First trip to Negril - Travel Report - Day 4 - Moving over to the Coco La Palm

[Clarity]

Day 4
Part 2

We decided to unpack our bags later and explore the grounds first.



Coco La Palm is beautiful and in a different way than Grand Pineapple. Coco has white pristine curved bungalow-style structures covered with painted murals. Every room seemed to have balcony views and the pools surrounded by palm trees. I saw a lot more birds around us... no peacocks, but a lot of wildlife fluttered in the trees overhead. There was a lot more staff. They were all very professional but had large welcoming smiles.



Everyone that walked by us on the pathway seemed happy. Children darted by us laughing with their parents following behind with a relaxed swagger. There were definitely more families here. Grand Pineapple had a larger amount of European guests. This hotel had a lot more American and Canadian guests. That was my first observation.

We headed over to the bar area and slid down into the seats to see the menu. All the prices were very reasonable and it was happy hour. (2 for 1 drinks!)

We ordered two Dirty Bananas from the bartender named Vernon.



He was really good at what he did with a witty sense of humor. I noticed all the guests were calling him by name “Hey Vernon! Another round of Red Stripes please” There was a lot of activity and groups of people clustered together talking.

For a moment we were sitting by ourselves and I missed our British friends at the Grand Pineapple. It's hard moving over to a new hotel especially after making friends there. It's like starting all over again as newbies.

We weren't alone for long,

“First day at the Coco la Palm?” A friendly guy sitting with his wife asked.

“Yeah, we just arrived an hour ago, but we've been in Jamaica for 3 days so far...” I said

We found out that he had just arrived earlier that day too and he flew in from Canada. He comes to visit CCLP every year.

He and his wife introduced us to his other friends from Canada that were sitting at the bar across from us. They all waved to us. A cool bunch of people.

We chatted for a while and ordered another round of Dirty Bananas. They were delicious! Vernon knows how to make a killer Dirty Banana. I felt ourselves relaxing into our new environment. We were beginning to feel at home. Coco has a subtle charm to it, It's very chill and laid back with a touch of luxury mixed in.

[Clarity]

The sun was beginning to set, but at the same time dark ominous storm clouds were moving in overhead. It was an oddly beautiful combination.




The threatening skies mixed with warmth of the setting sun. It was an utterly unique sunset..the wind picked up and swirled around us. We stood on the shore and took it all in.





Sunsets in Jamaica are bittersweet. They're beautiful but represent the end of another day. It's a time to reflect and contemplate life. It means another perfect 24 hours in Negril has already passed and a feeling of gratefulness for being there washes over you. It's a calm period where everyone comes out from where ever they were previously and observes the setting sun on the beach.. sometimes in silence.. holding hands with each other or taking snapshots.





The beach in front of Coco la Palm is massive the expansive stretch of water lapped in front of us invitingly. I couldn't wait to experience it during the day.





When the sun disappeared entirely over the horizon we head over to the hotel Restaurant for dinner. I planned on having dinner in other places in Negil during our stay but we figured we'd check out the restaurant there first. It was getting dark and starting to rain.

I ordered the shrimp scampi and Markus had a chicken dish. The wait was pretty long. I finished off the bread appetizer and we waited another 45 minutes.

In the meantime, a kitten rubbed up against Markus's leg. He leaned down and gave it a piece of bread.

“He's going to tell his friends you know..”I warned.

Sure enough, Markus was surrounded by kitties within minutes. He was like “the Cat whisperer”, they nestled below his chair waiting for him to drop some more and weaved around his legs. They were all so tiny and their small meows were adorable. I was worried that the staff would yell at us and shoo them away but they didn't seem to mind.

The kittens reminded me of our own cats waiting for us at home and for a moment I missed them.

When our dinner arrived, it was absolutely delicious and we devoured it. We sat there content with full stomachs. Rain was pouring down but I didn't mind. we were dry and warm under the cover of a big umbrella. We could see the darkening beach in the distance and hear the gentle waves.

Our new Canadian friends were sitting at a table behind us and waved. A band started to play. There was a beach party tonight at the Coco La Palm despite the rain. I probably could have easily sat there all night drinking dirty banana's and listening to the live music all night.

But then I remembered “The English Rose” and Greenie's live band playing at 8:00. They were putting on a special show for us and our British friends from the Grand Pineapple would be waiting.

It was 7:55!!.

“lets get our check, we have to go!” I said urgently. It's easy to get caught up in a moment in Negril and lose track of time.

Our check arrived and it made us realize that we would have to eat elsewhere for the rest of our stay to remain within our budget but it was nice enjoying the hotel restaurant for one night.

Markus signed the bill with our room number and we dashed off back to our hotel to get changed and ready to head off for our night out...

I'll let Markus take it from here tomorrow...

[irie always]

Gotta get me some of that! Going once a year for 2 weeks is just is not enough! These trip reports get my mojo going and I start planning and more like conniving on how can I get back sooner. Oh well, at least this makes for a good start to another day back here.

[Maryann]

Just love getting up in the morning and seeing more of your trip report. I had to put my trip on hold this year, so I really appreciate it. Clarity and Markus, I know you mentioned somewhere, and hate to repeat the question, but what kind of camera are you using? Your photos are stunning.

[gerryg123]

the dirty banana on the right looks bigger ... not fair!

[Emmie]

love it!

[irieworld]

ahh. so nice to hear more and escape into your photos and story. It relaxes me and makes me melt, just like a JA sunset. I am thinking about doing coco for a future trip--I like staying on the beach and have tried many spots but always like checking out a new place. Plus their prices are good and no one has ever had anything negative to say about the place--only glowing reviews.

[schmittmommy]

Clarity,

I'm sitting in my room at CCLP right now enjoying your trip report. Our first time staying here was in February, and on that trip we were upgraded to that same room. It was beautiful. I can absolutely relate to the excitement of been given that luxury. We were like little kids in Disney when we saw our room. We have a baby, so we were a little concerned about the steps and balcony, but we were not going to complain! Thanks for taking me back!

[Tonyboombatz]

Loving this will be at Coco in 27 days

[Sweetness]

Encore just for you guys!