How Monty & Melo got comfortable with Negril

[JaJodi]

Great story so far. Our first trip to Jamaica was in 93 for our honeymoon at Sandals Royal also. We went like lambs to the market on our own (much to the chagrin of the staff at Sandals) and did OK, I think the rain (liquid sunshine) and moments at a little stand drinking Red Stripes with some really nice folks saved us. The rest of our trips have been to Negril, #5 coming up for the 20th next year.

[Monty&Melo]

We got up the next morning feeling pretty good, we were getting out of this mistake, and were headed back to the comfort of the AI in Montego Bay. One thing left to do, Melo still had to get our money back from the hotel in order to keep up her end of the bargain. Off she went, and in no time she was back with a smile on her face and a credit slip in her hand for our credit card, showing a full refund for our remaining nights there. She said she told them at the front desk that we just simply could not stay there, the tears running down her cheeks probably sealed the deal.

So an uneventful ride back to MoBay and 5 for nights in the AI hotel, off we went back to the states. It was an interesting trip to say the least, but I still had a hunger to figure this Negril thing out once and for all.

The next year, we agreed to head off to Jamaica again for a New Year’s trip. I had continued my obsession, I mean research on Negril on Negril.com. I read several trip reports about the Grand Pineapple. All Inclusive, on the beach, in Negril. Wow, I thought, all good things!!! So we gave it a try, 6 nights in January, right after the first of the year. That trip went great, the comfort of the All Inclusive atmosphere coupled with the wonderful beach in Negril, it was literally the best of both worlds. The only problem was we liked to get out and explore and did that most days while at GP. We would walk up the beach, hitting little bars and then turning around and heading back to GP for dinner. Great fun, I thought. Each day on the way up and on the way back we would stop and hang out at Rondel Village. They had this great bar right on the beach and the bartenders there were great. We talked to a lot of guests there, most of them were returning guests, many of them multiple-time returning guests. We talked to the security guards and they offered us a tour of the property. Great, I said as Melo sat at the bar and put down some serious Negril roots. The tour of the property was great and I thought to myself, OK, finally, we found a place, non-AI, on the beach, nice place, good rooms, very secure. Next trip we are staying at Rondel Village, we are finally going to do it, breaking out 100% from the AI mold. The only thing I didn’t know was how soon the next trip would be.

We left Grand Pineapple on January 7, 2009. When we reached Atlanta for our connecting flight, we received a call on our cell-phone telling us that my Grandfather, who was in very bad health, had passed away that morning. He was 89 years old, had lived a great life, travelled everywhere (I mean EVERYWHERE!!!) and was the one that influenced me to get out and see the world and while I was doing it to make sure that I saw the “real world,” not just the ones in the tour book. So back at home now, we worked one day and then off to visitation and the funeral. About 2 weeks after we were back, we had a couple of accidents at our businesses involving cars driving through windows and doing major damage. Then towards the end of January, we had a big ice-storm at home that knocked out power to lots of folks around us (we only lost it for a few hours, a lot of people were without power for days) and then after the ice storm we received a large amount of snow. Returning to work after a couple of days and getting curious about airfare, I checked out USAirways.com just to see what airfare was for Superbowl weekend to Jamaica. WOW….I checked (it was Thursday) and we could fly to Montego Bay on Saturday for $360 each. I knew what I had to do. Call Melo… she answered, I didn’t say Hi, I didn’t even tell her who it way (she knew of course), all I said was “how does $360 sound?” After a slight pause, she said “is that airfare??” I said “Yep, leave Saturday, come back on Wednesday, the least we are going to do is go down there and spin ourselves backwards in the sand to change our luck.” “Where are we going to stay, she said.” “I’m taking care of the flights right now, you figure out where we are going to stay!!” So I booked the flights, best airfare we have ever scored!!! 15 minutes later, the phone rings, it’s Melo. “I called Grand Pineapple, they don’t have any rooms.” “Oh, OK.” I replied. “But Rondel Village has room and we are booked there.” “Seriously!!!! Awesome!!!” I said.

There you have it, “How Monty and Melo got comfortable with Negril”…trip report soon come on our latest weeklong adventure. We just returned from our 8th stay at Rondel Village since 2009. These trips have included our kids, some family members, another couple with their kids and of course our yearly (now February) trip with just the two of us. I simply can’t imagine how life would be if we hadn’t been stubborn enough to give Negril a second chance. I truly feel more at home there than I do when I am at home here in Southern Indiana. I love my stateside life, but I really “live” when I make it to Jamaica and Negril.

A few notes about the trip report (soon come, I promise). When I say “we” did this or “we” did that, I am referring to Melo and Myself. When I say “I” think or “I” thought, that is purely me, please don’t hold my thoughts or opinions (assuming you don’t like or agree with them) against my lovely bride. She may have a different opinion than me, or simply doesn’t think about things that happen to her on vacation as much as I do. We travelled with my brother and his girlfriend, and out of respect for them, I will not list their names, but I will refer to them as LG and JMA. I will be posting many pictures of the week, including a trip to a friend’s house in Lucea where we attended an old-fashioned Jamaican BBQ, including a live goat (he wasn’t alive very long), Curried Goat, Mannish Water and lots of white rum. I hope your enjoyed the story of our Negril background (sorry it was so long!!) and that you will enjoy our trip report. I will post it under a different thread, just to keep this one from getting too long.