Marko's "30 Years and mi still Jamaica Crazy"

[Marko]

the boardies have been pretty creative with their titles for their Trip Reports on here lately.......
so hopefully mine passes the mustard........maybe you'll like the photos
maybe this will hold some of you over till you reach........lol

this was mi 30th Anniversary to Jamaica to the month..........
the trip was from Jan 21st to Jan 30th 2012
mi still crazy for Jamaica after all these years....
of course mi have tried other destinations like Mexico, Latin America and a lot of the islands in the Caribbean......
but mi always come back to mi first love........Jamaica

mi first visit was back in January of 1982 in Ochio Rios with a bunch of Amway people........lol
well there is no more Amway for this guy but mi still have mi Jamaica after all these years........lol
mi was a young guy and it was the first time out of the country......
and mi didn't know much of about the tropics and mi brought two suitcases of clothes which mi didn't even wear.....lol
finally mi have learned that all mi need is a small suitcase with 30 pounds of clothes etc to be covered......lol

a buddy of mine TropicBob decided to make the journey too........
wi are both from the Tampa Bay Area......St Petersburg/Clearwater to be more exact
he flew American.........American cost more than Spirit but him had miles he used.....
and mi flew on Spirit for $240 R/T including a check bag down and back plus fees etc
well TropicBob was suppose to get in an hour earlier than mi..........
and mi with my $240 flight beat him........lol.....his flight was an hour and half late.......believe dat!
my flight was about an hour late..........so wi ended up waiting a half hour for TropicBob........

wi had chartered da infamous Kenny for our airport transfer and he was waiting der patiently........
mi couldn't believe it when Kenny told mi that TropicBob hadn't shown up yet.........
so wi waited a half hour and TropicBob emerges from customs in his Tropic Red Shirt and a big smile on his face.........
mi have a lot more respect for dem drivers that have to wait for those flights in Mobay.....ain't easy mon..
it cost us $30 each and that included cold refreshments and all our stops........

wi take off about 2PM and it feels great to smell that Jamaican air.....yah mon.......
our first stop is MegaMart of course................wi spend about $100US buying stuff.......
prices a lot less than HiLo and ValueMaster.......
please note there was no Cambio in MegaMart like someone said there was on here..........
unless wi missed it but mi don't think there is one inside of MegaMart..........
the booze has to be bought seperately in a department on the otherside of the checkouts.......
so you'll need to pay twice if you buying Rum, Rum Cream, etc......
the Beer and food stuff is sold on the Supermarket side..........
wi loaded up and off wi go...........feels so good heading back home mon..........

our second stop of course is the infamous Bigga's at Mile/Kilo Marker 23 heading to Negril...........
him must have known wi were coming........lol.......wi ordered the Jerk Pork.......and Red Stripes of course

Bigga in Green Island - Mile/Kilo Marker 23 - Look for the Blue Tarps
mi will never understand how Bigga white shirts are always clean......


Jerk Pork - $5US with Hardo Bread.....wi had the soup too.....what a great lunch......yummy


now who is this guy.....it's the infamous Kenny our driver.......kennyjamaica@gmail.com
mi sure Judy will like seeing his pic........lol

[Marko]

Tropic Bob in his red shirt lookie happy with Kenny and Bigga.......


one of the great things about Jamaica is the food.......
and TropicBob and mi did our best to eat a lot of it this reach......lol


to be cont.

[suzengrace]

So your back on the Rock ??? dont you have a pool game waiting?? (LOL)..Mi first time in 1983-when i was youngster working at a travel agency while going to HS..got to go on a JTB travel agent trip..da rest is history..(back when the T-water was going on in Negril and the RedRoof club was happening all night)

[Marko]

So your back on the Rock ??? dont you have a pool game waiting?? (LOL)..Mi first time in 1983-when i was youngster working at a travel agency while going to HS..got to go on a JTB travel agent trip..da rest is history..(back when the T-water was going on in Negril and the RedRoof club was happening all night)

amazing how many pool tables there are still in Negril...must be a lot of pool sharks in Negril...lol
mi miss that T-Water...had the No Name bar der...a lot of fun in the section of beach in the 80's...
though most of those days are a blur to this guy.......a lot of fun.......lol

Cool Runnings, Marko

[justchuck]

Thanks for sharing the fun, I'm feeling like I'm due for a reach but for right now I gotta live vicariously through others reports and adventures.

[tfw73]

Nice start! We used Kenny last time and we had a flight problem, ending up getting to Montego Bay three hours later than originally intended! Mr. Kenny waited on us the whole time. So if there's no cambio in Mega Mart, do they take US dollars? Do you remember how much a case of Red Stripe is?

[Marko]

Nice start! We used Kenny last time and we had a flight problem, ending up getting to Montego Bay three hours later than originally intended! Mr. Kenny waited on us the whole time. So if there's no cambio in Mega Mart, do they take US dollars? Do you remember how much a case of Red Stripe is?

Kenny was telling us stories of waiting for his transfers like all afternoon sometimes........
just waiting a half hour was killing this guy....can't imagine waiting hours and hours...dat would kill mi

MegaMart takes US, Canadian, Euro's etc plus all major credit cards.........
the rate on the credit card was 80 which mi couldn't complain about too much.......
HiLo is like 75 or so....not so good...never use cash at HiLo.......use the Cambio der first.......
mi gotta look thru mi sales receipts to see what dem charge at MegaMart........
but whatever it is.......it's still cheaper than any place in Negril.......
Red Stripe Beer or any Beer for that matter is expensive in Jamaica...always been dat way
six pack of Red Stripe was around 750J's in Negril to give you an idea........

Cool Runnings, Marko

[Marko]

third stop was the Cambio at the SuperPlus Store in GreenIsland.......
and the Western Union Cambio next door........
guess what.......no current........gotta luv Jamaica..........
well it's late Saturday afternoon and wi need J's since tomorrow is Sunday.........

okay.......let's get to Negril and try our luck der.........lol
Kenny sees money changing guy on the Beach Road..........wi stop
him says "83"........mi say "85".....not gonna happen......no way Jose.......
plus mi wouldn't use dem money changing guys anyways........
the only way dem guys make money is by shorting you........truss mi

so onward to the infamous HiLo.........
yipeeeeeeeee.......HiLo is open......
yikes.......lookie at dat line in HiLo........oh......it's for Western Union
wi only need da Cambio beside Western Union........



84.77 was the rate and wi both changed out some dollars........
wi good till Monday now......mission accomplished....mi got some Monopoly money now....lol



to be cont.

[tfw73]

Thanks for the info! As high as that beer is, that is still cheaper than the Hi-Lo! That place is outrageous!

[Marko]

Thanks for the info! As high as that beer is, that is still cheaper than the Hi-Lo! That place is outrageous!

never went to HiLo once this past reach........except for the Cambio
the china mon shops are cheapest places to buy things at now......
there are a lot of them now in Negril......just in the last two years they have sprung up all over.......

Cool Runnings, Marko