First time Negril Trip report

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OK, full day 1.

Of course, the first day we wanted to hit the beach for a little. Paul, the security guard at Kuyaba, found us a nice shady spot under a palm tree and we set up camp there for a couple of hours.
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As others have said in previous trip reports, the security guard does a pretty good job of limiting the vendors to 0 rebuttals. They can ask if you want to see their goods, but if you so no thanks, they must move on. That made it pretty enjoyable to see all of the various things they sold. We ended up getting fresh juice every day for $5 per bottle. I forget the guys name, but I think there was only one guy selling it the whole time we were there. He never failed to find us tho, lol. Each day was a different flavor, my favorite being pineapple and ginger, and my wife's was sour sop (?). Great mixers or just nice at breakfast.

Around noon it started to cloud up. As it turned out, it rains nearly every day during this time of year. The rain can be anything from a few sprinkles to a couple hour downpour.

We didn't want to be on the beach for the rain so we packed up and looked for a place to grab some lunch. Right next door was an empty lot, they were setting up some live music so we headed there. Live music is a big reason we decided to go to Negril. The right music at the right volume can make any event a memorable one. We were told by some of the locals that this was unusual to have live music during the daytime. We were also told that the lead singer was the son of one of the guys from the reggae band culture, who we are fans of. They set up and played through a light shower, and it was a good time.

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During the show, one of the local guys we were with told me "Put your sub away, quickly! Hard hats are here." I looked over, and the police had shown up in force, maybe 6-8 of them wearing round, hard hats. They apprehended one of the "promoters" of them band and after quite of bit of excitement and verbal exchange, took him away with his hands bound. The locals were all shouting "Mafia, mafia" at the police as they left. I didn't understand at the time, but later it was explained to me that it meant that the locals felt that this was just a shakedown, that the venue was a new start up and had not paid off the appropriate officials to have such an event.

Some police stayed behind and did a couple of laps around the place before they left. They were definitely more interested in locals than they were tourists, which I'm told is pretty common. The locals feel that the tourists can basically get away with anything while they are often under heavy scrutiny.

We decided to go to "three dives" on the cliffs for dinner and the sunset, and the view was spectacular.
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Three dives was nothing like I expected. I had heard so much about it, I was expecting something fancy. This was a very rustic spot with gorgeous views, decent food and fair prices. We prefer local spots and enjoy local people, and try to soak in some of the culture. After sunset they had a fire dancer. While he was entertaining, the locals thought he was a little bit of a joke, since his show has a decidedly African flair, the locals don't see what that has to do with Jamaica. Tehy do seem to appraciate that he found a niche and a way to make some a few dollars. They tourists liked it, for sure.

After dinner, on the way home, I asked if there were any local bars with pool tables. The locals were a little hesitant to take us there because they said not many tourists go there. I insisted though, so off we went.

The first one, I forget the name, it was like Taylor's, or Tavon's or something. It was right next door to the place that sells "sub" cakes, brownies, etc. It had one small pool table, and an extremely attractive bartender named Roccelle. They also had very good, slow cooked chicken. The local there we surprised to see us, and were friendly, but not very talkative, so we didn't stay very long, although we would come back to visit Roccelle again before leaving ;-)

The next one was the Corner Bar. This was was I was looking for. Very local spot with some gambling on the pool table as well as the machines. We met Monique, one of the bartenders there. There was actually a line of locals there to get food, so I knew it was probably both good and affordable. There were a few shooters there, and while none of them were quite as good as I was, I was impressed by how seriously they took the game. I won a drinks, and earned a bit of a reputation. On the way out, Monique whispered in my ear that if I wanted to come back, I would be welcome to use her stick. I thanked her, and said i would be back.

We finished at burbon beach. I don't remember if it was a live band or a DJ, but it was good either way. That was where we met Bernard and Veronica. Bernard is a rasta about my age (40ish) with a youthful, confident stride. Veronica was georgous, and of Norwegian decent, but had lived with Bernard in Jamaica for the last few years. My sister, who has beein coming to Negril for 10+ years, highly recommended Bernard, saying he was trustworthy, and of a similar mind. We talked to Bernard about being our "night life" guide for the rest of the vacation, and he happily agreed.

Tomorrow night, we were going to Las Vegas.