So I'm sitting at Bourbon Beach, enjoying the ocean view and hangin' with Memphis Mike. Meantime, there are about eight locals at the bar, mixin' with the the two or three employees, and a couple of them get in a heated LOUD discussion, screaming in Patois back and forth enough so that you can hear 'em from probably 500 feet away.

There are guests at Bourbon Beach, but no one says a word to try to quiet the two down. They're not fighting, just arguing very loud, and the whole scene is NORMAL for Negril. At the Hilton in USA or the Marriott or Sheraton or Hyatt or Best Western or any place like that, the security guards would be rushing over, the employees or tourists (not sure who was arguing) would be told to be quiet immediately, and perhaps 911 would be called; there would be a written report. Here, it is NOTHING. One of the key differences between the USA and Jamaica -- that extreme level of tolerance needed to cope on the island.

The differences become less subtle the more time you spend in Negril, but even for long-time returnees like myself, some of the scenes can startle you when you first arrive.

I downed some coffee and jumped into the water, still early in the morning. It's best on the beach early before all the vendors and beggars arrive, though this week there aren't that many folks period because it's so quiet in Negril.

Clouds are rolling in. Dark clouds. One thing about Negril, it's VERY hard to predict the weather. You don't know if a storm is going to last a minute, an hour, a day, a week. Even the locals, with a feel for the sky after living here for decades, have no idea. They just shrug when I ask if they think it's going to rain for a short time or long time.