i have been staying on the West End for many years and i love it and am sure i will return. But this year, i decided to stay on the beach, and realized i had forgotten just how wonderful life can be, living on the beach for my stay in Negril.
customs at the airport in Mobay was like nothing I've ever seen.. took forever, I heard there was a strike of airport workers, but no one could verify.
of course, after finally arriving in Negril, my days soon began to fall into rhythm with my surroundings.
i awake every morning snuggling deeper into the sun dried sheets that feel so comforting and smell so good. then, i remember where I am and look out of the open shutters of my little cottage. i can hear all sorts of birds chirping their first chirp of the day, so i know the new day is dawning, even though i can see only the faint beginnings of light over the hills behind Negril.
i get up and sit on my front porch to be a part of it.
Glorious sunrise. and some of the largest flowers i’ve ever seen, just about to open. and they are everywhere. at 6:30 a.m., i walk the few steps it takes to get to the beach and to the coffee., along the way i pick sea grapes and pop them into my mouth. i see hummingbirds that look like they are posing for pics (but i’m always too late to catch them).
i hate to give this secret away, but Firefly has complimentary Blue Mountain coffee that begins around 6:30, and continues until about11:30. every morning i have coffee with people from all over the world. a young man from Israel who just fulfilled is mandatory three years of duty, a woman from England who is now living in Kingston and has started three charity projects there, a couple from Italy, and also a girl from Peru. facinating and thought provoking conversation every single morning.
then it’s time for a swim, and to claim my beach chair to read for a while, and await breakfast to come along before the adventures of my day begin.
but, i don’t read that first morning.. or any other time throughout my whole stay in Negril… reading is for when I'm scrunched up on the plane, or for having an unfortunate layover in Miami. not when I have the Caribbean Sea in front of me and can observe the early morning runnings going past me on the beach!
I am from Florida and this is the only place I've ever seen raking of the sand every morning. I ask Chris why they do it when moments later it gets messed up. He said, "because it looks nice in the early morning". Chris has it going on.
soon, Neville comes by, with his fresh baked and warm cocobread. he would not be distracted from our business of buying one, when a beachchair neighbor said to him, “you know you are famous on the internet, don’t you?” Neville could not care less.. he just wants to provide for his family.
and breakfast is not complete without fruit from the fruit lady.
