We had tentative plans to go to Canoe for the webcast but were a little drained from traveling and knew we wouldn’t be settled in on time to make it before sunset. Not to mention we had no idea how close it was. We knew it was fairly close but didn’t know if it was within walking distance or worth a cab ride. I'm not sure if it was from all of the excitement or my nerves but I found myself chain smoking. Beth was handling everything else so I had nothing to do but gaze in awe and puff puff puff away.
Sunset started to come up on us rather quickly. We both sat out on the balcony and watched as others gathered to catch the final glimpse of the sun for the day. That’s when I finally got a whiff of “the smell of Jamaica” as it was described in so many ways on the board. There was a hint of smoke in the air from some foliage that was being gathered and burned across the street and from what I assumed was a jerk barrel that was getting started for the night. Mix in the smell of this with salty ocean air and there I had it. Or at least my version of it.
When the sun started to set I could tell we were going to have a perfect view from our balcony. Our room was the closest to the road and with a 45 degree turn we could go from the calm serene view of the sun setting into the ocean as gentle waves splashed against the cliffs to speeding traffic and all of the goings on of One Love Drive. As a first time visitor I liked having both worlds right there for me to take in.
As darkness fell upon us we decided to venture out of the room and meet some of the other guests. Susan who owns Blue Cave Castle and who I had read so many nice things about was sitting enjoying the refreshing night air. We introduced ourselves and she welcomed us to The Castle. She told us about Teddy’s Restaurant if we wanted something to eat or drink. I asked about the L&M grocery store that I knew was close by. She started to tell us about how that little store has everything you could possibly imagine and then some. She was also sure to warn us about leaving the gate and walking the road if we left the hotel. Beth and I decided to head to the store and stock up on some things for the room. As we walked towards the gate security was right there to ensure our first venture out on the street was not our last.
A few steps down the road we could see the guys hanging out at No Limit playing dominoes. A few steps after that I could see L&M come into view. As we crossed the street the guys at No Limit confirmed it was safe to cross the road. Or should I say they made sure Beth got across the road safely. I don’t think they were as concerned about me. A few more steps and we were there. Yep it is true….L&M has everything you could imagine packed into a shoebox sized store. I gravitated to the refrigerated section of cold drinks and grabbed a six pack of Red Stripe. I also grabbed a Boom energy drink for the morning and a bottle of fruit punch. Beth pondered what she wanted and soon we found the liquor. She eventually decided on a small bottle of Appletons and cola.
As we exited L&M we were asked by a taxi driver parked in the driveway if we needed a ride. “We’re just going across the street….Thank you anyway” I replied. A few more steps and we were asked if we needed some food by the jerk barrel guy whose smoke I could smell wafting up to our balcony earlier. “No thank you” I said. “I’ll remember you though”, continuing along our way as I pointed at my head. A few more steps and we hear “You need anything?”. Another “We’re good but thank you” was returned.
With that we were back at our room enjoying some beverages. We also had picked on some of the Biggas jerk we had leftover from the ride in. Not to appear antisocial, which I feel we sometimes come off as at first, we decided to head back down to the courtyard to finish out the evening. A few drinks and some light banter with a few of the other guests and soon we returned to our room for the night.
Throughout the night we could hear traffic whizzing up and down the street, dogs barking and the occasional person bursting into song or shouting “JAH….Rastafari!”. In the very early morning hours a rooster started to crow. None of this was unexpected because we had read our room was close to the road. Some had complained about this in reviews but we accepted it as part of the experience.
