Clarity, Markus and Jamar in Negril – Nov 2011 Trip Report: Day 1-3

[marley9808]

Oh No! Sorry to hear about Markus. Those ear infections can be terrible, I hope they get him on something to clear it up. I once had a sinus infection that got so bad it went to my eye also and it looked horrible but then they gave me drops and it cleared up pretty quickly. So I hope Markus got some help at the urgent care and hopefully he is on the way to a quick recovery!
I know how you must feel being worried about him and not close enough to help. I am hoping you both get some relief soon!

[irie always]

Only thing worse about an ear infection on ground is the anticipation of having to be 33,000 feet in the air with one. I'm sure Marcus will get the necessary antibiotics to get that on the mend.
I must say that when I came down for Happy Hour to the Seastar Bar on the Saturday before the show that I did witness the love and friendship. Now Daisy was not around at the time but Marcus and Jamar were in the pool sitting on their side of the bar. I have never seen such happiness expressed on those two faces of two guys sitting together with Marcus giving Jamar the biggest hug. It was so special that I couldn't even interrupt it with "Hey - you must be Marcus and Jamar" - I just enjoyed the moment and let them enjoy theirs. Wish I could of taken a picture though - it was a kodak moment!
At least I did manage to get over later in the evening to introduce myself and meet the infamous trio!

[Maryann]

Totally loving your trip report and photos. Hope Marcus' ear infection gets better soon. Those can be so painful and hard to heal up, especially with all the time he has spent on an airplane.

[Clarity]

Thank you so much everyone for your well wishes and positive vibes for Markus.
We chatted on Skype this morning and he's doing so much better! The antibiotic drops got rid of his pink eye and his ear infection is slowly clearing up. He's definitely on the mend. I'm so relieved.
It's really hard being apart like this..I wish I could just fast forward through the next two weeks...


IrieAlways - it was so great meeting you at Seastar! Oh and I have a snapshot of that scene you described at the swim up bar - just before I left them to take a nap, I'll post it later. Yes, They were so happy that night!

Now Jamar is going to step up to the bat, get this trip report moving again...!
Then I'll have a go
and Markus is fast asleep in Germany, so he will be updating tomorrow.

Over to you, Jamar...

[jamariquoi]

So finally I get the chance to sit down and write about my experiences in Jamaica!

First off I want to apologize to everyone that’s been eagerly anticipating my response to such an interesting trip. To start things off, the night before our departure for Jamaica, I was feeling very nervous. So nervous that I couldn’t sleep I was putting more into this trip than I ever have a trip before. I’ve been to numerous places around the globe, from Paris all the way to Thailand,
but somehow I thought this trip was going to be just a little bit different because this was the first country for me that is predominately a Black Country…. Not to make this about race but I was thinking how this trip was going to affect me considering that the faces I’ll be staring at would be almost like looking at your own reflection in a mirror. How are these people going to perceive me?
Will they like me? Will they look at me with envy due to the fact that I’m coming from America (“Land of opportunity and immense wealth”- at least in their minds ) These were the thoughts that were running through my head even before I could set foot on the plane to begin my adventures. I was afraid by what I was going to see… you read often in the news or see on TV about the poverty in these countries, but I was going to be seeing this up close and personal...

Finally after a fairly short flight (I felt it was shorter than what I imagined, but maybe because of the anxiousness I felt) we land in Jamaica!!!

Upon arriving into Montego Bay, the one emotion that hit me the most was Insecurity! I felt this sense of insecurity come over me as many of the locals were staring at me! We’re they staring at me with disgust? We’re they staring at me because they were intrigued by me (Seeing as how I looked the quintessential foreigner)? That was the thoughts I was experiencing as I was trying to look and act excited when talking with my friends Markus and Daisy.

So we find our driver… His name is Chicken- it’s so funny because that’s his nickname! I noticed that everyone in Jamaica has nickname that they’re called. In my family it’s the same way (You never get called by your real name but by a nickname based on your personality or behavior from start of birth- Don’t laugh, but my family calls me “SCOOP”- not really sure why, I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m greedy and eat all the time)

Anyway, digressed a little there, so when I met Chicken, I felt a little more at ease and he put me there, we had such a great conversation on the road to Negril, we talked about similarities in the Jamaican culture and the African American culture and based from talking with him, I could see that there were a lot more similarities than differences. We stopped along the way to have a quick beer and chatted some more…


Bar we stopped at.

Based from talking to Chicken, the first Jamaican I spoke to by the way, I was starting to feel a little at ease, but was I still feeling insecure?

Oh Hell YES!!!!!!!



So Chicken stopped us by Bigga’s for some Jerk Chicken, my first jerk chicken ever experienced…
Markus and Daisy told me about Bigga and his famous chicken so I was eagerly excited to try it…


Biggas.

So we ordered and Bigga sprinkles that Jerk Sauce on…. Let me tell you,
it was the hottest hot sauce I ever experienced… I’m sure many of you that are reading this are probably scoffing at this or laughing deep down inside… but for me, who hates anything really spicy or don’t have a knack for the flavor, this was HOT!!!!!! So I had to resort to mixing it with some Ketchup but all in all it was real good and enjoyed it very much!


Me, Markus and Chicken at Biggas

More coming soon

[Clarity]

I have to agree with Jamar, Bigga's Jerk chicken sauce is crazy spicy!

This was also my first visit to Bigga's – We had heard so much about him from everyone else on the board, we had to try it! The only jerk chicken I've ever had before that was from “Best of the West” and “Jerky's” - both places have very mild sauce.

I noticed the color of Bigga's jerk sauce was different from what I was used to seeing. It's a kind of light brownish hue which perplexed me. The smells were intoxicating though so I lunged in full force and shoved a big piece of chicken soaked in Jerk sauce straight into my mouth. I gasped after my first bite, causing Bigga to glance at me with a slightly confused expression. My lips were burning and I reached for my pineapple drink. I began to gulp it down frantically.

“Th-That's so hot” I whispered. Jamar nodded at me and his eyes were watering. Markus meanwhile was joyfully scarfing it down.

Mixing it with Ketchup helps cool down the sauce and once I found the perfect mixture, I was in heaven. The chicken is soft, falling off the bone and completely delicious. Bigga knows what he's doing.



Jamar and Markus were both in good spirits, joking and laughing with Chicken.

I noticed that when Jamar first arrived in Jamaica, he looked overwhelmed, insecure and on edge. Not his usual self at all. His smiles didn't reach his eyes and he was glancing around nervously. I was a little worried...what if he feels uneasy like this during the whole trip and leaves Jamaica with mixed emotions? What if he has a bad time?

I remembered how much there was for me to digest on my first trip, how INTENSE it all was... this time I was coming in so much more relaxed and prepared. I tried to put his mind at ease, but I also understood where he was coming from.

Chicken quickly made Jamar feel comfortable as soon as we got in the car. Immediately Jamar and Chicken started talking easily with each other and cracking up. (I love Chicken's laugh!) He's a great guide, pointing out all the different locations and sharing information about Jamaica. I could see Jamar's shoulders relaxing and he totally was getting into the Island vibe. Chicken started teaching us Patois and the conversation was lively, relaxed and fun.

Markus was all smiles during the ride, we were sitting together in the back and squeezing each others hands in excitement.

Chickens magic bus – He didn't bring out the bus because there was only three of us, but I a lot of magic. I highly recommend him. It was such a great ride. (Thanks Shauna and Raul!)

At one point about 20 minutes from Negril, Chicken turned on some Peter Tosh and we all just took in the views around us. It was so peaceful... the passing landscape, dotted with goats on one side and then the turquoise water on the other. The warm breeze from the open windows and a ice cold red stripe in my hands.

Best feeling in the world.



It was around 2:45 when we arrived in Negril and pulled into the Grand Pineapple. We had originally planned on joining the love shuttle bar crawl at 3pm, but realized we wouldn't have enough time to get checked in and settled by then so we had to abandon that plan.

We said our goodbye's to Chicken. He told us he'd be parked right across the street if we needed anything. That's his spot, if anyone in Negril is looking for him.

We were immediately greeted by familiar faces once we entered the grand pineapple. First person was Tayshaun from the reception area.

“Oh my god! Daisy, Markus! You're back! I thought you were reserved for April?!”

“Well.. we changed the reservations because we couldn't wait that long...”

“Welcome back!!”

She hugged me and Markus. We introduced her to Jamar.

We checked in and received our wristbands..



We asked about Ralston, our favorite security guard in the world...

“He's not here anymore. He moved to our sister property, “Beaches”

I was disappointed to hear that. I had been hoping he'd be there to take Jamar under his wing, the way he had done with us. The rest of the Grand Pineapple crew was all there.. and it felt like coming home to family.

[Clarity]

It's off-season, so they upgraded all of us from our economy priced Manor rooms to a beach side cottages. That was a dream come true! I had looked at the beach side cottages longingly during our last trip but they were out of our price range. I never imagined we'd end up there.

Jamar was taken to his cottage (room 31) bottom floor and literally steps from the beach. Markus and I were taken to our cottage (Room 50) at little further in the property and second floor. We walked past the familiar strutting Peacocks and the lush grounds.





I felt kind of dazed as though I was in a dream state, My excitement was masking my exhaustion.. it all felt kind of surreal.

Once we were alone in the room, Markus started walking around running his hands through his hair and taking it all in while shaking his head in disbelief.



“I can't believe we're here.. I can't believe we're here...I can't believe they upgraded us.. this is.. just...”

Meanwhile I tore open my suitcase and pulled out one of my bikini's. I had one thought and one thought only:.

BEACH.

No unpacking, no re-arranging toiletries – Who has time for that? I needed to get into the water.

Markus got changed into his bathing suit too and sat on the balcony with a smile. He had this kind of drugged look like that boy that had just gotten his teeth pulled out in that famous you tube video “Is this real life?”



I was feeling the exact same way.

[marley9808]

Daisy-so glad to hear Markus is on the mend!

Jamar- I am loving reading your point of view already, and really loving seeing the pics of you and Chicken and Markus. He is a great friend and I knew he would take real good care of you guys.
Can't wait to hear more about your take on Jamaica and your experiences......can't wait to hear more about all of it!

Mmmmmmm Biggas!

Oh I love this!
Daisy- how cool that the upgraded you that is awesome! Markus looks so happy.
And I am so glad you all loved Chicken. He is just the best guy. I always recommend him, because I trust him to take good care of anyone I send his way. He just has a way about him, making you feel at ease and like he can help you with anything, and he does. Every time I have ever needed anything, I just ask Chicken, and he can either get it for me, or take you me the person who can. And if anyone tried to take advantage of us or anything goes wrong, he ALWAYS reminds me to just "Call him"
Gotta love Chicken!

[Clarity]

Meanwhile Jamar was at the bar grabbing a round of dirty bananas for all of us and came up the steps to join us on our balcony. This was his first experience at an all inclusive, unlimited drinks!... I could see he would be taking full advantage of it. He already knew what to order too.

Then he disappeared again, said he'd meet us on the beach.

****

Stepping onto the soft sand again and seeing the beach caused that same feeling of awe to wash over me. I closed my eyes and breathed in. I listened to the waves.. inhaled the sea air... This was the moment I had been waiting for.

I found Jamar already chilling on the hammock... Markus ,of course, had to mess with him. Boys will be boys.



Jamar disappeared again. I looked around confused and then found him at the spa area

He was getting his complimentary massage...

But when I looked back 5 minutes later, he was gone from there too.

“Where's Jamar?” - little did I know, I'd be asking that question a lot during this trip.

Markus pointed out to the beach.



Uh oh...

One vendor...
Two vendors...
Suddenly he was surrounded
I wondered what was going on and how he was going to handle it.

[gerryg123]

I've done the Ketchup trick several times myself -- the jerk at Bourbon Beach is crazy spicy, too -- and it works out cause I love ketchup anyway, especially Jamaican.

Keep it up, Clarity. Good details, can't wait to see more of the report.