40 years later

[lane]

Shelly, I remember walking to the pay phone across from the Yacht Club to make the call to Air Jamaica to let them know what flight you would be showing up for which was a must or you may not have a seat. So the line was sometimes long and or the coin box on the phone was full and you could not make your call and you just had to walk back the next day.
Here is some traffic for you, one thing you did not worry to much about was getting hit by a car, you could hear it coming a ways off and just watch it go by.



My first trip in mid 73 not electricity up on the West End but the water was in a small pipe running on top of the ground a long the road a each yard got a water faucet, it the pressure was up you could get a cold shower. You can see in the photo's the road going up to the West End still was not much in 1982.

[Lady Jane]

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these old pics.More please

[Shelly]

Actually, I just realized that my first trip to Jamaica was exactly 40 years ago today, January 2nd, 1972. We arrived when it was dark and were driven right up to Redground where some friends of our friends were staying. This place was just behind where the Red Dragon is now. It was uncomfortable for my friend and I because there were about 14 guys staying there so we moved about 7 houses up the hill to James Palmers cottage. Our Jamaican friend Berna told us that James Palmer was the first Jamaican to rent out rooms in his house. This was in a pretty densely population area of Redground, and we couldn't believe how fast the Jamaican people talked and couldn't believe they were speaking English, the fast patois was undecipherable to us. The next morning we asked someone for directions to the beach, walked down the hill and across the bridge and down a little path to the beach. I couldn't believe my eyes, the turquoise water, the white sand, and palm trees, tons and tons of them as far up the beach as we could see. Thousands and thousands of palm trees were cut down to build all of the hotels. The first place we came to after passing the West Indian Sugar Company building was T-Water, a two story motel type of place.

[Piggymon]

Actually, I just realized that my first trip to Jamaica was exactly 40 years ago today, January 2nd, 1972. . . . The next morning we asked someone for directions to the beach, walked down the hill and across the bridge and down a little path to the beach. I couldn't believe my eyes, the turquoise water, the white sand, and palm trees, tons and tons of them as far up the beach as we could see. Thousands and thousands of palm trees were cut down to build all of the hotels. The first place we came to after passing the West Indian Sugar Company building was T-Water, a two story motel type of place.

Shelly, I sure do remember that little path from the bridge down to the beach. The West Indian Sugar Company building was real old school colonial style. I remember that one evening there was a party at the building. I am not sure how the porch was able to hold the people standing, walking on, and dancing on it that evening. I also remember T-Water. It seems to me that in addition to the hotel, it also had a little bar where you could at least get a Red Stripe and perhaps a Rum and Coke.

[TizzyATX]

oh man i'm hooked on these stories and pics. So cool to see what Negril looked like then compared to now. What a special place in time, and how blessed y'all must feel to have experienced it.

I'll be checking back on this thread for sure

[garysteph1018]

It really is a great thread! The stories are spectacular.

[Lady Jane]

Great visuals Shelly. Punta Cana still has some tall palm/coconut that you don't often see anymore. In fact, I was quite surprised there was still some left in PC, Dominican

[Original Juls]

MORE!! PICS !! PLEASE!! This year marks 25 for me...be down in a month..wish I had the time to get out some of our pics..someday after retirement i guess!

[vivnyc]

Anyone recall the name of this place? I recall it took two hours to get served food!
The year was March 1977

[Piggymon]

Anyone recall the name of this place? I recall it took two hours to get served food!
The year was March 1977

Two hours to get served was par for the course back in the day. You can get used to nearly anything. After being down in Negril for a while, I came to be accustomed to long waits for food. The culture shock came when I stayed in my model sister's apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and ordered food from a deli off a menu she had stuck on her refrigerator. My first shock was the guy on the other end of the phone getting annoyed with me because I was taking too long to place my order. I was used to talking slowly and repeating my order in order to try to prevent too many errors. The second shock was hearing the knock at the apartment door long before I was expecting it, with the sandwich done to perfection and the Heineken nice and cold. Night and day difference between the pace of life in New York and Negril.