Sitting in the Government Yard in Trenchtown - Kingston, Port Antonio, and Negril TR

[Kiknback]

Wow, I hadn't even noticed that. That's just freaky.

But I do swear there are Duppies all over Jamaica... Last trip, during my wife's party, every picture of me had some sort of mysterous shadow in it. We eliminated every possible cause of the shadow, but it stayed there. Our only explanation was that a Duppy was there to enjoy the party.

This one kinda freaked me out as well. This is, in theory, a picture of Luciano at the Jungle. But when I saw this on my camera's monitor, I swore I took a picture of some sort of angel duppy.

[marley9808]

Wow!

[Clarity]

I've been enjoying your trip report from the very beginning, Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and pictures! I'm looking forward to your next update!

The recent picture of that shadow man with glowing eyes at the Yellowman concert and this pic you just posted from the Luciano concert definitely gave me the chills..
whoah...

[Rambo]

great report...keep posting photos and tell us some more please

[Jenn]

Loving this report! Thanks for sharing...can't wait for more.

[Kiknback]

Another day, another hotel. After a few days, it was time to move on from Seasplash. Definitely a nice stay. Our last night there was the NFC & AFC Championship games, and they got the bar finished just in time. Very nice! Lots more work still being done, but it really does seem to becoming a great place to hang out. My only real complaint was that there was not much shade on the beach, but that seemed to be an issue at many places during high season.

From there, off to White Sands for our last few days. Unfortunately, after getting 3 straight upgrades, just the standard room. Oh well. Still our favorite place. Great location, great people. Just the basics, but that is all that I ever need in Negril.

The last few days we try to do a little relaxing. Enjoy the beach. Chill a bit. Of course, have a little fun as well. Did the bar crawl again, always fun. Saw friends old and new. Walked the beach a few times, trying to work off all of the rum and jerk chicken that I've been consuming. Just the good life in Negril.

I finally discovered the joys of Rum & Ting on this trip. Oh my, what a perfect combination. I'd had Ting before, but never really mixed it. I would usually drink Rum Punch, or a Rum and Coke. No, they cannot compare with the perfect combination of Rum & Ting. Along with the price, very cheap at most local places. Just buy a small bottle of rum, buy a Ting, and they will provide ice. Can't beat that. Unfortunately, now that I have a new favorite drink, I can't find it. I swear I've seen Ting in stores around home in Maryland, but I searched all over the place for a party we had when we got home. No luck. Finally found some at a Jamaican restaurant, but it didn't look so good. It looked to have sat around for a LONG time - crap floating in it and all. Still, better than nothing, bought them out, and yes, it was delicious. But damn, I really need to find a better Ting connection!

Made it to the Jungle for the first time this trip, to see Luciano. The dance club thing never appealed to me at all, so we had never made it here before. But for live music, sure. As soon as we arrived, I started annoying my wife by constantly quoting lyrics from Guns N Roses. "Welcome to the Jungle! They've got Fun and Games!" I kept going all night with this. "Hey! Do you know where you are??? You're in the Jungle, Baby!!! You're Gonna Die!!!!" I don't think my wife found it nearly as funny as I did. Anyways, Luciano put on a good show. Not a huge crowd, but fun, and even got Francis from White Sands out on the dance floor! I prefered the shows outside at Negril Escape, but still enjoyed the Jungle for live music. Still don't see me showing up on a Thursday night, though.

Sun Beach is again our standard hang out. Always seem to have a good time there. Most of the time we arrive and see Andrew, a regular and one of those unique Negril characters. He has started a little game involving Red Stripes, essentially based on the old "paper football" games we played as a kid. Get on opposite sides of the bar with a Red Stripe. The object is to slide the Red Stripe across the bar, and have it stop with the bottle leaning over the edge of the bar. If you throw too hard, the person simply catches it, and now his turn. The winner gets the beer, the loser pays for the round. It really only works at Sun Beach, with the smooth bar, and only with Red Stripes, with the low center of gravity. But let me tell you, this is the best way of ordering a beer ever. No skill involved, and a lot of fun. I would drink my Rum & Tings, but every time my wife wanted a beer, Andrew was always there to accept the challenge, from either me or her. I think both of us we were about even for the trip, and had a few truly epic battles.


We made it back to the Police Station bar again this trip. We've now been three times, bringing new people each time. The bartender remembered us. I'm not sure how I feel about being a "regular" at the Police Station. Oh well. No one believes there is a bar at the police station. It's not the nicest bar in the world, but for bragging rights, a nice place to get a beer. Apparently the police bar was the most happening place in town after a hurricane years ago, when it was the only place in town open and with power for a cold red stripe. This time we brought with us a group of expat friends who now live in Negril. It was nice to be able to show the locals around to somewhere they had not been before. We had a few rounds there, and then moved on to Red Dragon for some pork and a few more rounds of drinks. A wonderful afternoon, hanging out with good people.

The last few days start to blend together, especially when writing this several months later. Connie at 10 Square feet of Texas had a birthday, and held a very nice party in celebration. Good food, drinks, and lots of friends. Had more beach time, and a night at Alfred's to end the trip.

Arranged again for our friend Chucky to take us back to the airport. Unfortunately, the last time we had saw him, he was dropping us off at Sunset on the Cliffs. So, of course, when the time came to pick us up, he came to Sunset on the Cliffs, not realizing that we had moved on to White Sands! Finally borrowed a phone to call him - we had just given ours up to a local to "babysit" it for us until November - and he quickly made his way to pick us up. No harm done, unfortunately. No excuse about how we missed our flight, and couldn't make it to work the next day. No, the flight was just fine, and back to the real world in the morning.

Overall, another wonderful trip. It was definitely nice to see a bit more of the country, and Negril is becoming home for us. Already booked for November, when again we will be inviting friends and family in what is becoming an annual tradition. Can't wait!

[Kiknback]

Breadfruit and Octopus. In a bucket. Some fishermen were carrying this around to the local restraunts, trying to sell their catch.

Montana's, on the beach road. Great food.


Jamaican Breakfast from Montana's. Finally tried Akee and Saltfish! Not bad!


Appletin, Ting, and Beautiful Women. Can you ask for anything more?


Partying at 10 Square Feet of Texas.

[Kiknback]

One of our favorite Beach Bands. These were the guys we hired to play for my wife's birthday party in November. Great to see them again.


A drum and bass combo. Never seen that on the beach before. They were excellent!


Moving on from White Sands.


Seastar Saturday night. This 99 year old TOTALLY stole the show that night!

[Schuttzie]

Love the sweet 99yr old lady! She looks like she was having a blast and partying it up!

[goldilocks]

Please Jah, let me be just like that lady when I'm 99!