Sunsets, Rum, Sand and Gizzadas 97 Days in Negril

[butch]

Is that the stand across from negril escape that has the sea-puss soup?? He only had fruit and such a month ago when I was there....great fresh squeezed OJ every morning, but no soup....I would have had that soup every day! They crank some heavy dancehall music at the place next to him, by the barber shop, most nights (Gerryg your friend Sheldon spins tunes there sometimes and is a pretty good DJ). You will get a kick out of the saying on the awning there Kahuna, check it out next time by there

[MilwaukeeMike]

I love octopus (sea puss) but I've never tasted any in Jamaica worth a sh!t. If someone wants to recommend a place, I'm in for trying it. EVERYONE I've tried was as tender as a Hankook tyre. I don't know if was cooked too long or not cooked enough but it wasn't very good. Good octopus is a treat.

[msbookpack&go]

Try Swordfish on of our Favorites. Always very tender. I think they beat the hell out of it (the sea puss)... Stewed down in coconut milk.

[Kahuna3]

Ohh!! Sea puss is octopus - OK. I just couldn't imagine making a soup out of those slugs.


For all of you who are suffering up north, specially my friends in Winter Hell (Ottawa) who have to wear crampons on their boots to walk safely outside, I must tell you that the weather here is sunny, hot and lovely and your time soon-come.

The kids are back to school this week. I just saw a taxi bike going by with five on board; two smaller kids seated on the gas tank in front of the driver and two bigger kids seated behind him. All the kids were dressed in their prim uniforms and all were carrying their little backpacks with them. No helmets, of course.

More on Tanya . . .
She was sitting with us the other evening and suddenly she said, “Me ‘ave a question to aks you! When me watch de American shows on TV, why do de kids all ‘ave der own beds? Ev’ry time dey go to bed, der is only one kid in de bed!?” This was said very quickly, rat-ta-tat-tat. Her rate of speech goes up the more time she spends with us.

Turns out Tanya never had her own bed growing up, even as a teenager.

Down on the West End Road a car backfired loudly – twice. Immediately, Tanya’s expression changed from happy and smiling to one of concern and worry. She glanced at me, her eyebrows raised.

“I think it was a car,” I said.

“You sure?” she said, looking in the direction of the sound. It was then I noticed that her keychain, lying on the table, had a six-inch switchblade attached to it. Tanya had previously told us that she had spent most of her teenage years growing up in Kingston.

Tanya’s boyfriend was working on New Year’s Eve. But that wasn’t going to stop her from going out and ringing in the New Year. When we asked her what her plans were, she told us she was going to get dressed up, then walk with one of her girlfriend’s down to her boyfriend’s workplace, give him a kiss and then head back into center town and hang out there. At the moment she’d had her hair up in a kerchief and was wearing a ragged Hollister top and some old flannel shorts.

We saw here before she headed out, and did she ever dress up! Tanya is tall and slim; she wore a tight short dress that showed lots of leg and generous cleavage. Her hair was all gussied up and her makeup was done to a T. To finish it off she wore a pair of seven inch, glittery pumps. Given her boyfriend’s reaction to the Facebook hot-tub photos, Bea and I weren’t so sure it would be a good idea for her to go and visit her man, the way she was dressed, and all.

Later on New Year’s Day we found that her visit hadn’t gone as planned. Tanya came and got Bea and they had a long woman to woman discussion. Tanya said she was moving out. Her NYE outfit did not solicit the expected response, in fact, quite the opposite. The drama drew out for the whole day. Tanya spent a lot of time at our place, she was on and off the phone a lot. She said she’d had a big bumba argument with her beau, but she didn’t really remember what was said.

However, today, she’s still around and as happy as ever.

Winner's plaza - where the bike taxis hang out in the morning.


So if I drink a lot of Red Stripe I'll develop a 21 inch waist? Is that what this ad is trying to tell me?


Some shacks on the road across from White Hall Plaza.

[MikeyNYC]

And the next three post are quotes.....

"A white woman walking alone in Negril is likely to be approached by a Jamaican man (or a steady stream of them!) and propositioned. They are constantly on the lookout to recruit a ‘sugar momma’ from foreign who will provide them with money and trinkets for their ‘company’. The ideal situation for the man would be to have a virtual harem of several sugar mommas who wire him money throughout the year and bring presents down when they come to visit."


really???????

i hadn't noticed this before. Is this why the line is so long at Western Union? Is this why beach boys get territorial when speaking to a white chick?

Seriously though, I cannot even imagine how some of these dudes do it. Vick's Vapor Rub?

Obviusly, they eat the slime from the coconut and drink magnum.

[Kahuna3]

[KahunaRant]

Those Damn Motor Bikes (!! Venting Alert !!)

The motor bikes here are relentless. If I was a Tweeter I’d tag this #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!!

You may remember, in a previous rant, that I said that my biggest beef about Negril was the #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!! Well that feeling has hardened. The #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!! roar up and down the roads here all day long and most of the night.

Don’t get me wrong; I like motorcycles just as much as the next gearhead. I’ve owned a few myself. And, at least once per trip, I’ll rent a bike and go for a ride in the country.

But the #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!! riders here, are a big problem. This is a list of some of the behaviors I witness virtually every day:

- speeding (like two to three times the speed limit)
- reckless driving, (weaving all over the road for no apparent reason)
- failing to stop at a stop sign (they just beep and ride through the stop guards at Grand Pineapple)
- unsafe overloading of a vehicle – I’ve seen up to six people on one bike. Really, six.
- improper passing – inside, outside, and on blind corners
- riding while drinking a box drink/Guinness with the other hand
- riding while talking on a cell phone
- riding while texting (seriously)
- operating a motorcycle while impaired ( how do I know? ummm, just maybe?)
- operating a motorcycle while stoned
- driving on the wrong side of the road
- operating a motorcycle on a pedestrian sidewalk
- operating a vehicle that creates excessive noise
- riding a motorcycle without a helmet (OK, not against the law and maybe good for the Darwinian principle, so forget that one)
- DWI (driving while an idiot)

There’s a bike taxi guy who runs around up here; this must be his area. The other day he dropped a guy off just down the street from where we were walking. He turned the damn bike around to return in the direction from which he had come. He gunned the bike and popped a wheelie, then, as he passed us, he made his damn bike backfire three or four times. Rude bwoy, rude.

One good thing about the torrential rains we get occasionally; it keeps the #DamnNegrilMotorBikes!! off the road for a while.

[/KahunaRant]


Bike taxi dudes, lounging in front of the 'No Bike Taxi Parking' sign.

[Kimbobwee]

Rude bwoy.....rude bwoy!!!!....lol..agreed! No bikes on the beach....pavements a different story. Don't tell me, You still not digg'n the house on the hill? How many x's do u get awaken in the evening in your blissful sleep? Maybe we should travel one day.?

[Kahuna3]

Rude bwoy.....rude bwoy!!!!....lol..agreed! No bikes on the beach....pavements a different story. Don't tell me, You still not digg'n the house on the hill? How many x's do u get awaken in the evening in your blissful sleep? Maybe we should travel one day.?

Actually enjoying this place and really like the neighbourhood. No problems sleeping here, close the windows at night and sleep 'til sunrise. Walking the roads around here (anywhere) is another story entirely.

Sorry for the rant but why does a 125cc motorbike have to make as much noise as a 600hp desert racing machine??

[billndonna]

The bikes are the worst we ever heard this year.We stayed at Catcha Falling Star in Pisces and we do not go to bed until very late night/early morning.Every night I was woke up by bikes going by and backfiring like crazy.We never heard so much noise as we heard this year!

[MoFromMonroe]

I will chime in here too. Stayed at Coco La Palm in Nov/Dec in a room by the road. Lots of nights there was no sleep because of the bikes racing up and down the road in the middle of the night. Where are the cops????