ahhhhh..... enjoying your summary, if I close my eyes I can imagine being back swaying on the hammock. And I agree, the staff at Xtabi is wonderful.
ahhhhh..... enjoying your summary, if I close my eyes I can imagine being back swaying on the hammock. And I agree, the staff at Xtabi is wonderful.
Heavenly Negril Trips:
Feb '11, May '11, Sept '11, Dec '11, Jan '12, Feb '12, Oct '12, Feb '13
What a great name! She spells it wrong..but still, a great name!Originally Posted by bjritz
LOL
“Best End of the West End, Mon!” Exclaimed by a young man we met on One Love outside of Wise Choice Supermarket.
Hazy cloud filtered light seeps into hazy addled brain. Nice cool, really cool breeze sweeps the room, wraps the body in a light salt air breath of morning. Eye peeps open slightly to take in minimal lizard like view of the new day. Dark wood contrasts with white blowing shears attempting to cover the wood slats and screened windows; beyond lies tropic green in verdant layers. Song birds calling, wood smoke drifts into the mix, just a thread left from the fire at 3 Dives the night before. Ah, fine Jamaican morning, come in lift me, wake me, stir me to a peaceful start of a day with no agenda, no calls, no pressure; all good mon. Good Morning Negril!
Turns out, this is our walk to the lighthouse day. We amble up the road just having a good time seeing all the divergence in scenery. The tin walls of what we came to call “no man’s land” that crowded the road. The contrast of buildings with only upstairs residences and first floors empty, stark, with the lovely posh resorts on the other side of the street. The great line of shops opposite of Rockhouse was fun to browse through and meet the nice people along the road.
Having spent months looking at all this from above, (http://tinyurl.com/7m27ogx) it was just so cool to walk through it all at street level. Things are more compact than I had realized, and there are many things going on all around you up through about LTU and a little beyond. Then it quiets down. Traffic nearly vanishes and there is a great piece of undeveloped land across from The Caves Resort.
We popped into visit several resorts, Rockhouse, Sunset on the Cliffs, Negril Escape, and Tensing Pen. Some we looked at on the way to the light house and some on the way back. We just went in the ones with open gates or outside security. Since we weren’t eating lunch we just didn’t do the ones we knew would let us in, but would like us to drop some cash. (Cheap old guys) Two of these we spent a little time at were Negril Escape and Rockhouse.
Negril Escape was a pleasant surprise as its cliffs were quite low to the sea. We ducked into the bar and had a few beers while a squall came through. Just majestic! It was great that the bar was under that overhang so we were dry and had a wonderful view of the line of hard rain coming toward us. The waves started just pounding the rocks along the terrace and it was amazing. The spray off that little inlet that juts into the property was nice. Had we been standing out on the terrace we’d been washed off the thing the water was coming up halfway to the bar!
At Rockhouse we got a couple of beers and walked out to the massage cabana that juts out into the cove. Nice teak Adirondack chairs out there with matched ottomans to laze on. Some photo shoot was going on just on the rock path behind us, lovely model and a bunch of photographers. We had to just hang out there for a while until they were done.
Stopped by Rick’s gates for a picture, past Sexy Rexy’s and were bummed he wasn’t there. And next we went on to the lighthouse.
I most likely have my days out of order but we went into Rick’s to see a sunset, but it was too cloudy. Ricks is where all the people in Negril are, man it was packed. Next we rambled over to LTU for dinner, and that was fantastic! What a nice place hanging over such a beautiful cove.
Went back to Xtabi and stopped at 3 Dives to pick up some Spitfires for the porch talk looking into the fading of the evening as night fires burn across the cove.
Weary feet and legs were thrown onto the cabin bed, fan blasting down to cool the night heat. Drift toward a rest not often obtained in mainland towns, drop to a steady sleeping breath, dream of pelicans in flight, moon bright, luminous surf swirling around toes and on it goes, and on it goes.
Last edited by bjritz; 06-19-2012 at 12:38 PM.
Canoe – Place of Ultimate Excellence
Today’s tale is of a great time had on the way to and from Canoe Beach Bar & Grill.
By way of disclaimer, now that I’ve read most of GerryG123’s monster trip reports, all pictures of various people on this report were asked if their picture could be taken. Any that said no, are not posted. (No one said no) The exception to this was entertainers who were in the midst of their awesomeness and unavailable for asking. (I hope they don’t mind my free and unabashed promotion of their art.) My asking was to ensure they were okay with my possession of their image. I, however, this being my first visit to Negril and my first eva trip report, didn’t ask them if they would like to specifically be in my trip report. (Next time, baby, next time) But, I’m getting ahead of myself.....
The reverie I and you have come to expect from my Jamaican mornings was interrupted slightly by the gentle padding feet of my travel buddy, Ed. This was Ed’s day to go to the airport. He was not completely ready to leave, but his work was calling, not to mention his wife who had been dealing with leaking plumbing in his absence. Dawn was bright and piercing into our room and my eyes, a brilliant sunny day was upon us.
Ed’s Juta ride was coming early, 6 AM, so we hung out at the Xtabi drive waving off countless route taxis after they spotted luggage. The restaurant wasn’t open yet, so no coffee. A delightful sweet lady driver arrived and whisked Ed off in a second. Goodbye my friend who unknowingly was about to enter the jaws of airline hell. Certain national American politicians were going to delay and reroute his flights all day. He didn’t get home until midnight. (But, that will be in his trip report, hah!)
Next up was a leisurely breakfast at Xtabi with those amazing little knotted rolls. My, those are good. Coffee and some much needed sea gazing. I can just sit there on that terrace and soak it in!
There was a delightful young lady from London staying with us at Xtabi. She was traveling solo and we spent some time together chatting and snorkeling in the cove. She stated that she’d seen a ray out there, so in I went to find it. Nope, never did. But, just floating around looking at all the wonder of a sunny morning was so fabulous.
My morning continued in that do nothing much but included a nap and one of those superb snapper sandwiches at the Xtabi bar.
This was the day I ran into Queenie, whom I mentioned in my peeps section. She is the one staying up with Bella Donna who had sold everything to move to Negril. We met in the bar at Xtabi and subsequently walked down to Canoe for Rod’s webcast and Greenie band party.
Queenie was so relaxed and enjoyable to hang with, a true free spirit. She was giving me the ‘what’s up’ on the Negril scene. There was hardly anyone we passed on the road that she didn’t know by name. She talked about how to honor a Rasta Mon, by including the word ‘rasta’ in your conversation or greeting. From that moment on I heard the locals doing this alla time. Good ting, dat.
Upon our arrival at Canoe we met Tina. She is an amazingly sweet and beautiful girl. I was mesmerized by her eyes.
The Greenies (properly known as Green & Steel Drum Band) were already playing on the stage and the music was fantastic. These guys are good. I loved it. What ambiance, the sea, beach, music and cool people just added to the great food and drink. They had Dragon Stouts, cold too!
Some kids were diving off the German Bar dock what a show.
I met these two sweet Polish girls who were in there fourth year of just traveling around the world. They were nice and we had a good conversation. They also framed the sunset at Canoe.
Last edited by bjritz; 06-21-2012 at 10:16 AM.
Queenie and four other people (two not in the picture) were hanging inside the lounge area. These two women, whose names I’ve unfortunately forgotten, were a couple of expats that had been in Negril for many years. They were so fun. We talked and laughed so much that evening. I was glad that Queenie met these two as they seemed interested in her success in her move to town. The vibe that evening was just awesome.
Talked briefly with Rob, he was quite busy with the webcast and seemed to be just having a ball. What a job, work, life he has going. One truly amazing guy.
Queenie and I rambled back up the cliff road and found that the Fi Wi bar was open. I had walked by it so many times and laughed at the misspelling of WiFi. Duh? Me the guy who knows nothing about Negril. Well, I asked the lovely barkeep what was with the name Fi Wi. (I said it fy wy) She laughed with that infectious smile and said ‘Fee Wee, Mon, all us together, all together, Fi Wi.’ Okay, I have it now, loved that little place. She said she and her family owned many small bars throughout Negril.
Like I said Queenie knew everybody. We’d walk a few feet and meet someone new. We had lots of great conversations. One was with a family that invited us into their backyard, somewhere along past Ciao. We hung out while one guy carved a little cup from a calabash fruit shell. He gave it to Queenie. Really cool. This family has lived in that home since 1955 and watched it all come up around them. Salt of the earth, these, we also noticed this little pile of puppies they had, so cute.
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After all the walking we were both beat and said our goodbyes. Queenie headed back up to Bella Donna’s and me into the Xtabie bar. We had a new batch of ‘yardies’ as the rooms had turned again. Many pleasant peeps to get to know. They had their ‘just arrived’ vibe on, lots of excitement, lots of plans, lots of loudness and hearty drinking. I was so much mellower after the many days of unwinding. The work of the Caribbean Sea, the salt air, the dirty bananas had been done. My watch spring was unwound. How absolutely refreshing this was to discover.
I was done for the day, no more need for anything but a great night’s sleep to prepare me for my last full day in Negril. I loved showering off the day in the outdoor stall overlooking the road. Flopped out on the bed, fan blasting, and quickly fell into the deep peaceful place of a totally vacated mind.
The cold woke me; I groped for the fan switch, off, ya mon, all good. The surf enveloped me again; the breeze wrapped my shoulders and eased me into the calm of the Caribbean Sea. I drift upon it, just off the cave beach, looking up into a starry night sky. I hope the lion fish and morays are asleep, I hope the tide is coming in, not out, but mostly I hope I’m on my bed not really out in the cove.
Last edited by bjritz; 06-21-2012 at 10:17 AM.
Last Full Day in Negril
One pin standing, one pin wobbling. I wake to my last full day in Negril. Slept like a rock. Walking, talking and a variety of food, drink and delicious conversations can do that to you.
The morning is fresh and clear, I can see almost to Cancun. I walk down to the cliff wall to see how the light is playing on the water. Ah, perfect. The crystal Caribbean sun is piercing the sea just a few feet off the base of the cliffs. Ya, mon, snorkeling time!
Breakfast can wait. This water is so inviting. Calm, clear, just cool enough to feel perfect. Once in the cove, the magic I’ve been having daily just ramped up exponentially. Passing from the shadows on against the cliff into the sun drenched area, the water was full of shafts of light angling down to the sea bed. Swimming in the light was pure enchantment. This swim had just become surreal. The fish were clearly into the clarity as well, more feeding going on than ever. And the colors in the morning sun were brilliant.
Just when I thought it couldn’t be any better I realized the school of little silvery fish that had been avoiding me all week, just suddenly surrounded me. In front, back and below, thousands of these fish just came up as if to say, “We accept you. You’ve been here with us enough days to embrace your presence.” Wow! Talk about Nirvana.
I’ll remember this morning for a long time.
That wata!!! My goodness its just so beautiful...I could spend the rest of my life staring into it.
Stir IT UP
Wata, I love how Jamaicans call it Wata! I can't get it out of my brain....must have more.
Last full day?? Noooo - I don't want this trip report to ever end, I've been enjoying it too much.
Thanks for taking the time to share all that you have! I love all the beautiful pictures and your descriptions of your experiences in Negril!
Really beautiful!
(and yes, her eyes are mesmerizing! wow!)
Carpe Diem
so love your poetry of words bringing the full experience to us. Brings the Negril-longing full on--but also is satiating.
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