Wow, sorry about your husband. Haven't heard of a destination funeral before but it sounds really nice to have his ashes buried at sea.

I no longer stay in Negril for the same reasons as you, but I still go to Jamaica a lot. Well, with a Jamaican wife and 3 adopted Jamaican kids (now grown) I guess that's to be expected.

When I met my wife (in Kingston) she had never been to Negril. "It's for the tourists" was her attitude. After a lovely first date in Kingston, she agreed to meet me in Negril for a weekend, as our second date. Seeing Negril through the eyes of a sophisticated young Kingston woman (one with a job/apartment/life in Kingston) was eye-opening. "Welcome to Jamaica" said the higglers with a big smile as they approached. "I'm *from* Jamaica" she'd reply. They'd go into their spiel anyway. She'd tell them to get a job and support themselves instead of begging money. "No jobs in Jamaica" they'd say. "Sure there are, I have one" she'd reply. She didn't have any sympathy for an able-bodied able-minded man her age begging money from her. Later she said she found Negril to be ... embarrassing?! "What do you mean?" I asked. She replied she felt like she had to apologize on behalf of her country for the bad behavior of the Jamaican higglers. "Let's get out of here" I said. And we did, going instead to a lovely little B&B in St Mary where she used to vacation with her family (and we were not hassled at all there).

Wow, that was a while ago. As I said, I don't go to Negril that much any more.

Peace and love,

Richard