the pub crawl . . . . not my cup of tea . . . glad you enjoyed teddy's party . . . looking forward to more . . .
the pub crawl . . . . not my cup of tea . . . glad you enjoyed teddy's party . . . looking forward to more . . .
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.
"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'm savoring this . . .
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.
It sure is speeding my countdown along! I hope our paths will cross somewhere along the way.Originally Posted by Sam I Am
I mean really, who says that out loud to a group of strangers!?!?! Thanks for coming along.
Awww, you are too kind
i love your writing style . . . your trip report is the highlight of my day . . .
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.
Loving the report! I agree... its making my day as well!!!
i loved my stay at catcha also . . .
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