Sitting in the Government Yard in Trenchtown - Kingston, Port Antonio, and Negril TR

Just back from Negril in November, and the itch to go back started quick. Luckily, we get more leave time than most, and come January it looks like I have some leave to kill, so off we go!

When we were here in November (http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...light=kiknback), we brought friends and family with us, which seems to be becoming an annual tradition. We definitely plan to be back again in November, and should have a nice group with us again. However, this time was just for us, and since we didn't have to be tour guides, we decided that we would explore the Island a bit. I had always been curious about visiting Kingston, so that was going to be the first stop.

We arrived in Kingston at around 11:30 on a Thursday morning. Nice flight, no issues. Going through customs was a breeze, so much so that we were through well before our driver arrived. We had time to kill at the airport, and quickly saw a difference between Kingston and Montego Bay. There was no hassling whatsoever. We were there waiting probably 45 minutes, and in that time, only one person even came to us, and simply out of concern. It was a vastly different experience than Montego Bay, or Negril, and it was a nice change. While in the city I don't think I was ever even offered ganja, except maybe hinted for when we were at Bob Marley's house.

Having heard all of the Kingston horror stories, we definitely wanted to arrange a trusted driver for out time there. My wife works with a Jamaican, and she had a good friend in Kingston, Trevor, that would be able to take us around for a few days. This was a really nice gesture. A great guy who works for the US Peace Corps in Kingston. Trevor ended up taking us, who really are total strangers to him, all over the place for a few days, and in the end only asked that we help out with gas money. I would like to think that I would be that kind to a total stranger visiting my country, but honestly I probably doubt it.

After a little wait at the airport, Trevor arrives to pick us up. The Kingston Airport is on a long peninsula jetting into the harbor. At the very end of this peninsula is Port Royal. This was the city once called "The Wickedest City in the World", inhabited by pirates and thieves, before an earthquake put most of the city underwater. Since this was so close to the airport, and it was getting to be lunchtime, this seemed like a good first stop. Saw the fort, did a quick drive-around. We didn't do any organized tours, just looked around a bit. Really had the vibe of a quiet small town, with a view of Kingston in the background overlooking the harbor. Gloria's restaurant, in Port Royal, is the famous seafood restaurant, and our lunch choice. I was aware it was a seafood place, but most seafood restaurants also have some other choices. As I do not eat seafood, I was happy to see chicken in the menu. Unfortunately, they were out. Doh! I enjoyed a few Red Stripes while my wife and Trevor enjoyed their fish lunches. No problem, I can easily find some jerk a bit later. We finish lunch, and after a quick stop at the Digicell store to buy a phone, Trevor drops us off at out hotel in New Kingston, with plans to meet the next day to see the city.

When researching places to stay in Kingston, it quickly becomes apparent that there are very few choices, and all are expensive. I was a bit nervous, but decided to try priceline to see if I could get a deal. I bid $70 for a three star hotel, and they accepted immediately, meaning I probably should have tried even lower. But either way, it turned out to be a great deal. We were staying at the Wyndom, a high rise hotel in the safe neighborhood of New Kingston. A nice hotel for less than half of their normal price, and far cheaper than less nice alternatives. The first of several great hotel deals we got on this trip.

After settling in, we get out and explore the neighborhood a bit. Not knowing what to expect before we arrived, I found the New Kingston area where we stayed to be very nice, probably more so than I expected. Not sure what I expected to see, really, but what I found was really just an average, nice city, like any other. Bars, restaurants, shopping. Just a standard city, certainly not worth the worry I had before going. We had no problem walking around and felt as safe as I would walking around in any other city, even at night. I certainly wouldn't wander too far away from the nicer neighborhoods alone, but I wouldn't do that at home either.

Looking for drink, we head to Cuddyz, a sports bar owned by a famous Jamaican cricket star. We have a seat at the bar, order a drink, and start chatting to the Jamaican sitting next to us. "Where are you from", he asked. Washington DC, we replied. "Really, I used to live near there, in Maryland." No way, we actually live in Maryland! What part? "Wheaton." Are you kidding me? That's where we live! "I lived on Dennis Avenue." This was just freaky. Same street. He was pretty much our neighbor. Small world. We have a few drinks, get some dinner, and head to bed early, since we had been up since 3 am that morning.

Don't stop now. Let's keep this story going....

Gotta spread it out a bit.... ;)

Figuring out how to post pictures. This could take a bit.

Loving it so far!
Kingston airport is definitely much nicer than MoBay (IMO)

Port RoyalAttachment 11482The Fort at Port RoyalAttachment 11483No Naked Light!Attachment 11487View of Kingston from Port RoyalAttachment 11488Gloria's RestaurantAttachment 11489Fish and Bammy for LunchAttachment 11490

View of Kingston from accross the HarborAttachment 11493Welcome to Kingston!Attachment 11494Cool Looking TreeAttachment 11495Statue of Bob Marley in KingstonAttachment 11496View from our Hotel RoomAttachment 11497

that fish looks good!

This is great!Keep it going

Yes you visited my city...I keep telling everyone don't be afraid to visit Kingston, best place to get your partying on:D

Yes Gloria food sweet always have lunch there when we fly in and out

Nice shots of the city. Good start of a trip report.

We sleep in a bit the next morning, and get a bite to eat before we were to meet Trevor and see the city. First stop, and probably at the top of my "Must see" list, was Bob Marley's house. On a previous Jamaica trip we had been to his birthplace in Nine Mile and now had to visit the Kingston house. We arrive, and it is a bit quieter than I expect, with only a few people around. Aside from my wife and I, there were two other people on our tour. It was a nice visit, and was able to learn a few things that I had not known. An interesting tour, and glad I got to see it. The property is still owned by the Marley family, and the family still stays on the property, mostly behind the main house, while in town. Steven and Damien were in town to perform at Rebel Salute, and I am pretty sure that I saw Damien driving off of the property. Looked exactly like him. I would feel more confident that it was him, except that he was driving a Toyota Yaris. I would have expected something nicer, for the son of the King of Reggae. Who knows.

After the Marley tour, we headed to nearby Devon house. A beautiful mansion in Kingston, and home to the best ice cream in Jamaica. Cones all around, and then back to the tour of Kingston.

When Trevor asked what we wanted to see, I kinda felt bad. When you visit most places, you want to see the nicest parts. However, in Kingston, what I really wanted to see were the worst parts. The slums. Trenchtown. Tivoli Gardens. When friends visit Washington DC, I would never take them to the housing projects of southeast. However, this was what I had read about Kingston, and so this was what I wanted to see. Trevor was understanding and took us all over, from the nice parts of the city to the, um, not so nice. I'm not so sure how comfortable he was driving around the bad neighborhoods, and was visably nervous when he had to ask directions in Trenchtown. However, he was a great sport about it. We found Culture Yard, in Trenchtown, and Trevor stopped the car for us to take a picture. I don't think he was expecting, or happy about the fact that we immediately jumped out of the car. We took pictures in front of Culture Yard, and then set out to complete our main goal.

Across the street from Culture Yard there was an open gate leading to a nearly empty yard. This was exactly what we were looking for. We went in, sat down, and took a quick picture of ourselves. Mission accomplished. From now on, every time we hear the song "No Woman, No Cry" we will remember this trip, and "remember when we used to sit in a government yard in Trenchtown."

To Trevor's great relief, we finally get back in the car and continue the tour, with the next area being Tivoli Gardens. This was the area made famous as the home of notorious drug lord Christopher “Dudas” Coke, and became a war zone a year ago when the government ordered his capture and extradition. We could see the buildings covered in bullet holes from the battles between government forces and forces loyal to Dudas. Definitely cool to see, but we smartly stayed in the car this time. We continued the tour, past the harbor, government buildings, and in the end I feel we got a pretty good look at Kingston.

We headed back to the hotel, had a few for happy hour, and headed back for another early night. We were just wore out again. We both had worked for like 17 straight days before the trip, and it just hit us. We're not club people anyways, so I don't think we missed out on much. So we get back, and that night at the hotel they had karaoke. Like I said, we were exhausted, but when we headed up to the room we could hear the karaoke up in our room, especially with the balcony door open. Let me tell you, in Kingston karaoke is not the same as at home or in Negril. People were actually good! I mean, I was really impressed! Fantastic reggae and other singers, really professional quality. A totally different experience than the usual drunken noisefest that you normally find. The only time I have ever heard karaoke close to this was in Nashville, where there were professional singers hoping to find a record producer in the audience. It was a nice way to fall asleep, listening to great singing in the background.

All in all, we really enjoyed Kingston. Don't really expect to go back, but was happy to have finally seen the city. All the worries that we had about the city proved unfounded. People were generally very nice and I felt much safer that I would have expected. We only had one issue the entire time, and it was really more funny than anything. We had stopped in a shop to pick up a quick lunch. After we paid, a woman asked me for my change. OK, I gave her the coins I had received. This was not good enough for this woman, apparently. She got upset, and complained that I did not give enough. No, I am not giving this woman all my bills! I told her that I already gave her money, and that's all she was going to get. At this point, she lost it, and just started screaming at me! "You're a Pigface!!!", she kept repeating, very loudly, making a scene at the restaurant. Obviously she had some mental issues. In the end, she moved on, everyone in the restaurant laughed it off, and that was the end of it. Now and again my wife still calls me "pigface", however. Oh well. I'm sure I've been called worse. Off to Port Antonio!

This is just Excellent!

Great report. I enjoyed my time in Kingston; it has the feel of a metropolis city anywhere. Now I did inadvertedly wind up in the not so good parts and I was there truly on the heels of the whole Dudas fiasco. I would go back as I had the best pedicure ever in life at the mall there!

Thanks for a great report, looking forward to more!

Always great to see s/o who goes to Kgn and has a great time .... Sorry I didnt kno you were going . i could/would have given yu pointers for some hidden gem places to see.... and stay

Fantastic start, can't wait to hear all about your trip east!

The first time I went to Kingston what struck me most was that no matter where you are, you are surrounded by green mountains. You can see them everywhere, like a big hug :) As I spent more time there I came to appreciate the lack of hassle and ability to walk around New Kingston without being asked for anything. The nightlife is unbeatable, I have had some good times at parties and at Red Bones and just around. As NYC kid myself, I think I felt right at home in the busyness there.

Good to know priceline treated you right, honestly it never would occur to me to try it in Kingston.

Love Porty too, looking forward to hearing about that!

LOVIN your report.......please keep it coming.

Yeah, I'm with you Liz, I've used Priceline many times but never would have occurred to me to use them for Jamaica.

I like the way you roll!

Downtown KingstonAttachment 11510Herb Garden at Bob Marley's house... One herb in particular was noticeably missing....Attachment 11511Statue at Bob's HouseAttachment 11512Wife at Bob's HouseAttachment 11513Bob's HouseAttachment 11514Devon HouseAttachment 11515Georgia and TrevorAttachment 11516I scream!!!!Attachment 11517Eatin Ice CreamAttachment 11518

KingstonAttachment 11519Wrey & Nephew Factory... Aging Rum in the BarrelsAttachment 11520Red Stripe FactoryAttachment 11521Mural in TrenchtownAttachment 11522Trenchtown GoatAttachment 11523Culture YardAttachment 11524Sitting in the Government Yard in TrenchtownAttachment 11525TrenchtownAttachment 11526Attachment 11527Tivoli GardensAttachment 11528

Tivoli Gardens... Bullet Holes in the Buildings in the BackgroundAttachment 11529
KFC... Typical Jamaican FoodAttachment 11530
Schoolchildren In KingstonAttachment 11531
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Cricket StadiumAttachment 11535
Controvercial Statue in New KingstonAttachment 11536
Evening view from the hotelAttachment 11537

The next morning, Trevor arrives to pick us up and take us to Port Antonio. Boston Beach, actually, a bit past Port Antonio. It was a nice drive, got to see some of the Blue Mountains on the way. After a few hours, we arrive at Boston Beach. We say our goodbyes to Trevor and thank him for all that he has done. After all the time that he had spent taking us around, all he wanted was gas money. That was unacceptable to us, and we gave him significantly more, which he was reluctant to accept until we insisted and told him if he didn't want it he could donate it to his church. I suspect that the church did get a nice donation that Sunday.

Boston Beach is considered the birthplace of jerk cooking. Located there is the Boston Jerk Center, a collection of several different places to try some great cooking. My goal was to try every place, and in the end, I think we did a pretty good job. Since this was going to be a major reason for staying on this part of the island, I decided that we should stay somewhere close. I learned that there was a "resort" immediately next to the jerk center called "Great Huts." This was where we decided to stay, and it was a fantastic choice.

Great Huts really was one of the coolest places we have ever stayed. Upscale camping was the way I describes it, but this does not do it justice. The name really is fitting. You stay in huts, all open to the outdoors. However, they take the definition of huts to a new level. Every one is completely unique, and really, really impressive. I mean, one of the huts was a full on castle. A giant tower overlooking the sea was another hut. Absolutely amazing.

The majority of the huts are fairly upscale and expensive, costing between $180-300 a night. However, there are a few cheaper huts under $80. These have a shared bathroom and no hot water. While not thrilled with sharing a bathroom, we were on a budget and booked one of the cheap huts. We arrive, and since they are not full, we get a free upgrade! Woohoo, no cold showers! And let me tell you, our hut was just fantastic. Full on living room and kitchen, and a huge bedroom. The amazing small details, such as the bathtub actually carved out of a giant log. Great bed, with a mosquito net, since all of this was still a hut and open to the outside. No way I can accurately describe it. Even the budget huts, which we checked out, were very nice. Just a beautiful resort, and the way they used the land that they have is just amazing. I would highly recommend this place for anyone.

Boston Beach is famous for its jerk center, and that was my dining plans for the next several days. There were several stalls, all similar, really, but I intended to try them all. The food was very good at all of them. However, maybe my expectations may have been a bit high. The specialty, we heard, was their pork. And yes, it was very good. However, the pork I have gotten in Negril is better. Both Red Dragon and Dean on the beach server better pork, in my opinion. The pork at Boston Beach reminded me of Ossies - good, but a slight step below that of Dean or Raggabones. The chicken was also good, but not any better than many places in Negril. The one thing that you cannot get in Negril was the jerk sausage. Both pork sausage and chicken sausage were amazing. We discovered this late in our visit to Boston, but it was the highlight of the jerk center. I have not heard of any other place on the island that you can get this, unfortunately, and now that I have a taste of it, I want more! Fantastic!

Nightlife in Boston Beach is, well, a bit lacking. There are a few small local's bars, but often felt the hassle to be not worth it. It seems they do not get many tourists, at least at the local bars, and some of the local characters can be a bit over enthusiastic. It was a quiet night at a bar, and everyone was watching a movie on the TV. We were three quarters of the way through, the entire bar watching, and one local comes in and just will not stop talking. We would tell him we were watching a movie, and he would still talk at us. Not with us, at us. The movie ended, and we moved on to the other bar in the town. Of course, he followed us. Would not stop bothering us. Probably my fault, I should have been more direct, I suppose, but damn did he get annoying. Finally, we got him out of the bar, but by then, I was tired and done. We walked out, and of course, the same guy was waiting for us. I lost it when he started walking with us home. No! I've had enough of you already! Go away!!! That was our last night in Boston Beach, and probably a good thing, since I was done with this guy. Negril often gets a bad reputation, but I've never been hassled in Negril like I was in Boston Beach.

During the day, the area is absolutely beautiful. Boston Beach is very nice. More waves than Negril, and surfing is available. The beach area there at Great Huts was very cool. There are several small pools to sit in that are protected from the waves. You can see the powerful waves crashing a few feet away, but by the time they reach you it becomes just a trickle. We hung out on the beach a bit here, and also visited nearby Blue Lagoon, which was gorgeous.

Our main excursion while in the area was to go rafting on the Rio Grande. These are the bamboo rafts that are shown in the travel brocures. There are two places to do this in Jamaica, the Rio Grande near Port Antonio and the Martha Brae near Montego Bay. The Rio Grande is where this kind of rafting originated, and is a bit of a longer trip as well. The Bamboo rafts were originally used to transport bananas to the coast. Errol Flynn convinced one of the raft operators to put a seat on the back, and a new tradition was started.

We had made arrangements with a raft captain to go in the morning. He would meet us at the resort. He arrived at the scheduled time. Transportation was not included, but he would guide us in the right direction. We took a route taxi into Port Antonio, and walked a few blocks to where the taxis went into the mountains. We arrived at the rafting start, and were offered beers and other provisions for the trip. We walk down to the river, board the raft, and settle in for several hours of pure relaxation. It was very enjoyable, with no one else around. We apparently were the first people on the river that day, and we never saw another raft the entire trip, aside from locals bringing the rafts back upstream. It was so relaxing, beautiful, and peaceful. The sun never quite got out enough to make it hot, so we didn't do much swimming, but the option was there. We also made a stop midway through the trip where beers, food, and souvenirs were sold.

Definitely a great trip, and we enjoyed ourselves for a few hours on the river. The last portion of the trip our raft captain started hinting about tips. The cost for the trip was $70, so I had originally planned to give $80. After his talk, I raised it a bit, so it was $88 we gave him for the trip, not including transportation. Worth it, and I thought it was a reasonable tip. I mean, it's well over 20%. Apparently, that was not enough, and he kinda gave us some attitude. A great trip, but that put a bit of a bad ending to it. Were we cheap? How much was he expecting?

Anyways, the Port Antonio area was nice. Very beautiful. Again, happy to have been. Would absolutely recommend Great Huts to anyone, and the sights were very nice to see. This part of the trip we were kinda winging it. We were not sure how long we wanted to stay in the area, so we had nothing booked or planned, really. We had booked 2 nights, and the next week we would just wing it as we go. We extended in Boston Beach for a third night, but after that it was time to move on. The beauty is there, and if we were the "chill and relax" types, we would probably have stayed a bit longer. However, we also enjoy the nightlife and socializing, so it was time to head over to Negril.

Pushcart in Negril has Jerk Sausage and it is VERY good! Had it for the first time on our last trip back in October (2011)

Loving your report, we have done a lot of the same things and it is always fun reading about others experiences! Just loving your report AND the pictures! Thanks again for sharing.

Oh and by the way, it was most likely Damian you saw at Bob's house. When in town they spend most all of their time there, and usually will just be hanging out in the yard or sitting on the front porch area, or even in the back in the studio recording. With the exception of Stephen, every car I have ever seen them driving is usually an older model car or just a regular truck or something. I always saw Julian in a red honda civic? maybe? and Damian had a Rav4 back in the day.....now in the States....well that's a different story! LOL

I'm loving everything about your report-esp the way you two travel-really get out and about to see and exp. all the culture, etc...and love how you two kind of "wing-it too"..
This is my kind of report and looking forward to more...

Thank you so much for sharing..

Great report! Love the pictures from Kingston. Government Yard brudda, sweet!! That's a lifetime moment right there. Pork Pit in Mo Bay has jerk sausage. The lady in front of me ordered it, when I asked what it was she gave me a slice, delicious. Pic's of Great Huts?

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Originally Posted by marley9808

Pushcart in Negril has Jerk Sausage and it is VERY good! Had it for the first time on our last trip back in October (2011)

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Jerk sausage??? GET OUT! Have mercy, my husband is going to want to eat there every night. I absolutely love their jerk platter!

Kiknbak, I am loving the pictures you're posting, especially of Kingston. Your hotel views were amazing...can't beat a combination city/tropical view, IMO.

This is a great report - makes me want to revisit Kingston and PA .. made about 4 trips to town during the late 1980s. I really liked your photo's of the Kingston - beautiful pic of the Ward Theatre (I went to Pantomine some 20 plus years ago and saw the late Miss Lou at her finest in the live production - hopefully the theatre can be restored to its former beauty in the years to come. When I was there is was like faded elegance, but several hurricanes have severely damaged her since - I know there is a foundation set up for donations for just that purchase). I never made it to Trench Town (in fact I recall several Kingstonians telling me that even if I wanted to go there I would not be able to find a taxi willing to take me to that area). I did spend quite a bit of time in downtown Kingston, including the National Art Gallery for a full afternoon.

Loved the idea of using priceline for hotel room in Kingston and will give that a try before my next trip to JA (I go for long stays now that I am retired and 3 nights in Kingston and 3 nights in Port Antonio would make a nice break from Negril). Great Huts has been on my wish list for a couple of years also.

Looking forward to hearing more of your trip and more pictures!

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Originally Posted by tfw73

Jerk sausage??? GET OUT! Have mercy, my husband is going to want to eat there every night. I absolutely love their jerk platter!

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Yep! It was delicious! I have a picture of it somewhere I will find and post.
My hubby ordered it (I had the Pepper Shrimp like always) but he loved it and gave me a bite and I had to agree it was fantastic!

I've had jerk sausage on Spur Tree Hill, which you would have passed if you went the south coast way to Negril.

This is the second trip report for the Porty area I've read recently where people have been hassled, particularly at night. Not so much to buy things but my mentally unstable people. I admit when I am in Porty I am exhausted after dinner and don't usually stay up much past then, also like to get moving reasonably early on the next day's adventures. So I don't do nightlife beyond a drink at the bar where I'm staying. Sometimes I drive myself and sometimes I walk, and have so far been completely left alone. I hate to hear this because Porty (and Kingston, and a few other areas) are to me a real relief from the tourist hustle.

Looking forward to the Porty pics :)

Nice to know I have choices for jerk sausage next time. I have several places I need to try next time. Mouth watering thinking about it.

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Originally Posted by ohliz

This is the second trip report for the Porty area I've read recently where people have been hassled, particularly at night.

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It was bad, but I suppose in the Port Antonio area there are only a few major tourist spots, which was what we went to, and they attract attention. The Jerk Center in Boston was particularly bad, with nonstop pressure to go to each individual place, but really in all the tourist areas we were hassled.... Rafting, Blue Lagoon as well. Kingston, on the other hand, was a breezee. No bother at all.

Blue Mountains on the way to Port Antonio
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Stream through the Blue Mountains
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Coast Near Port Antonio
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Port Antonio
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Pork cooking at the Jerk Center, Boston Beach
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Our "living room" at great huts. There was also a large "bedroom" and a private dining area, plus a full kitchen.
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The short path from Great Huts to the Jerk Center
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I'm enjoying your report and I like you travel style. Thanks for the pictures too! Looks great.

Great Huts. The Castle in the Background is one of the nicer huts.
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Sea View From Great Huts
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The "Bar" at Great Huts. At one of the higher points of the property, overlooking the water on a high cliff. The tower in the background, another hut, seemed like it would be absolutely amazing, but not for anyone with a fear of heights, such as myself.
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Boston Beach
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Boston Beach
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Going Raftin'!
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On the Rio Grande
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Awwwwwww
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The Blue Lagoon
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Beach Area at Great Huts
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Sea at Great Huts. It was wonderful. There were swimming areas where you could sit and watch these giant waves appearing to come right at you, but would barely affect the swimming areas.
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Great report. Can't wait till you get to Negril ....

Your "off the beaten tracks" pics have been FABULOUS and we are looking for more....love all your pics.

Really great read kiknback. Curious if these waters are croc free? I'm guessing so since you are so exposed. Thanks for sharing your adventure and I am really looking forward to the rest.

aweswome report....