sweet spice has ALWAYS been TOP NOTCH for us = Sweet Spot however is on the beach rd, and i have never been there to comment about it - but just wanted to point out - they are not the same placeOriginally Posted by gerryg123
sweet spice has ALWAYS been TOP NOTCH for us = Sweet Spot however is on the beach rd, and i have never been there to comment about it - but just wanted to point out - they are not the same place
I've always dreamed of meeting a friend in Negril with a rental car ....
Yes, meeting someone fun who has a rental car (and grew up driving in JA) and who offers to take you around is great!!
DAY EIGHT:
I woke up in the middle of the night and my room smelled like a camp fire. It took me a while to remember when this had happened on a previous trip... there was a fire in the morass and the smoke was drifting toward the beach. I tried to closed up my windows as best I could and went back to sleep. I woke up later and headed out to meet my travel buddies for the day C & N. We hoped in the car and off we went. Along the road to Sav we stopped at a little place called Mango Tree Restaurant and told them we would be stopping for lunch/dinner on our way back and please save us 3 fish. Apparently the place is busy enough that they often run out so we wanted to make sure there was fish left for us later (yeah...I remembered my camera on this trip!).
We drove on and while I have travelled this route to the south coast many times before, I still enjoyed the scenery. I am confident I could handle this drive myself if it were not for Sav. I swear I try and figure the roads out in that city but can never do it!
We stopped briefly in Whitehall near the Peter Tosh house and enjoyed the view.
Last edited by Sam I Am; 06-19-2011 at 11:44 PM.
DAY EIGHT CONT:
After the quick stop we continued on our way to YS Falls. We made the obligatory stop in Middle Quarters for peppered shrimp. I have to say that in all the times I have been to JA and all the times I have passed through MQ, I had never actually tried the shrimp. So I decided that this was the time to do it. C&N love the peppered shrimp and bought a few bags from a few different ladies. It was funny to listen to C talk to the ladies, negotiate and tell them what sized shrimp she wants. She is clearly a tourist, but she has not lost her skills from growing up in JA!
Well after much discussion and explaining of the technique, I gave it a go. And the verdict is... glad I tried it, probably wont do it again. It was a texture thing for me. I didn't realize that you eat them shell on.
After a wrong turn or two, we reached YS. Rookie mistake.... we did not call ahead. They were closed. I knew they we closed on Mondays, so I was surprised but it turned out there was a staff holiday and the place was closed for the next 10 days. Oh well, live and learn, and call ahead.
We laughed and talked about how that was JA for you... your day never turns out as you plan, but you still have a great time. So back in the car, back on the road and back through middle quarters again. We decided that after we stopped for lunch at Mango Tree, we would head out to Brighton and visit Blue Hole Mineral Springs.
We got to Mango Tree and they had our fish set aside for us. We all ordered the whole fry fish. After a short wait, out it came and it was amazing. As you can see I enjoyed it.
From there we headed into the hills to Brighton. Neat drive up there, but really off the beaten track. Two of the caretakers we there and welcomed us. C has been there often and knew one of them well so he gave us the grand tour. They have been doing a ton of work on the place. The blue hole itself is cool, but I really liked the pool.
They showed us around the property and the bar was really nice too. They are in the middle of building 2-3 large buildings on the hillside there too. One is almost finished and they are already renting it out. If you want to really be off the grid it might be a nice place to check out staying. The rooms were spacious and looked really nice. Here is a view from the balcony of the suite:
DAY EIGHT CONT:
After a while we left Blue Hole and headed back to Negril. I saw what I thought was clouds and I was excited! Being from Arizona, one of the things I love about JA is the rain. I know Smith44 would smack me for saying that but I love the rain. I never tire of sitting and watching it come down. I had planned this trip during "rainy season" hoping for a daily shower. So far I had not seen one drop of rain!
As we got closer to Negril, I realized that it was not clouds but smoke. Once we got on the beach road we had to slow down because the visibility was only about 50yards. Turns out it was the same fire I smelled the night before but it had grown. There was even a fire truck that passed us.
When we arrived at White Sands the place was socked in and there was ash falling everywhere. I went to my room to try and close up my windows, but I dont think it was going to help much. Since my room was on the garden side and closer to the fire, I went over to the bar and the beach hoping the smoke would be less suffocating there. It was and after about an hour and a half it was back to normal.
I walked down to Sweet Spot (on the beach road) and tried to order about 5 different things... all out of everything but Chicken Chop Suey. I can't say I even knew what that was but oh well, I tried it. It was great! Totally shocked. And it came with a whole bunch of veggies (which I didnt know I was craving til I got them).
Back to the hotel to shoot some pool with some other guests and then off to bed... a busy day for lazy beach bum Sam!
Wow, you have hit a lot of my favorite spots, and your trip is far from boring! Nice that you took it in stride when YS was closed--the only way to do Jamaica is w.flexibility in my opinion. Loving your report and you have really got me craving Ja style fish! Yum.
DAY NINE:
I woke up to another sunny day, but still a little smokey from the fire. I headed down for my usual breakfast from Horace the chef at White Sands. After all the activity the day before, I decided to take it easy and chill out on the beach all day. Plus it was Sunday and that means one thing... Pina Coladas.
The back story on this is that last year my dad and 4 uncles came to Negril with me. They are all what I like to call "accomplished drinkers". From sunrise to sunset (and well after), they were putting away the drinks. I had told them to bring mugs so that they could mix drinks in their room and bring them to the beach. Well they went out and bought the 64oz mugs from the gas station at home! So around rolls Sunday and they order the 2 for 1 special at White Sands: pina coladas. They liked them so much that they asked Tony to just mix up a blender and dump it straight into each of their mugs. That was repeated a number of times over the day. They drank more pina coladas than I thought humanly possible and so did I!
So back to present day. At the airport, when my dad dropped me off, he handed me a $50 bill and told me I was only allowed to spend it on Sunday pina coladas. He said he expected the money back or a receipt from Tony/Paul as proof I spent my $50 on pina coladas! I am a woman who likes to set goals... and this was right up my alley! So I drank the day away with a brief stop for a beef patty from Neville.
That night a friend of my family stopped by to pickup some photos that someone back home sent down with me to give to him. We then went to Coletta's for dinner and I had the brown stew chicken. Just ok. I then went back to the room and crashed out in a pina colada coma.
I'm really enjoying your trip report so far! this is great to read and I don't find your trip boring at all. I love all the pictures and the day to day recaps. Thank you so much for sharing this.
It sounds like the perfect vacation in Negril!! I'm thinking of checking out White sands on our next vacation, The prices are great and it sounds like the scene is really chill too from your descriptions.
As for the red eye flight from the westcoast. I surely know what that's like.. it can be exhausting and I hate when there isn't enough room in the overhead for my bags. It makes me just as nervous as you. I always book seats in the very back of the plane so I know we'll be the first ones on to get initial dibs in the overhead compartment. I experienced lost luggage once and have traveled with carry-ons ever since that happened. What airline did you use, btw? I'm always looking for good deals on flights from the west coast.
It's funny that you were hoping for rain and disappointed by the constant sunny weather. haha! I'm the opposite, but maybe that's because San Francisco has no shortage of rain and fog. I visited my friend once in Arizona and nearly died from the heat.
Pina colada comas are the best btw.
I'm looking forward to reading more!
Carpe Diem
I agree, not boring at all, sounds more like the perfect vacation to me....lots of relaxing with a couple excursions to break things up. Its a good day when your only decision is where and what to eat! I too am a pale face...so I understand about returning home to questions about the lack of tan....I am usually quite proud of my pale "glow", thinking I have really gotten some colour...so I am usually a little offended...lolol Thanks for the report.
Posting Permissions
