If you love Jamaica let me see your hand - A Trip Report

[CherryNorth49]

Sir D's Lookout/Love Nest was up next. Now if you are counting, we are at stop number six and the party bus hasn't really been that much of a party, at least from our perspective. We have certainly had some nice conversations but I wouldn't have really called it a party bus. Now it is sunset, I am weary and want a sub. Sunshine and I had come prepared with our own subs to share, not really expecting we'd be the only ones. We headed out to the farthest end of the deck so as not to be in anyone's face about it and sparked one up.

Talk about a polarizing maneuver. As the sun slowly sank into the sea and the gentle scent of sub caught the air I hear a rather loud voice proclaim, "Well it's just never the ones you expect, is it."

I did not turn around, so I don't know who said it. I don't actually care. What I do know is that without missing a beat, I loudly exclaimed, "Welcome to Jamaica!"

Turns out the group had a number of hungry members and we proceeded to make a few more new friends at what had instantly become the smoking end of the deck. I was disappointed that there were a couple of people we'd had some good conversation with earlier who were no longer interested in relating with us at all. I really felt like we were getting the cold shoulder and I found it almost hurtful. Even almost a year later, I still fundamentally don't understand how such a small thing would warrant such a strong reaction.

One love, people, one love.

It was a beautiful sunset and nothing could spoil that.

As the color began to deepen in the sky, we loaded back on the bus and headed for a quick drive around the lighthouse. Nothing was open so we continued on our way. I wish we had stopped to take a few photos, as the color in the sky was the most vibrant we saw all trip.

Our final stop was the Seastar Inn. I was excited to meet Chris at Seastar, as we are from the same town. I'm always happier going to a new place for the second time and we were looking forward to being back the next night for the Luciano show. This visit would make it familiar territory for the much larger gathering the next night. That is one less thing for me to worry about.

Not long after we arrived a sub the size of a baby's arm appeared and started making the rounds. Just like that everything was all irie.

We were talking up the show the next night like crazy to the other crawlers. There was a solo traveler on our trip that Sunshine and I dubbed Random Bob. It was his first visit to Negril, he'd been encouraged to go by a friend and when Idle Awhile was booked up he had booked Hide Awhile. Though he did say it was a beautiful property, I think he was finding it a bit more remote than he had bargained for. Though I am certainly not an expert, Negril.com makes me sound like one sometimes, so we were helping his itinerary out as best as we could.

The pub crawl was finally at an end and we loaded back up on the bus for one last ride. I asked Lenbert to drop us off at Ciao! on the way down the road, as we were both pretty ready for some food.

Despite the fact that it had been a pretty tame crawl, we were neither of us what you would call sober. We found our way into Ciao and it was pretty much deserted. We were shown upstairs to a table on the balcony and there is literally only one other couple in the place and the way we were seated, we couldn't really see each other. It was probably all for the best, as we had a bit of a case of the sillies. I know we both had pizza and that it was really good.

The setting was pretty awesome; I'd go back for sure. I don't know what the inside would be like if it was busy, but the balcony along the street would be great even if it was packed.

When we arrived back at the castle, a party was in full swing. It was not a surprise, as Teddy had invited us earlier to the party as it was his birthday. On another day I might have joined in, but I'd had enough making new friends for one day. It was also our last night in the castle and really Sunshine's first, as he'd been in recovery mode to this point. I'll say the fierce sound system going downstairs was a great addition to the party upstairs. We didn't last as long as they did. When we finally called it a night, I drifted off to sleep to thumping of the base rather than the crashing of the waves and it too was good.

Tomorrow would be moving day #1.

[JitterBug]

the pub crawl . . . . not my cup of tea . . . glad you enjoyed teddy's party . . . looking forward to more . . .

[Sam I Am]

Keep up the good work Cherry! I am heading to Negril around the same time as you are and this report is a great way to count down the days.

[bjritz]

"I hear a rather loud voice proclaim, "Well it's just never the ones you expect, is it."

I laughed out loud, how funny! You are just priceless, thanks for taking me along.

[Seveen]

i'm savoring this . . .

[CherryNorth49]

Keep up the good work Cherry! I am heading to Negril around the same time as you are and this report is a great way to count down the days.

It sure is speeding my countdown along! I hope our paths will cross somewhere along the way.

"I hear a rather loud voice proclaim, "Well it's just never the ones you expect, is it."

I laughed out loud, how funny! You are just priceless, thanks for taking me along.

I mean really, who says that out loud to a group of strangers!?!?! Thanks for coming along.

i'm savoring this . . .

Awww, you are too kind

[CherryNorth49]

Chapter 6

How far we travel in life matters far less than those we meet along the way.
- Anonymous

We awoke well after dawn in our castle by the sea. We were sorry to be saying goodbye to our private piece of paradise, but at the same time we were pretty darn excited to be heading to Catcha Falling Star.

We had enough scraps of food around to qualify as breakfast, so we opted to dine in. We goofed around a bit taking pictures of the penthouse. The place is hard to describe even with pictures, so we wanted to make sure we had some good material to work with.

It is such a special place.

We hadn't yet made it down to see Connie in her new space at Jenny's and we planned to correct that this morning. We got our bags packed up and moved to our lower level and then wandered down to the front gate. We both agreed we'd likely kill ourselves trying to get our bags down the stairs, so we asked if someone might bring them down for us.

We had been staying at the castle for three days now and technically we had never actually checked in. I actually didn't even know where the office was. The security guard found Petrona for us and we settled our bill. We made arrangements for a ride to Catcha in about an hour and headed out onto the road. I know the road can get busy, but it sure wasn't this morning. The sky was a perfect blue above us with hardly a cloud in sight. The sun reflecting off the stone wall along the road was bright and made a sharp contrast to the shade cast by the various trees and bushes along the way. We encountered a couple of people and simple 'Good Morning' and a smile seemed to elicit a welcoming response.

I say seemed because I was still struggling to understand much of what was being said to me. I'd been listening to reggae music all year in part with the hope that it might help out a little with my ear for the language. I was mostly still just hearing 'Wah woh wah wah.' I was claiming a small victory because I seemed to understand at least a few words when folks repeated themselves the first time. Sunshine remained at a total loss.

We arrive a Jenny's and are greeted with a warm smile from Connie. Her niece was also working that day. We each ordered a juice. Sorrel was on the menu and I just had to have a glass. I absolutely love this stuff and there is nothing like it at home. I know of an ethnic grocery store in town that sells bags of the dried sorrel, but I think if you aren't making the juice with Jamaican water, it just isn't the same.

Sunshine was also keen to acquire some of Connie's special brownies. He is a big fan. I'm pretty sure he all but cleaned her out. He also acquired some fancy fungi. I was horrified by the bill, not because it was unreasonable for what he had bought, but because it wiped out the better part of days budget. On the way back up the road to the castle I was pretty clear that he'd best be pacing himself with this stuff.

Back at the castle our bags are down and the driver is waiting. We say our goodbyes, load up and are off down the road.

[JitterBug]

i love your writing style . . . your trip report is the highlight of my day . . .

[CherryNorth49]

I think this is one of these once you go you know kind of things, but I have a hard time making people back home understand the purpose of moving 3km up the road from one cliff side hotel to another.

In my mind, Negril not only has distinct neighborhoods but distinct micro climates as well, all in a stretch of less than 20km. The beach is one. The near west end road from the roundabout to 3-Dives is another. This stretch is more sun baked and windswept. The vegetation looks more like the type that survives in spite of the conditions. As you make the corner at 3-Dives you can see the subtle changes almost instantly. The vegetation is bigger, thicker and lusher. Plants aren't simply surviving, they are thriving. This lushness continues to at least the lighthouse.

To our cab driver I must have looked like a bobble head doll in the back as I tried to see it all I was drove down the road to Catcha. Thanks to all the twists and turns, the drive at least felt a bit longer than it actually is.

As Mauvette checked us in, she quite endearingly issued forth a series of orders to our taxi driver, which included taking our bags to the Gatehouse. He was clearly a known commodity. She gave us a quick tour of the property past Ivan's and back to the Gatehouse. The details of the room covered we found ourselves again standing a little dazed in our room, not quite sure what to do first.

Our first impressions of the Gatehouse were that it was bigger on the inside than I thought from the pictures. The patio was totally private and the canopy of trees over it made is seem more tucked in the jungle than hanging out into the road. We had been joking that moving from the Penthouse to the Gatehouse was a bit of a hero to zero move. When faced with the reality, I had no doubt we were going to be happy there.

We had decided before we left home that we would treat our 3 days at Catcha as though we were in an all inclusive. We wouldn't be ridiculous about it, but we would eat and drink as we wanted and not worry about the tab. The visa bill would find us eventually, but we didn't need to fuss about it yet.

It was lunchtime, so we decided our first stop would be Ivan's. I already knew it would be the Calypso Trio for me. Sunshine had a blackberry milkshake (and a sandwich, but he doesn't actually remember it). Though he wasn't letting it slow him down, he was still not entirely himself. He claims that milkshake was what finally got his digestive system back to 100%. After my first few bites I was pretty sure I was going to be very happy here. Having heard such good things about the food, I was wondering if it would live up to the hype and it absolutely did.

After lunch we claimed a pair of lounge chairs and settle in to do absolutely nothing. Catcha is such a perfectly calm and peaceful place. Everyone who was around, which wasn't really very many, seemed to be in a pretty mellow place. There was absolutely no hustle and bustle. For the beach die-hards I suspect that is what is missing from Catcha. For us, that's the reason I'll be back this year.

It was Saturday and Luciano was performing at Seastar. Before sunset we headed back to the room to clean-up and bit and get changed. From the deck at Pisces I hear a voice exclaim, "Is that a Cherry North I see?"

There was boardie Mamade11 . We'd been chatting on the board and knew we would likely be seeing each other around and she and her partner Frank were moving down to CocoLaPalm the day before we were. It was great to put a face to the name. Another boardie, Irie Always had very kindly offered to book a table for us all at the show, as they were checking into Seastar that day. We made plans to meet up at Ivan's bar a little while later to walk up the lane together.
Our first sunset at Catcha did not disappoint.

It was nice to see the activity at Rick's, but it was also nice not to be a part of it.

[murph]

Loving the report! I agree... its making my day as well!!!