oh wow I love those pics, especially the one in mid jump, lolol! I really wish I could have been there for that party, it looks like it was a truly awesome one and everyone had a ball.
oh wow I love those pics, especially the one in mid jump, lolol! I really wish I could have been there for that party, it looks like it was a truly awesome one and everyone had a ball.
Jerry 5 dollars wow I must go there next time for sure!!!!!Originally Posted by gerryg123
Half Moon Beach was just as I remembered it -- like a beautiful scene from a masterpiece oil painting. The colors, the textures. The place is among the most picturesque you'll ever see.
We set our stuff down and ordered lunch. Chicken for me and crab for Suzie Q with plans to share a bit .... Both dishes were really good.
There were two other couples, one from Italy and the other from .... drumbeat please ... Los Angeles!
The chef, Delmar, came out and introduced himself. It took all my constraint not to stand up and applaud for the great man.
We took a little tour, checked out the little cottages. Nice place but no AC, and you know me: I am too pampered not to have AC!
I hit the water and splashed around a bit, floating on my raft. I love love love floating on the Negril ocean in my raft. That alone is worth the $732 plane ticket.
Ya mon.
We headed back toward seven-mile beach, stopping at a little shack where a nice lady was selling drinks and fruit. The lady said she had been ordered not to sell Red Stripe but managed to pull one out for 400j for Suzie Q.
It was still early in the afternoon, so we figured why not keep things going. I called my cabbie friend, Chunkey (that's the proper spelling), and we met in front of Legends to be picked up to go to Roaring River. I wanted to see the Blue Hole Gardens and to reunite with Robert, a long-time friend who has hosted me many times at Blue Hole Gardens -- which, if you've never been, is a secluded, spectacular natural spring that's about the size of an Olympic swimming pool and is breathtakingly beautiful.
Chunkey arrived and agreed to take us, rountrip, for 60 dollars -- a good deal because it's a long way including some dicey unpaved roads for the last mile or two.
The drive is stunning. You make a left at the roundabout and head up the hill, through all the little towns just past Sav La Mar. This is real Jamaica. It's bustling, especially at around 3 p.m., as all the kids are just getting out of school. We took a few photos of all the street action, stopping for an ocassional drink.
I thought I had my phone, but suddenly I could not find it. I told Chunkey it might have slid under the seat, and we pulled over on a little street near Sav so i could find it. I got out, opened the door, checked under the seat. Not there. Then I realized -- duh -- it was in the side pocket on the door. Relieved, I said OK let's take off.
As we pulled away, I heard something plop. It was my pouch that I had carelessly left atop the taxi, and as we accelerated it tumbled onto the street behind us. I barely noticed, but Chunkey was all over it. The contents spilled out -- money, wallet, keys, camera, etc. -- and Chunkey skidded to a stop and backed up. Some of the locals came out to their front yard to watch all this with a WTF expression. Embarassed, I gathered my stuff, and off we went again. I am always doing things like this, and folks are always chasing me down to hand me back things I left behind like my keys, my phone (I go through countless pairs of reading glasses, both in Negril and in Los Angeles).
I was relieved I got everything back. I told Chunkey OK we're up to 70 dollars now -- plus tip!
I called Joy, who runs the Blue Hole and operates a little shop just in front of it, and she remembered me cause I go to Blue Hole just about every reach. I had her cook up up two yardie plates with chicken and rice, and she said it would be ready for us when we arrived. The lady is a great cook, so I was really looking forward to this.
Side note: Lots of locals don't understand the concept of to-go food the same way Americans do. Not that it was a big deal, but Joy did not start cooking until after she actually saw us in person. I had a similar situation later in the week when I ordered a chicken lunch to be picked up exactly at 3 p.m., but alas there was no action at all until the cook-shop owner actually saw my face once I arrived.
I can understand: There are lots of flakey vacactioners, and economically it's too tight to risk wasting food. However, to all you Negril food operators who might be reading this: gerryg123 takes his food VERY seriously and will ALWAYS show up even in emergency circumstances!!!!
Enjoying the report! Will have to go to Blue Hole Gardens. How far is it from Negril? I was cracking up imagining you in the streets getting your things that fell off the taxi, looking for your phone, loosing your glasses. Sounds like my travel partner D&L, she loves travelling with me because I take good care of her,making sure she always has all her stuff. I have to keep her organized at times. I cant wait to see pics of you guys at Blue Hole.
It's about a 45-minute drive to Roaring River, and that's where Blue Hole Gardens is. One tip: Beware of hustlers offering to escort you in, as they WILL be expecting a tip, and sometimes there can be more than one of them. Command your cabbie to find his own way to Blue Hole and to not accept a guide -- otherwise you're the one who will pay, lol!
Here's a few more pics (top to bottom):
1, My long-lost friend, Nicky, enjoys a drink at Seastar Inn
2, Suzie Q chillin at Bentleys
3, Early in the morning at Seastar Inn
I guess at Blue Hole they switched Robert to working out front at Roaring River where the Cave is, so he no longer regularly guides tourists at BLue Hole. But since we've known each other a long time, he readily agreed to meet us, along with regular guide K.C., a nice guy, too.
There were two youngsters, 8 and 11, that shared the lagoon with us, and both were very excited about a chance to float on Suzie's raft, which was a really nice floater. The kids were really nice. We gave them a few dollars.
The food finally arrived, and it was GOOD. Joy had to make special extra trips for the drinks -- and ketchup -- and that was nice of her. We frolicked around the place for close to two hours, longer than we had first told Chunkey, who did not seem to mind. He's been a cabbie for 30 years and has friends everywhere, including Blue Hole.
On the way back, we visited a snack stand. One of the ladies there was quite interested in joining us, particularly me (lol), and though we politely declined by saying we were in a rush and it was a long way back, the lady then called me cell phone several times a day until i finally left the island a week or so later. Her name was Bam Bam, and she was beautiful -- but she was faraway from Negril, and guess who would have had to pay her cab fare????
Gerry Your reports are so full I get tired! You should do one just on your culinary adventures. I would follow you anywhere. You are my Negril food god!!!
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