Mr. X does Negril (2010) with No Reservations

[Mr. X]

Mr. X Does Negril (2010) with No Reservations

Chapter 18 (cont) – Seastar Inn
September 4th, 2010 – Saturday – Day 1 (AKA D-Day)
10 minutes later we have our groove on and have return to bar area and watch show and webcast. Hit the buffet. Very good. I read on the board where people say they were so hungry and ate 2 whole pieces of fish (pan fried red snapper). Please I got about 4 pieces of Red Snapper filets for starters.

Side note:
If you are somewhere eating and some type of condiments are provided say some kind of sauce best you put some on the side. You are going to love or hate it.

That sauce that goes on the pan fried red snapper at the Seastar Inn at the Saturday night buffet is bad ass. Don’t even bother putting it on the side just slather it all over that pan fried red snapper. Red Snapper has been my favorite fish for long as I can remember. Don’t make a pig (relatively) of myself but definitely eat and enjoy. Nice to be able to walk back to room. We hang out enjoying the show and the people. Mostly just chilling out enjoying ourselves pretty low key.

I had not been relaxing but 10 minutes and somebody comes over says I am supposed to pay him for a CD.
Who?
What?
What chu talking about Willis?
He explains that nice lady wanted the CD and sent him over to me to pay for it.
What “lady” you talking about? I say.
He points her out.
Dude she is playing a joke on you I don’t even know that girl.
3 minutes later he is back. She said she was ur wife.
Damn you bring someone on vacation and they go around telling people they are my “wife”. Ok I guess I am buying that girl a CD. Pay for CD. (Actually was one of singers who turns out to be a good guy). Got to walk over and talk to the wife.

What’s wrong with you sending someone over to me to pay for a CD? If you want something why can’t you deal with it? I am on vacation trying to relax.

YOU SAID ON THE PLANE IF I WANT SOMETHING TO SEND THEM OVER TO YOU TO PAY!
(Damn I forgot I told her that. I am going to have to do a better job of hiding from people)

Walk around sit in different areas. By pool you can hear fine. Lots of places you can just go and sit and chill. Just people doing the same thing as us. Just hanging out watching show. Chillin.


The show is continuous for 4 hours so there is always something going on. Very casual. Several different lead singers come on. Fun. Laid back and relaxing.

Show ends and we are still feeling awake and excited to be on vacation. Its about 1130pm. We ride down to LTU Pub on Seastar Inn van but they were closing the gates. Ok I say let’s go to Canoe. Drive 5 minutes down road and Canoe. Closed. Big Saturday night on the cliffs. Everything closed. We decide to go back to Seastar Inn. Guys that worked at Seastar Inn were waiting for driver to come back and we got him driving all over.

Sat in hammocks by the pool. They got some kind of magnets in them. Once you lay in them you don’t want to get back up. Nah I will just sleep here tonight no problem. Can see how many cultures have a hammock as primary sleeping. Hard to believe I come from sleeping on the ground people. Surely somebody would be smart enough to invent the hammock in Europe na true?

It’s after midnight and bar is closed . I am starting to have that just got out of hot tub feeling. Totally exhausted but relaxed. Now my friend wants to know if we can walk to store to get drinks. He says he wakes up in middle of night and needs something to drink. Damn I am tired don’t want to walk this late in dark unfamiliar area to get soft drinks at a store they may or may not be open.

Fortunately Mr. Seastar Inn (Chris) told him to get whatever he wanted from the bar refrigerator even though the bar had been closed for a while. We both grab a couple of drinks. Nice. I stayed last year (2009) at the RIU Tropical Bay for a whole week. Not one time in that stay did I meet Mr. or Mrs. RIU. I am sure they were busy doing whatever it is they do. From minute 1 at the Seastar Inn. I met Mr. Seastar Inn. So if I had ANY kind of question or problem about ANY thing I could go straight to the top. Given all options it is kind of nice knowing the owners.

Went back to room and hung out for short while before getting too tired and going to bed about 1am. Don’t know if I just lose consciousness or because of a clean conscious I fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow.

[Mr. X]

Mr. X Does Negril (2010) with No Reservations

Chapter 19 – Am at Seastar Inn

September 5th, 2010 – Sunday – (Day 2)
Get up a little before 7am. AC on full blast. Slept good under covers.
Feeling Great.
Coffee suppose to be ready at 7am. (I asked)
I was waiting on it.
Already warm. I got on flip flops, shorts and t-shirt. It feels nice. Not hot.
Pretty good coffee. Brown sugar and crème.
Walk around pool.
Don’t want to get too far from the coffee machine
I am only one around.



Sit by pool.
Thanks and Praise
Drink more coffee.
Last night there were people all around now nobody but me.
Few people behind walls working I can hear.
6 full days of vacation in front of us (and travel home day).
I knew right off the bat I liked it at Seastar Inn.
Don’t really know how everybody else feels.
(My cigar roller is going to have to get up before too long or else I am going to have a little problem)
By 9am my group is up and semi-awake.

I am normally not a big breakfast eater. They have standard stuff included on the breakfast. Breads, cereals, etc. fine for me normally but since I have been awake for 2 or 3 hours I am ready to eat a full breakfast.

As per the next four days I will order the Jamaican Special for breakfast wherever I am. This means ackee and salt fish and callaloo and Johnny cakes. Additionally we got big fruit platter. So we got 2 Jamaican specials and 2 fruit platters for breakfast and shared among 4 people. My friends thought the eggs were good but tasted a little “different”. “Um those are not eggs that is ackee it grows on trees. Got a laugh on that one when I told the waiter about the “eggs”.

Big Fruit platters. Everything was very good. Some fruits I knew and some I did not. I got the names but immediately forgot. Seastar staff told us the Jamaica special breakfast takes a little while to make probably about 30 minutes. No problem and I like the fact that they even told me that it takes longer. I can eat whatever I want off the breakfast bar cereals, juice, breads etc. We walk around. Take photos. Not many people around. I feel comfortable not like you got to be on ur good behavior all the time. Well worth the wait. Brought out fruit platter first so we have plenty to eat and very casual.
Thanks and praise

We got to make a decision on where to stay this morning. If we stay here, not a problem. If not we got to pack and find a new place after breakfast. Group says here is cool. Nice. So I paid $119 first night and my friend will pay $119 for second night and we will just split the bill (buffet/show, meals, drinks, etc.). So room worked out to be $59.50 per couple per night. So far so good.

We got to the Seastar Inn after dark last night so did not really get a good look at the property. There are plants, trees and flowers everywhere. Very well taken care of and it made the property attractive. My friend is knowledgeable about tropical plants and fruits. We are picking fruit off trees and eating it. Forgot what it was but good. I am not opposed to eating fruit off the ground if I know what it is and that it’s ripe and good to eat. Cannot even remember name of fruits but if my friend says safe to eat then I am going to try it.










Shower and change
Thanks and Praise

Island Steps
I walk out of our room and go down one flight of stairs and it’s a little off level. So now I got to stop my vacation and wait for my wife to come by because sure enough she is going to have coffee in 1 hand and telephone in the other and talking and probably going to go tumbling down the stairs. Ruin vacation. Friends wife comes out first and I am about to start to try to explain that the stairs are uneven and to be careful and to tell my wife to be careful so I can continue with my vacation.

Before I can get it all out she waves her arm and says “Island Steps” I got it. She having lived most of her life on an island knew exactly what I meant. Yes! Exactly! That’s it Island Steps. We all have to stop and explain to my wife the Island Step thing. WHAT? Ok. She says she gets it. Rest of Vacation (lol. rest of my life) anytime steps are uneven, crooked and/or dangerous you just call out “Island Steps” and everybody following you should understand to be careful on the steps.

Does not happen a lot in Jamaica say maybe 20 times a day or so I have to call this out. Jamaicans take this for granted and watch where they walk. This alone (shouting out “Island Steps”) will probably save me an hour of waiting time on this week trip. Vacation extended by 1 hour. Thanks and Praise.

I got slow moving group. Basically takes a little prodding not to miss the 11am shuttle to beach. Seastar Inn has a van and driver. Knew we wanted to go to beach. Did not exactly know where we wanted to go. Not worried because I could take my notes with me and decide on the 10 minute drive where best to go. Climbed in van back seat with friends. Driver drove normal Jamaican way. Fast. This meant buildings were zipping by so fast could not do much but hang on. Not dangerous at all but not a leisurely cruise either. Don’t want to imply it was unsafe.. Just compared to Granville driving a lot faster. No chance to check my notes. Better to hang on. Buildings on cliff road were whipping past by like a NASCAR race. One other couple besides us 4 on the shuttle. They were friends of the owners of Seastar Inn and had been here plenty of times. They decided to go to Bourbon Beach. I know this is going to be one of my hit or miss places. This is going to be more “Real” Jamaica instead of going further up beach. Figured no problem for me but don’t really know how rest of my group is going to like it. Mostly I am hoping the bathrooms are clean. Ok no problem we will check it out and if we don’t like we can go somewhere else. At least eat some of that famous Bourbon Beach jerk chicken.

Drove us right to front and told us to call him when we wanted pick up. Kool. I tipped the driver 1000J. By route taxi would have cost us 800J all most the same and it would have been way more walking and time.

So tipping the Seastar Inn Driver 1000J for 4 people to go door to door directly seems pretty good deal to me. I understand the shuttle is free. But I am on vacation. If it was just the 2 of us probably would have tipped 500J. About the same as a route taxi would cost but door to door service.