A few shots taken after Ivan

[Rob]

Al,

The cliffs got massed up by Ivan - Rick's was destroyed to the point that they completely rebuilt. Catcha Falling Star lost a few buildings and the almond tree by the sea was killed by all the seawater. It is now the centerpiece of their Ivan's Bar.

Most of the changes came after Gilbert. Before Gilbert there were a lot of wooden, thatch and bamboo structures. When they were completely obliterated to the point you couldnt even tell where they were located, people rebuilt using concrete. While not being immune as Accompong clearly shows, concrete does offer much more protection than wood and thatch.

There was actually less total damage caused by Ivan because of the move to concrete in 1989 after Gilbert. After Ivan in 2004, Negril still looked like Negril. After Gilbert, you almost couldnt tell there was a place called Negril. The wooden structures were nearly all gone. You could stand on the beach and see the base of the mountains in any direction. The tallest things obstructing your view were big trees lying on their side with all their branches gone.

The Black River absorbed nature as it always does - they still offer their river safari cruises and you can feed the crocs. Mayfield Falls still have their river walk and you can swim through an underwater passage and arrive safely on the pool on the other side.

YS Falls has been improved, you no longer need to be an athlete to make it to the top, they have steps and rails to make the climb much easier. They also added a zipline that takes you down the entire length of the falls. It is always fun to hear the screams of first time zipliners... (grin)

[Accompong]

Acc,

Trying to send you a PM but your mailbox is full

Cap

You can try again, David.

Peace and Guidance

[Al Drake]

Al,

The cliffs got massed up by Ivan - Rick's was destroyed to the point that they completely rebuilt. Catcha Falling Star lost a few buildings and the almond tree by the sea was killed by all the seawater. It is now the centerpiece of their Ivan's Bar.

Most of the changes came after Gilbert. Before Gilbert there were a lot of wooden, thatch and bamboo structures. When they were completely obliterated to the point you couldnt even tell where they were located, people rebuilt using concrete. While not being immune as Accompong clearly shows, concrete does offer much more protection than wood and thatch.

There was actually less total damage caused by Ivan because of the move to concrete in 1989 after Gilbert. After Ivan in 2004, Negril still looked like Negril. After Gilbert, you almost couldnt tell there was a place called Negril. The wooden structures were nearly all gone. You could stand on the beach and see the base of the mountains in any direction. The tallest things obstructing your view were big trees lying on their side with all their branches gone.

The Black River absorbed nature as it always does - they still offer their river safari cruises and you can feed the crocs. Mayfield Falls still have their river walk and you can swim through an underwater passage and arrive safely on the pool on the other side.

YS Falls has been improved, you no longer need to be an athlete to make it to the top, they have steps and rails to make the climb much easier. They also added a zipline that takes you down the entire length of the falls. It is always fun to hear the screams of first time zipliners... (grin)

Thanks for the great update. I guess I will spend much of my stay revisiting Negril. I remember Rick's closing after Ivan and read that is was rebuilt. I am looking forward to another sunset photo event. Unfortunately we can only spend one week away from our jobs but I know now I will be returning at least once a year from now on.

[Chet & Coleen]

With airfare already purchased and after a conversation with Geno at Mariposa that the generator was working we dropped in 2 days after Ivan. Our suitcases were packed with rechargeable power tools, screws, nails and tool belts. With machete and newly purchased chain saw every road seemed like a clearing project. In the hills we had already told a friend to distribute our igloos out to preserve food for those w/o current (everybody) and 2 or 3 days into the trip when ice became available we every trip included loading as much ice into the Island Car and getting it to the hills as fast as we could. A friends orchard had been devestated and the chain saw would cut split over trees to make braces to prop the root balled trees back up. I will always remember that with the leafs all gone how hot it was, then in Feb of the following year the combination of foliage on the ground and a drought causing fires in the hills. Mom's Place restaurant was buried under about 6 feet of sand, they had to dig down into it. That was the end of the old Boat Bar building. My laughs of the week were Fidel explaining the Chop Bush song to me before we had heard it as we sat after chopping the road clear drinking a cold bottle of water on the side of a road out in the savanna and bringing phones and chargers into the room to re-charge and our room becoming a ringer a minute as they took power.

[Biggs of the week]

Remember visiting after Gilbert and Ivan beach sure was mashed up but in no time crews were working to bring it back.Remember walking the beach thinking it will never be the same but in no time it was bussiness as usual.

[Lulu and Al]

Ricks being rebilt

[Lulu and Al]

[Lulu and Al]

[Lulu and Al]

[Al Drake]

Those are great shots. It's nice to see the progress taking place. Thank you very much.