Sam I Am's Trip Report May 2011 (Part1)

[Sam I Am]

Clarity - I love White Sands. It is definitely not for everyone... some of the things I love best are the exact things other people dont like! Chill is a great word to describe it. I just love how easy it is to meet people there and the staff are great. Plus, you really cant beat the price I always fly US Airways. I dont love them, but the are always the cheapest flight from Phoenix (around $600 with all taxes included). Another hot one here today...

Orchid - yeah, I came home and someone asked, "so when are you going to JA?". Apparently they did not notice my pale "glow"!

[Sam I Am]

I will try and post more tonight. Glad you are enjoying it even if all it is is a food report

[yellowjeep]

Sam...I'm really enjoying your trip report!! Your version of "boring" sounds like my version of "perfect"! I have been to Negril 5 times and all 5 times have stayed at White Sands. We have the villa booked for Feb. 2012 and CAN HARDLY WAIT!!!! It's fun to read about another boardie who enjoys WS as much as we do :-) The last time we were there (Feb 2010) Frances was constructing a new Macaw cage - I'm excited to see the new cage :-) I forget what happened to all of the Love Birds he had -- they got out during the last hurricane maybe?? Anyway, great trip report!

[Sam I Am]

Yea Yellow Jeep! I am glad there is another White Sands junkie on here! Too bad I will be missing you... my next trips are scheduled for Nov and April. I have not stayed in the villa but it looks amazing! When I was there in May, I think Francis was still working on the cages. But I did get to see their 2 new birds... both about 1 month old. I am not a bird person... for some reason they totally freak me out, but it is fun to listen to them in the mornings.

[Sam I Am]

DAY TEN:
I woke up focused on improving my weak tan. I also noticed that while I had done well the first few days, I was officially bug bait! I counted 62 bites. As I was lounging around my room, I noticed the lamp shades shaking and felt my bed wobbling. It lasted about 10 seconds. As I sat there trying to figure out if I was imagining things (lingering effect of the pina coladas?), I decided it was an earthquake. I went out onto the balcony to see if anyone else was out and about and had noticed anything... no one around. Hmmm... maybe I was imagining it. I decided I would head to the beach/bar and see if anyone was talking about it.

Down to the beach and no one is discussing it, so I decide not to bring it up and end up being labeled the "crazy earthquake imagining lady". But I decide to keep my ears open for possible confirmation. I chill on the beach for a while and eventually decide to take the long walk down to Cosmos for lunch. I love making this walk every trip. I get to really check out all the properties and people watch. By the time I arrived, my feet were sore and I was pretty hot! I ordered the Stew Conch and a cup of red pea soup. Both were delicious, but I should have just gotten a large bowl of the soup...it was so good. I absolutely love the soups in JA! I finished my food, read for a bit and then made the long trek back down the beach.

After cleaning up at the room, I head back to the bar and chat with a few of the regular guests that I already knew. Another thing I love about White Sands and Negril in general is that if you go around the same time every year, you really get to know a lot of other people well. There are probably 10 guests at Whites Sands I see every year and have gotten to know well. Even when I travel to Negril alone, I always feel like there are lots of friends around. As I am chatting, I finally decide I can't take it any longer and I ask everyone if they felt the earthquake! No one had, but a few of the staff confirmed that there was indeed a quake that morning. I was so relieved to know I was not totally loosing it And I became a mini celebrity at the hotel for the rest of the day... someone who actually felt it!

I decided to call it a night after finishing by brown stew chicken from rainbow arch (next door to White Sands). As I was crossing the street, I decided to get a cup of conch soup from Jason. Jason has a stand on the road next door to White Sands (across the street from the entrance to Nirvana). Jason sells the obligatory jerk chicken, but also has roast fish, roast breadfruit, soups and lots of other stuff. I highly recommend him for late night takeout dinner. Back to room with my soup to read and fall asleep.

[Sam I Am]

DAY ELEVEN:
I woke up craving banana bread so it was off to Coco La Palm again for breakfast. After a few hours on the beach, I headed down to Shamrock to replenish my snack and drink supplies. Then popped in to Sweet Spot for the Chicken Chop Suey again (I can't explain it but I loved it the first time so I figured I would get it again). I took my lunch and other items to go and headed back to my room to eat my lunch on my balcony.


I was busy admiring all the mangos in the trees by my room when the gardener offered to give me some.


After lunch I headed back to the beach and hung out in the shade reading for a while before spending the rest of the afternoon/evening being entertained by Tony at the bar (and I also watched the NBA playoffs... Tony was more entertaining )


Off to bed after another great day.

[Sam I Am]

DAY TWELVE:
This was a really "close to home" day, but in a good way...
-Breakfast at White Sands (discussed the possible end of the world on the 21st with Horace...I said no way, he said maybe)
-read (finished The Botacelli Secret... pretty good...gave the book away as is my tradition in JA)
-napped (woken up by my new favorite vendor "Aloe. Mango. GET IT!"... it didn't sound like an offer but rather a command)
-drank rum punch (or as I like to call it battery acid)
-watched as the large mangrove tree next to White Sands collapsed (kinda scary...no one hurt but lots of shade gone ) This one (pic taken about 30 minutes prior to it's demise):

-watched the local news (always fun... geez I love that guy who does the sports report he cracks me up)
-ate Escovich Fish at Sun Beach (I know I have a problem... it is an addiction I choose to indulge)
-watched Bulls/Heat NBA game at For Real (the bulls got killed)
-fell asleep fat and happy

[yellowjeep]

Sam, is the "new" coffee shop still there? The one that was just past Best of the West? It was a brand new building - sold pastries and blue mtn coffee...I believe the lady was from NY that ran the place. Feb 2012 will be our 2nd time renting the villa - we go with 3 other couples and it's not too much more $ than going on your own and renting one of the bigger rooms on the beach side. The nice thing about the villa is you get access to your own pool, a full kitchen so we do a lot of our own cooking/grocery shopping while there which saves $$, coffee machine, and Henry always makes sure our coolers are full of ice to keep the red stripes cold :-) I'm going to do the spa/massage that you suggested...that sounds nice! 2 new birds?? Frances's Macaws must have had more babies :-)

[Nurse Marcia]

Coffee shop (True Blue) no longer in business.

[Clarity]

Down to the beach and no one is discussing it, so I decide not to bring it up and end up being labeled the "crazy earthquake imagining lady".

LOL! That would be a funny nickname to have in Negril!
That's wild that you were there during that time and felt the earthquake. The first earthquake I felt was here in San Francisco. I thought there was a sumo wrestler jumping up and down in the upstairs apartment. I froze in confusion, then realized when I looked at my glass of water rattling on the table that it was an earthquake. Markus and I ran to the door frame. we had only been in SF for a week, so we had no idea what you're supposed to do!

"ALOE. MANGO. GET IT!" haha! - what a way to wake up on the beach! That had me laughing. I got offered Aloe a lot during my time in Negril. When I declined, they always looked at me like I was crazy to refuse something as essential as that.

I'm enjoying your trip report, It's a great read! Love the pics too! Thanks for sharing this. I'm looking forward to reading more.