Wednesday-
My long lost Buddy and his wife come back to the beach to hang with us for the day. Having booked the dinner excursion to Zimbali instead of lunch to avoid any significant disruptions to the beach wanderings, Ashton pulls up around 4. We pick up another couple at Rockhouse and take the scenic route through Orange Hill, gazing at all the drug lord's castles.
Now we're really out there, crawling through paths through sugar cane fields to finally arrive at Zimbali. Very cool spot with a great vibe. The dinner, although not the best or most authentic Jamaican food we've had, is great fun. Definitely worth doing at least once.
Thursday-
Another day of beach wandering and pandering (or at least trying to) to my wife's birthday needs and wishes. Drinking a bottle of the elusive Cuban rum, aged for 7 years, very very smooth and unobtainable in the US, at least for now.
With my wife still clueless about what I have planned, we walk over to our ride to Ivan's. An unmarked van, perfect. I tell the driver to cool the conversation as she still doesn't know where she's going. We pull up to Catcha, she recognizes the place but isn't quite sure where we are yet.
I check in with the girls at the reception desk and they start leading us to our table. Wait a minute, this table only has 4 candles. I glance to the right where the 100 candle deal is in full swing with another couple. I call the receptionist over and ask what's going on. Luckily, I brought the supporting emails with me so I show them the confirmation. The manager is very apologetic and I try to play it cool at how bummed I am.
I figure it's going to drive me nuts having to watch their 100 candle dinner, so I go back up and ask to be moved to the cliffside patio. After that, we settle in and figure we'll make the best of it. A bottle of champagne is brought over unasked, I decline, not wanting to disrupt the flow of rum.
We share jerk shrimp and coconut shrimp, then she gets grilled lobster while I go for the seafood curry. The curry is amazing, big chunks of lobster and other goodies from the sea in a spicy, delicious sauce. We decide to forgo dessert and ask for the check. After what seems like a long wait, the waitress comes back and tells us it's all been comped! Very classy move and will definitely get my return business.
