We made it to the rock

[Hussyband]

We had our first full day at Couples yesterday, and it was not the same as the feeling you get from the West End resorts. I love couples, don't get me wrong, but it is not the same thing as what we had seen in years gone by. My wife mentioned that although this used to be our favorite place on earth, our experiences at a non-ai have probably spoiled us. For my part, the red flag service on the beach for a drink, and the ability to just get up and leave after dinner are real treats -- But the drinks and food do not make a whole vacation.

We took the group walk over to the Rutland point craft market yesterday. We have been travelling to Couples since 1999, and there is a family we have come to know well. It was interesting that one of the girls originally latched onto Cindi in about 30 seconds as "Valentines Day Girl" (we always used to travel here in February, was a fun V-Day treat). We have seen this girl grow from a pre-teen who we slipped a little extra $$ to because she was going to her first dance one year; and then into a mom herself. Last time we were here in 2010, she had one baby, baby, now she has three, and is running her little shops the best way she can. Mom and grandmother are also all at it after all these years.

A stroll down to the "Office of Nature" was also interesting. Again, back to the first time I went there, that name was just starting to catch on. They have a full blown bar there now, and most of the same guys are still grilling the lobsters they take fresh from the cages set up at waters edge.

This trip, I noticed the whole bay is developed now. There is really no room, other than the small space left where the office of nature and their craft stall counterparts remain. It seems like the parish of Hanover is all larger resorts, and less on the way of the more personalized hotels/resorts you find in Westmoreland Parish. The change feels visible almost immediately upon crossing from one side to the other.

But back to people watching. Couples has Riu on one side, and Grand Lido on the other. The whole bay is walkable, and we have covered a good amount of it the last couple days, might see more today. A beach walk is extremely relaxing at the cooler part of the morning. The stroll is literally like a united nations walk. Yesterday, I recognized people speaking spanish, italian, german, french and the ubiquitous patois. Walking towards Lido is an interesting sight. The nudie beach is on that side of the resort. One gentleman, who I had seen in the resort at the managers reception on Monday night could pass for Santa, but had decided to braid AND bead his hair and somewhat prodigious beard. Seeing him Butt Naked walking towards me as I headed to walk the Lido beach has most certainly placed a new image of Christmas in my head for the upcoming holidays.

This will be our last Couples trip for at least the foreseeable future. While enjoyable, I just cannot get the feeling I would be much happier at Tensing Pen with it's more intimate location and personalized service. I think the grounds here beat just about anything I have ever seen on the island (think a well manicured Jurassic Park setting... the flora is simply that big), and the beach is just stunning... The cliffs however have entered our souls, and are not to be denied.

[Piggymon]

We had our first full day at Couples yesterday, and it was not the same as the feeling you get from the West End resorts.
This trip, I noticed the whole bay is developed now. There is really no room, other than the small space left where the office of nature and their craft stall counterparts remain. It seems like the parish of Hanover is all larger resorts, and less on the way of the more personalized hotels/resorts you find in Westmoreland Parish. The change feels visible almost immediately upon crossing from one side to the other.

This report is a bit more discouraging than the report of getting robbed to me. Back when I was visiting Negril, folks were getting robbed, but at least Bloody Bay was wild and unspoiled and not despoiled with sterile resorts.

The last time I was in Bloody Bay I was digging up buried treasure, just like the pirates used to do. I knew where to dig to find it, since I had buried it there. It was so many steps toward the road from a huge half-buried log that I used as a landmark. My "treasure" was contained in a green tin Milo can and its contents were worth at least a year's salary at hard labor.

A couple months earlier I found myself in a sticky situation with not much time and I had stashed the goods in the Milo can, got a ride from Red Ground to Bloody Bay from a hockey playing buddy of mine, who dropped me off and then returned to get me and take me to the airport. Those were the days.

I was wild, but my Hockey Player buddy was wilder. I am still kicking, enjoying being an old fart after all these years and he is long gone. His name was Steve Durbano and I met him when he played in Pittsburgh with the Penguins. The first night he played in Pittsburgh I happened to be at the game and I watched him and Battleship Kelly get into fights. That was his job. Later I ran into him and his wife at a Pittsburgh hot spot. His wife liked me, but I did not care for her but I sure like old Steve. He was a hell of a nice guy and a good friend.

He ran into a lot of trouble after we parted ways. I blame 99% of his problems on his wife, but he selected her and stayed with her, so I guess it comes back to him in the end. You can Google him to find out the strange things that happened to him and how he met his untimely end.