Negril is better than ever! I am here, and I am having a GOOD time!

[gerryg123]

What a great day. I met a cabbie in front of Legends named Chunkie, great guy. Been cabbin round here for 30 years or something. I took the kids (no ex wife on this one) to Blue Hole Gardens in Roaring River. On the way up, just past the roundabout, there was one of those only-in-Negril sightings -- a couple of teenagers racing along on a motorcycle, the passenger holding on to the bike with one arm and a big octopus with the other ....

Blue Hole was amazing. On the way, all the locals were dressed so nice to go to church. I met my friend Robert there, known this guy for years, really cool guy. Tall, thin, tight dreds, a little red on top. Always in a good mood. He brought his two dogs to Blue Hole and guided us. Kids love that place. I brought a raft and had a nice iced juice drink as a lay in the cool water, gazing at the plant life. It feels like a scene straight out of Jurassic Park.

Just outside, I met a group of six or seven young kids, like three to nine years old, and I gave them all an American dollar -- they did not ask, but they were thrilled.

We stayed a couple of hours, enjoyed the river and the blue hole pool (think Blue Lagoon), and then on the way home we bumped into a funeral procession, and suddenly I got very emotional. The kids are leaving with the ex early tomorrow (I am staying a couple of extra days), and it's dawning on me that I'm getting older. I'm in late 40s, and though I plan to enjoy Negril for many years, I can't partake in such adventurous activities like Cliff jumping and scooter riding and tipping heavily for privacy at a strip club -- well, maybe the last one ....

I love to push limits, especially when I travel, but I'm not stupid. I am going to have to slow down. Not this time, maybe not the next time, but soon.

We stopped at that little bakery next to Juici's and loaded up on patties and coco bread and fruit boxes -- I bought my driver lunch, tipped him ten dollars, and dropped the kids off at Legends. Then it started pouring, so I took a little break at my hotel room, smoked several massive spliffs, then ate a nice plate of pasta at the bar before heading into the sea on my raft. Rough life ....