in Negril and we politely told them that we were booked and keep our word. “Besides you don’t have a red plate or JUTA stickers in your windshield”. We thanked them for their time and headed back to the hotel.

At 2.00 AM my wife asked if I was still glad we had switched rooms. The “BOOM BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM BOOM” coming from Roots Bamboo was bouncing off our walls! I turned up the air and we actually had a good night’s sleep. If you are staying at Rooms be prepared for this as you gat it on the other side from Alfred’s on other night and from The Jungle on others. It is almost right in the middle of all three.

Day 4

Real sand gravity day as we never ventured more than 100 yards from the resort.

Fruit from the vendors, Momma was our favorite, and lunch from the Near Beer Bar. Fried chicken, rice and peas with salad and 2 Red Stripe - $1015 JA. They have small “box” meals that are $250 JA. Fried chicken, ox tail, goat. The food was very good and served hot.

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Dinner was from a barrel guys that others at the resort had recommended – Blue Dandy. $800 JA for a half and bread. It was very good. I was short by $100 JA as one of the bills I had I thought was a $1000 but was $100. He told me to catch him later. We ate on “our” patio as we now had one.

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Day 5 - Part 1

We had made arrangements with Joe Cool to take us to a school in the hills on Monday. We found out that they would be closed due to the election so we arranged to go out on this day at 9.00 AM. Engelbert arrived before our scheduled 9.00 AM pick up. I told him that I really doubted that he was actually Jamaican now. No horn, on time, and oh yea his radio was out on the way from the airport to the hotel. He laughed and took us to another hotel to pick up a guest that was a teacher and wanted to tag along. We drove along to Green Island and took a right up into the hills. The girls were getting alone great in the back and Engelbert and I were having some great conversations about Jamaica and his life there. He left Jamaica at one point for 9 months to make enough money to better his life. Even though he had a “good” job as the head of water sports at Beaches he saw that there was opportunity for someone that wanted to work hard and be honest. He takes people to these schools trips free of charge as his way of giving back to the community.

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The first school we visited was the Riverside Basic School. It had kids from the age of three to five. My wife was a bit apprehensive about this as she wanted to help in a small way but did not want to be sad at the conditions of the school. Needless to say we were blown away by the experience. This was the first visit to this school as Engelbert has been working his way up to it. The kids were excited to see us as was the staff. They were all dressed very well in their uniforms and there was a lot of noise as there were no walls separating the classes. They liked to have their picture taken and look at themselves afterwards. My wife got big hugs from a lot of the kids. As I was emptying out our suitcase on the Principles desk a few of them came up and started to touch the things we had brought. She came by and made them go sit down. Everything we brought was from the Dollar Store. We had school supplies, balls, learning flash cards, pens, pencils .... We also brought about 20 skipping ropes. My wife’s uncle passed away this year after having being diagnosed with brain cancer in December. He taught her how to skip so she thought that this was a good way to honour his memory. We also visited the kitchen where the cook was preparing lunch. Chicken, rice and peas and some salad. The kitchen was spotless.

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We then went to a middle school to pass on some of the things such as calculators that would be more appropriate for older kids. We were able to visit three classrooms with the Principle Mrs. Allen. We once again received a great reception and the kids were all very well behaved. My wife was asking them what they wanted to be when they grew up. The first response from a Grade 4 student was Paediatrician! A lot of the boys wanted to be soldiers. Mrs. Allen was kind enough to send us an email showing the kids skipping with the ropes we had left. My wife had a tear in her eye when she saw this.
The gates at this school were locked and closed as were the classroom doors. They worry about kids that are not in school, or other kids that go to other schools coming in and causing trouble such as stealing the kid’s lunch money.

I have some really good pictures of the kids at the schools but do not want to post them. If anyone wants to see them they can PM me with an email address and I will send them along.

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We now got to have a personalized tour of the hills from Engelbert. It included a visit to a processing plant that takes turmeric root and cooks and dries it to make curry powder from. The local dig up the root and take it to the plant for processing which involves boiling it large vats and air drying it. He was also able to show us the many fruits, herbs and trees of the area. Who knew that a banana tree takes 9 months to bear fruit “Just like a woman” and then has to be cut down. They have troubles with mongooses in the area that were brought in to control rats, the mongooses decided that chicken tastes better than rats and they do not have any natural enemies so they are a big pest in the hills. I had also read that rabies were not know in Jamaica, Engelbert told me that they actually were but he had only heard of cases coming from cats.

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We then went to Big Ras and Marvin’s for lunch. I have to admit that it is not a place that I would have gone to on my own. Big Ras was out front smoking a big one and peeling some veggies into a pot. They don’t call him Big Ras for nothing. It is very rustic inside but you can’t judge a book by its cover. Engelbert and I had the curried conch with rice and peas and the girls settled on veggies with rice and peas. The food was delicious and there was enough on one plate to split between two people. Engelbert took the extras from his plate in a to go box. 4 meals and 4 Red Stripes set me back a whopping $2360 JA.

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Engelbert then took us back to Rooms. On the way we passed the Grand Palladium where he used to “wait” for work. He then decided with the help of some friends that he was better off looking for work so he had a web site set up and uses a Blackberry to stay in touch. He dropped us off with 5 minutes to spare before his next trip for some people also staying at Rooms.

Incredible report ....

The school trip, wow, very nice. Hoping big things grow from small seeds, just beautiful.

Respect. I love how you spend your time in Ja.

I am LOVING this report.....thanks for sharing!

Much respect my friend. A joy to read and to look at.

I have been enjoying this trip report so much. I was in Negril for the first time in December with my husband (actually it was our first time in the Carribean) and we stayed at Rooms. We picked Rooms because it wasn't AI and seemed to be right down in the action; we thought the music at night was just part of that charm, but we are both heavy sleepers. We also changed rooms after our first night, but the front desk was really accommodating about it.

Our first dinner at Sweet Spot and we had a great dinner at the Italian Cafe. Shamrock's became a daily stop. I hope you tried their orange juice - I can't think of any better way of starting off a day!

You managed to take pictures of everything I missed - when I got home all I had really had was pictures of sunsets and Redstripes. :o Thanks for sharing, it has been a great trip down memory lane. We did get bitten by the bug, I am already dreaming of our return this coming December.

Day 5 – Part 2

The day had just started. We hit the beach for a while and had a couple of drinks in prep for the One Love Bus Tour with Lenbert. It was so cool to see the bus pull up and a guy lean out the window and call my name. We got on the bus and there were no seats left so someone got up and offered my wife one. I am thinking that is very nice, I can stand for awhile. Little was I to know that we were just started picking people up! I can see where this might be a bit daunting at first, after all these are not people that you know and you are now packed in with your armpit hanging over someone’s face swaying with the bus as it rambles up to the west end. As soon as you have had your first beer at Mi Yard all fears are put off as everyone joins in the common goal to have as much fun as possible. We met and talked with lots of great people and only regret was there was not enough time to meet everyone.

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We connected with some people from Winnipeg, even though they thought my t-shirt was a Jets T-shirt! They were a fun group that was really enjoying themselves.
The people at Mi Yard brought out some food for us to sample. Smart marketing because I am sure some people will return to have a drink and a meal and the food was really good.

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It was a short walk over to Swordfish. We chose the beach because we could. What a great view! They also have an ice cream parlour and café in the bottom part of the building.

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Next up was Tayon’s. Pool tables inside and the seafood chowder looked good judging by the large guy out from that was working on a big bowl of it.

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We then headed over to C&D Country & Western Roadside Pub. I don’t think the whole group could fit inside but the staff was really nice. Some people were eating the chocolate cake; they also had a couple of other kinds of cake for sale.

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Lenbert then herded us up and on we went to The Spyder Bar. Did I forget to mention that once he dropped us off at Mi Yard he went out and picked up more people from SeaStar. Now there is around 50 people on the bus and we are all okay because we have had couple of beers by now.

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Pee Wee’s was the next stop. They had to unfurl the Canadian flag for us! Cool spot on the cliffs. Not a place to bring the kids.

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After that we hit Bella Donna’s. She gave everyone on the bus a big hug as they got off. She also came around with some salad for everyone to try.

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The last stop was at Sir D Firewater Love Nest. I am sure that we scared the daylights out of the people who thought they were going to enjoy a quiet sunset! The bar tender and her young assistant made sure everyone was taken care of right away so that we could watch the sun sink into the ocean.

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Lenbert then took those that wanted to Rick’s. He came back and the first stop was SeaStar. A bunch of people decided that they were going to continue the party here. Lenbert made arrangements to come back for them later. We were kind of beat at this point and were also hungry so we headed back to Rooms.

Dinner was at Rondel Village. We just went simple with a couple of pasta with tomato sauce, I had a beer and the bill was $23.50 US. The pasta was very good and the pumpkin soup beforehand was also very good. On our way back we met the guy from Blue Dandy that I had bought from the night before. I tried to jog his memory but at first he did not remember me. Once the fog cleared he did and then I paid him the $100 JA I owed him. He had 8 chickens to sell that night and he had already sold 4. The barrel is his second job as his first is “farming”. Really nice guy and not pushy.

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Can't wait till we hit the Love Bus tour. That bus will be swaying!!! And farmers....I love meeting farmers, coming from a rural society of course. :cool:

Very nice report!! Ty for taking the time. Great pictures too!

Thank you everyone for the kind comments. Without the knowledge I gained from all of your posts this trip would not have been nearly as fun.

Day 6

We had to get some sand gravity back so it was another day at the beach but first I needed some more money. No problem, I will walk to Times Square and use the ATM, I’ve done my research so it will only take half an hour. Wrong! ATM at Times Square is not working. Start out for town and decide I should just hop in a cab. Numerous white plate cars try to stop for me but I waive them on. The first red plat stops and I say $100 JA to town? He looks at me like; you are not supposed to know that! He was a nice guy and dropped me off right at the Scotia Bank. Problems solved, or wait – not so fast. Scotia is down as well. I spot the Royal Bank ATM and fend off a money changer as I only have a couple of hundred JA on me and I also learned on this board that this is not a smart thing to do. Now I pull the rookie mistake. I withdraw $2500 JA, well that’s only going to last for an hour or so. I then withdrew $20000 JA. The only way I was able to get money from this machine was by doing a cash advance from my Visa. I also knew from someone’s report that you had to push the button to get out – thanks to whoever that was.

$20000 JA = $237.40 CDN + $5.00 International ABM Fee.

1.00 CDN = 82.47 JA.

10 JA = .12 CDN.

Therefore a beer at the Sunnyside Bar was costing me $150 JA or $1.80 CDN versus $2.00 US if I paid in US funds. That is .20 a beer x 6 beers for the week :D so I saved 1.20 by using JA currency.

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On the way down the street a guys stops me to sell me coconut wata and jelly. I took the time to listen to his spiel and told him no thanks I really did not want any. “Mumble, Mumble - bumba klot Canadians”. I just walked away. I went over the bridge as I wanted to see the fishing village and boats. At the other end of the bridge I stopped to wait for a cab. A tour driver across the road asked if I was okay and I told him I was just waiting for a cab back to Rooms. He asked if I knew that it should cost $100 JA and I told him I did. Hopped in a cab with two nice ladies on their way to work. We got talking and the driver passed Rooms, brake stand to a stop and I am home again.

Lunch was at the Bourbon Beach. 2 ¼ chickens with rice and peas, 2 rum punches - $1850 JA

Menu Board

Chicken
1/4 450
1/2 900
3/4 1350
Whole 1700

Pork
1/4 500
1/2 1000
3/4 1500

Ribs
1/2 with fries 700
Full with fries 1400

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We got pulled back to the Italian Café for dinner. Shrimp pizza, 2 glasses of wine - $2650 JA. They really should lower their prices for a bottle of wine. $30.00 US for a bottle that sells next door for $9.85 is too much of a mark up. We went back to Rooms and brought wine down to the patio to finish the night off.

Day 7

The last full day, or so we thought.

The lifeguard/beach guy took down a coconut for us to drink the water from. Nice morning drink.

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My wife had burnt her face the day before so I bought some Aloe Vera from a vendor to help ease some of the pain. She had been using SPF 55 face lotion but I guess it was not enough.

Chill day on the beach. Fruits, nuts, patties, aloe and beer. All without moving too far from our loungers. My wife liked the veggie patties. I bought one for her and 2 chicken ones for me. I gave one to the lifeguard/beach guy at the resort that had given us the coconut.

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Dinner was at LTU. We called and asked for a pickup in 20 minutes. Byron was waiting for us at the front of the resort. Really nice guy, former restaurateur that hopes to open another one some day. On the way up the cliffs his alternator belt packs it in. So we are driving up the cliffs with the lights off to keep the battery from being drained! But wait, the radio is still on as you have to have music or you might as well just have the battery die and stop.

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Aubie came by and said hello. Really nice guy. I had the Aubie burger and my wife had the curried chicken. The burger was one of the best burgers I have ever had :). It is served on hard dough and I could not finish all of it. 2 meals, 2 beers and 1 rum punch - $3095 JA. The rum punch was very strong. We chilled for a while and listened to the DJ for Pull Up Friday and had a couple of more drinks each. A rum punch and beer was $800 JA.

We went outside to find Bryon to head back. From one of the cabbies out front - “Who you looking for” I said Byron because he was giving us a ride home. “Me don’t know Byron”. Just then Byron comes out from the bar and guides us to his car that has been repaired. I asked him if he know the other cabbie and he told me that he had for most of his life. The guy was just trying to scam his ride. $10.00 + tip for the ride back as the ride in was free. We stopped at Shamrock for some beer and soursop, rum and fruit punch $2350 JA.

The rest of the night was spent on the patio trying to use up the remnants of our meager bar and have some rum punch.

Incredibly tight details. Loving this report. You give the facts and let us draw our conclusions -- like a true journalist! Very very very impressive.

Day 8

This was our homeless day as we had to be out of the room by 11.00 AM. We packed up so that we would be ready to go and then hit the beach. We went for a bit of a walk but the blisters on my heels prevented me from going too far. I got them from walking on the beach on the second day.

Lunch was at Roots Bambo. One of the other guests told us that they have boneless jerk chicken. Surprise, it was not on the menu but they did have it. We split one and it was a large carry out container with lots of chicken, rice and peas and a salad. It was very good and plenty for two. $851 JA plus $400 JA for two beers while waiting for it to be brought out. It is so cool to walk down the beach in your swim suit with no shoes and be able to get a meal to stay or to go. After writing this I now realize one aspect of why hanging out on 7 mile beach at a non A/I is more relaxing than going to an A/I. No service at most A/I lunch locations without shirts and shoes. On the beach no shirt, no shoes, no problem!

Attachment 12648

Attachment 12649

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the beach enjoying the last of the sun. A few couples we had met offered their rooms for us to shower in and get ready but we just hit the beach showers and got changed in the washrooms. We walked slowly to the front desk to repack some things. We were then told that our flight was delayed for 2 hours. We had booked Engelbert to pick us up at 5.50 PM and did not think it was fair to hold him off, even thought I am sure he would have said no problem, and meant it. We went over to The Italian Café for a quick pizza and a beer. $950 JA. Walked back to the resort and Engelbert was waiting for us. It was a good drive back with more pleasant conversation. Engelbert wants his son to come live with him so that he can help him with school and show him the ropes of the tourism industry. He dropped us off at the airport, handshake for me and a hug for my wife.

Now we knew that it was going to be a long wait at the airport but that was no problem. We bought some duty free, wandered around for a ½ hour and settled in to a bar at the departure gate for me to partake of a few last Red Stripes, watch a couple of soccer games and for my wife to have a nap. After 3 beers I figured it was time to go grab a cat nap. We wandered down the departure lounge and found some seats well away from everyone and laid down for a nap. I get woken buy someone sitting on the other side of the bench I was sleeping on, leaning over to plug in a laptop. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! There are 300 empty benches in the airport. They when announce a gate change that will be closer where we were. Half of the herd migrates down to the area even though there is still an hour to go. We also find out that there is another delay in the flight so instead of 9.50 it will be 12.40. “Grumble, grumble, curse, curse - I am never flying with these guys again, don’t they know I have a ride waiting for me……..” You get the picture.

12.40 comes and goes but the plane is at the gate. They make an announcement and it sounds like she is using the speaker from the McDonalds as you can only make out ever 3rd word. The jist of it is that one of the passengers on the inbound flight became very sick and they needed an ambulance. They had called ahead but it still took a ½ hour from the time the plane reached the gate until they arrived. They then had to stabilize him before taking him off. It is now 1.30 or so and the pilot comes off the plane to make an announcement that they used 4 tanks of oxygen and this put them 2 below the minimum needed to fly. They were working on it but the fittings that they had in Mo Bay were not the same. He did not want to board the plane until they were assured that they could be filled or replaced. More “Grumble, grumble, curse, curse, curse – I should have flown Air Canada (That would have been smart because they went on strike the week before!) I am going to rent my own jet next time (That’s not a reality when you obviously stayed at The Negril Have A Nap Motel!)

We finally got to board at around 3.00 AM but the fun did not end there. They were still having trouble with the last oxygen tank. The pilot came on the intercom and apologized as he would not have boarded us if he had known it would still be this long. They had promised him that it would be arriving shortly. I wanted to ask him if he had ever been to Jamaica and did he know that the definition of shortly can be interpreted many different ways! We finally took off at 3.55 which was the time we were supposed to arrive in Toronto.

My wife and I did not care that the plane was late. We had more concern for the poor person that started the day thinking they were going on a dream vacation and ended up in a hospital. What a dramatic experience it must have been for his family/travelling companions. We were going home safe and sound having had a fabulous vacation and we had our health. There is no using getting bent out of shape for things such as a flight delay that you can’t control.

We arrived home at 9.00AM instead of 4.00AM and were greeted by our dog and within an hour or so by our daughters, who finally rolled out of bed. Our oldest had gone shopping and there was food for a couple of days, a couple of bottles of wine (and a box of wine in the fridge for herself) and a six pack of Red Stripe. Life is good :)

Loved your trip report!! You have the right attitude for Jamaica. "There is no using getting bent out of shape for things such as a flight delay that you can’t control." Who is this Englebert - he sounds great. Can you share his contact info? Not this reach but perhaps the next, I would like to make a school visit with some supplies.

Peace.

http://www.iberostar.info/ticker/ima...oon come......

I really loved your trip report! Thank you for posting this!
Great details and awesome photos!
My favorite picture is the Sunnyside sign with the crystal clear ocean calm as a swimming pool... :)
I can't wait to step onto that beach again

Great report with so many strong and clear details. Love the report and LOVE your attitude. Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip.