Sunsets, Rum, Sand and Gizzadas 97 Days in Negril

[poolguywindsor]

Was a long last full afternoon, in Negril, a few rain showers and ducking under shelter with JT, at some point we end up at Canoe where <<<<<<<JT bought a tshirt, as we went to Pushcart for dinner, and I would guess he is the first person to go have dinner at Pushcart bare foot! lmao

[Lady Jane]

Thanks for reporting in. Must have been fun to meet the party crew at Sunnyside. Looking forward to your next posting

[justchuck]

Thanks for the update!

[captaind]

Return de pints dem...

[yetta]

" The tree frogs started up their nightly chorus (it seems to me that the Redground frogs are more full-throated than their beach brethren) and the bats had started their orbits around the almond tree."


True Dat!!! I always feel the the West End tree frogs really let their symphony flow at night. One of my favorite sounds in the world!

[Johio]

If I converted that correctly, that's about US$4.85 per US gallon for Regular Unleaded.

[Rum-polephoreskin]

Your trip report is cherished in Frost Bite Falls, where the wind chill is below zero.

*spoken through chattering teeth* Please keep it going!

BTW I think your Cockroach was a Katydid, unless Steely Dan and Katy Lied.

[Kahuna3]

Your trip report is cherished in Frost Bite Falls, where the wind chill is below zero.

*spoken through chattering teeth* Please keep it going!

BTW I think your Cockroach was a Katydid, unless Steely Dan and Katy Lied.

Katy-did lie, you can see it in her eyes.


OK – so today I do a likkle rant.

Like I said previously, we are planning on staying in Negril for 97 days. We knew of the 90 day visa limit, so before leaving home I called the Jamaican High Commission in Ottawa and asked if I could drop by and have them issue us 97 day visas – they advertise visas as one of the services they provide. The guy on the phone told me to hold, then after a short muffled conversation he came back on the line and said, “No,” but we could get it done upon entry at the airport in MoBay. No problem.

When we arrived at the airport, we asked the woman at Immigration for 97 day visas. She said “No,” but we could get it done at the Negril Police Station. No problem. She checked this with the guy at the next counter and he nodded confirming it for her.

A few days ago we bumped into a couple of Canucks at the Quality Traders (lime green) grocery store. We started talking. They’re farmers from Saskatchewan and they stay for the whole winter, so I asked them how they handle the 90 day visa thing. Turns out you have to go to MoBay, within one week of your 90 day visa expiry, and visit some guv’mint orifice there. There you fill out a form (no doubt the same info as the form you fill out on the airplane) and then you have to write a paragraph on why you should be allowed to stay on in Jamaica. No kidding, a likkle writing assignment – which actually could be fun. Then you fork over $10,000 each in fees. Yes, that’s a cool $100 US dollars - each.

So, to sum up;
- a return cab ride to MoBay, say $100 US,
- fill out some forms and do an English assignment at a guv’ment orifice,
- fork over $100US each visa fee
- and waste the better part of a day going to and returning from MoBay.
All of this for the privilege of spending more time and $$ on the island.

For us that means $300US and one lost day for 7 extra days?! Nah, doesn’t figure.
We changed our return dates to March 1 – exactly 90 days. And West Jet gave $128 credit when the change was made. That must have been a computer glitch, but I’ll take it.

Why does the Jam Guv’mint make it so difficult to stay longer than 90 days and charge so much for extending the visa? Revenue I figure. And I guess they don’t really care that much about long-stay people. They should. I’ll leave Jamaica on March 1 with about $1,000US in my jeans that I would have spent on hotel, food, booze and entertainment. Add that to the $300 we would have spent on the visa trip and the $128 WJ refund, and the numbers speak for themselves.

But it’s not about the $$, it’s about my utter disdain of guv’mint bureaucracy, wherever it may be. We have a corrupt provincial government in Ontario that wastes 10’s of billions of tax dollars every year – so it’s a sore point with me and I set off easy. But I’m done now.

Last night we went to Patrice’s bar on the West End Road, on the sea side just before Swordfish. There is a grouping of three little bars there – we are gonna check them all out. We met a couple of cats there – we love cats. After Patrice’s we went to a local Redground bar – Frankie’s I think. It’s a really basic kind of place, but the people there were very friendly and we had a good time. There was domino playing going on which apparently can go on until dawn.

Next – The Top Three Tourist Complaints about Negril.
Likkle more . . . .




Patrice's Bar - cat haven.


Frankie's Bar - well stocked, good company and dominoes 'til dawn.

[Bnewb]

Kahuna....the immigration/visa extension has been the same for quite a few years and addressed here on Negril.com quite frequently.
They will stamp you for 90 days maximum at the airport...then as you found out you have to go to Montego Bay or Kingston Immigration for any amount of days over the initial 90 day stamped period. You're allowed a maximum of approx. 6 months per year if you don't have permanent residency, citizenship or a work permit.
Note...for anyone else that plans on doing this...you will also need to take proof of your return ticket, along with filling out a form & your 10,000j processing fee.

As far as the Jamaican Gov't making it difficult for us to stay in Jamaica for extended periods...I guess it isn't much different than Canada or the US making it difficult for Jamaicans etc to stay on an extended visit...

Enjoying your report...see you around!

[smith744]

As far as the Jamaican Gov't making it difficult for us to stay in Jamaica for extended periods...I guess it isn't much different than Canada or the US making it difficult for Jamaicans etc to stay on an extended visit

Amen & Ditto to that..!!..

as for the other *rant-issues*:::::

#1....'tis GOOD that you didn't do as I once did,
on one of my recent extended-trips.

*they* told me to report to Negril police station,
to get an '..OK..' to stay-longer

i didn't do it --- played ignorant, and ignored the order

Upon departure,
at the final airport check-point :::: the immigration booth,
the immigration-lady looked at my likkle piece of paper,
and chastised & berated me sooooo-emphatically
that i wanted to cry.
:-(
she-SAY ((.in-brief.))::::>>> "...You MUST obey Jamaica's laws ....... IF you EVER do this again, you'll be banned from coming to Jamaica..."

* whew *

almost pee-ed on myself.
:-(

note:::>> not for sure, but me-*thinks* they got a nice likkle computer system now-days to keep on top of things ----- I'm waiting to *see* what the Snowden/NSA leaks disclose.

bottom-line:::>> DON'T *play* with the Ja-powers-that-be...!!..

#2....there is a significantly-cheaper *alternative* to that US$100 transport-fee (i.e., back & forth to MoBay). But i WON'T go into that in this thread/post/trip-report. Don't wanna cause any problems. My *alternative* cost less-than US $20 round-trip, per person.

#3....if/when I have need to *report* to MoBay for some government-bizness, I'll use it as a explore-ing opportunity ---- kinda-sorta like a vacation field-trip.