Sorry for the late report fellow boardies. Better late than yada yada yada.
Arrived at Sangster around 2PM on Saturday, February 1st. 20 or so minutes after leaving the jet, I was walking out in to the beautiful, hot and humid Jamaican air. I know it's going to be hot, but I'm always a little caught off guard by just how hot and humid it is.
Grabbed some cash from the NCB machine outside arrivals and Kwame, from Majestik Tours, and I were off. He had some of those black box rum punches nice and cold in a cooler in the van. First time I had tried one. Pretty strong and tasty! The trip to Negril was great. No backups of any significance anywhere along the route. Made 1 stop for some cold Stripes along the way and a quick stop for a little ganja to get me started. Arrived at Almond Tree Villas VRBO, also known as the Weise property, greeted Mama Weise and her housekeeper, grabbed my keys and settled in before heading to Drifters for day 1 of the 2025 Blues Fest.
The Blues Fest was great, as always. With so many artists wanting to take part, it ran 2 days this year, Saturday and Sunday, rather then just Sunday as it had been previously. 1 highlight was a guy doing Marshall Tucker Band's 'Can't you see'. Killed it. Some extremely tasty guitar work. Unfortunately, I do not know what his name was, but he was excellent! Another highlight was Iron Kyte. They played late Saturday and came back for an early set on Sunday. Others included Young Tony, Miss Robin Banks, Chicago Joe, Krystal Axe and Luddy. A well spent $6000J in my opinion.
Monday was getting in to the groove for the next 12 days. My days would usually start with a coffee and a puff on the balcony. Eventually I'd get to my toasted fried egg and cheese sandwich with a glass of mango/carrot or soursop juice, complimenting that with a banana and apple on some days. After breakfast and cleaning up, I'd grab a route taxi down to Burger King, walk to 1 Fusion Bar and Grill and grab a Stripe. Take a break, get the sunscreen on and start walking! The stops were usually as follows, or some combination of them. 1 Fusion, The Sandbox at NBCC, Big John at Drifters, Sunnyside and Sun Beach. I would usually walk back from Sun Beach to the Corner Bar, stopping at many small stores/bars along the way to refresh my dead Stripe. Sometimes, part of that trip would be on the beach to 1 of the aforementioned spots before heading on to the road but the end point was usually the same.
I did my main grocery shopping at the Country Store in Sunshine Village Plaza. I also checked out the second level and it looks fabulous. I didn't get a chance to hang/eat/drink there but I will certainly have to do that on one of my future reaches. I also picked up some fruits from 1 of the vendors in the Corner Bar parking lot. Great produce, nice selection and great prices. Tried a star fruit. Good, but it will get your lips puckered up, that is for sure. Can you say tart?
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