March 2018 - In Love With the People

[mbrennan5]

I had read about doing split stays a few years ago and the lack of vendors in the West End intrigued me. I recalled our walk to Margaritaville in 2011 where I made the mistake of allowing a vendor to put a bud in my hand. The exchange ended with me counting to 3 warning that I would drop his beautiful green into the ocean. He finally took it back, but I was annoyed.
I wasn’t sure if we’d miss the beach, or how we’d like swimming in the cliffs, so a hotel with a pool was high on the list. We also weren’t sure if we could live without A/C so that was added to the list. Our price range precluded the really high end places, and frankly, the lower price ranges is part of what attracted us back to Negril. After CSA we knew we could experience Negril for a fraction of the cost. I just wasn’t sure how low we’d be comfortable going. After a bunch of reading on here it seemed like you couldn’t go wrong at Catcha Falling Star or Tensing Pen. (On another note, many people make it out to be these two places to be more similar properties than they actually are. I’ll touch more on that when we visit Ivan’s). I mapped out the dates that the cheaper rooms at both were available. We chose the Garden Cabin at Tensing Pen over the Pisces room at Catcha.

Turning to the beach planning, I loved the looks of places like Idle Awhile (of course visually with the CSA influence) and Country Country, but the prices seemed on the higher side. I did a lot of reading about places like Coco La Palm, Negril Treehouse and Rondel Village. After looking at Legends the idea of semi or all-inclusive came up. There seemed to be a lot more food options on the cliffs and maybe by the end of the trip we’d like the laziness of all-inclusive. I had read good things about Grand Pineapple as a good A/I option that didn’t break the bank, and when it aligned with our West End options I booked it.

I convinced my wife that she could fit everything in her Osprey Farpoint 40 backpack so that we wouldn’t have to check bags. Carrying a backpack instead of dragging along a suitcase changes the feel of travel for me. I’m on the move, ready for adventure! I don’t require so many objects that I need a box with wheels to bring it all with me! As we’d later learn, apparently others view travelers this way as well.

The night before we planned to leave United canceled our flight from Newark to MBJ due to an incoming Nor’Easter. The weather showed we would beat the storm out of the city, but United was being proactive. I was training a new hire at work while simultanuosly texting with my wife as she sat on hold with United and found an alternative flight on Air Canada through Toronto. After a few hours of nail biting, we were able secure vouchers in place of the outbound flights and booked one-ways on Air Canada. Depart 15 minutes later, arrive same time. Deal!