Chapter 11

“It's often just enough to be with someone. I don't need to touch them. Not even talk. A feeling passes between you both. You're not alone.”
― Marilyn Monroe

Friday started with the sun shining, which seemed to be how it went every day. This being our last day, we were determined to be willing victims of the sand gravity. Are you still a victim if you are almost begging for it?

Shamrock's OJ in the room, along with some coffee. Sunshine drank the stuff that came out of our in room coffee maker. I thought it was terrible. Down to the beach for a couple of fruity cocktails. It counts as a good breakfast food if they blend real fruit in, IMHO.

We snacked off the vendors for a bit and then decided it was time to go for a walk down the beach. For you dedicated beach walkers out there, you will probably be appalled by this, but it was our last full day and we had not been more than 50 feet north of Rooms on the beach side. I had read that Niah had some of the best patties on the beach, so we set off walking to find some lunch.

Though we hadn't even left Negril yet, I already knew we would be back and I wanted to see some of the other properties beaches first hand. I understood that the beach had been on the move last year, so there were a couple of spots along the walk that we literally had to take to the water.

We continued along the beach, up past CocoLaPalm. I had my map and knew that I should have seen Niah's already and then the patty man appeared pushing his bike. We grabbed some patties and coco bread from him. Now food in hand, we realised we hadn't quite thought out how to eat this away from our own beach. I had my flip flops in one hand and with a patty and bread in the other it was a bit of a juggling act. Never fear, a friendly fellow at a bar waived us over and for the price of two Red Stripe, we had a table to enjoy our patties. (I know now that it was Dennis from Sun Beach who hooked us up).

There were a couple of resorts I noted. CCLP had a lovely wide, deep beach. Idle Awhile had great shade and wasn't crowded. Charela Inn had nice umbrellas and the lounge chairs looked comfy. Nirvana on the Beach was wide, deep and shady and didn't seem to have much built up on it. Lazy Dayz had a great porch style swing raised above the surf.

We eventually wandered back to Rooms and lazed about like sloths on our loungers or floating in the sea. We chatted back and forth, alternately solving all the world's problems and solving none of them.

We talked about our trip and wondered about how we were every going to describe the whole experience to our friends and family back home. We agreed that it kind of seemed like we had been hazed by Jamaica, but not in an unpleasant way. It felt like we had to earn our stripes before we could claim a piece of Negril for ourselves and that, like most things you have to work hard for, we would value it more in the end. Time away has not altered this perspective.

Sunshine was walking tall. He still had no idea what most anyone was saying to him, but he wasn't bothered by it at all. His spirit was easy and I could see his mind was at rest. He seemed to find some extra pep in his step on that beach, which in all honesty followed him home.

It had been a great trip and I didn't want it to end, but that afternoon there was a part of me that was ready to go home. I was getting tired of everything being new and was ready for a bit of the familiar. I had stretched about as much as I was going to that week and I was getting to the end of my rope. There was a bit of time that afternoon where the risk of my turning into thundershower was high, but Sunshine's enthusiasm was so infectious, it turned out to only be a passing cloud.