Trip Report 1 ~ Grand Pineapple ~ May 2011

[lovenegril]

Day 4 begins the same way, coffee on the porch. Today we are just gonna walk the beach, and do some GP activities. I spend much of the day relaxing and napping on & off in the sun. We do some kayaking, ride the big wheel bike in the water, and of course... drinking some Dirty Bananas. After lunch, we decide to walk into town and do some shopping and try out some of the jerk chicken on the side of the road. (must have) We purchase some shirts for people back home & the store clerk lets us use his phone to call home. I check in with my daughter and unfortunately have to talk to my racist brother. (more on him later) Despite his negative comments on the vacation destination I chose to take, I am not letting him bring me down because I am having the time of my life.

After much shopping, we head back to the GP for a much needed Red Stripe or three, or four. I can't remember. We spent a few hours talking to one of the security guards ~ Donovan and again I am blown away at the people in Jamaica. Some of the best people ever. Without being too nosy, I wanted to get an idea about what the average salary is in Jamaica. He informed me that as a security guard, he works 60 hours a week and brings home about $400 US every 2 weeks. He feels blessed to have such a great job as there are so many people in Jamaica struggling to find work. He gives much of his paycheck to his mom to help his family. He was so matter of fact about it, I never once got the impression he thought this was anything but norm.

Because it is still early-ish, we decide to walk the beach. But all the security guards advise us that maybe walking the beach after dark alone is not such a good idea. Lucky for us, we have friends in Jamaica now, and they are more than happy to walk with us. Patrick asked when we thought we would be back and where we were going. I loved that they were always looking out for us. So, we head down toward Bourbon Beach to listen to some music. As soon as we start walking, we realize why we shouldn't go alone. We are walking and a guy comes up to me and is very persistent with wanting me to leave with him. I kindly inform him that I am not interested, but he will not take NO as an answer. He becomes a little aggressive and tries to pull me away when Shama & Cyrano inform him that I am with them, and after some heated Patois, the guy says Respect & moves on his way. This was the only person in Negril I met that I didn't love. We are walking a little farther when they inform me that he was a Rent-a-Dread. REALLY!!!! My first time ever being propositioned by someone in that profession, strike that one off my bucket list!

At Bourbon Beach, they have a DJ and we are having a few drinks & some Bob Marley and a few rum shots & suddenly ~ right in front of us ~ we get to see what daggering is! (Sadly, no pictures of this.) Let me tell you. I wanted to close my eyes but couldn't look away. Somehow I don't think this will become a hot dance trend in Missouri. Later, I did get asked to dance but before I agreed, I made sure my dance partners knew, I was not eager to try that. Still, the regular dancing was almost as sinful as things I have only done behind closed doors before. But amazingly the rum shots made me not care. LOL We had a great time and headed back toward home for the night. Before we got to the GP, we stopped and sat on an empty stretch of beach and talked with our new friends for a few hours. It was great exchanging our thoughts, beliefs, and feelings with people with such different backgrounds. We finally made it back to the GP about 4 am and headed off to bed. It was not too crazy a night, but had some great conversations that I will remember forever.

Tomorrow ~ snorkeling again & the island.