The deck is full at Mi Yard when we walk up. It’s after 3 so we figure the crawl is under way. “What’s up pub crawlers!” We hoot as we walk up the stairs. Crickets chirp and we get funny stares. Oops, our bad, Jamaica time. We grab a couple of Stripes and settle in to one of the tables, a group of fit and dapper 50 somethings. A group of folks come wandering in from up the west end from Blue Cave Castle. It’s starting to rev up. The Bus pulls into the yard and I kid you not, every person who was sitting on the porch when we got there gets up to leave. “Here come the drinkers!” I say. One of the fit and fifty’s says,”Yup,” and kind of gives a head nod to the exit. “Oh, we’re rolling with these cats for awhile.” I get a furrowed brow with a wave goodbye.
Bush Doctor comes around and sees me, “you’re back, mon, just like you said! A mon of your word!” This is one of the nicer compliments I receive this week.
The first bus empties but I don’t see anyone I recognize. We talk with the guys from Blue Cave, they’ve been having a great time hanging out at Spider bar. “It’s across from the Castle,” they say, “but there’s no sign, somebody stole it.” This leads to a whole funny line of remarks.
The second bus load pulls up and the first person we recognize is Crusher. You can’t miss Crusher, he is a mountain of a man. He introduces us to Wench but the wife is back at the hotel resting. I had really been hoping to meet her. “She’s good but she needed the rest,” says Crusher. I hope the rest of her week goes well.
I see a long haired wild man walk by. No question, Newfie is in the house! We had a fair bit of back and forth on the board before heading down so I was excited to meet him. Newfie did not disappoint. Newfie is there with a pretty good contingent from Fun Holiday, most of whose names I’ve forgotten. Sorry, it was that kind of day. AimBri are there and a young couple from Canada we dub Johnny Fast and Amber Glow, they’re down on their delayed honeymoon having tied the knot last Summer. This kind of becomes the nucleus of our pub crawl experience. We all wander off for a drink or a view, a joke or a smoke but inevitably we end up standing next to each other again talking smack or sense or stupidity. Mostly the former and the latter. They are the perfect companions in crime.
I take a load of crap for my board name. I know this is coming. AimBri says, “He explained the whole thing.” “Yeah, but, still… Read it out loud… c’mon, couldn’t you spell it phonetically?” I laugh because I had thought about that. My OCD kicked in, though, and I just couldn’t misspell…
Mi Yard is great, the owner brings out some plates of food. Bammy, saltfish and dumplings, breadfruit and more. The kitchen here is amazing for authentic Jamaican food. We knock back a few but before you know it it’s time to crawl.
The next stop is Swordfish, I think. I feel stupid because we walked by it every day. Big sign for ice cream out front. This would be another great hangout, excellent deck up top with great views. Things start to loosen up a little. Someone takes a picture of Newfie and Johnny Fast at the rail doing their best rockstar excess pose, wild eyed and tongues wagging with Newfie’s mane blowing in the wind. “I want that picture!” I yell. If you took it, please post it here.
