1. The weather was perfect. A few clouds here and there early in the week and maybe 3 minutes of rain the entire time. The woman next to me on the plane on the way home was asking me how I got so tan. She was in Ochos Rios and she said the weather was crappy all week. I then shared a shuttle ride to my car with a couple that honey mooned in Montego Bay, they said their weather was crappy too.
2. Beach House Villas. This was our second year at BHV and it truly is heaven on earth. The staff is amazing and we made a whole new set of friends around the bar again this year.
3. I got to meet Rob when we ate at Three Dives. I hadn't been keeping up with the webcast schedule so I did not know that he would be there that night. Now I can check that off my bucket list!
4. I have read a lot on this board about the Three Dives expierience and it lived up to the hype. What a great meal.
5. The "Nutty Professor." A magician in Negril? We were sceptical when he showed up at the Beach House Villas bar on Sunday afternnon. He asked if he could do a trick for us and we jokingly told him that he could do one trick and if we liked it, he could do one more. He ended up doing about 5! We then saw him a couple of days later at Three Dives and he was even better (and much nuttier).
6. Sweet Spice was another winner! Lots of locals was the first clue that I would be getting authentic local cuisine. I had the curried goat and it was to die for.
7. Cliff diving at Xtabi. We spent the afternoon (as per suggestions from the board) and had a blast. I have to say that the cliffs are a nice place to visit but I would go crazy staying there. Give me the excitement of the beach any day.
8. Cafe Goa. Jamaican breakfast, enough said.
9. Rockhouse (dinner) and Kuyaba (dinner and breakfast). Expensive but worth every penny.
10. Naiha's (spelling?) for pattys. A fellow guest told us about this place on Thursday or I would have gone more. Neville's pattys are good but these things are out of this world. We stopped at Tony's bar just up the beach and asked if it would be okay to eat them there. No problem mon! They were the second coldest Red Stripes on the beach and the perfect compliment to our lunch.
11. The hagglers. They did not seem to be much of an issue. I want to make a tee-shirt for next year that says "No thank you" on the front and "Respect" on the back. It could save my voice. I tended to buy from the less pushy of the group.
12. The last supper. Mark, the chef at BHV, made a special dinner for 14 of us on our last night. It was pretty much served family style (extra food everywhere) and was a meal (lobster, grouper, coconut shrimp) that I will not soon forget.
13. Walks on the beach. Every day, we walked from one end to the other and the sights and sounds never left a dull moment.
14. Next year, we will be going to Treasure Beach for my nieces wedding. I'm just a little nervous that it is not going to be as much fun as Negril.