I am back from Jamaica. My Family LOVED Negril!

[Clarity]

Sorry for being such a stranger. I just got back from my family trip to Negril last week and had to jump right back into work. (I arrived back in California at 2 AM last Wednesday morning and I was back at work at 7:30 AM that same morning– barely had time to peel off my beach clothes!)

It took me a few days to decompress after such an intense experience. I finally finished uploading all the pics from our 5 day vacation and I wanted to share a few with you all.

This was our first vacation together as a family in over 12 years and my father's return trip to the Island (His last visit to Jamaica was 38 years ago!) My sisters had never been to Jamaica before, so this was all entirely new to them. For weeks leading up to this trip, it was all they could talk about. They were so excited!

I'll start at the beginning...


I arrived in Negril about 7 hours before my family and took Clives to Catcha Falling Star. It was a different experience driving from MoBay to Negril without Markus. I wish he could have joined me on this trip. That was the only downside...That he wasn’t there to experience this with me.

I was in the front seat of a van with a large Italian family heading to the Rui Palace. It was their first ever trip to Negril. They mostly spoke in Italian to each other in hushed excited whispers while I chatted with the driver in the front seat. A little kid came up to the window and handed me a strange plant. I gave him a dollar for it even though I had no idea what it was…



The driver explained that it’s genip and it’s in season right now in Jamaica, so it’s everywhere. He taught me how to peel off the skin and suck the fruit off the pit. It tastes like Candy! This was a first for me.

Catcha was beautiful as always! The whole staff remembered me and greeted me with warm hugs. I truly felt like I was coming home! Star cottage is amazing – 2 bedrooms, large livingroom area, kitchen and a private enclosed patio with an outdoor patio in the back through the bathroom





It’s hot in August, HOTTER than I’d ever experienced before in my life. The humidity felt like a 100%, like a sauna. It’s makes the ocean even more inviting to swim in.

Since I had some time to kill before my parents arrived, I went over to Canoe to catch the sunset webcast. Rob called Rocky and arranged for him to pick me up on his way to Catcha with the rest of my family in his van. My family had just arrived in MoBay and still had a 1 ½ hour ride in front of them.

It was great having that first taste of a delicious dirty banana at Canoe with Rob, Lisa, Lola and another couple that was also staying at Catcha.

[Clarity]

I started getting super anxious before my parents arrived. I started worrying that they wouldn’t like Negril or that my father would think it has changed too much since he was last there… (His last trip to Negril was back in the 1960’s!!) I was nervous about introducing my family to my favorite place in the world. What if they didn’t love it as much as I did?

Lisa and Rob were awesome, they told me to relax and just enjoy the experience. I was seriously overthinking things. This was just such a big moment, something I had anticipated and dreamed about for so long... and it was finally happening! I was a complete bundle of nerves!



As soon as my family arrived, everything began to fall into place and I realized I had nothing to worry about. Rocky took great care of my family. They were in absolute awe with everything! Catcha Falling Star completely blew my family away! My mother and father were staying the Sagi Cottage, while I stayed at Star cottage with my 2 sisters and my sister’s boyfriend.

The first night we all had a delicious dinner at Ivans, Afterwards we swam in the pool together at night admiring the stars overhead. We also soaked in the hot tub, taking in the view of the ocean and cliffs. It was perfect! My mother was in tears because she’d never experienced anything like this before in her life! It was so wonderful to see my mother so happy.

Here are some pics from our stay at Catcha



That’s my father jumping off the cliffs – He loved it! He started at the lowest level and worked his way up to leaping off the highest point. He talked about how these cliffs were virtually empty back in the day and you could jump into the water from wherever you wanted. It was awesome seeing a youthful joy and excitement in my Dad again. Usually his face is etched with grim stress lines and he’s in a business suit. He really let go for a while. He was happy, really really happy. He needed this.



(My family blissfully swimming in the ocean)

My 26 year old sister started off with a life jacket because she had never swam in water so deep before in her life. She was nervous. After an hour, she felt confident and ripped it off. She realized she didn’t need it after all. She’s a better swimmer than I am!

[Clarity]

My father was so excited about having Ackee and Saltfish again. He talked about how his Aunt would make this for breakfast every morning. It brought back a lot of memories



He also enjoyed having coco bread with cheese again too! He was in heaven with all the fresh fruits as well.



My sister trying to catch lizards – she didn’t have much luck but she was determined



My sister and her boyfriend taking in the view



My sister snorkeling for the very first time in her life. It took her a day to adjust to breathing from a snorkel but by day 2 she was a pro. It was her favorite activity.

[Clarity]

My family taking in the sunset on the first day.



My mother tried a dirty banana for the first time in her life and loved every sip of it.



Here she is swinging in the hammock at Sagi in the early morning, just listening the waves crashing over the rocks. It’s been such a long time since my mother had a vacation, and to see her so relaxed and at peace like this made me so happy…

[Clarity]

Saturday night we went to see the concert at Seastar. My sisters and Mom were completely entranced by the Seastar drummers. They enjoyed Steve West’s performance too and even got up to dance for a few numbers.



When we returned from the Seastar concert we were surprised by the dramatic change in the weather. Suddenly waves were crashing over the pool in Catcha and hitting the door of the Sagi cottage. We realized it was the effects of Tropical storm Isaac passing by. I’d never seen waves so high before in my life! It was crazy and a little frightening at night. The waves were so loud that my parents chose to sleep with us at Star Cottage instead of sleep at the Sagi Cottage.

The next day was the same, high winds and massive waves...I was mesmerized by the sight of it, it's really something incredible to witness!



We couldn’t swim in the pool because of the waves crashing onto the deck and obviously the ocean was off limits, but that didn’t put a damper on our fun. We just put on our bathing suit, grabbed our towels and head over to Seastar Inn to swim in the pool there.

Oddly enough, the weather was entirely calm inland. It was really only the cliffs area that was hit by the storm. Apparently seven mile stretch of beach was fine too. ( Although my relatives in St. Catherine and Kingston reported some serious heavy rain and some flooded areas.)



We had the seafood pizza with Shrimp + lobster at Seastar…. I’d heard about the pizza before but it was my first time actually trying it. It was truly delicious.

[Clarity]

The stretch of beach is incredible. The only beach that compares to it is Coco La Palm but the per person cost is cheaper at Nirvana. The water was crystal clear and the waves were calm. My mother and 17 year old sister preferred wading in the shallow beach over jumping off the cliffs. This was perfect for them. I’m really glad we did a split stay so they could experience both. The hotel grounds are beautiful too!



Nirvana doesn't have a bar onsite, but it's right next to White Sands which had really cheap drinks. We had Niah’s Patties for lunch (also right next to Nirvana) and went to Marley by the Sea at Coco La Palm for dinner. We also had Best of the West the following day. The location was great.

I even got to introduce my sister to Robert at Sunnyside bar. We had so much fun hanging out with him that afternoon. You can’t beat 150 JA Redstripes.

[Clarity]

She loved Sagi cottage!

On Friday, we went to the beach in the afternoon. I knew that a storm would be coming soon and I wanted my family to experience the beach with calm waves. I didn’t know what effect the storm would have.



We entered through Margaritaville. I found it to be a little too touristy and overpriced so we eventually moved over to Negril Treehouse to enjoy drinks and swim. IMHO That was SO much better…





(my two sisters swimming in the ocean)

I walked around Negril Treehouse to check it out and I have to say that it’s beautiful. That’s where I want to stay next time we go to Negril.

[Clarity]

Andrea was kind enough to move my parents to the Leo Suite that night free of charge because of the waves crashing into Sagi. It was absolutely stunning! A wonderful upgrade, they LOVED it! We had dinner in the dining room because it was still pretty windy outside.



We stayed up late all together in the Leo suite drinking Red Stripes and playing Balderdash. We laughed so hard, we had tears in our eyes. It was such a fun night!

Monday morning we moved over to Nirvana on the beach.



We had a three bedroom cottage (Cottage 2) – I highly recommend Nirvana for anyone planning on staying there. Great price and great for big families/group of friends . It has a full kitchen and lots of windows, open space.

[Clarity]

The whole trip was incredible. This was my first time traveling in August and it’s a great time to go to Negril because you really feel like you have the place to yourself. There are amazing deals with hotels during this time so it’s really affordable. The water temperature is perfect and the vibe is really relaxed. You'll probably want to stay at a place w/ air conditioning though. It gets really hot at night. Be aware that you may deal with a brief storm or two because it’s the start of hurricane season, but it passes quickly. The rain is so refreshing. A nice respite from the heat…

My father didn’t get to meet all the family he had hoped to because we were there for such a short time, but he’s in touch with all of them now and he is planning a trip back for July 2013 to meet up with the rest. I’ve planted the seed, they are hooked and my work here is done

I don’t think I’ll be writing a full fledged detailed trip report this time, but my little 17 year old sister, Amber took some great pictures that she uploaded into my computer. I’ll start another thread in a few days with those images because it’s really special to see Jamaica through the eyes of a first timer.

We’ll also get back into finishing our One love trip report as soon as we can– I’m determined to finish that.

Thank you everyone for your caring advice and all of your help in planning this trip! I truly appreciated it and it meant a lot to me. I’m so glad I got to show my family the Island I love and re-introduce my father to Jamaica. It was a special trip for all of us, the only sad thing is that it went by way to fast.

5 days just isn’t enough time to take it all in.



But I’m grateful for every minute of this family vacation.

Even though my trips to Negril are coming to an end (for a while anyway) as we’re planning to start a family of our own and need to put money away…

For my sisters and my parents, this is JUST the beginning...

-Daisy

[Eden]

Hi Daisy! Soooo glad you and your family had such a wonderful time together!! Sorry your Dad didn't get to meet any of his JA family on this reach, but I think it's SO awesome that he's already planned a return date, so hopefully he will meet them then! And, I loved your photos of the huge waves.