Hettie & Chad December 2011 Trip Report

[Sunny]

Loving your report...thanks for posting!!

[Finny]

Great report so far, we need more!

Citronella looks beautiful, we may need to stop by and get a tour.

[poolguywindsor]

Just so you know the but shots are fine.lol

[Hettie]

aww hettie and chad hi! I must have forgotten your names sorry it was lovely meeting you two xx

Thanks TicToc, enjoyed meeting you as well!

This is a great report - it has a nice, soothing feel to it.

Yeah, that's kinda how we roll...lots of relaxation and chilling.

Glad to see folks enjoying my report, trying to pay it forward after reading so many awesome reports lately.

[HuskerJohn]

This it great! My neighborhood last time across the road at Catcha Gardens.

[Hettie]

The private swimming platforms at Citronella have showers (I think all do, but I know Round House and A-Frame do) and this turned out to be a better place to wash my hair at Round House because the water pressure was better. You could probably get naked and clean all your parts at the Round House's "sea" shower because it's sort of enclosed, you might just need a lookout for boats if you're shy. I just washed my hair and did the rest of my showering at the house's shower, which is also outside, but has a water heater.

Chad fell asleep in the hammock and I walked around the property to soak it all in and take some photos.


Here's the parking area with our awesome car:


Entry to path that leads to the south side of the property:


When Chad woke up, it was time for lunch. I've been hearing many people mention Murphy's place for jerk chicken, so we drove out that way first, but they didn't have any chicken and said they just have it in the evening. We turned around and went toward town and decided to stop at Sips 'N Bites because that's always a safe bet. Oxtail and curry fish were both delicious, as usual. Our funds from my ripoff airport $ exchange have already been depleted by this point after buying a phone and groceries, so we made a quick stop at the Banmark cambio and then stopped by Wise Choice for some more supplies, mostly juice and snacks. We went back to Citronella and I tried to nap in the hammock, don't remember actually falling asleep, but suddenly the party boats were showing up at Rick's and it was time to head down to Canoe for the web cast.


So happy to be back at Canoe, have to give Georgia a big hug and say hi to Kirby. The steel drum band is an awesome addition, I didn't think the atmosphere could get any better here, but it just keeps improving.


I had Kirby's famous rum punch, still my favorite in Negril, and we both had some jerk shrimp, onion rings, and fries. Chatted with Rob, Lisa, and TicToc throughout the evening until we decided to head back up to Citronella for our nightly verandah ritual. TicToc's girls were ready to go back to Seastar, so we offered to give them a lift since it was on our way. We had fun telling each other stories on our drive. They are such lovely and polite girls! After dropping them off, it was verandah time. I had picked up a bottle of Gato Negro Sauvignon Blanc at Hi-Lo, which is an inexpensive but tasty wine I drink at home for just $4.25 a bottle, paid 848 JA at Hi-Lo. It was nice to have a glass or two of wine in the evenings and I'm glad I brought a wine glass 'cause plastic cups just don't cut it for me.

Tonight we start our normal Jamaica routine of going to sleep around 9:00 pm...seriously, I am not kidding. There were nights when I asked Chad if it was too early to go to bed at around 7:30 pm. We just get so tired and would rather go to sleep early and wake up early. We've done plenty of late night partying in the 11 years we've been together and can still do that back home (hardly ever do though) and there's nothing I hate more than wasting a day feeling hungover in Negril. I escaped hangovers completely this time, which I'm really happy about because I usually get carried away with rum punch at least one evening and pay dearly the next day.

Day 3, soon come.

[Clarity]

I've been enjoying your trip report so far! Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences!
Great pictures too - I've been curious about Citronella. I'm trying to convince my family to go there in August. The prices are good and the cottages look beautiful. It's nice seeing the grounds in your trip report. It looks like it has a calm relaxed vibe.
I can so relate to waking up that first night and wishing it was morning so you can start your first day in Negril. It's so hard falling asleep and staying asleep when you're so excited about the start of your vacation.
Also I should learn from your example (i.e. on getting to bed early and waking up to see the sunrise.) We always try to do too much in too little time.. we end up missing a lot of daylight hours because we stayed out too late the night before. Loved the pics from Canoe too and the steel band. $4.25 a bottle is a good price for Sauvignon Blanc! I'll have to check out that brand.
Looking forward to your next update!

[Hettie]

This was my morning wake-up call:

BARK BARK BARK!!!!!

rowrrr

BARK BARK BARK!!!!!

Rowrrrrrrr

BARK BARK BARK!!!!!

ROWRRRRRR!!!! HISS!!!

YELP YELP YELP yelp yelp yelp...(fading into the distance)

So I guess that cat had enough of that dog and popped him right on the nose. I dozed off again and woke up at 7:00. Normal morning routine of coffee (rum cream for me) and sitting on the verandah. Saw a cute bird and pulled out my Birds of Jamaica book and tried to identify it, but it was one of those birds that looks like 19 other birds, so not really sure which one it was. Did some more yoga while Chad went down to the swim platform to meditate. I looked over and saw that the crabbies were getting alarmingly close to his feet since he was so calm and still, you can just barely see them in the photo.


Sadly, those are the only two photos I have from that day. I must have gotten lazy and left my camera at the house or just not gotten it out much. Sorry...at least Day 3 will fit in one post.

After our morning Zen activities, we drove out to Out of Town Pastry for breakfast and both had ackee loaf (Chad also had a beef patty). Those ackee loaves are so delicious, I love them. Unfortunately, my gluten-intolerant body does not love them and it immediately made me feel like I had just eaten a bag of cement. Chad also has the misfortune of a gluten allergy, so we decided that was it for ackee loaves this reach. Our trips to Negril are the only times we drink beer and eat very much gluten containing foods, so it's pretty much a puffy, bloated, water retention fest the whole time, but-- totally worth it.

Up until recently, had never been to Red Dragon but always wanted to go. We decided to locate the place for future reference, but I was completely off on the location and we didn't find it that day. Maps of Negril always throw me off because the place looks so much bigger on a map that I always feel like everything is more spread out than it really is. We were down by the Texaco station and up toward Scrub a Dub thinking that was the area...sigh. We did eventually find it, another day.

We gave up and went back to Citronella to swim and chill. Not sure if anything else interesting happened, that's all I put in my notes. I can guess that the sea started to get rough, because we decided to go to the beach. I've learned that if the sea on the cliffs is calm, take advantage!!! Without fail, we have calm seas the first couple of days on the cliffs, and then huge swells or choppy waves every day thereafter-- this reach was no exception.

We went to our regular hangout Sun Beach and were happy to see Dennis again and the new bar location. The place looks nice and they're doing more construction, interested to see the outcome. It was lunch time and oddly enough, as frequently as we've been to Sun Beach, we had never eaten there. Someone recently on the board was raving about (obsessed with?) their escoveitch, so we both ordered it, and man, is it good! My favorite! It's very spicy, with big slices of scotch bonnet, which I eat up and they're fine going in...but talk about some pepper belly the next day (I know, TMI). Oh well, totally worth it.

Dennis set up a spot for us to lounge, which is what we did for the afternoon, watching the beach activity and soaking up the sun. One of the beach bands came by and played a song about Big Bamboo for all the Sun Beach patrons, assigning/directing each verse to a different gentleman. Chad got to be King of the Big Bamboo, which I think he was secretly thrilled about.

We went back to Citronella to put on real clothes then went to 3 Dives for sunset and dinner. We both got quarter chickens and barely had time to chill out on the cliff with the sunset before they were waving at us to come eat. I couldn't believe how quickly our food was ready, almost too fast since we've learned to get there before we actually are hungry. We gobbled the food anyway, it was delicious as usual, but now the granny sauce is not spicy enough for us. I don't think they've changed it, Chad and I have both just developed a high tolerance for spicy food, so in the future we're going to be on a mission to find the SPICIEST jerk/barrel chicken in Negril or the surrounding area...suggestions are welcome.

After our meal I decided I needed a dirty banana for dessert and Xtabi is right next door, so let's go! Their dirty bananas are still delicious, but I got a weird vibe there and we've stayed there twice before. Not sure what was different, it may have been that I was concerned about the two parrots in the cage, which I sincerely hope are rescues or being rehabilitated from injuries or something. I didn't ask, not sure if I want to know the answer. The place just felt different, it's hard to explain. The staff we encountered were not people we've met before, so maybe that's it.

So now I'm all sugared up from that dirty banana and feeling like I could fall asleep right there at the Xtabi bar, so we head back to Citronella for the verandah ritual. We bust out the tunes and citronella candles tonight for a real party! In looking at my notes I apparently started thinking about going to sleep at 6:30 pm...wow...but managed to stay awake until 8:30...really...seriously?

[Marko]

enjoying your wonderful report and thanks for sharing!

Cool Runnings, Marko

[Sam I Am]

Yeah!!!!! I think you just gave me a shout out... I am obsessed with the escovich fish from Sun Beach and rave about it all the time I am glad my incessant comments on it paid off for you. It has gotten to the point that I no longer even order, they just ask if I am eating and I say yes... 10 minutes later the escovich fish just shows up Love the spiciness of it!!