First the back story…..
2 weeks before our trip:
We find out that this guy we know from around town is going to be in Negril during the same time as us. We knew he was Jamaican but we had no idea he was from Montego Bay or that he had worked in Negril for many years. What are the chances? Since he rents a car and is very familiar with the area he says he'll look us up at the Blue Cave Castle.
1 week before our trip:
Flu! Not just “a bug” or “a cold”. I'm talking about full fledged F-L-U! Flu so bad and persistent that we started to discuss backup plans should I not be healthy enough to travel. I all but banned Beth Ann from the bedroom so I would not infect her. Meanwhile Mr. Wigglesworth (our cats new boardie name) stood guard over our luggage hoping we wouldn't go. It took two trips to the doctors but I was finally feeling well enough to return to work to wrap things just one day before the start of our vacation.
Away we go….
By the time we land in Montego Bay I’m feeling 100%. We work our way through immigration and customs without much delay and out into the warm Jamaican air to look for our driver. We see a group of other drivers that are from the Negril area and ask around for Chicken but he wasn't around. Seconds later one of them is on the phone and informs us Chicken will be at the airport in 5 minutes. We decide to grab a drink at the bar and just as we get our drinks Chicken finds us.
Even though this was only our second trip to Negril the ride in was very familiar. We made one quick stop at Digicel for a SIM while Beth Ann popped into the Cambio to exchange some money. Next thing we knew we were at the Castle.
We stop to take a look at the view from our room before starting to unpack (I suspect this is pretty common). The first time I ever saw this view it seemed unreal but this time it all seemed very much real. As we get settled in we find that the TSA turned everything in our bag inside out and upside down. We assume it was punishment for just barely making our flight. It took us only a short time to get things settled in at the Castle and we were off to get some provisions for the room.
