Just got back home....

[rocknrollfarmer]

Hey Mike_D: That particular trip to Half moon beach was a "free" shuttle. Not sure on any other shuttles, You'll have to contact them. Andrew is the owner.
MONDAY FEB. 27: Start of the "work" week? Up at 7:15. Ran into Rasta David. I had coffee, and he encouraged me to try some of his Irish moss/roots drink. So, I'm open to most everything....what the heck? It was a thick liquid, brown in color and sweetened with honey. It wasn't bad. David said..."It makes you strong mon" "Good for the ladies". "Front end lifter"...Yippie!!!! Breakfast is really good at NTH. The steamed callaloo is the best. Omelets, waffles, fruits, porridge, grits, bacon, beans & franks, brown stewed chicken, pastries etc. Skies are kinda overcast today. Might be a good day for the one love bus. I called Lenbert, and he said he had a "special group" tour going today, but could fit the four of us {Denny + Tami} with them. I told him that we would promise to behave and what not.
So, we lined up the pick-up for 2:55. Denny + Tami came over at 11:30 {they are still at Seastar}. They are drinking. We didn't want to look like woosies, so we joined in. We took a walk down to Cosmos Seafood restaurant. The folks at CSA & Beaches are happy playing with they're kids in the sand. I talked to Cosmos about the pasta party from the reggae marathon last December. He said it was yuuuge! Hopes to have it there this year too. We walked back to NTH, and waited for Lenbert. There was probably only about 28 party people on the bus. They didn't look so "special". Kinda looked like us...graying hair, beer bellies etc. Off we go. Went to a couple places we haven't been before. Shanytown was good. Deb brought along candy for the kids. They really liked that. A fun tour...we're all "special" lol.
Denny + Tami got off at Seastar, and we had Lenbert let us off at Kenny's Italian, since we were hungry. We both had the ragu pasta . Really tasty. After supper, we met Curt and his wife on the nice sidewalk. We get back to NTH, by now it's late. 9:00 or so... No plans for tomorrow. Drifter's has music. We'll see. Goodnight! Yamon'

[rocknrollfarmer]

TUESDAY FEB. 28: Let's keep going..... up at 7:30. Pretty calm morning. Still looking for Janarder. There's a blonde lady doing the SUP at NTH. {name withheld, she's shy} I like sitting in the gazebo by the ocean with a coffee, and write in my journal. Time for breakfast. Man, that steamed callaloo is good. Two heapings every day. Perfect. No plans for today, will meet up with Denny & Tami, and we did. Another day of bar-hopping. Dru's, Sunnyside, Big John cold beer at Drifter's and Arthurs beach bar. Bought some banana bread from the "bread guy", as I told him for a couple days that we would.....delicious! Time to get back and get cleaned up for supper. Gonna go to Charella Inn. They wouldn't let us in, cause I only had a tank-top on.
They said they would lend me a shirt, and I said "naaa". Then we walked back, and decided on Sun Beach. Table for two in the sand by the ocean with candles. Perfect. We had the fish & chips, salad and PUMPKIN soup. Very good. Walked back to NTH on the beach, and there was a bon-fire. We got there at the end. That blonde lady was there. She said she likes John Deere tractors. Plus those "campground" people from Canada were there. Time for bed. The President is on TV...Bigly, yuuuge! Good night. Like Lynyrd Skynyrd sang "Tuesday's gone".....yamon'

[Mike_D]

Great reporting, as always!

Shanytown was good. Deb brought along candy for the kids. They really liked that. A fun tour...we're all "special" lol.

So, this "Shantytown" has generated quite a bit of controversy on the Trip Advisor Forums. Is this really the name of the community or is it a name made up by Pub Crawl patrons? I have not been there on the tour, but have seen pictures and to me it looks no different than, say, Red Ground or Sheffield. Seems to me that maybe some participants of the One Love Bus stopped at this bar (which is actually called Bridgette's) and described the area as a "Shantytown" in a TA review. From there, other reviewers and pub crawlers just ran with it. I would be interested to hear how this community is described locally, from Rob or others that stay in Negril long term.

[rocknrollfarmer]

Hey Mike_D....Yes, Rob might be more informed on this area. When we were there, we stopped by the Elvis & Laura love lane. The bar we got beers at was called "Juliette's" If I remember correctly. Hey folks we are winding down! WEDNESDAY MARCH 1: Up at 7:38. Coffee down by the gazebo. Today we leave NTH, and move to "Rooms". We booked the BIG catamaran Tortuga. Denny & Tami are coming along. We haven't been on a catamaran for about 6 years. Had our BIG breakfast at NTH. Did I mention that the callaloo is great? We said some goodbyes to the staff. We called our taxi driver to come pick us up. We get to Rooms, and the check-in was just fine, even though our room was not ready. No worries mon'. We left all of our luggage in the lobby, and headed down to Margaritaville to get on the Tortuga. Jimmy's was really full of party people. Crazy busy...DJ Blaze was getting the girls all pumped up with the booty shaking....shot shot shots!!! The yellow Tortuga is a 70 footer, and was full. We took off for the coral reefs for snorkeling first. {No booze til after snorkeling} It was cool, seen some colorful fish. Then it's party time! Got two hands? Get two drinks!! Rum punch, Red Stripe etc. Some of the young girls liked the pole dancing...Denny and I didn't look. ..#@&*%$!
Ge to Rick's Café, and as usual it's packed. Everybody got off to get on the skiff o go into Rick's. We stayed on the cat. after all we paid for the open bar, why go into Rick's and fork over a bunch more cash? Tight wads we are. Time to head back, we got everybody back, I think. It started to rain. A good trip. Get back to Rooms. Our luggage is in our room. Nice room #2102. two beds, 2nd floor overlooking the road. Kinda noisy. The shower is fancy! We go back down to the beach, go over to Woodstock, and run into Jeff from Kentucky, and Luciano is performing at Roots Bamboo.
Jeff said, let's go watch the concert through the "peep" holes in the blue tarp that surrounds Roots. That's Jamaican style! Only stayed for a bit, as we were still feelin' the rum punches from the boat trip. Can't remember if we ate or not....nighty night! Wednesday in the books mon' Yamon'

[jojo p]

Ahhhhh.... So many nights you don't remember, with friends you will never forget !!!

( I stole that one from you Momthor !!! )

[rocknrollfarmer]

THURSDAY MARCH 4: Up at 7:30. Walked around the property for the first time. Went down for the breakfast. Had coffee. Rooms has some fruit, cereal and a hard boiled egg? Oh and some toast. After all that....hung out by the pool & beach area. We took a walk down to the gift shop at Merills 3, to exchange a top Deb had gotten, but didn't fit so good. No problem mon'. Had to have a morning dirty banana at Yellow Bird. They are good in the morning! Go ahead, it's ok. Got back to Rooms, and Denny & Tami were waiting for us, then we all walked back down to Bourbon Beach and Alfred's. We were hungry, and have never had the fish & chips at Alfred's ...so we did! I had a large double rum punch at Bourbon Beach. D+ T left, and we made plans to meet back later at Drifter's for the afternoon music. We went there later, and it started to rain. A lot! Rain is a good thing. The rain finally stopped, and Luddy started the show. We kinda figured D + T wouldn't come down, so we left and bar hopped on the way back to Arthur's and Sunnyside, then continued on to NTH, and found the kids at their room on the balcony working on the booze they brought from home. {no sense taking that back home...right?} Then lo and behold, it got dark on us, so we figured we'd better head back. {forgot our flashlight again!" Get back to Rooms, and we are bushed.
Need some food, Deb didn't want to go anywhere, so I walked across the street to Coletta's, and from Arlene's recommendation, ordered the medium fried chicken meal with fries and rice and peas. And the Tuna sandwich with fries, and rice & peas. That's a lot of food, and cheap! I highly recommend the tuna sandwich from Coletta's! Another day in paradise in the books! The week is just flying by! We are going to have to start to face reality pretty soon {going home}. Sleepy time. Yamon'

[rocknrollfarmer]

FRIDAY MARCH 3: Up early, I skipped the hard boiled egg at breakfast. We just hung out at the beach, then walked to the left, down to Bourbon Beach. I wanted Deb to take my picture with me on the stage doing my best Bob Marley impression. Oh, by the way my favorite BM song is "Waiting in Vain". They are all good. Then....guess who we run in to??? Those crazy kids from South Dakota! D + T! So, what the heck, we've only been drinking for 18 days now, why stop now? Another "walkin'" Rum punch from Bourbon Beach, and a few Red Stripes. I brought along those big styrofoam cups from home. They work good for "walkin' drinks" {Thanks fargoman! He's so smart!} Today is music day at The Boat Bar. I called Kevin Sterling to come there to sing. They had a really good crowd. It was Otis day, Crystal was there and some guy who tried....Frank was great on the trumpet as usual. Deb, Tami & Denny left, and I waited for Kevin to show up. Kevin came by, but there might have been some tension....competition? So, he didn't get to sing, and left, and so did I. Whatever! Then we ran into those campground people from Canada. Must try to remember their names. They are a hoot! You Canadian folks are great! And from what I've been asking them about their health care system...they are ok with it! Actually, another couple said "they loved it". Hello? Hello? America! We made it back home to Rooms, and we went over to Coletta's {again}. Ordered the Chicken Penne pasta. OMG it was good! Oh geez, look at the time...9:30!!! Time for bed. Tomorrow we go home...now reality is setting in. Yamon'

[jamaicarob]

Hey Mike_D....Yes, Rob might be more informed on this area. When we were there, we stopped by the Elvis & Laura love lane. The bar we got beers at was called "Juliette's" If I remember correctly. Hey folks we are winding down! WEDNESDAY MARCH 1: Up at 7:38. Coffee down by the gazebo. Today we leave NTH, and move to "Rooms". We booked the BIG catamaran Tortuga. Denny & Tami are coming along. We haven't been on a catamaran for about 6 years. Had our BIG breakfast at NTH. Did I mention that the callaloo is great? We said some goodbyes to the staff. We called our taxi driver to come pick us up. We get to Rooms, and the check-in was just fine, even though our room was not ready. No worries mon'. We left all of our luggage in the lobby, and headed down to Margaritaville to get on the Tortuga. Jimmy's was really full of party people. Crazy busy...DJ Blaze was getting the girls all pumped up with the booty shaking....shot shot shots!!! The yellow Tortuga is a 70 footer, and was full. We took off for the coral reefs for snorkeling first. {No booze til after snorkeling} It was cool, seen some colorful fish. Then it's party time! Got two hands? Get two drinks!! Rum punch, Red Stripe etc. Some of the young girls liked the pole dancing...Denny and I didn't look. ..#@&*%$!
Ge to Rick's Café, and as usual it's packed. Everybody got off to get on the skiff o go into Rick's. We stayed on the cat. after all we paid for the open bar, why go into Rick's and fork over a bunch more cash? Tight wads we are. Time to head back, we got everybody back, I think. It started to rain. A good trip. Get back to Rooms. Our luggage is in our room. Nice room #2102. two beds, 2nd floor overlooking the road. Kinda noisy. The shower is fancy! We go back down to the beach, go over to Woodstock, and run into Jeff from Kentucky, and Luciano is performing at Roots Bamboo.
Jeff said, let's go watch the concert through the "peep" holes in the blue tarp that surrounds Roots. That's Jamaican style! Only stayed for a bit, as we were still feelin' the rum punches from the boat trip. Can't remember if we ate or not....nighty night! Wednesday in the books mon' Yamon'

we usually stay in room 2102 or 2103 for the road entertainment at Rooms, soon come

[agregory]

Great reporting, as always!



So, this "Shantytown" has generated quite a bit of controversy on the Trip Advisor Forums. Is this really the name of the community or is it a name made up by Pub Crawl patrons? I have not been there on the tour, but have seen pictures and to me it looks no different than, say, Red Ground or Sheffield. Seems to me that maybe some participants of the One Love Bus stopped at this bar (which is actually called Bridgette's) and described the area as a "Shantytown" in a TA review. From there, other reviewers and pub crawlers just ran with it. I would be interested to hear how this community is described locally, from Rob or others that stay in Negril long term.

I saw that controversy on TA too, but didn't want to get "attacked" for chiming in We've been on the pub crawl for the past 4 years. On our second and third trips, the bus went to "Shantytown", which is actually what Lenbert called it. I'm pretty sure that it's just a community nearby Negril, similar to the Red Ground neighborhood and not really named Shantytown. But I could not tell you exactly where we were. The first time we went it was a little chaotic and I think a lot of the pub crawlers were shocked at what they saw outside of the tourist areas or AI that they were used to. I am always shocked at how many tourists get down with the dogs and cats, petting them and kissing them on the pub crawl - eek! I'm not a germaphobe, but I'm also not a cat or dog lover either. Actually, I prefer the dogs and cats of Ja because they aren't "Americanized" and they leave me alone LOL!

BTW - Thanks for the great TR rocknrollfarmer!