35 Sunsets Slices of Salt Life from the Capital of Cool

[Lady Jane]

Hopefully you are on your way now

[Kahuna3]

Made it!
Only took 36 hours, but I’m here.

Met Mark and Cheryl (the 1st two of my peeps) at the departure gate in Toronto. I used to work with Mark in Vancouver when I was still in the aviation business. He and Cheryl are ‘Zoo People’. When I first met them and found out that they went to Hedo exclusively, I talked him into staying on the beach for a bit. Their first try, several years ago, they stayed three days at CoCo. They liked it. They’ve gradually upped their ‘non-Zoo’ stays and are freelancing for 11 days this year. They are up at Moonlight and I’m going to visit them tomorrow. BTW – Bea won’t be here until Saturday, so I’m batching it for a few days.

After a three beer drive with Clives from MoBay, we arrived in Negril at 4:00. I did a quick unpacking and hit the beach. I went up to Sunnyside and hugged Maureen, she said I looked ‘fresh’ – I guess that means I don’t look beachy. Next door, Myrna has built a new porch in front of her store, Nice, I stood there and drank my 4th beer as I watched the sunset, it was nice, One down, 33 to go. I walked up the beach to Merrills, got propositioned once along the way. Hey, Mon – I still got it! Ha!

Jumped a taxi into town and took a wad of Jam $$ from the Scotia bank machine. Walked up to Canoe, got a beer- there was a BIG crowd there and a steel pan band playing. Said Hi to Rob and Lisa. Hung for a bit, then walked back to the Corner bar and popped in for beer number 6. It was early so it was quiet.

Came back to White Sands and checked the beach from the sun deck. There was a huge bonfire at Sun Beach, it was a beautiful night.

I got up at 4:17 this morning, so I was too bushed to go up there and check it out.
Tomorrow I’m going to give the parrot toy that I brought down to Dude, Francis’s new baby Macaw.

Pictures and details tomorrow – or the next day.

[Lady Jane]

Glad you made it!

[Bossman]

Pon da rock.............let your journey begin. I'm looking forward to your updates. Soon come can't come soon enough.

[poolguywindsor]

Going to miss hangin with JT on the Seasplash deck and the other feb regulars this year, march seems so for away

[jan24]

Glad you made it safe and looking forward to your story. Don't panic when you hear me screaming as I get my nerve up to Parasail this year. Hope to run into you for a signature on your other book. Last year I caught you on the bus crawl.

[justchuck]

I hope you enjoyed your morning swim!

[Kahuna3]

My alarm went off this morning just as the first fingers of sunlight began to sneak their way stealthily around the edges of the window curtain. No, I don’t set an alarm. Every morning the night security guard, after his graveyard shift, starts his motor cycle not too far from my room, and revs it up. That’s when I wake up.

So, I popped out of bed and went for a walk north along the beach, as is my habit at least every second morning. I’m happy to report that there is lots of sand on the beach, even more than when I was here in December, and the beach up in front of Beaches lives up to its name, and then some. But the moon is in its waxing Gibbous phase, so one would expect the water to be down a little. So all the Apocalyptoes can chill out for a while, until the next storm comes and moves the sand around. Then the cries of ‘the sky is falling’ will once again be heard on this board.

The water was a bit rough for my morning swim, its windy today, but it was so nice to get into the water.

Today I stocked the larder. Went into town and visited my favorite market stand, just past the Devon Ice cream stand a likkle way up a road that leads up to RedGround. As I approached, I heard a lone male singing in a clear, modulated voice – a hymn praising the Lord. I kept walking, drawing closer;

“There’s not one broken vessel that God, can’t mend”

I spotted the man; he was dreadlocked, sitting over a small, smoking cook fire over which sat a steaming pot. He was slicing vegetables into the pot as he sang. He sang in a slow rhythm as he worked. I stopped at the beginning of the row of fruit and vegetable stands. It was quiet and tranquil. The sun dappled the ground around, smoke curled up from the cook fire. I looked around. A lady nearby was peeling ackee into a bucket between her knees, she sang quietly along with the man. Other ladies sat, some in quiet contemplation, some hummed. It was a far cry from the usual banter that one normally hears in the market. I felt as if I’d walked into a church service. The man’s voice washed soothingly over the small market.

I went to a stand and quietly did my shopping. As I paid the vendor for the coconuts I’d selected, she said, “God bless you.”

I walked out onto the road feeling blessed, the man’s voice followed me; the rhythm was calming, almost hypnotic. As I approached the Sav road I saw a man sitting, hunched over on a broken concrete wall. He looked downtrodden, homeless, derelict; not uncommon in Negril. At the sight of him my elevated mood collapsed. As I neared the traffic circle and entered the hustle and bustle of centre Negril, I was firmly back in reality.

This afternoon I'm off to Moonlight Villas to visit with Mark And Cheryl.
LayTah!

[T&A]

Very, very nice...

[Michele Beisser]

New Book????????