MARKOSPOON'S INSIDE NEGRIL - TOURIST INFO

Mission @: He's got to land somewhere.

2011-05-31T11:11:00.000-05:00

It's no good, It's no good, we aren't stopping!

With that, Ras disengaged the reverse thrusters and powered up the throttle.

We got to get back in the air.
Come on baby, come on!

With 40 yards to go the nose pointed skyward.

The wheels were still scraping the runway as they just lifted off the ground.
"Wow, we are so close, you can see the fishes in the sea."

Forget the fish Ras, what will we do?

BANG, POP, BAM!!!

What was that?
The thruster mounts snapped from all the pressure, now they were really on a wing and a prayer.

Ras had a brainstorm.
I have my Jamaican cell with me.
If I can only contact My man Markospoon.

Ring, Ring.

Hello?
Hey Marko, It's me Ras!

Hey man, how was your flight?
I'm still in the air! Look up.

Ras, all I see are clouds and a low flying plane.

It's me god---- it.
Yeah, sure, right Ras.
How long till you get here.
I'm here!!
I'll wave the plane.
Ha Ha, Marko said.
"sure mon, I....Holy mothership connection, the plane is waving!
Ras!, that's you flying the plane?
"That's what i been trying to tell you!"

It's a long story, but i need you to get help.

Ok, i'll call my man, ace driver/pal Nick?

Yeah, I'm gonna try to land on that old abandon runway in Mt. Airy.
Meet me there.

Ok, Ras, i'm on my way.

Lets go nick.
Nick, always ready, always prepared started his car.
Hurry man and step on it.
Mon, I always step on it.

True, true.

Soon they were at mount Airy.

Nick turned on his car's high beams to light up the runway.

I will call Ras back and see what's what.

Ras, come in, this is Markospoon, come in!

I sputtering engine came into view.

It was dropping like a hot potato.

I can't look, Marko said to himself.

All of a sudden the plane went silent.

The plane just ran out of gas.
Ras was in glide mode, but coming in fast.

He slid onto the old landing strip with a bump and grind.

The plane came to a stop just 100 feet from the cliffs.

A hatch opened up and Ras popped out his head and said.

"Any one got a cold beer?"

Mission: Get Ras safely to Negril!

2011-05-31T11:09:00.001-05:00

It was tense, people were sweating bullets.
Ras kept cool.
"we will make it honey"Ras said.

His wife looked into his eyes and squeezed his hand.

The Traffic controllers in Jamaica had walked out that morning, demanding more money.

"Well folks the pilot said, we are over the water, low on fuel and we are beyond the point of no return"

"CUBA!" somebody yelled out, lets try to land in Cuba!

Ras became uneasy.

Last time he was in Cuba, the local authorities were kicking down his hotel room door as he jumped out of the window, down a dark and lonely alley and out of sight.

No, said the pilot.
By hook or by crook we will make Jamaica!

Flight 105, this is tower, over......
FLIGHT 105 this is Tower! over..........

Tower this is flight 105, what the ---- is going on?
We have been requesting permission to land for over 30 minutes! over.......

Do not land!
Repeat, Do not land!

Tower! We're on fumes now!
We're coming in come hell or high water!

And with that, the jet dived down, down it came, leveling off just over the green and blue water.

The pilot chose that moment to have a heart attack.
The co-pilot already out of commission due to some bad fish was no help.

Then, like a bat out of hell, Ras charged the cockpit, threw the pilot to the side, and pulled up just before the jet nosed dived into the drink.

The plane was coming in high, too high to land!

"What am i missing, Ras said?

A very cool and calm stewardess
said "try the flaps Ras"

That's it! Down Flaps, decrease speed!!

Ras throttled back 60% thrust and the you could hear the wheels squeel!

The plane hit the runway, bounced and they were back in the air.

Again Ras downed the flaps and again the plane bounced off the runway.

We are running out of runway the stewardess said.

Ras had to think, think damiit!!

"REVERSE THRUSTERS!!
REVERSE THRUSTERS!! "
RAS Shouted as if he were talking to god himself.

He applied 100% Max control, and you could feel the plane burning rubber.
Closer the water came, closer to the drop off at the end of the runway.

HOLD ON EVERYONE, HOLD ON!!!!!

2011-05-26T17:27:00.000-05:00

Our blog reaches hundreds of people worldwide so we get occasional e-mail requests for information on Negril. Today we received this e-mail and I felt that I should pass it along here. Some of you may want to help with this wonderful Whitehall school project -

Dear Markospoon -

I'm writing because I hope you're going to be interested in helping me help a bunch of really great students in Negril. If you think the project sounds fun and worthy, please help me spread the word!

I recently got back from doing a mosaic art residency with elementary students at Whitehall Preparatory School in Negril, Jamaica and going back in January of 2012 to build on our project.

I brought over 100 pounds of materials and tools and spent three days working with 90 students, two assistant/collaborators and five teachers to make a mosaic flower garden mural and a big tiled mirror for the school. The students were bright, eager and did really great work! If you haven't seen the photos from the project, take a look at all their cute, proud faces here: www.flickr.com/photos/lisaarnoldresidency/ (in the Whitehall Mosaic set).

It was a really rewarding experience, being able to give back to a community that has provided me with so many happy hours and beautiful memories, especially because it is a place in such need. There's little way out of poverty there and many people struggle to get by, but the school is a really colorful, happy place full of smart and enthusiastic children. Alas, they don't have an art teacher, art program or art books, but they do have are motivated teachers and principals with vision. Before I left, Mrs. Myrie (one the teacher/principal/founders) thanked me and told me plainly, 'Now it's time for you to go home, do something for us from there and return.' It seems a big challenge, but I am up for it!

So, here is my idea... Whitehall's motto is "Hard work is the key to success" and their logo is a key. When I go back in January 2012, the students and I are going to make a BIG mosaic of a key to adorn the school -- made out of keys! It seems everyone has an old key lying around that will eventually end up in a landfill. Instead of throwing it away, I'm asking that you send the one in your junk drawer to me. And maybe, if you are able, you could wrap it in a dollar bill? I did the project in January as a gift and am looking for a way to make it on-going and sustainable. I hope that by doing micro-fundraising, making it easy, inexpensive and fun to participate, you'll accept my invitation and invite others to learn about the work and take part too!

Since I've been back, a school in Whitehouse, Jamaica has heard about the project and asked me to teach mosaics to their students too -- looks like my work is cut out for me! I'm really excited to continue and eventually expand the project. Not only do I believe arts education is important for everyone, I know that mosaic skills could be put to real use there -- as a way of beautifying and raising money for schools and even for people to make a living.

My goal is to raise $2000 and receive 500 keys by December 1, 2011. I could do soooooooooo much with that! I think it's going to be pretty amazing for the students to look at a huge pile of keys and know that each represents a stranger out in the world who cares about them. I hope you'll want to be a part of that!

If you do, I thank you for sending your contribution to

Lisa Arnold
Whitehall Mosaic Key Project
Box 6055
Minneapolis, MN 55406

A trip to Hanover, Jamaica

2010-11-09T13:33:00.003-06:00

Lets go to Hanover, have you ever been there?
No baby, whats Hanover?

It's a small town.
To my Aunties house, not far, maybe 1 hour drive.
Is Regan, your driver, gonna take us?
Oh yeah, he always parks out front on the road in his van.
I'll go check.

So, i walk out to the road, sure enough I see his van, but where is he?
I look over to the little road side stand next to Sunrise.
A couple of guys are always sitting around over there.
I look, but no Regan,
Hey, where's Regan?
He's in his van.

I start to walk closer, but i don't see him.
Oh, well, there are nuff drivers out here waiting.
I think I'll go over to the little store across the street from Times Square.
As i walk i pass Regan's van, sure enough, he's there.
Asleep, lying down on the seat.
Man, he's an older guy, but he's sleeping like a baby.
Should I wake him up now?
Nah, i'll wait till......
He pops up all of a sudden!
Hey, whats up Mark!
Man, i didn't want to wake you, but I need to go to...
Yeah, Mon, Yeah Mon, I'm here mon!
Ok, i said, i'll just be a few minutes,

Yeah Mom, yeah, yeah, I'm here!

Once a driver knows you are going to need a ride, they make sure you know they are ready, willing and available.

Once, i was dropped off at the Boat Bar by Regan.
After a little time, i caught a Route guy back, then when i was in my room, i called Regqan and told him i needed t go to Mi Yard.
He said ok.
I walked out to the road and no Regan.
I called him again, but he had driven back to the Boat Bar and was there waiting for me.

Anyway, we were heading to Hanover to my wife's cousin's house.
its been a while since my wife last went there.
She was trying to tell Regan, by using landmarks, where to turn.
The road was very rough and the shocks or struts on Regan's car were broke or he didn't have any.

I can't remember the route, but once we made a left the road turned very rough.

Bumpity-bump for aboout 15 minutes, god, where is this place!

Another turn, it seemed like we were very far from Negril.

So, we finally find the place and i jump out.
My backside is sore.

There was a house up on a hill, all of a sudden you could see doors opening and heads poppin out.
The kids were just getting home from school in thier uniforms.
Its so nice, the way Jamaicans greet each other after a long absence.

"So this is your husband", auntie said.
They all went in the house for a while, but, outside is where i like to be. This is real country, like down south USA.
Trees and plants, fruits and veggies and fresh air.

The quietness, it hits me real hard.
Just stand on the crest of a hill, and lookout, when its soooo quiet, one can really do some good thinking.

There were grape trees, pecans trees, coconuts trees , all sorts of plants out in the back yard.
They told my wife "Make sure you take this and that back to your mom's".
They got me a chair and i was sitting, when auntie comes over .
"do you like coconuts?
Sure
So, she goes around back an knocks some off of a tree.
She chops off a round part and shows me how to scrape the inside of it.
She worked that machete like a pro.

I was wandering around and i notice some smooth large stones, like graveyard head stones.
"thats where my grandmother is buried' my wife said.

I forgot that the locals sometimes bury the family right there on the side or behind the house.
I was scared that i stepped on the grave.
I'm sorry!
It's ok, my wife said. Calm down.
(i always over-react)

Regan, my driver was knocked out in the van, i guess he knew this was not a quick trip.

We ate, wrapped up food for the return trip and headed back to Negril

It was a nice time.

Just a little breakfast this morning

2010-11-09T13:31:00.000-06:00

First full day in Negril was magic. My best friend in Negril finally got his car working Friday morning. I wake up at 6:30-7:00 am like clockwork even at home in Chicago.
The sun rising is so sweet and "dare I say" soft as a babies bottom. The humming birds are having breakfast right outside my door!
A nice veranda or patio or balcony makes all the difference to me. Outdoors! Give me OUTDOORS, please!

I decided to head across the road to the beach for breakfast. Beep-Beep, no thanks to the taxi man, I just keep walking, Beep-beep I turn to look and it is my old friend who does private taxi excursions around Negril. "whats up man" We talk a little while and laugh.

So, after a while i head to Bar-B-Barn, but no coffee is ready. So i just walk next door to Mom's, I see a pretty waitress and plant myself in one of the empty seats.
Coffee in the morning is a gift from the almighty for me.
Now I feel like I can fight a lion (a small one).

I just sit in my chair at Mom's Place on the beach. They have a little smooth jaz going on the box and out of nowhere one of my favorite tunes "Touch" by John Klemmer comes on.
Ahhh, this is too PUrrrfect!!!

The owner's name is Rob. He too is a fan of the Jazz. So I just sit and listen and watch the water. The ocean is very flat early in the day and you can hardly hear it, just watch, and let it put you in a trance.

No one else is at the restaurant for breakfast. Dont you love it sometimes to have the whole place to yourself!

I can play and laugh with 2-3 waitresses at the same time, nice.

A lightning storm out at sea

2010-11-09T13:16:00.001-06:00

Hey Marko, what's up Mon?
Oh, I'm just chillin like a villain.
what are you doing?
I'm just about to drive by your hotel, do you need a lift anywhere?
Nope, not tonight, come on by anyway.
Ok, soon come.

I was sitting on the veranda and i see this white Toyota pull up in the driveway.

It's always nice seeing Nick.
We may not have any kind of plan for the day, but once we put our heads together all kinds of ideas will pop up.
I may mention that i need this or that
and he'll say, cool, i can stop by my cousins house, he lives close to the place we are going.
That day or night will turn into a new adventure for me.

When you go visiting in Jamaica, it's rarely a short visit.
Depending on the time of day, you can sit and laugh for hours, people coming and going, maybe eat dinner too.

Tonight, he was just chillin out, no plans for him either,

We sat and pondered the mysteries of the universe for about 2 hours.

Just 2 knuckle heads having fun.

Well, time for me to head home, Nick said.
Ok Nick, I'll see you tomorrow.
Later Mon.
Cool, drive easy man.

It was dark and a little windy.
Very nice for a summer night in Negril.
I stuffed some money in my pockets grabbed a few road supplies and headed across the boulevard.

Bar B Barn had the torches lit along the entrance to the beach.

I walked by the dining area and noticed how cool the tables and everything look with the night lights on.

Where are you going?
It was one of the cute waitresses,
No place in particular i said. Just strollin down the beach tonight.

When i got to the beach, i made a right turn and just started walking.

I saw a flash out at sea, then another one.
What the ......
It was a lightning storm, way out at sea.
I mean, like every 7 seconds you could see the lightning shooting through the clouds,
making all kinds of different colors in the sky.

It looked like explosions in the sky, miles and miles wide!

I walked and walked, watching the storm along with many other people on the beach.

Some were not paying attention to the storm like i was.
I guess it is nothing new to them.

I found a seat at one of the beach establishments and just watched the lightning and thunder strikes for about 1 whole hour, listening to music, watching people dancing.
The storm never came close, just a likkle breeze was all you could feel.

Those thunder and lightning strikes put the 4th of July fireworks in the States to shame.

Shaggy at the Jungle night Club, but Elephant man stole the show!

2010-11-01T13:05:00.001-05:00

Well, i'll tell ya.
Got there about 10 ish. Just couldn't wait i guess.
Many "beautiful people" were still out side, hangin.

Paid for ticket and had the full body pat/search.
"he's clean"
So, i'm looking around and there were a lot of people standing in the front.
"which way to the.....
"around back man"

Walked down a long drive way on the side of the Jungle and then it just opened up.

Looked like a gravel football field.
Wow, this is cool.
3-4 Heinekin posted bars set up on left, right and back of the audience.

The first couple of acts were nice.

After a while people started arriving in herds.
8-12 at a time.

the music was good for a concert, loud and thumpin.

All of a sudden lightning struck!

It was Elephant MAN!

i DID NOT KNOW THIS GENTLEMAN WAS SO FULL OF ENERGY!

immediately he grabbed hold of your soul and started spinning it around.
He had me going down to the bone.
"who is this guy?"
He was movin and shaken, dressed in all white, with a very loud voice, you felt him comin at ya!

Mr. excitement, if you ask me.
With his loud musical yells, comin at just the right moment.
Amazing performance, 1st rate entertainer, the whole time!
Powerful stuff.

I am forever his fan.

If you like Shaggy, i guess he was ok, but, Elephant man stole the show.

Taking the little one to the beach

2010-11-01T13:00:00.002-05:00

Are we really going tomorrow? Shantay was all wired up.
Yes, little darlin, tomorrow.
My neice, 3 years old, who has never been to the beach was all excited about going.
Her sister (who is about 13)was telling her
"there are sharks out there, they will get you!

Mama! Mama! de sharks fina bite me?

We were all laughing, the other kids would chase her like they were sharks,

AYYY, AYYY, you not gonna get me.

Bite! Bite!

MAMA! MAMA! the Shark gonna get me?

No, darling, i said.
Look baby, I will be with you and your aunt too.
I swim like a fish....and....
But, the shark swim good too? Right?
(she had me there)
well, they don't come in close, they like the deep water.

So next morning, after breakfast i was just sitting at mom's place on the beach.

The water was super calm, like glass. I was about to fall into that sand gravity mode.

Uh Oh, today is the beach day! I gotta go!
So i payed up the bill, left the tip with the waitress and jumped in a rout mobile.

When i got to my In laws house, they were still getting ready.

Nick was laughing.
Yeah, mon. de pickney dem, nuf fraid of de wata mon.

So, we jump in the car and head back to my hotel to get ready for the swim.

My wife and Renique went in the room to change into swim suits and get their towels.

They came out the hotel looking like a picture.
Shantay had on a very colorful one piece bathing suit.
My wife, of course was showin off her bikini body.
Uh, here baby, put this towel around your behind.

She just grabbed my nose and said "jealous?'Silly rabbit.
Any way, lets go.
Shantay can run like the wind, i swear i'm gonna find some track club for her one day, but today, she was draggin.

Come on Shantay, my wife said.

Dont'worry.
I reached down and swooped her up with one arm.
She is light as a feather.
So we get to the road,
"make sure you always look both ways, and make sure no cars are coming.

So, we crossed the road and head to Bar B Barn Hotel on the beach.

Hey mon, you got your dawta wid you Mon?
LOL
My wife tells everybody that Shantay is her daughter.
So, we pass the bar area and dining area and here it comes.
Tears, Waayhhh, Waayhhh, The sharks!
i don't want to go in the water!

So i put her down and she and my wife have a seat on a beach towel.
I'll show you how to do it.
I walk off into the water, get about 2 feet deep and have a seat.
See! It's ok, no wories mon.

The little tears looked like tiny diamonds rolling down her cheeks.
I mean she was "really" crying.

It took about 1/2 hour, of me playing and swimming and splashing and looking like a nut,

but eventually she calmed down and the 2 of them slowly walked into the sea.

My wife was still holding her, or should i say she was holding on to my wife, like a baby monkey on Nature programs.

They sat down in the water and slowly the tears went away.

See Mark, see how much fun he is having.

I went back on shore and had an idea.
I know, don't feed the fish, but i just wanted to show Shantay that some fish are harmless.

I broke off a little bit of cookie (they say biscuit) and sure enough, here come some little silver and yellow fish.

EEEEHH! EEEERHHH! Look, do they bite?

No No darlin, just good little fish!
Look.
I started to break little pieces off and the fish went for them.

Let me! Let me!
Now her courage was up.
She would try and throw the food.

No, no, just let it float, the fish will get it.

I played and splashed with Shantaye for a good little while.

We i was coming out the water the staff at Bar B Barn were all laughing and talkin about us.

Man, she was scared out there, they said.

Yeah, but i taught her not to be too scared of the water anymore.

It was a nice day of swimming and playing in the wonderful Caribbean Sea.

I guess i'll go swimming at the Sunset on the Cliffs

2010-10-15T14:00:00.001-05:00

It seems like it rain 5 days straight at about 1 o'clock.
Lasted maybe 1 1/2 hour.

Lightning storms came in on Tuesday and Wednesday.
There is thunder and lightning everywhere, but this one day in Negril It was super loud.
My Bro and I were sitting outside on the balcony while the rain came down.
"Mark, it rains everyday at the same time.
Then the sun comes out, you know we get all day rain and 2-3 days of clouds in Chicago.

Yeah, mon, that's another reason i love Jamaica so.

My brother must have been looking down when it hit.
I was day dreaming, as usual, looking at the clouds and rain.
There was a very bright, almost white flash, and i knew it was coming.
BOOOOOOM!!!!

My brother jumped about 6 inches out of his chair.

Mark! man that was close as hell!!!
It did seem to erupt right over our hotel.

I laughed and laughed.

See, you were feeling guilty when the loud clap came, you thought it was your time to go meet your maker for all the bad things you have done in your life.
LOL LMAO!!

Yeah right, he said.

There were about 3-4 very loud ones.

Then the sunshine came out from behind the clouds and the heat was back in full force.

I feel like another swim in the pool.
You want to go?
Yeah, but my lady gets off soon, and i know she's coming straight here.

You better believe she is.

Ok, I'll catch you later.

I walked off and looked at my brother's face.
He wanted to go, but he would be "tied up" for the evening.

I headed to the road and caught a route mobile.
Another lady was in the car, she was headed to the west end like me.
The driver crossed the bridge and stayed to his right, pulled over where some westend drivers are always waiting.

Normally, the cabs go all the way to the taxi park, but since 3 of us wanted to head to the westend, they will maneuver over to that side of the road, not go all the way to the taxi park.

We hopped out that cab and into another, waited for a 4th person, then headed down the westend road.
aka One Love Drive.

Earlier in the day, i had met 4 ladies from DC. They were looking for something to do.
I told them we could have a pool party on the Cliffs at the sister hotel, Sunset on the Cliffs.

They said maybe, but i could tell they probably would not show.

So, the driver pulled up to the Sunset on the Cliffs, it is right across the street from Eddie's de Bar,
Best Lobster i ever had in Jamaica.

There was nobody at the pool except the barmaid and myself.
Last time i came here, i was with my brother and a few ladies.
Today nobody was there but me.

I picked out a nice lounger chair, threw my towel and gear down, and took the plunge.

Ahhhh, a pool, with cool music in the background and i had the pool all to myself!
I was in heaven.
The same barmaid, who was there last trip was on duty that day.

A very beautiful lady, the color of cinnamon.

I swam and watched her watch me for a while, then i jumped out the water and walked over to her to pass a little time.

I tell you, there is something about swimming, water and beautiful J ladies that make my heart flutter.

It was fabulous.

Hello, god day, would you like something?

(is she reading my mind? Gosh darn skippy i want something)

Ummm, lets see, what do you have that's good back there.
She just smiled and giggled.

"it's all good back here"

(heart be still)

Alrighty then,
Hmmm, i'll take another of your famous mudslides please.

I grabbed a seat,
(wish i could have taken hers)

and waited and WATCHED while she started preparing the magical elixer.

Just sitting out there, looking out into the sea was just exquisite.

After the rain, the sun at about 3:00 PM. the water was glistening, with the sun shining on it at that just right angle.

So, this is what people have been talking about when they say they love the Cliffs more than the beach.

So nice.

Soon the cocktail was ready, and i just sat there getting to know the lady.

I finished my drink in no time.

Was it good, she asked.

Oh yeah, you made the best one i ever had.

I jumped back in the pool and just floated around, feeling the mighty strong mudslide on mi brain.

Not too hot the early evening. The water felt fine.

If i could just freeze this moment, i'd never leave.

Well, that's enough of the pool.
I got out and the lady just kept looking at me.
Hmmm, maybe i will give her a show.

I grabbed the towel and did a couple of
"male stripper moves" to the music she had going.
She busted out laughing.
I know i'm not the best dancer, but acting a little crazy is just so much dam fun.

I dried off and walked up to the bar smiling.
She had her head in her hands, looking at me with those big brown eyes.
I walked up to her and said nothing.
Just stood there, with that silly Markospoon grin on my face.
She just stared back.

Ok,
snap out of it Mark.

I had a seat and just stared off out to sea.
She came right in front of me and asked me what i needed.

Ding, ding.

Round 2.

Lobster at Eddies Da Bar on the Westend

2010-10-15T13:57:00.000-05:00

It seems the kids are having a ball.

So, when the sun starts to set, dinner time is near i told my daughter i would take her out for dinner.
Where are the rest I asked, oh they are somewhere having dinner.
Ok, lets go.

We walked to the road and i counted 3 of my regular drivers.
My 2nd favorite was sitting in the back of his van.
Wake up man, lets go!

Yeah , yeah, i'm ready he says.

Where to dad?
oH, i'm gonna show you the west end tonight.

Thw westend is still new to me.

Only had a few trips up that way in the past.
Chicken Lavish sounds like the place tonight.
We get there and find a table.

I showed Martina the menu, she pointed to the curry chicken and i had the fried chicken.

So we sat and waited a while, i got up and walked to the road while we were waiting for the food.
Whoa, that is the place that used to be Bar A Buv.
Right across the street.
Looks like it is up and running, forgot the new name.
ANyway, i get back to Martina and the food comes quick enough.

Martina has always had a good appetite, this night she almost ate the plate.

Our taxi guy had come back and was parked on the road, waiting.
Hey man, run us over to Eddies Da BAr, i want to take a look see.

There was a little crowd, maybe 10 people there.
I walked to the back, where I saw some men cooking.

Excuse me, is Eddie here?
"I'm Eddie" the gent said.
Hey man, you are famous, people are talking about your place on the internet.
Eddie had a very big smile when i said that
You and Trevor too.
This guy stuck his head out of the cook room.
"that is Trevor"

Hey dudes, i'm planning on bringing my daughter here tomorrow, what's a good time?
Anytime he said.
Ok, see you tomorrow.
Eddie and Trevor seemed like 2 cool cats.

Next day, i tell Martina to meet me at my room about 3 o'clock.
Around noon, i cam back from a long walk, had a beer and laid down.
I was out like a light when the knocking came to my door.
It was Martina and another girl

Whoa, what time is it?
Its 3 dad!
Were you sleep?
Yes I was,
BUt i'll be ready soon.

So I washed up and we are off again to the Westend.

We arrive at Da Bar and there were just Eddie, Trevor and a couple of locals.

After looking at the menu board, we decided on 3 lobster dinner with veggies and rice.
Rice and calalou come with the Lobster man.

while waiting, i had a Smirnoff Red and a beer.

The way eddie prepared the lobster was cool.
I guess he boiled it in the back, then brought the lobsters to the front grill.
It kinda looked like 6 big loaves of curled garlic bread with some kind of coating on top of the lobster.

He grilled it for a while trevor brought the rice and peas with the calalou, then Eddie brought these giant lobsters over, he served it and brought over bowls of melted butter and garlic or something for dipping.
Martina and her friend were in heaven!
Me too!

The meal was very good, the vegeis and rice moist and tasty, and i have tasted many a rice and peas, some people just do it right, like Trevor!

I was enjoying the first lobster so, that i forgot there was a bowl of butter sauce for dipping.
The lobster was done, TENDER! and taste so good!!!!
2 big lobsters, calalou and rice and peas.
I was stuffed with a smile on my face.

Since Lobster is on the "high end" price wise everywhere, i am glad that i chose Eddie's Da Bar.

Eddie and the crew are cool, laid back smooth gents.

I highly recommend his place!!

Are you sure your car can make it??

2010-10-11T14:16:00.001-05:00

Yo Nick, pick me up i'm...
I passing your hotel now!
Wow man, ok.

Before i could sit down i could hear nick's car coming.

I'd know that engine anywhere.

He walked on over to the balcony and we sat a bit.
Where to now Marko?
Its not far, she will meet us on the road.

I stocked up the ice cooler, grabbed my keys and cash.
We outta here!

Man, i love cruisin at night in negril. Tunes thumpin and bumpin, i'm up front ridin shotgun,
it's just great.

It seems like the town takes on a new look at night.
Man, where were all these ladies this afternoon?
Earlier, the beach looked like Mayberry RFD.

Too hot man, nick said.

Whoa, slow down Nick, i think that's her.
We puled over and she hopped in.
Hey Marko,
hey baby.
Oh, thinks are looking up now.
She told nick to go up the hill and keep to the right.
It was a one lane road, twisted here and there.
"Now, we can just walk down that path and we will be there.

I was looking and notice how bumpy the road looked.
There were some marle (sp)
hard rock spots sticking up here and there.

Don't get out Mark, i can make it.

You sure Nick?
Baby said "We usually walk the rest of the way from the road".
I can make it, don't worry.
I heard some scraping sounds, not alot, coming from under the Nick mobile.

Right here, she said.
We got out and Nick had to back up the same way he came.
I was praying that he would make it.

He did, and took off.

Funny, he never went down that road again, just dropped me on the main road everytime after that.

Now when we get to the bottom of the hill, just don't pay any attention to the dogs.

Huh, dogs?
Yeah, a little pack of them, but they just bark and follow for a while.
Sure enough, we rounded the bend and i heard them before i saw them.
I have never seen any BIG dogs in Negril, just the medium to small ones.
There were about 7.
I thought you said a few?

"just keep walking and don't pay them any attention"
Yeah, right.

We kept walking our normal pace, she held my hand when they barked and came close.
I was looking for the leader, ready to crack his skull if need be.

They charged and backed off, barking the whole time.
Soon we were past "their spot"
and they were just following, barking and soon faded back.

She looked at me and smiled, but i was just trying to keep my cool.

The things we do for love.

A flight that turned wierd

2010-10-11T14:14:00.000-05:00

Anybody ever catch what i call a "sardine can Plane"
Its a charter flight, all silver metal with no symbol or drawings on the sides.

I booked a trip to Jamaica on it just because i had to get away quickly. (no, not from the law).

I had the very first aisle seat after the pilots.
No first class.

We took off on time from Chicago's Ohare. It was a non-stop flight to Mobay.

The first 3 hours was smooth sailing.

All of the sudden the captain informed us that there was a thunderstorm just hanging over Sansgters airport. He said "we can keep circling and hope the storm passes or head to Kingston.
He said since we were low on fuel, we will be going straight to Kingston.

I thought we would be going around the storm. It felt like we went right threw it!

That plane was jumping up and down a lot. Big movements,
This was my first storm flight and every time the plane dropped what felt like 30-40 feet I would grab the arm of the woman sitting next to me.
I couldn't control my reflexes.
When i looked out the window it was all white clouds and bright flashes of light from the lightning or thunder or something!
This lasted for a 1/2 hour! (maybe less, but it felt like forever)
It was right before Christmas and I had a lot of gifts with me.

"we cant crash now! I have all these gifts! All my friends are waiting for me!

Since i was in the first aisle,the stewardess was sitting directly across from me facing the rear, looking into my face.

She said that she loves this part of flying. It felt good to her.
Eventually we made it to the Airport in Kingston.

We landed and the workers on the runway looked puzzled at the plane.

Hmmm. Didn't they know we were coming?

Soon the door opened, an Airport worker came on board and started talking to the Pilot.

We needed gas.

It took about 2 hours of negotiating between the Airline company and the Airport personel and charge accounts and so on.
I guess a full tank is a pretty penny.

With the plane shut down it was very hot, the humidity was stifling. Women started to holler "We cant breath! and "WE NEED WATER,COLD WATER!!

Someone had a little baby with them, 3 rows behind me.
I love kids but the diapers, the smells! Oh lawdy help us!

In that heat and humidity it (the diaper smell) was twice as strong. I was getting a little sick.

The co-pilot started to open the front door and the wind grabbed it and swung it open wildly!

Fresh air, oh how sweet it was!!!
Gee i hope the door is OK. We need to fly to MOBAY on this plane.

We finally took off in what seemed like 3 hours later.

This was the first time i got to Negril in the dark.

I cant blame that airline for mother nature.

Just bad luck that day.

Another night at the Jungle night Club in Negril

2010-10-11T14:10:00.000-05:00

It was around 8 and my brother was with his friend.
Oh well, i guess the Jungle is out for tonight.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Yo, Mark. it's me and Nick.
They had taken my bro's girl home and were ready to start the night life.
Yeah mon, we still going to the Jungle, get ready.

Ok, I'm gonna shower and i'll meet you in your room.

We were having cocktails about 10:30 and i was getting a little tired.

After this drink, we'll go my Bro said.
3 drinks later, Man, we still going.
"Yeah, Yeah, i came all this way, there's no way i'm gonna miss ladies night"

So, eventually we got there about 11:30

Hey, lets have something to eat and people watch.
There are always food vendors outside the Jungle.
Alot of folks still hanging out or had been in and came out with the hand stamp.

The chicken was right on time.
It kinda perked me up and i had my 2nd wind.
Lets go in now.
Paid the fee and hit it.

Boom Boom boom.

It was on!!

Ladies galore.
they were still coming in 5-6 at a time.
We statrted downstairs.

Worked our way through the sweet smellin J ladies and made it to the bar.

The ladies in the club were so plentyful, that they just stand in place and dance to the music.
What a sight.

Man, lets head upstairs for some air.

We made our way pass the jirating and dipping hips and curvy figures to the steps.
I saw an amazing looking woman just coming down,
but her loss, i'm going up.

The upstairs was cool.

There was one woman, downstairs who had the dance moves down pat.

I was watching her, she had her back to me, but her girlfriend was facing me.
She must have said:
"there is a cool tourist dude behind you, he's watching you for real!"

Anyway, 10 minutes after we went upstairs, there she was, right next to me, alone, dancing by herself.

Sigh, if only.

Any who, my brother and i always split up, but keep and eye on each other.

I looked over and my bro had a table with about 3 ladies.
Man, he looks like he could use some help.

I joined them and we laughed the night away.

We ended up leaving with the 3 ladies, they were headed to the New Triple XXX Club.
We were sleepy and told them later.
They looked sad, but that's life.

Bed time for this old cowboy.

Waiting at the airport for my buddy to pick me up.

2010-10-07T10:42:00.000-05:00

Good bye darling, i'll see you next trip.
Well, it's been 6 months and i'm back.

I got use to my private driver Nick, picking me up at the Airport in Mobay.
I come out of the arrival door and look around.
These guys are still working hard, trying to get a fare.
Taxi mon? Taxi? Need a ride?
No thanks, i'm waiting for my buddy.
So, i pull my bags over to the seating area right by the door.
I make sure i can see the road, so if Nick pulls up i can jump in.
The cops are making sure nobody lingers.
If your pick-up is there, cool, but you can't wait in front, parked or just double parked.

One of the guys comes over and says, Your buddy, maybe he will not come!
No way, Nick's my man, i can count on him.

Call him mon, here.
He handed me a cool little celly phone.
I dialed the number.
"Yo, whatgwan,"
So nice to hear a familiar voice.

Hey Nick, where are ya?,

I'm on my way, traffic jam coming in, but i'm in Mobay now.
Coool, see you when you get here.
Yeah mon, later.

I give the guy the phone back.
He's looking at me, (like he did me a great big favor)so, i give him a buck.

Beep, beep!
Man, i was on the look out, did not let any car pass me without checking it,
but, Nick slipped in some way.
Whats up Marko,
oh, i'm good man, now that you're here.
That's when i vacation really starts.
At the Airport, when i hook up with my runnin buddy.

It's funny, he'll pull the car up, and get out, and i am envious/jealous already.
He only wears a mariner shirt (we call them dago tee's)

Some blue jean shorts and sandals.
That's it.
His dread locks flowing and a very deep smile.

I can tell that he dons this attire on a daily basis.
The life.

So, he starts to pop the trunk and then
there are drivers calling him and waving hello.
Nick knows alot of Taxi drivers.
He has a route mobile, and use to run the strip in Negril for years.
He still does, but only when he needs some money.

Many locals know his car on sight.

So, we're all loaded on our way, reggae thumpin and bumpin out of the radio.
How are your rollin skills mon?,
Man, give it here, i can roll.

While still driving, Nick reaches some place under the dash, pulls out the little black bag,
He has the Rizzaler's and ganja.

I'm trying to get it just the way the locals do it.
Cone shape. Very fat at the top, and gets narrower as it goes down.
I got it! Done.
He looks at it, then looks at me, looks back to the spliff and smiles/laughs.
Ok, you're getting better.

By now, we are leaving Mobay, and the cars start to spread out.
I hand him the spliff and like the professional that he is, he lights it while driving and has that satisfied look in his eyes.
I fire mine up and
"wow" This is different from US stuff.

5 minutes later the green hillside starts to vibrate, the sea pulsating blue/green colors.

Such a nice feeling to be with your main man, flying down the road, sounds bumpin.
Bluish green water on your right, very green hills on your left, no air conditioning, just wind coming through the car like it is a convertable.

Ahhh, now i am in day dream mode.
I'm just tingling all over.

I'll take you, but I must make a stop first.

2010-10-07T10:41:00.000-05:00

My other driver, not Nick, Nick is the best, but a different man i use to travel with.
One time, while walking down the road i heard the horn blow.
I turned and My 2nd favorite driver asked if i needed a ride.
It's funny, how if i'm not going anywhere in particular, i will change my mind when i see old reliable guys.
Yeh mon, i need to.....
"I must stop by the gas lady, then drop it off at home".
Cool, i'm in no hurry.
So i hopped in his van.

We crossed over the bridge and made a left, pass the shops and into the neighborhood.
We went down some road, made a few turns and he pulled over.
I could see about 20 gas cans. Gas for a cooking stove or something.

My driver walked up to a fence and yelled.

Miss Mavis, Miss Mavis!

Soon a portly nice looking lady came down a little hill and to the fence.
My friend passed an empty gas can to her and got a full one in return.
Ok mon, mi house is just up the hill and around the corner.
We must have went up 3 hills and 4 corners, soon we were at his house.
He was pointing out things and said the road is up to the residents if they want to get it fixed.
His shocks absorbers were on vacation and my body was shaking and bumpin around the van, but it was a little fun.

We got to his house, but it was up a hill.
He pulled over on the road and we both got out.
He called out and a young man, maybe 13-14, popped his head out a window and then came out the house, yelled something back and started walking down the hill towards the road to us.

He handed the gas can to the teen and we both started laughing.
"yeah man, the youth's do the walking around here, i'm not going up that hill".

It was quite a hill.
No road up to the house, just a 30 yard climb almost straight up.

These side trips, with responsible reliable Jamaican men, always add that extra something when i'm in Jamaica.
I end up someplace new and get that "WOW" feeling.

To me, if you are older and wiser, than you are my big brother or uncle.

So, i have a duty, and it's a priveledge to learn from the more expeirenced locals.

A trip around Jamaica, Ocho Rios

2010-10-07T10:38:00.000-05:00

I exited the plane in MoBay and the air was magnificent. Even though the skies in Chicago look clear, i know there is much pollution in the air and i needed a getawy.

I had been to Negril 6-7 times and a change of pace was in order.

My driver Nick, picked up my girl friend and drove her to Sangster to meet me.

Hey, what's up Nick, i said as i exited the building.
I looked into the back seat and there was baby. Man, i missed her after 6 months in the states.

I opened the car door and got a great big kiss.

Nick pulled out of the parking area at the airport. "on to Ocho Rios! I said

My friend and i were both sitting in the back seat playing the little games lovers play.

Nick, up front like a chauffer, me and my baby in the back, chillin! It was pretty nice.

Hey Mark, Nick said "how are your rolling skills"
Not bad, i said.

He tossed back a bag full and i started on it.
I started and had to tell my girl to scoot over some. (she was all up on a brother0

Hee hee, she laughed and moved a couple of inches.

The drive was pretty nice. The always amazing country side of Jamaica was as green as ever.

We came into the town of Ocho Rios and it reminded me of Lucea a bit.

So, now we must find the Silver Seas Hotel.
We asked some people walking, but they didn't know where it was.

We found a Red Stipe (cop) and he pointed "up past the clock"
So we drove on and around a bend.

There it was.
I bid farewell to Nick, "see you in 6 days i told him", Yeah Yeah, later Mon, he said.

We checked in and were led up to the second floor.

The room was great, there was an ice machine right down the hall.

For some reason, i just gotta have ice, plenty of it where ever i stay.

The room had 2 balcony doors, that when opened, looked out onto the Caribbean Sea.

Magnificent! Fantastic! words cannot explain the sight.

During our stay we strooled around a bit.
Eating here and there.
One day it was raining pretty hard, i did not want to go out, neither did my girl, so and a man, a worker at the hotel, ran someplace and brought back staemy hot Jerk Chicken, rice and peas.

He was always close by if we needed anything.

A very nice 6 days.

My driver Nick,(now my best buddy) came to pick us up and drove us back to Negril for more fun in the sun!

My little man at the Hi-Lo grocery store

2010-10-07T10:36:00.000-05:00

Hey Regan, what's up Mon.
He was nodding in his van on the road.
Wow, to sleep in your car, windows down, alone, on the road.
I would be too scared to do that in Chicago.

He jumped up with a little startled look.
Yeah mon, yeah mon, mi ready!
Amazing, from sound asleep to ready to go in 3 seconds. LOL
I need to go to the Hilo.
Ok, ok (he was still half sleep, sitting straight up and starting his van as i hopped in.

We pulled into the parking lot and we both got out.
There was a little chair or 2 milk cartons stacked together close to the store's front.
My driver said he'll be sitting right here.
He found an old Gleaner and started to read, while i went inside.
I found a shopping cart and started to push it.
I was going to stock the room with juices and snacks and stuff.
I had put one or 2 items in the cart.
I left the cart and walked closer to the cheese section, found the cheese i wanted, and when i turned around, there was this little boy, maybe 7 or 8.
He hand both his hands on the cart and was pushing it.
No words were said by him or me.
I looked him in his eyes and took a step down the aisle.
He took a step.
I stopped,
he stopped.
So, you are my cart pusher for today.
No words were spoken, we just communicated our thoughts through the air.

So, i strolled up and down the aisles, my little man in trail behind me.
He was a cool liitle dude. very agile and quick, he could handle the cart like a pro.

Well, i think i have everything i need and headed to the check out lanes.
As i got there i stood and was looking at the check out lady.
I turned around and my little man was gone.
Hmmm, he didn't even say good bye.
I got closer and then just started to put my things by the register.
I looked up and he was at the other end.
Bagging my stuff.

The guy/bagger that was working there just watched me watch him.
I gave him the "it's ok look"

My little man tried to carry all my stuff at the same time.
Whoa up there man, i got this bag.

We came out and my driver stood up, looked at the youth and just walked over to his van.

My little man and i loaded up the vam through the side door.
Good job! Well done! i said.
I reached in my pocket and gave him a well deserved payment for services rendered.

Never saw him again, but i do hope he is ok.

I was a shop keeper for a while

2010-10-07T10:35:00.000-05:00

My friend, who has a little shop/place on the beach needed to go to the store to stock up.
Mark, i must go downtown.
I'm runnin low on this and that.
Stay here and don't let anybody in, except tourist.

Whoa man, i made it!
I am a shop keeper!
Sure it was only 1 hour, but i was in charge.

He has a place behind the craft market.

Beer, cigarettes,sunglasses, hats and trinkets, you get the picture.

He has a deep freezer, that is stocked with Lobsters and Bonita fish.

He cooks out on the beach everyday.

Always has a fire going.

He has wood carvings and other stuff to sell.

Often we sat eating lobster and Bonita and rice and veggies.
It was early, maybe 11:00 AM

He put on his "going to the store clothes" and off he went.

All he ever wears are cut off jeans, that's it.

I had the tunes bumpin and Red stripes flowin.

When i saw some "tourist" people walking the beach, i made a valiant effort to entice them over.

Now, if he would only stay gone 2-3 months, i would be happy.

I could call my lady friends to help out and cook, call my driver Nick, to pick up and drop off people.

Go to my mom-in-laws store to pick up supplies.
She goes all the way to Sav for her supplies.
I'm sure she could take my list with her.

About an hour later, he came back, looked around and went into the shop to put up the supplies.

So, how was things, he asked?

Fine, except,
You came back 2 months too early i said.
We both had a good laugh over that.

We must go see the "doctor" for a cleansing.

2010-10-04T10:59:00.001-05:00

So, we must go see the doctor.
What doctor I say?
Up in the Hills, mon. She needs a cleansing!!

Oh, lawdy, where to now.
Here's another adventure you have gotten us into i say to myself!

So, early the next morning, a strange driver comes to my hotel.
My other friend is sitting in the car with him.
I get in and off we go. Up, Up, up and away.
into the hills of Westmoreland.

A nice drive through the hilly country.
Wow, there is so much that i have never seen around Negril.

As we are driving I look out the window and it is about a 50-60 foot fall over the side of the road.
Man, i hope this guy is a good driver.
The road winds around, turns this way, turns that way.
I dont recognize anything. Never knew where we were going.
Up in the hills Mon!! Thats all i was told.

About 1 hour and a 1/2 after leaving my room we arrive.
This place looks like a very old church.
There are a few cars parked on the road and men standing outside.

My friend and I go inside.
She talks to a woman for a while and we are told to have a seat.
2-3 hours. Sitting and waiting. Listening to other people waiting, talking about whats going on in their lives.
Man, i'm getting good at understanding the locals.

A woman behind a curtain motions for me and my friend to come.

We go through a doorway that leads out to the back and there he is.

He is sitting at a desk/table adourned with what you would see in a movie about a witch doctor.

Bottles and jars of things spread out.
The assistant says have a seat.
After a little talking that i could not understand, the man says "Do you have something for me?"

She hands him an envelope.

The other lady tells me
"you must wait outside"

Be careful with my baby!(i say to myself) She came in one piece, i need her back the same way.

The man looked at me like he was reading my mind.

I got the "----" out of there fast!

I waited on the road with some drivers who had dropped off the fares to do the same thing.

We chatted up there for a while. You know i asked a million questions, but I cant remember anything me and the guys waiting talked about.Just shooting the breeze.

My first time being higher than sea level. The air is different up there. Fresh, It even seems like the sky is clearer.

Soon, my friend is finished with "whatever" and comes onto the road.
She is smiling and all is well.

Another day in Negril;

2010-10-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

There is a bar 2 doors down from the Coral Seas Garden hotel. It is next door to Sunrise restaurant.

I'm just out to wander around a bit, get a little jerk from the man that cooks on the road. After my meal i go over to the bar and i see a pool table. Now, for those of you that play pool you know what a pleasant site that is.

I take a seat and order a Red Stripe and watch the locals play a gambling game with cards. They put their money tucked under the side cushions on the table and deal out a round of poker. I guessed that the object is to hit the balls matching a card in your hand.
After a couple of games they cool out and i step up to the plate.
"Time for a regular game? i ask.
Sure mon, get a token from the barmaid.

So i get the token, rack them up and ask what game the winner plays. "Eight-ball, straight in" he says. Cool.

He breaks and makes a couple of stripes.Then he misses. I run off the next 5 shots flawlessly. I miss, he misses, i make all mine and sink the eight ball, corner pocket.

I won about 5 straight games! The waitress the whole time is eye balling me.

After my first couple of wins, she ask me my name, where do i live, who am i staying with, blah, blah and more blah.

I give her just vague desciptions(mus'nt give away all the info). Be careful guys what you say. No need to give every last detail to strangers, even if they have pretty faces.

That was a nice couple of hours. Just chillin, drinking beers with the guys.
Man, women are wonderful, but i still enjoy sports with the buddies away from the women folk.

Time to catch a cab a little further from the hotel.
I let a couple of cabs go by on purpose. I pick one, the front seat is taken, so i just hop in the back and enjoy the ride. I see the Treehouse coming up so i yell out "one stop!"
I walk up to the joint and the front looks nice and quiet. I get to the rear beach and there are people everywhere! I'm on a mission to find some cool boardies.
I know what Ras Walleye looks like, but i cant spot him anywhere. I have a drink or 2 at one of the bars and relax. The Treehouse plays nice old school soul jams.

I cant find any familiar faces so i concentrate on the ladies in the polka dot bikinis.

Man, nothing like listening to the music on the oceans edge with a cold beverage in your hand.

For a brief second i think i see a lady i used to know. She's beautiful but as she gets closer i realize its a different lady. Same figure, but not the same person.

Since i'm staring at her i might as well introduce myself.

Spoon, Markospoon they call me. She laughs and i do too.

She's with other people and they are motioning to her "time to head in"
So, we part and say our good byes.

Back to the road and up closer to the round about.
Just before the bridge is the Craft Market. Behind the Craft Market is the part of the beach where you will find the hardcore fishermen.

I am good friends with Ringo, the mountain man. He has a nice little shop and house right there, on the beach.

He has plenty of sand and a nice business going.

We sit and chat, drink some and ponder the mysteries of the universe.
Nice to listen to someone from a different culture spout their views on this and that.
Its all good mon, we all have red blood.

Just chillin out on a rainy day in Negril

2010-10-01T14:59:00.001-05:00

It was the rainy season, but when you get the opportunity to get out of Dodge, go.

I woke up on my 3rd day in Negril and it was a beutiful outside. I cleaned up and
Jogged over to my fav breakfast place and ate like a King.

With a full belly, I took a swim then headed back to the room for a shower.
The bathroom has a window in the shower, with wooden velour blids and a screen.

It's great, to take a shower and look outside at the same time.
So, i was bathimg and i hear this sound.
"What the?

It was the rain falling. I finished my shower, grabbed a towel and opened the hotel door. It was pouring down cats and dogs. The kind that lets you know it would not end soon.

So there i was, all clean and nowhere to go.

I dont watch T.V. too much while on vaca, but, what else could i do?

I sat down clicked on the tube and started surfing the cable.

I found the Western Channel and my heart skipped a beat.

I love, not like, love, old cowboy movies, the ones in
black and white.

I looked over and saw that my ice cooler was running low on ice. 15-20 cubes left from last night and alot of water. Looking down through the water and ice i could see a brown color.

Red Stripes! at least 3!
Man o man i was happy.

I got comfy and cracked the first cold one of the day.

I have learned to use a cigarette lighter to pop the top and i love the sound when you do it just right!

Nothing like a rainy day, sitting in your draws, watching Jimmy Stewart and his Winchester 57.

Bringing gifts for your Jamaican family.

2010-10-01T14:43:00.001-05:00

Hey guys/gals, i'm sure some of you can relate.

If you ever marry a Jamaican, your family doubles.

Its Christmas every time you fly in!

You find yourself in Walmart
"well i'll be!"
Look at that dear, i bet your Brother would love to have that.
Hey, what's your mom's favorite color?
Purple, Mark, i told you before, purple"
Always take good care of the Mom-in-law
Yeah, baby, this queen size purple sheet and pillow case set will look nice in her new bedroom.
Now, to the toy section,
"Mark, you just want to go there and look for yourself"

Ok, ok, but the little guys all love cars and spinning things, all kinds of crayons and paints too!

"how old is your neice,
"ones 4 and the other 6",
What size shoe?

Soon, my wife is loading down the cart with things.

The little girl section just melts my heart.
My daughter is 24 now, but i raised her, by myself since she was 2.(ahh, the good old days)
I know my way around kids clothes.
So, i go back in time (in my mind) and find things that the little girls would need and want.
Berrets for hair, and scochies, combs, brushes, the works.

My sister, (the little ones mom)
is about 25.
Perfume, jeans pants, tops.
Hair shampoo, conditioner, more combs and brushes.

Then my main Bro-in-law, he's 30 something, loves cars too.
Well, to the auto-motive section for some of the cool stuff, steering wheel covers, auto compass, all sorts of things. knives, tools for his work shop.

I have enough room for all these gifts because:

I keep all my dirty clothes in Negril, my mother in law washes them, hangs them up to dry and packs them, awaiting my return.

Having relatives on a caribbean island that you love to go to is wonderful!

The only hard part is lying to customs about bringing any gifts or presents.
But, since i only have 1, maybe 2 suitcases, i appear to be just another tourist.

Eating a home cooked "jamaican" meal is nice too, I have a nice group of people to hang with when the beach or Westend get boring.Hangin out at the shop, watching people buying things, picking up the Patois.
It's like i have a front row seat in a new world!

Once there was this gangster looking dude, on the beach, it was obvious what he was.
He asked me "do you know a black woman"
I did not recognize him at first.
He then said "oh yeah, at Mama G house, that's where I saw you. Yeah, you married her daughter.

He turned around and told all the other guys
"look out for him, he's family"

This is how they treat Family in Negril.

My bark is worse than my bite, a quiet evening in Negril

2010-10-01T14:39:00.001-05:00

Wow, that meal was ok.
I'm full for 300J.

I don't know if the cook wanted to make sure i came back, but this meal had BIG chunks of chicken, along with the rice and peas.

Since i have a full belly, i can start a likkle on the party side.

Some of times i will eat a good meal, only drink water, then jump in a route mobile and head some place else for cocktails.

To the beach!!

I pulled in to one of my watering holes and found a seat.
A few folks, sitting around, couples it looked like.

Hmm, here i am all alone again. (i love it)

A pretty young waitress, (she looks like i would card her)
floated over to me.
I never say anything first. (gotta make them talk that sweet accent)
Evening sir, what can i get you.

I'll have a Smirnoff-Red, on the rocks.

Oh no, darling, i dont use a straw.

The first one went like Usain Bolt in the 100 yard dash.
AHhhh.
Would you like another?, she ask.
Ya cant walk on one leg.

Oh they giggle so sweet.

All of a sudden 5 females came over to the bar,
they were ready for the night.
(Hmm, i would card them too)

The waitress started making rum punches and talking to the women about this or that.

I deduced that they were friends of the waitress and she was hooking them up royally.
One lady had to say "that's enough rum".

Evening ladies, where's the party tonight?
Can't remember what they said, but it was somewhere down the road.

So imagine 5 young ladies, all dressed to kill, with the smell of heavenly scents, floating on the Caribbean breeze.

Snap out of it Mark, who do you think you are.

Another drink, please, hurry!

There were 5 ladies and only 4 chairs, so 2 of them shared a seat while enjoying the drinks.
What a lucky chair.

They talked and laughed for about 20 minutes and then they were off.

Man, they sure will be lit up when that rum kicks in.

I just watched them wiggle away into the night.

Shoot, there were too many of them anyway.

Well old cowboy, time for you to head over to the bunk house.

A nice quiet night

How I met my wife.

2010-09-16T10:51:00.002-05:00

Well, it was about 7 years ago.
I was sitting on the porch at my regular/favorite hotel.

Before i hit the road i sit outside and chill with some cold beers.
I always bring a cooler with me, which i keep stocked with ice.
One of the gardeners of the property, a guy that i have seen for about 2 years came over to chat a bit.
Marko, where do you go during the evenings?", he asked me.
Man, i just cross the road and look for someone cooking and music.
There are nice ladies to look at most times too, i said.

You need to come to the neighborhood mon, meet some reallocal folks"
Ok, cool, where's your car?
"Me nuh have No car mon, me ride de bike"
Gulp! A motorcycle?
Yeah mon, been ridin it forever.
Ok, ok,
I get off inna few minutes.
So, about 5-6 o'clock i met him in the Hotel parking area.
Mind the right side, only get on and off from the left.
That hot pipe will fry your leg!

So, i hop on and head off to the road.
Now, i had never been further than the bridge before.
We cross the bridge and things change.

There are just locals and a million taxis around the taxi park place.
We keep going and turn here, turn there.
Up this road and down that road.
Oh yeah, when i first got on I was holding the guy around his waist.
Dont hold me like that mon, use your hands low down around the hips if youo need balance.
Well, hecky yeah i need balance, soon I got the hang of it.
Looking out for pot holes and putting my weight on the foot pedals to ease the bumps.
Soon we pull into this little frame like house. It ends up that it is a shop and a lttlle double door frame house next to it.
I got off the bike and looked around.
My gardener friend starts talking and introduces me to the lady that runs the shop.
Red stripe, well cold for my friend he says.

So far,, this is pretty cool!

So this is how a local family lives.
There was a little house behind the shop.
Turns out it was a cook house with the stove and a deep fridge and stock.
Big bags of flour, and beans, oil, you name it, they sold it.
I went through the front door of the shop to check it out.
There is chicken wire all around except a window for making purchases. The walls behind the counter and wire are filled with everything you could think of.
Baby stuff, diapers, box juices. cookies, crackers.
They sell drinks, rum, beer and pops.
There is a scale hanging for the beans and flour and whatever needs weiging.
They even sold ice.
Water in plastic baggies, frozen of course.

It was like a dollar store, filled with goodies!
I walked around to the back just minding my own business.
I looked to my right and there she was!
Sitting on a milk crate.

She looked up at me (and I swear, there were stars in her eyes! The cutest Jamaican lady you'd ever want to see!

Slim and built just right (no, i'm not a superficial guy)
She was just drop dead gorgeous!
No make up, a little perspiration on her nose. Cute as a bug's ear.
There was a big blue plastic tub on the ground between her legs.
The tub was filled with soap bubbles, in the soap
were clothes.
This woman is sitting outside washing clothes by hand.

(gulp) Hi, i think i said, i don't know, i might have started to faint, but anyway,
Hi, i said, good night or good evening she said.

That was it. Love at first sight.
I turned around (because i know she did not want to be eye balled while working)

I walked back to the front and talked to my buddy the gardener.
Man, she's nice i said!

yeah mon, talk to her.
But, being a shy guy i just ordered another beer and stared from a distance.

The next day, same thing.
On the motor cycle, down the road, across the bridge, past the gas station, down another road and we were there.

I must have looked like i lost something.
My eyes were searching, i looked everywhere. Nothing.
Bummed, i walked back to the front and my friend said with a big smile on his face,
"she in the cook house"
Now, how did he know what i was looking for?

So, i walk over to the cook house and it has a window on the side that opens out like a door, starting at waist level.
There she was, chopping and cutting and peeling things.
Hi, she said first!
She remembers, she remembers me!
I guess i was speechless, "are you staying for dinner?

Man o Man, she washes clothes and cooks the family meal too?
Heaven, i'm in heaven, and my heart beats so, that i can hardly speak!

Sure, thank you. I'll stay!
Man, i was not goin anywhere. Wild horses could not have moved me.

I went back to the front, smiling and looking for something cold!

A couple of hours past and here she comes, with plates.
She gives out a few to her bro and sis and mom.
I sitting in a chair thinking "where's mine?:
She comes back with a tray, like the kind you would have eating in bed.
I had a plate full, and i mean full of curry chicken, red peas and rice, dumplings, the whole 10 yards.
I could have swept her up right then and there.

Talk about feeling like a king,
the kings of the world aint got nothin on this!

The Markospoon Ecology Club and my cadets!

2010-09-15T12:00:00.001-05:00

This is what i intend to do.
I'm gonna go to Sav, i need to find a clothes store for small kids.
I'm gonna find baseball style caps-yellow.
Short sleeve cotton, polo style shirts.
I'm gonna start looking around my In-laws house , talk to the moms and dads and recruit boys and girls to be "00" members.
After school and homework is done, on the weekends.
Some kids dont go to school,
"i have work for you young man", its called learning.

Once i have about 6-10 kids, we are gonna march over to the Community Park, next to the craft market and i will teach all i know about ecology, how to take care of the beach and land.

Teach computer skills on my laptop.
Hey wait your turn, sit down, are you listening? do you want to learn?
Don't start no monkey business, I know where you live.

Maybe I'll have my uncle in law teach farming techniques too.

We will then get bags and start picking up trash with sticks that have nails or something to catch the paper.
Medical gloves (i saw a box of 100 count for cheap)

We will march up and down the beach.
Lunch time, they will be fed and given a likkle money for the morning work.

I'll take back the white shirts and caps, wash them and keep them until the next meeting.

If no cleaning to be found, i will teach them typing and computer skills.

I know, it will be hard, maybe we wont clean up a darn thing, but, to wear the "00" shirt and cap, they must keep their heads up! and, walk tall! not yell, not curse.

The mouths, "watch your mouth" first one to step out of line will be given a "nice" talking to and a 2nd chance.
Tell me about your home, your family
(by the way i intend to have nice conversations with the parents first)

We will not tolerate bad behavior while on these missions.

Now, my motives are for my own benefit.

I want a legion of young adults, on the right path, this way there will be 20-40 less juvenile delinquents to mess with this old man.

I know, "hard job", but if its easy, let someone else do it.
We are men, gosh darn it, MEN!

So if you see a man with a yellow hat, white shirt and 10 little ecology cadets, dressed similar walking with him,
its me!

Times Square shopping mall in Negril

2010-09-15T11:45:00.001-05:00

I was just wandering down the road, nothin special planned.
Hmmm, what's the deal with this "Times Square" place"

It is right across the road from Bar B Barn hotel.
I think i will go in and check it out.
There was a man, sitting in a chair right before you go into the place. I guess he was security.

"good morning, he said to me.
Hi, i said as i walked by him.

I turned the corner and you see all these stores.

There are store that sell fine jewelry, watches and what not.

Theses stores look like the fine/expensive stores on North Michigan Avenue.
Man, i can't afford those kind of things, but i went in just for the H--- of it.

Theses might be some of the prettiest ladies you will meet in Negril.
They were well manicured, hair was impeccable.

Welcome, can i show you something?

This lady was beautiful, with a capital B.

Oh, i'm just looking, these watches sure look expensive.
"They are all duty-free, she says.
Now, i'm guessing that means no extra retail tax that we would pay in the states.

Very nice merchandise.

I have the one gold chain on my neck and that is all i want to wear.
There are about 5-6 stores all in a row, selling high end jewelry and stuff.

Further down you will run into the smaller shops, selling t-shirts and hats, coffee, Rum, dresses, bathing suits, etc. and a lot of tourist stuff.

It's a nice little change of pace kinda place.
Just to get off the road for a while.

A rainy day in Negril and nothing to do

2010-09-15T11:38:00.001-05:00

It was the rainy season, but when you get the opportunity to get out of Dodge, go.

I woke up on my 3rd day in Negril and it was a beautiful outside. I cleaned up and
Jogged over to my fav breakfast place and ate like a King.

With a full belly, I took a swim then headed back to the room for a shower.
The bathroom has a window in the shower, with wooden velour blinds and a screen.

It's great, to take a shower and look outside at the same time.
So, i was bathing and i hear this sound.
"What the?

It was the rain falling. I finished my shower, grabbed a towel and opened the hotel door. It was pouring down cats and dogs. The kind that lets you know it would not end soon.

So there i was, all clean and nowhere to go.

I don't watch T.V. too much while on vaca, but, what else could i do?

I sat down clicked on the tube and started surfing the cable.

I found the Western Channel and my heart skipped a beat.

I love, not like, love, old cowboy movies, the ones in
black and white.

I looked over and saw that my ice cooler was running low on ice. 15-20 cubes left from last night and a lot of water. Looking down through the water and ice i could see a brown color.

Red Stripes! at least 3!
Man o man i was happy.

I got comfy and cracked the first cold one of the day.

I have learned to use a cigarette lighter to pop the top and i love the sound when you do it just right!

Nothing like a rainy day, sitting in your draws, watching Jimmy Stewart and his Winchester 57.

Shake your tailfeathers at the Jungle night club

2010-09-14T14:38:00.000-05:00

Yeah Mon! We jammin now!
I hollered across the dance floor at my Bother. His first time to the Jungle.

He was dancing and had 2 girls at the same time.
Well, he's doing fine, So....

I decided to waltz over to the bar for a cold beverage.

The bar had turned into a crowd since my last one, so i bumped and grinded my way closer to the bartender.
He had skills and with the people all shouting at him, he still, got the drinks out correctly and in a timely manner.

The seats at the bar were all taken, but i see this lady start to stand up so i nudged my way, closer, closer, i'm almost there. Whew! Made it just as she was standing up.

I sat down and i had the bartender's attention now.
Vodka and ting on the rocks please.
Shaken, not stirred.

The lady that got up was a pretty thing. The mini skirt was so short i thought i could see one of her cheeks. Sweet cheeks they were.

So i get my drink and it is strong.

I pay the man and swivel the chair around to face the dance floor.

The lady is staanding and dancing in place.
The place was my left thigh.
What rythym, what moves she has.

Well, when a lady is rubbing on a guy's thigh with her thigh it's hard to keep quiet.
Hello there, nce dress.
Oh, thanks mon! She says!

I start drinking and she just a keeps rubbin.

Now, i was just sitting in my seat enjoying the music
All of the sudden her rear is between my legs.
Wow, is this what they call a lap dance?
It was very crowded as i stated before and i'm thinking know one is noticing what is going on as my temperature starts to rise.

Actually, no one cares what the hell you do in a club as long as your'e not fighting.

We start to talk for a while. She had such a sweet voice, so i ask her if she would like something cold to drink?.
(hmmm, i wonder if that was her way of getting a free drink)

Red Bull or some kind of energy drink she gets.

So, thats how she stays aware, while all of us with real drinks lose our minds.

I scout around the crowd and i see this man and woman dancing. Well, it was to the music, but it wasn't dancing.
If you can imagine 2 people having sex on a dance floor, doggie style, with all their clothes on.
Thats what they were doing.

The man must have been in great shape because he had her legs up, her back to him. around his lower abdomen for quite a while.

Soon as B.B.ing says, "the thrill is gone"
So, i get up and walk around and out to the upstairs part of the Jungle.

It's nice a cool up there. Not such a wall to wall crowd.

Some very nice looking females are standing in a group. They look like they are doing stategic planning for a beach assault on the downstairs.
Ah ha. So this is their base of operations, the 2nd level. They were in a huddle planning their line of attack.

I was wondering.
Where are all these pretty girls during the day?
Once in a while you may see a super fine women on the beach or road, but here there were scores of them.
All shapes and sizes. Looking good and smelling good.

I guest most young ladies stay in during the hot day or are at work or something. You sure dont see them out walking on the roads.

But man, let me tell ya, no place else can you find all those lovely ladies at the same time dressed to kill.

The jungle is a nice place with friendly people all around.

Going home the Chicken vendors are right there with hot food.

Watch out for the private taxi guys waiting outside.

They think you are so drunk, that you will pay $10-15 US for a 5 minute ride.

In conclusion, the Jungle is a nice place.
There is a second level with music too.
If you want to people watch go on a Thursday night. Ladies get in free.

We must find the soup man!!

2010-09-14T14:25:00.001-05:00

Honey, darling, We must get some soup tonight,

Huh, wha, huh?

I was in bed, taking a nap.
She said,
Soup, i'm not feeling too good tonight.
There is the soup man, pon the road, i must find him tonight.

It was about 8, we had been out all day, and i was looking forward to some R&R.
Well, have a nice trip.
No, no, you gotta come with me.
Geez, Louise.
She ran in the bathroom and i heard the shower come on.

Man, she's serious. Oh well, i climbed my old bones off the bed and had a good stretch.

Well, since i'm up i might as well get ready, so i popped a cold one.
I'm Ready.
I opened the door, and looked out towards the road.
I could not see anything, but the sounds were more than usual.

After, what seemed like hours, she was ready.
She came out the bathroom looking like a million.
Are we going to a fashion show?
"You silly head," she giggled, come on.

We got to the road and started walking towards the Tree house.
There were vendors set up all along the road on both sides.
Yeah, this is Spring Break time.
These guys were not here this morning. Man look at all of them.
It was like a market.
Smoke and steam pouring out of the pots and grills all up and down the road.

Music thumpin, and bikes roaring. People all over the place.
She would stop, talk to some of the sellers about where her soup man would be set up.
Further down, mon. Further down,
Keep walking.
Grill after grill, all kinds of sizes and colors.
"best chicken mon, well fresh here mon.
This and that, they had it all.
Baby, he's not here, how far will we walk?
It's not far, (you said that 5 blocks ago)
so we walked, and walked, and walked.

THERE HE IS! THERE HE IS!

I could see about 5 big pots, lined up, steam just pouring out the sides and all over.
He had all kinds there.
I forget his name, i'm sure you all know him.

I can't remember the type of soup she got, but she looked so satisfied while eating it.
Are ya happy now, i said.
She just smiled, with shiny eyes.
Man, i should have gotten a bowl myself, I ran back and got the same thing.
The biggest soup pot i ever saw, steaming hot.
It was absolutely delicious.

It turned out to be quite an entertaining evening, glad i went after all.
When we got back to the room,
I hit the sack, told her not to mess with me, and i slept like a baby.

A scary bend in the road on the Westend!

2010-09-14T14:03:00.001-05:00

Hey what's up Nick.
I called me driver earlier in the day to go out that early evening.
Man, my granny needs me to take her to Sav, so that will be an all day thing.
Hit me on the Cell, later, i may be back.

Oh, ok, see ya later
Yeah, lata mon. Click.
So, now what, Oh well, I'll go get me something to eat on the beach.
I head across the road over to Bar B barn.
So, half way through my early dinner i had a brain storm.
I'll go hit the west end, never been too far, but why not give it a try?

So, after dinner, i headed back to my room, across the road.

I had a few Red ones on the balcony and the sun was just beginning to go down.
Dusk, man this is great, the feeling, when the sun is setting is so nice. A natural type glow to the plants and everything.
So, to the road!
Beep, beep!
No mon, you are too full.
Thats the bad part about being at a hotel that's almost at the bridge.
Cabs are almost full.
Wait, there's one.
Beep, beep. i raise my arm and he pulls over, just 1 lady riding up front.
I hop in and he pulls off.
"i'm heading to the west end "how far Mon, i can take you, this is my friend, she rides where i go.
Oh, ok, well, i'm going to the Canoe Bar.
Yeah mon, mi know de place.
So we cross the bridge and stay close to the round about turn, then get over to head up the road, past the Mall/Plaza and Digi cell store.
I see some guys I know going in the China man store.
Zoom, we hit the curve and head up west end road! Hot Dang!
Soon, we are at the Canoe bar,
I give him a couple hundred and say later.
The Canoe Bar is empty, nobody there but me!
Can i help you? the bartender says.
A red stripe please.
I grab it, pay him, and walk outside, the ocean side and have a seat.
Man, this place is nice. The beer is Super cold!
You can really look around and notice the layout of a place when its empty.

It almost dark and i have a nice buzz going.
I walked around and waved bye at the chef guy, then out to the road.
Ok, now this way (to the right) further up the road.
I crossed over because there seemed to be some activity on the other side of the road.
Just some locals, hanging out. Most of the cabs that passed looked kinda full, so i just kept walking up the road.
Soon, i looked ahead and saw it!
A bend in the road!

Where is the side walk? That only looks like street!
I needed to think, so found a little stone wall, bout 2 feet high and copped a seat.

I watched car after car, make its way up the road, to that bend/curve and dissapear.
Next second here comes a car coming the other way.

Hmm, i know there are all kinds of spots/places up the road, if i just could make it around that corner.
VaZooom, there goes another car, VArroom, another.

Al of a sudden i see this big ass truck coming around the corner!
Man, that would be all i needed.
A big truck turning just when i trying to walk that way.

I sit a little while and it is dark out now.
I see 2 j-ladies walk past me, up the road and out of sight.
They made it!

So, i stand up, tighten the belt, and look at the monster of a bend in the road.
Man, if i could just see whats around that bend, just around the corner before i start!

I shake my head no! Not today!
So i cross the road and stand there looking back.
It still looks scary from this side too.
Soon, a cab was coming and i jumped in it and headed back down the beach road to my room.

Maybe one day I'll try that road on foot, but not tonight.

Markospoon's first trip to Jamaica and Negril

2010-09-13T15:10:00.002-05:00

This is Markospoon from Chi town.
Started going to Negril 12 years ago. I have been back there about 18 times.
It is so much like a dream place for me. Swimming and walking are my favorite past times.

I first went with my girlfriend in 1998. We stayed in Mobay for about 4 days. I lady who lives in Chicago is from Jamaica and told me to come down to visit her when she was there. Her husband is from Chicago and built a house. So, one day I was listening to the radio at work and I heard a commercial for a Jamaic vacation. I booked the trip at 1-800-jamaica. So, off we were.

We stayed at the Coral Cliff Hotel on the Hip Strip. I enjoyed Montego Bay, It was quite an expierience and very different from Chicago, but my girlfriend could not get into the Island life. She was one of those people who need everything just right. So, on the 2nd day my Jamaican friend from the states recommended we take a day trip to Negril.

Never heard of Negril before, but why not I said. The ride to Negril was very cool to me. The scenery and the ocean on the side of the road was fun to me. Windows down enjoying the air.

We arrived in Negril about 2:00 P.M. went to Risky Business first. It started to rain and everyone came inside to eat, drink and be merry. After about 20 minutes the rain stopped and I walked on to the beach. That was when it hit me. Stillness, super quiet. It was a feeling that i never felt before. I am considered a loner by my family. Searching on my own and people watching turns me on. Right there and then I decided to come back without my girl the next time. I was back in about 3 months and stayed at the Bar B Barn Hotel.
I was so stupid that I came out my room, walked to the road and asked someone how do you get to the beach. If i had turned to the right from my room i would have been there. But, being a novice I walked to the road. I saw an old lady walking and asked her " how do you get to the beach?
She looked at me with a smile (probably thinking how can a person be so stupid) She said follow me. So we walked a few steps and went down a path between the Hotel. It was lined with trees and bushes and i got a little nervous. Where is she taking me i thought. The bushes and trees were kind of dense and it shut out the sunlight for a few steps.
All of the sudden things opened up and got brighter and I saw the water!
Oh, how pretty your first sight of the Caribbean looks once you get to the beach.
I saw people walking and swimming and having fun!

Been back 18 times. I have some more stories that i will share. Later

Walking the tricky street on the Westend of Negril

2010-09-13T15:00:00.002-05:00

Hey what's up Nick.
I called me driver earlier in the day to go out that early evening.
Man, my granny needs me to take her to Sav, so that will be an all day thing.
Hit me on the Cell, later, i may be back.

Oh, ok, see ya later
Yeah, lata mon. Click.
So, now what, Oh well, i'll go get me something to eat on the beach.
I head across the road over to Bar B barn.
So, half way through my early dinner i had a brain storm.
I'll go hit the west end, never been too far, but why not give it a try?

So, after dinner, i headed back to my room, across the road.

I had a few Red ones on the balcony and the sun was just beginning to go down.
Dusk, man this is great, the feeling, when the sun is setting is so nice. A natural type glow to the plants and everything.
So, to the road!
Beep, beep!
No mon, you are too full.
Thats the bad part about being at a hotel that's almost at the bridge.
Cabs are almost full.
Wait, there's one.
Beep, beep. i raise my arm and he pulls over, just 1 lady riding up front.
I hop in and he pulls off.
"i'm heading to the west end "how far Mon, i can take you, this is my friend, she rides where i go.
Oh, ok, well, i'm going to the Canoe Bar.
Yeah mon, mi know de place.
So we cross the bridge and stay close to the round about turn, then get over to head up the road, past the Mall/Plaza and Digi cell store.
I see some guys I know going in the China man store.
Zoom, we hit the curve and head up west end road! Hot Dang!
Soon, we are at the Canoe bar,
I give him a couple hundred and say later.
The Canoe Bar is empty, nobody there but me!
Can i help you? the bartender says.
A red stripe please.
I grab it, pay him, and walk outside, the ocean side and have a seat.
Man, this place is nice. The beer is Super cold!
You can really look around and notice the layout of a place when its empty.

It almost dark and i have a nice buzz going.
I walked around and waved bye at the chef guy, then out to the road.
Ok, now this way (to the right) further up the road.
I crossed over because there seemed to be some activity on the other side of the road.
Just some locals, hanging out. Most of the cabs that passed looked kinda full, so i just kept walking up the road.
Soon, i looked ahead and saw it!
A bend in the road!

Where is the side walk? That only looks like street!

The Westend road does not have sidewalks, just stay away from the road.

I needed to think, so found a little stone wall, bout 2 feet high and copped a seat.

I watched car after car, make its way up the road, to that bend/curve and dissapear.
Next second here comes a car coming the other way.

Hmm, i know there are all kinds of spots/places up the road, if i just could make it around that corner.
VaZooom, there goes another car, VArroom, another.

Al of a sudden i see this big ass truck coming around the corner!
Man, that would be all i needed.
A big truck turning just when i trying to walk that way.

I sit a little while and it is dark out now.
I see 2 j-ladies walk past me, up the road and out of sight.
They made it!

So, i stand up, tighten the belt, and look at the monster of a bend in the road.
Man, if i could just see whats around that bend, just around the corner before i start!

I shake my head no! Not today!
So i cross the road and stand there looking back.
It still looks scary from this side too.
Soon, a cab is coming and i head back down the beach to my room.
Maybe one day i'll try that road on foot, but not tonight.

My brother finally came to Jamaica!!

2010-09-09T13:55:00.001-05:00

I had arrived 5 days earlier. My best buddy and I headed to Mobay to pick him up. 1 hour after i saw many Chicago Tourist coming out here he comes.
"They sent me back to the beginning of immigration!!
Huh, why?
I did not know the name of the place i was staying!
Oh god, Red, (that's his nick name) Just make up a hotel name next time.
He told me that he finally dug around his carry on and found the Itinerary i printed out for him.

So, off we head to Negril.
He was tripping/amazed at the green plants and hills along the way.

We check in and he has the room right next to mine.
I had been there for 5 days and I had all the cutie pies covered like a blanket. (so i thought)

What do you think he does? As soon as I introduce him to one of the ladies, he's all over her like a cheap suit. Like white on rice, like... you get the picture.

She was just a laughing and trying to pit us against each other.
My Jamaican buddy, Nick, told him "Red, Mark saw her first"

It was so funny how easy a J girl can tease the hell out of ya.
He took it hook, line and sinker.

You see, my brother is the one with all the bucks. I just save and go. He saves and goes nowhere.

Finally convinced him after my first 10 years to come and check out Jamaica.

Well, he is a drinker, i mean hard stuff, all the time.
He has the kind of job that lets you guzzle all the alcohol you want, but don't dare come up positive for Ganja during a routine test.

He's not that bad, but a first timer, drinking Rum, beers and whatever all day can be a handful.

Once I lost him and ran all over the place trying to find him. He was in Times Square buying things.

We went to the Jungle on Thursday Night. Ladies night.

I was wandering around, taking in the sites when he comes up to me and says Mark,
"look what i found!"

I thought to myself, "you mean what she found"

Fun was had by all and we left the place around 2 AM.

My buddy says "we need to stop for gas as soon as i take you top your room.
As soon as we get in front of our hotel the car conks out. No gas. So my brother and I stand outside the hotel on the road while Nick hops in a route taxi and goes for gas. (he had an old bleach bottle in his trunk)
He came back and said the Gas station was an all night place, but he had to wake the guy up for service.
Nick asks us if we want to go to Scrub-A-Dub. It's an after hours strip club in Negril.
I say Nah, I'm sleepy.
So the 2 of them head out that way.

The next day i just checked to see that he was in his room and left him there. He didn't get up until about Noon.

So we are walking around and guess who shows up at our hotel?
The same lady he met at Scrub-a-Dub.

A visit to Orange Bay, close to Negril

2010-09-07T13:34:00.001-05:00

It was early and my friend said she had to go home to babysit her little sister.
Ok, see you later.
But, aren't you coming over for dinner tonight?
My mom would like to meet you!
Sure, I'll be there.

So off she goes.
Now i can kick back and chill awhile.
Soon my Jamaican best buddy called and said "Do you still want to go up to Orange Hill?
Whoa, i had forgot all about that.
Sure, why not.
So an hour later he pulls up in his ride and we sit awhile on the porch of my hotel.

He says he wants to go check on his friend that makes a killer crab dish.

So, we start to drive and he is zipping right along up the roads and down a bit. (seems like a curve road that sinks then rises a bit) Man, there are some nice properties in Orange Hill.

The chef man does not have crab today, only Curry Chicken.
So, we order a plate of the curry chicken and guess who pulls in with a brand spanking new BMW?
The owner of the Hotel where i was staying!
I had met him many times, but never bumped into him off the property.

He nodded to me and I nodded back.
Oh yeah, my buddy says, this place is popular, you never know who you will see.

Its was cool how he opened the door but did not get out the car.
All the locals surrounded him talking and laughing and eating.
He's known as the "big man"

You could tell that when he spoke, the rest shut-up and listened.

Orange Hill is up high a little bit, and very calm and smooth.

So, we ate the curry chicken and then i remembered that my friend was cooking dinner that night.

Well, i must save room for later, but it was so good i wolfed it down, all of it.

With full bellies i asked what time it was and was told, its early Mon, 5-6 maybe.
How time flys when you're in Jamaica!

Uh Oh, i'm late!

Even though its Jamaica, my word is my word.

We jump in the car and head towards Orange Bay.

Orange Hill, Red Ground, Orange Bay, Green Island-l Iove these colorful names.
Its just before you hit Negril, i think.
There are these little houses, in a tract, all built just the same.
My buddy tells me about those little houses and how much one cost, real cheap, but my girl did not live in one, hers was a regular board house up a hill a bit.

I called my friend and she meets us on the road. I bid farewell to my driver and we walked down a lane.

Now, don't pay attention to the loose pack of dogs we will pass she tells me.
Huh? pack of dogs?
Yeah, "they are always there, but i just ignore them and look away, like they aren't there". They wont bother you. (famous last words)
Okay, if you can do it, i can do it.

So we start to walk a little more and there they are.
You can tell the leader because he/she stands very erect, looks at us and starts barking first.

She grabs my hand and we just keep walking down the road.

They act like they are protecting the yard they are in front of.

5-6 little yellow and brown dogs.

I was so glad they were small ones, i could kick the S--- out of them if i needed to.

I was not scared, still, i did not look at them like she said.
I remember that some dogs take it as a challenge if you look them straight in the eye!

Now that i think about it, i had a pretty good grip on her hand though. Why? i don't know, but i held on like it was important.

They will follow you, barking for about 20-30 feet and then back off.

I was glad to get into her house.

I meet her mom, little sister and little brother.

I must remember to bring some of the little toys that i always bring to Jamaica. A toy car is always nice for boys.

The little man was about 2-3 yeara old, i wont forget you next time my little brother.

When i get around kids i start to play with them and forget the adults.
My girl was looking at me with that "what a good dad he would be" look in her eyes.

After a while she says stop playing, have a seat, dinner is ready.

Wouldn't you know it. More Curry Chicken!

I made a valiant effort to finish, but i was just too full from the Orange Hill dinner.

She looked disappointed that i wasn't eating it all, but i explained about the prior meal.

She said she would wrap it up for me.

We sat and talked a while.

I called my driver and he was on his way.

She reminded me that we have to walk back again, past the guard dogs.

OK dokey, no problem.

I was just hoping they could not smell the chicken that i would be carrying back down the road!!

1st solo trip to Negril!

2010-09-07T12:56:00.002-05:00

When you wake up on your own, no alarm clocks, you feel better.

Working in office buildings, no windows, or one that faces another office building is all you have to look at.
8 hours a day.

So, there i was, sitting in my little cubicle on the 25th floor of a Chicago, downtown highrise office building. (sounds like a monster dosen't it?)

Good morning William, to the security guard in the lobby and into the elevator with the crowd.

do de doo do do, here we go.

Morning Carol, hey jim, mornin bob, did ya check the game last night? That Michael Jordan was on fire!

Hi Karen, whats goinn on Dave.

To my desk.

20 some years of this, man i need a break. A BiiiG break

We were allowed radios if we kept them real low, or used our head phones.

One day i heard "Come to Jamaica, the Jewel of the Caribbean"
Hmmm. that sounds nice, Went to MoBay once with a girlfriend, (and had a day trip to Negril) but i was dying to get to Negril for a week by myself.

I wrote down the number and ended up calling 1-800-JAMAICA.

The customer service lady took real good care of me.
She said that they do checks on the hotels and she had found a nice one named Bar-B-Barn.
Small, NON-all inclusive, but they have a restaurant and bar right on the beach.

That sounds cool.
Book it, Dano!

Landed at Sangsters and when i was about to step off of the plane i got that smell.

The plane was sitting a little back from the building.

A stairway was rolled up to the plane and you walked out and down the steps and a little ways to the building.

The ladies were singing the "Welcome to Jamaica" song.

Went through immigration and got suitcase and started looking for the JUTA BUS service.

I found the desk and said
"I have a reservation going to Negril"

OK, fill this out, put your return date and wait just a bit.

I think the Hotel transfers were paid ahead of time, but maybe i paid the money 15 or 20 bucks.

Soon the employee grabbed my suitcase and said follow me. We went outside and he showed me to the bus.
He looked at me with the "where's my tip" face and body language.
Geez, i could have rolled my suitcase those few yards to the outside.
Oh well, I gave him a little money for his troubles.

Now, the bus driver says "whats up Mon, welcome to Jamaica Mon. I'm your driver.

We will have to wait for a couple of other riders, but it wont be long.

That's fine, it was hot and i'm still looking all around at the little mountains and hills around the airport and that's when it hits you again.

I'M IN JAMAICA! This is great!

As soon as you are out the Airport, all that concrete jungle kinda of thinking leaves my mind. I realize, there are different rules to life in the Caribbean.

I get a real good seat on the bus, close up to the driver so i can ask questions on the drive to Negril.

So, i'm sitting in my seat and i realize, hey wait a minute.
The other riders might not get here for a while

Why am i sitting on this bus?

I jumped off and stood in the bus parking lot looking all around.

Many drivers were talking and smoking waiting for their turn to drive the next load to Negril.

15-18 of the orange, blue and white buses Juta use to have are everywhere.

Soon, 4-6 more people arrive and the same guy that got the money from me is pulling their suitcases too.

The guy told me that i was going to be the last one getting off, so he made sure my suitcases were on the bottom.

We're off!
On our way to Negril!

First time taking a bus to Negril was very cool.

Montego Bay seemed very strange and different compared to Chicago.

Beautiful people, mostly Black people, everywhere, walking along the roads, selling items at little stalls along the highway.
So different, so alive! You could feel the electricity in the air!

When you are in a place that does not operate with the big city mentality, you can feel the differenc in the air.

The drivers are giving us tourist bits of history and pointing out places of significance.

"Here is where they made this movie, and that movie", the driver would yell out when we passed certain spots.

Oh, that's cool, i had forgot about all the movies made in Jamaica.

The water on the right was glimmering with sun light off the bluish green water.

I wanted him to stop the bus so i could jump in.
Patience, Mark. You will be there soon enough.

The little town of Lucy was a trip.
It started getting kinda of congested and the driver says this is Lucea, see that clock? It was supposed to be brought to St. Lucia maybe 40-50 years ago, but the pronunciation got mixed up somewhere and it arrived here.

Lucea was bustling and very busy looking. Vegetable markets and fruit and taxi stands, stores, restaurants, the works.

Jamaicans walking all around, doing their thang.

Wow, this is nice, real nice!

Soon we are in Negril and the other tourist start to get off at some real nice places, i can tell they were spending bucks.

I'm the only one left on the bus, so i ride shotgun next to the driver.
We had a real nice conversation before he dropped me off at the Bar-B- Barn Hotel.

I checked in, and the lady at the reception desk asked me "would you like me to show you to your room?

Sure, i said, we walked about 30 feet and she said here you are!

I hurry and change to my shorts and hit the road.

Hmmm, now where is the beach. I took about 10 15 steps and saw an older woman, and i asked "excuse me, how do you get to the beach?"
I'm going that way now, follow me she says.

We make a left and start down what looks like a curved driveway with tall bushes on both sides.
a couple of steps and you cant see where you entered the drive way, nor can you see the end.

Oh, this is great, i am following this lady into what i thought was some kind of Jungle.

I was thinking that some one could be hiding in the bushes right there, and over there, behind that tree!

I keep walking and it opens up and I see water! The prettiest blueish green you'd ever want to see.
Funny, from the road, you don't know how close the ocean is until you head towards it.

I get to the beach and its like the whole world just opened up for me.

I look to the left, to the right, nothing but sand and water!

I start walking, take a few steps to my left, staring at the water and
"I'm back at the Bar-B-Barn Hotel", what the?

Oh, i did not realize that i could have come out of my room and went to the "right" and i would have been on the beach.
Duh!

Very nice place.
Great bar right on the beach. Thick solid wood, polished. Cable T.V.
Wow, some one really took good care of this bar.

It was hot that day, but i stayed on the beach walking for quite a while.
The beach guys were trying to sell their wares, left and right.

No thanks, Thanks, but no thanks.
NOTE: Don't buy unless you really want to.
Don't feel sorry for any able body adult male.

There are enough "wee ones" that could use your charity if you so decide.

I walked all the way to the end and I'm about to turn around and I see a man calling me.

He says " I will tell you about my country, the History"

Now, that could be interesting.

I walk over and i find myself behind the craft Market, right along the river.
His Name is Ringo, AKA The mountain Man.

Dread locks and beard.

His family owned the peice of land. right there on the beach. He has a log fire going and he says it never goes out. 4-5 logs touching at the ends like spokes on a wheel. the middle smoldering.

Many a Lobster and fish have been cooked there through out the years.

He had a little store/shop and a deep freezer.
The coldest Redstripes around.

He opens it and I see 10-12 tails of a fish called Bonita standing up. That's gonna be good eating!

So we sat and talked for hours.

Now, he is my other best buddy in Negril. A nice place to cool out away from crowds.

Now his place is among the hard core fishermen at the end of the beach.
A real Jamaica experience for sure.

Hurricanes while in Jamaica

2010-09-02T12:05:00.002-05:00

I was there and lived to write about it.

The skies were a weird color and most places shut down.

It was funny driving with a little rain and light green,orange and purple colored clouds/skies at 1:00 PM.

I called Negril from home once during Ivan, I did get through and it sounded like a movie. You could hear the winds through the phone, alot of yellin and babies crying.

I told my friend to "HOLD ON!!"

She was in a Markospoon - which hurricane were you there for?

Rastagirl777-It was the one that came directly after the first. Like back to back. Dennis and Emily i think.

I was so glad the week before i left that one had just passed. Ahhh, smooth sailing now.

I did not even know there was a hurricane coming.
I woke up saw dark clouds and thought "oh, a little rain this morning"

I walked to the front desk to check out, and one of the staff ask me how was i going to get home? I thought she was joking so i said "backstroke" all the way. Why do you ask? She said the airport was closed.

Huh? What? So i called the airlines and they confirmed it.

Funny, nobody on the island that i was partying with even mentioned that a hurricane was coming.

Air J said they were not able to book a seat for me for like 3-4 days away.They said i could go to Sangsters when it opened and try to fight hundreds of people for a seat on stand-by i guess.

Hmmm, maybe a thousand people are stuck like me. No thanks.
So i called my boss at work and explained the situation.
They were pissed off.
You see, i always stretch my time as far as it can go. I was expected back at work the morning after i fly home.

So, the manager/owner of the hotel said
"no problem, you come here every 6 months. Pay us when you get back."

Sweet, 6 more days in paradise.
I had enough cash for food and beers!!

It was kind of strange. No sun for a couple of days. People still driving around, getting on with their lives.
Man i love Jamaica!

There was a quiet somber to Negril that week.
I good time to meditate and self reflect.ement house, so all was well.

Missblue, sounds like you were right there with me.
The colors, the sounds. The shear power.
It comes from somewhere.

I sometimes feel that it is a way of the almighty talking to us.
Communicating.

He/she says "i'm here, do you understand that?

Feel me, Watch me, watch me grow!
Its nature at its best (in a way)

I get a feeling of like tunnel vision, but all over my body.
Fantastic.

Living here on the shores of Lake Michigan, we get some strong winds. The lake front is lined with these giant boulders and the crashing is something to behold.

I was a shop keeper in Negril!

2010-09-02T11:53:00.000-05:00

A nice day at the Westender Inn

2010-09-02T11:32:00.000-05:00

Woke up to an excellent morning breeze this day.
I had my breakfast and decided to go on an adventure. I hopped in a private charter taxi and headed to the deep west side of Negril.
I was going to chill a while at the Westender Inn. The drive was nice, like a mini tour of the west coast.
You can see fields spread out and nice views of the back country.
We arrived in a little, i told the driver i will see him later. He offered me his cell phone number in case i needed a ride back to the beach.
I looked around and headed to the dining area and pulled up at the bar.

My god this would be the best place in the world to have a nice private party or wedding or something! This place is grand.

Music, something about music just sets the mood and relaxes/excites me. Funny, only in jamaica can I be relaxed and excited at the same time. Its wonderful!

There was a mixture of smooth jazz and light reggae going on.
Heaven, I'm in heaven, and my heart beats so, that i can hardly speak, and I seem to find the happiness i seek, when we're out together dancing cheek to cheek!

I ordered a ting and vodka on the rocks and just took a deep breath and relaxed. After a while the bartender asked me was i ready for another one. "you darn tootin I am".

So peaceful and relaxing the Westender is, compared to the beach and the other part of the westend.

This place has scenery, something cool to gaze upon and dream.

After a while I felt like walking, so i crossed the quiet little road to the cliff side of the Westender Inn and chilled out on the rocks.
It is set up really sweet on the Cliff side at the Westender Inn and the waves were hitting the cliffs in a soft kind of way. Not too loud at all. Just enough that you know they are there.

After 15-20 minutes of just sitting and watching the water, i headed back to the bar area.
Soon a couple, that was staying there sauntered up to the bar and we all said hello.

They were staying long term in Negril.
A fruit man was supposed to be coming to the Westender Inn about Noon.

After a couple of drinks this pick-up truck pulls up and it is loaded with the freshest fruit and vegetables you have ever seen. There was still soil attached to some of the roots.
The couple i was chatting with stood up and walked over to the paring area and started "grocery shopping" for the up coming week.

A man and his wife got out of the truck and i watched him weigh the food on a portable scale and bagged up the veggies and fruit. All kinds of stuff, green, red, purple, yellow vegetables. It made me wish i had a room with a kitchen.

I felt lucky to be there and bought a few items myself.
The honey bananas were so cool and small, i should have bought a dozen.
After a while a Taxi driver pulled in and started asking if i had ordered a taxi. I said no, but i would soon be leaving.
He was a little upset and got on his cell phone, made a call and found out someone had given him the wrong hotel name.

I finished my drink, said my good byes and jumped in the taxi.

Soon we were cruising down the road, i was feeling no pain.

Mary's Bay Boat Yard

2010-09-02T11:23:00.001-05:00

I called Nick,
all that swimming and "dancing" made me hungry.
It always does.

So, soon, Nick pulled up and we were headed back to the Beach.

Man, I'm starving,
I know Mary's bay Bar/Restaurant is around here someplace.
There it is.
So, Nick dropped me off and said he has another pick up, and will be back.
Cool, later mon.

I walked up to the place and saw about 5 people sitting and chatting.

Funny, they all turned thier heads at the same time and looked at me when I walked up.

Oh, i better say something.

"Scotts Al?"

This guy, who was behind the bar, spoke up.
Aye, That's Me.
Hi, I'm Markospoon.
Well, i'll be.
He ran around to my side and gave me a hearty handshake.

Now, imagine, a bright blue eye, Scottish man.

A Highlander, from out of the past.

Such a jovial character, every word he spoke bellowed a Scotish character, straight out of a novel.

Remember Scotty, from Star Trek?
But a deeper, real accent.

Aye, Marko, you said you be stoping by, good to see ya laddy.
Yeah, mon, i was determined to stop by.

I found a seat, and Scots Al, kept the words flowing, he has to be a great story teller with that voice.

Now what can i make for ye.

Now Al, you know I heard alot about your Serious Burger man,
lay one on me.

Ok dokey, i'll get right on it.

Mary Bay's is right next door to the Sue's Easy Rock Internet Cafe
(If memory serves me)
Right on the water.

Scots Al was in the Kitchen and a charming lady prepared my table setting and asked if i'd like something to drink.
Red Stipe, please.

A couple of people, looked like Americans, or Canadians, or Europeans were hanging out, ex-patriot types, obviously regulars at Mary's Bay.

Soon, Scots Al came out with the order.

I hope you enjoy it Marko!
That accent again. Very cool.

I always cut my burgers in half to start.

I like eating them that way and i can get a good look at the insides.
I did not tell Al how i wanted the meat cooked, but it came out perfectly to my liking, done, but still juicy.
The first bite had me hooked.

The meat was very tasty, A real burger in Jamaica.

He had Bacon, onions, mushrooms and cheese on it.

I did not need, nor ask for ketchup and mustard, his burger was a work of art, all by itself.

Fresh cut French Fries, the old fashion way.

Man o Man, after 5-6 days of eating J food, this was right on time.
I took my time, enjoyed every bite.

I was sitting back, Al came over and told me a likkle story about people that clean the plate like i did.
A likkle TLC mi always put in the food, he said.

I could tell.

The burger was exactly like a home made, in the kitchen, good tasting down home burger.

I had ordered a 1/2 Serious Burger, not knowing what they were like.
It is a one beef patty sandwich.
I should have ordered a whole one, with 2 patties of beef.
It was so good, and Markospoon knows a thing or 2 about Cheese Burgers.

So, i sat there, being a likkle slow, Scotts Al and I chatted, he told me stories of adventure in the sea.
He scuba dives, and i was captured by his story telling.

After a while, I bid my farewell, and promised i'd be back, with friends.
I was back 2 days later.

If you need a change of pace, and want to talk to a real Old school dude, a Highlander from Scotland,
Stop by Mary Bay's, kick back and enjoy.

I did, and will again.

So here's to you Scotts Al!

Get those serious Burgers ready, i'm coming back mon!

If I could stay for 2-3 months at a time in Negril

2010-09-01T15:59:00.002-05:00

There I was, staying on a Tropical Island for 1-2 months at a time.
Gotta stay busy and be productive.

Time to give back.

I'm gonna start a Ecology Club in Negril.

I gotta get some T-shirts and caps for the youths of Negril as uniforms.

Last time I was at my inlaws house, there were kids all over the place hanging around, with nothing to do.

Gosh darn it, i'll give them something to do!

We will walk the beaches, and look for something to accomplish.

A field trip was the best thing about going to school when I was young.

We can have meetings on the weekends at the Public Beach Parks.

We will be on the laptops, studying a little biology.
I'll get a microscope and a telescope.

Hmm, I gotta get a Boy Scout Handbook.
We can make kites.

I can teach them all to swim as good, if not better than i can.
(i swim very well)

Well, i'm gonna need a name.

Spoon's Eco Scouts?
Marko's Eco Scouts?
Marko's Eco Cadets?

I'll find one of the good kids or 2,
confident lads, natural born leader types.

I'll make him a Sargent Major, then have a whole bunch of corporal cadets.

I gotta get those T shirts and caps made.
Yelow and green should be good colors.

Attention!
Get your fingers out your noses.
We are on a mission.
Sargent Major, prepare the scouts for a march at 1300 hrs.

Bun a cheese as rations, a juice box too.

(later in the day i'll treat them to chicken and rice, makes the belly nice.)

So, if you see a man marching around with youngsters wearing yellow caps and green T shirts, give a hearty shout!

My Ecology cadets in Negril

2010-09-01T15:54:00.000-05:00

You want what?

Your Bus,
We are heading to Half Moon Bay.
There is a plant farm, they grow the sea grsss plant.

Planting sea grass will help the beaches stay strong, prevent erosion, not wash away the sand when the rough seas come.

Well mon, it's gonna cost you.....
"Horse feathers", I'll tell you what.

See that group of tourist?
There are 5 of them.

I can convince them to use your Red Plate bus when they want to go to Mayfield Falls.

Would you like that?
Yeah Mon, Yeah Mon!

Well then, here's a little something,
go gas up and meet us at the Craft Market by the river.
1300 hrs.

Yeah Mon, No problem mon.

SARGENT MAJOR! Yes Captain!

Rally the cadets, we depart in 30 minutes.
Hand out the uniforms and get them in line.

Aye Aye Captain!

Pardon Me mam,
Welcome, what can i do for you.

You see those kids over there.
Yeah mon, I see them.
Well, we are heading to Half Moon Bay on a mission.
But we need sustainance.

Sargent Major!
Sir, yes sir!
You and the lads get to work cleaning the yard, take these bags, use this rake.
I want this place ship shape before 1200 hrs.
Yes sir!

That pot of Brown stew chicken looks mighty fine.

You know an army travels on it's stomach.

Pardon me business man about town,
how long have you had this store.

Well Captain,
"10 years and running now".

Well,you see those kids,
the ones you see walking up and down the road, cleaning and helping old ladies cross the street, those are my lads, and they are thirsty.
Do you suppose that you could give back to your community?

You will be imortalized with your kindness and reap rewards 10 fold by helping to uplift your neighborhood.

Well, juice boxes cost money. How will I.....
There's no I in Help.

Your name will go down with the legends of Negril.
You will be held in the highest esteem among the business owners, you will.....
Ok, Ok, enough Captain!

How many Juice boxes do you need?

The clouds were coming our way!

2010-08-30T15:37:00.004-05:00

I just decided to walk.

Sorry taxi dudes trying to give me a ride, I'm walking today.

I was strolling down the road in Negril and decided to take it to the beach.

A lot harder walking in the sand than the road, but seeing the water makes me feel better.

I started at the Tree House Resort and made my way towards downtown.

I got to one of my favorite watering holes and just sat there for a spell.

I downed a couple of Red Stripes and continued on my journey.

It's amazing how quick a cold bottle of beer can go.

On my way down the beach, I stopped to talk to a craft vendor guy who was selling his wares right there on the beach.

I was looking at the sky and said "Man, look at the dark clouds, I think I'd better look for some cover."

"It will pass", the guy said.

But, it's gonna rain!

"The rain is a blessing" he said, "No reason to run, it will be light".

Feel the wetness, feel the wind, take in the aroma of the rain and all it touches"

So, I just stayed where I was.

While we talked, I felt a droplet hit my cheek, then another.

Hmmm, well I thought, I have on swimming trunks, sandals and a cotton shirt, I guess I will be ok.

The drops of rain falling were very small, maybe 10-15 seconds apart.

Then the rain picked up a little, became very steady, but light while the man and I just stood there.

It was a warm day and the little sprinkle, along with a light breeze really cooled me off.

It felt good!

I could still smell food cooking and music was going and a lot of locals still went about their business as usual.

Being outdoors, dealing with and feeling the weather, is key to understanding a lot of things on the island of Jamaica.

I really like all the things that nature gives and takes there in it's never ending demonstration of her force and energy.

I was staring up and out to sea for a while.

After a minute I looked at the gentleman and I could see a little sly smile on his face. Like he knew he had taught me something.

It was obvious that I was enjoying the rain, like he must do all the time.

That was the first time in a loooong while that I stood out in the rain without an umbrella.

Soon, maybe 15 minutes, the rain passed and the sun came out in full force.

"Thanks for the "weather education" I told the guy."

Moral of the story: If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at can change and change you too!

Dem's de big men

2010-05-05T16:37:00.002-05:00

Courtesy of Markospoon from negril.com's message board

Have you ever walked by a place, only a few people sitting, but there will be a couple of men, distinguished looking men, sitting at a table, talking.

I found out one time that these guys were the hotel owners of various establishments in Negril.

Wow, that's the way to have a meeting. Outdoors, fresh air, breezes, humming birds and butterflys all around. The smell of good food being cooked. Man I could really do some thinking in a meeting like that.

They would be sitting at a nice table, a waiter right there, very much on duty.

They just look so relaxed, even though they are talking high finance. Who are those guys I asked the waitress?

"Mon, dem de big men, mon!"

I was with my lady at a table and all of a sudden, a wasp or bee stung her on her hand!

The men said come here! I turned around and the men had ordered a little white rum, they were taking care of her sting like she was a princess.

Doing this and doing that, they got the little stinger out.

I gave many thanks all around to the gentlemen.

"Don't worry about paying for lunch mon," they said, "It's on us. Respect mon."

Come to find out they owned the place.

Niah and His Delicious Patties

2010-04-22T19:28:00.004-05:00

I'm going to make a short post about Niah's Patties, the only eatery located in Waves Park about 2 miles from downtown Negril, between the road and the beach. This is a place where you can get a very different kind of Jamaica patty than most other places offer. Niah's Patties are quite thick and really full of any of a variety of contents which you can select, including lobster! The patties are quickly fried up in a pan of very hot oil so they take a while to cool down enough to eat. Each patty is enough for anyone desiring a light lunch. Two of these big patties will probably fill up the biggest eater.

And Boy Oh Boy, are they great! Once you've had one of these, you'll come back again and again for more, that's for sure. In fact, this will probably become the first and last place you'll eat at on all of your trips to Negril.

Mr. Niah is a very interesting fellow. Many times he's not in a very good mood. He just seems to be one of those sour kind of people that we occasionally encounter in life. He is a hard line Rastafarian and he is very devoted to his beliefs. So do not take any pictures of him because he will insist that you destroy them since they go against his beliefs. When I met him he told me to not write anything about him on the internet because he wants to maintain a simple kind of life and he doesn't need a lot of publicity.

Normally, I would honor such a request because I too am a private person and I respect this desire on his part. But his patties are so darned great that I just had to tell you all about them so that when you go to Negril you will try them too. But please don't mention that I wrote this post about him because I saw him going off on one of his neighbors for about a half an hour and I wouldn't want him to do that to me, that's for sure!

Trip Report January 2010

2010-04-12T16:00:00.036-05:00

Well, my wife, my e-partner Alex and I have been back from Negril for a little over 2 months now but this is the first time that I've been free enough to write something up about our trip. As usual we had a great time while we were there and we compiled a lot more photo and video data on the town than we had before, which we will be posting here and on our Vidia in due time. Since then, we've been just too busy at work and on other projects to write about what we did there until now.

However during these 2 1/2 months since our last post we have managed to compile, annotate and put to music - 9 videos of the entire 3.5 miles of beach and both sides of Norman Manley Blvd. from downtown out to the all-inclusive resorts area. We chose this area to so document because it is the most tourist active area of Negril's 7 mile beach. Here the tourists roam in and out at will because the beach and the road entrances to the resorts and restaurants are all open to the public and welcoming of their foot traffic. We have now finished annotating 2 of the road videos on the beach side.

Next we will finish annotating the other 7 videos with the names of resorts, restaurants, shops and bars each of them comes into view. If you click on the above video it will take you to it on You Tube where you can view it full screen and where you can also find the other 8 videos. These videos are meant to be informative to newbies but we find that they also create some fine, nostalgic reminiscences for us oldbies.

We had very good, balmy weather while we were in Negril with a mostly calm beach but it did churn up pretty well a couple of days.We noticed that when the beach is calm the water temperature is at least 5 degrees warmer than when it churns up. This is probably because the sun is heating its shallow water when it's calm but when it's roiling, water from farther out in the ocean is driven in and cools off the warmer shallow shore water.

We stayed at Mom's Place which is an economy resort with a bar and restaurant right on the beach about a mile from downtown. It only has a beach sign announcing its presence. It doesn't have a road sign at all and it's located way at the end of a long, (dark at night) public alley that the town maintains.This alley access road runs from Norman Manley Blvd. to the beach, so at first finding Mom's Place was not only difficult but also a bit unnerving. This was especially true because a few of Negril's scammers and ganja peddlers frequent it on their way to and from their patrol of the beach (looking for marks and / or customers).

But, as you can see, I come well prepared to do battle with them in their own language! You can buy a cap like this from the VIDIA

Mom's Place has their own big security guy who you can also see is quite adequate to keep these rude boys from coming onto its grounds.So it turned out to be a place that was quite safe and that I would recommend to anyone.

Everyone in Negril knows that the tourists are kings and queens there because of the town's total dependence upon them for their livelihood, so there is a well kept truce amongst all of the town's players, good and not so good.The beach resorts are therefore free of the kind of problems that occur in other less secure tourist and vacation areas.

Mom's Place's rooms were clean and nice and about as good as you can get for an economy resort of $80 a night double occupancy on the beach during the season. Their restaurant's food was also good and people wandered in from up and down the beach for breakfast, lunch and dinner which speaks well of it. it took 2 of us to kill this huge, bad-boy red snapper we got there and boy was it good!All in all we enjoyed it immensely. Especially Al who loves to swim a couple of times a day because the water was within 100' of our room!

Mom's Place is also well within walking distance of the various beach nightlife reggae entertainment centers like Bourbon Beach, Alfred's Ocean Palace, Roots Bamboo and Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. On the road right outside, it's an easy walk to Selina's Coffee Shoppe & Eatery, the Best in the West Jerk Center or Fatty's Restaurant (yes it's true, Fatty is a lady who likes to be called Fatty! We know because she told us to do so.).These are 3 good authentic local places to eat. We've been to Negril many times so we always wander around and try new places to eat and these 3 were all good and reasonably priced.

One new place we found there within walking distance of Mom's Place that's very interesting is Internet and More / Doreen's Place. It used to be called Cafe Taino but now Doreen (a very nice Jamaican lady who cooks really good authentic Jamaican food) owns and runs it. Her cooking is great so be sure to try it! There's also a couple of small grocery stores nearby where you can purchase beer, wine, soda pop and snacks which is one way to save money when you're in Negril and at the same time help the locals earn a living.

Well, that's all for now. More to come soon.

Onestop Vacations Travel Service's March Newsletter

2010-03-05T15:31:00.005-06:00

This posting is an excerpt taken from Onestop Vacations' March newsletter. Onestop Vacations is a great travel service for Negril. The folks who operate this business live in Canada but they maintain a residence in Negril and travel there often so they are intimately acquainted with a lot of the things that are going on in Negril.

They represent and book for over 50 of Negril's best boutique resorts so they are a great source of information for vacationers who wish to go there. If you book a stay at a resort with them or directly with the resort, the price is the same to you, so you should book with them and take advantage of their great knowledge of Negril and their many customer perks.

With their permission I will be posting excerpts from their monthly newsletter every month here because it contains some great information and insight into Negril. Here is excerpted information from their March 2010 newsletter.

Well, Its 30 degrees and sunny in Jamaica! That's high 80's in Fahrenheit! You could be there!

Still some availability at many resorts during March. It looks like there aren't as many college kids spending spring break in Jamaica this year so if you are overdue for your Jamaica fix, just give us a call. Or give us a call anyways if you need to know anything at all about Negril.

If you don't recall getting a Feb. newsletter you are correct....I took way too many new photos (over 1000) during our Nov. stay ( how can I resist ...the island is so beautiful) and have been working on getting them onto our websites. We should have the majority of the new photos on them by the time you get this newletter.

Our web sites feature up to date photos and videos that we take ourselves and we've stayed at the majority of our resorts. Please feel free to ask us any questions you may have as we're happy to share our local knowledge.

Here's Some Resort News -

The Caves -Treat yourselves to an idyllic and intimate all Inclusive vacation on Negril's fabulous cliffs!

Voted: #1 Best All Inclusive In The World 2009 - Trip Advisor
Voted #1 Best For Romance Caribbean 2009 - Trip Advisor
Voted #2 Best Luxury Resort - Caribbean 2009 - Trip Advisor

The Caves is a world apart. Ten handcrafted wood and stone thatch-roofed cottages are interwoven between two acres of lush vegetation and sea caves. It's an idyllic place to spend your vacation and it has all of the amenities you could desire.

Merrils - If you are looking for a comfortable, casual, semi all-inclusive holiday...you can't go wrong at any of the 3 Merrils Resorts on Negril's world renowned 7 mile beach. Meals and all local drinks (10 am to 10 pm) are included. Always a great rate for a great location right in the heart of Negril's beach action. Well ithin walking distance of most of the beach's reggae music nightlife.

The Oasis Resort - Formerly known as Thrills Resort, this is a lovely garden oasis in the west end cliffs area of Negril. Recently renovated and renamed, this relaxing resort is close to the action and reasonably priced. Look for it on our web site under cliff resorts.

Banana Shout - Your host Milo invites you for a very private, very memorable, get back to nature, Jamaican vacation. Only 4 stand alone cottages with cliff side sea views comprise this property. The cottages, painted in bright tropical colours, each have their own private veranda and are equipped with kitchenettes. Great snorkeling off the cliffs and a cave to explore. March Special: Cottages from $100. to $150. per couple per night ( $50. off per night).

A number of our customers have sent off a request to the Meet The People Program from our sites. Its a great way to really have some one-on-one time with local Jamaicans. You can request to be matched up by interest or hobby that you might wish. We would love to hear your feedback on how it went.

This is a response from Connie when I asked for feedback for the new restaurant "Lingah By the Sea" at Negril Beach Club Condos/ Mariners. Thanks a bunch Connie!

Hi Susan,

I saw your comment about the new restaurant at Negril Beach Condos/Mariners and wanted to let you know that we stayed there over Thanksgiving for 12 days. We were a party of seven adults and we all loved the new restaurant called "Lingah by the Sea".

The buffets were spectacular! And most of the time $20.00 or less...what a deal. Usually we like to bounce around and try different eateries but we were hard pressed to miss out on the meals they served. The Chef was always friendly and wanted to know what we thought of all the dishes. His name was Orlando. He is Jamaican but trained in the US. The presentation of his dishes made you feel like you were dining at a 5 star restaurant! They were beautiful! You could tell he took great pride in his cooking. And the serving sizes were more than enough, even for the guys.

Saturday was Jamaican night and Orlando spent his time cooking outside on the grill. Breakfasts and lunches were also fantastic and again the portions were large enough for the biggest eater!

As you can tell I can not say enough good things about this restaurant. We have stayed at Negril Beach Club for over 10 years now and have seen many changes in their restaurant. Hopefully this one will stay around. Service was also wonderful.

Hope this helps!

Connie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't hesitate to call us here at Onestop Vacations for more information about Negril Jamaica - the Capitol of Casual: We are happy to help you out anytime!

Toll Free 877-651-7867

Susan, Bob, Bart & Derek
Onestop Vacations

Sorry we haven't posted in almost 2 months!

2010-02-19T17:26:00.004-06:00

We went to Jamaica for 5 weeks and took many photos and videos to add here and to our Vidia. Now that we're back we're currently involved in creating annotated videos of a walk on the entire 3.5 very active miles of the 7 mile beach and on its road too. This task is very time consuming and will take us another month or so.

These videos are for experienced tourists who've been here to reminisce about their walks around this area. They'll be great for nostalgic viewing to try to perk people who've been here up in the dead of winter. They can also be used by newbies to get the lay of this land so to speak. They show Negril's most active beach area just exactly as it really is.

Please come back and see them here in March 2010 when we will begin to post again and as they get done, put them up here.

Thanks for your patience.

Jim and Alex

Negril Scammer's Trick

2009-12-24T10:31:00.005-06:00

Courtesy of Markospoon from negril.com's message board

There is always one fellow, after years and years he never gives up. First time I met him it was, maybe 5 years ago. He has a certain spot staked out on the road.

He called over to me, waved and said "Hey mon, check this out.'

I either yell back for him to come to come to me or yelled back no thanks.Unless somebody has a stand or stall, I don't go to where they are. They better use the legs that God gave them and come to me, especially if I'm walking on a mission.

So, he scampered over with a quick step.
"Check this out mon!"
"Holy moley, what's this?"
"It pineapple hashis mon."
"Pineapple what? (act like i never heard of such)"
"Hash mon, its hash."

"No thanks, I do not want to buy any hash.
I do not want it Sam I am.
I dont want it here or there, I don't want it anywhere.
I dont want it in a house
i don't want it with a mouse."

So, I tried to give it back to him.

Then he says, "It's for you."

"For me, hmmm. Well thanks, I'll see you later then."
"Mon, thats 200 J mon."
"Man, take this stuff back, I don't want it Sam I am."

He is always spotting me, everytime I stroll down the road.

Moral of the story:
Dont even let somebody put something in your hand. They will act as if you wanted to buy it.

Here's a similar scam the author of this blog encountered. The scammer introduced himself and chit chatted nicely for a moment. Then he gave me a pack of cheap gum saying that he was celebrating his birthday. So I took it and then he said, "Have you got a present for me for my birthday? I gave you one so you should give me one too."

Since I had accepted the gum he had me! So, $300 J later I escaped and learned the same lesson. Never accept anything being supposedly given to you!

Onestop Vacations Travel Service's Trip Report for October 2009

2009-11-25T18:56:00.026-06:00

Trip Report

"Irie"... that sums up our Oct. 22- Nov. 6 trip to Jamaica! This trip we spent most of our time in Negril with a 3 day/2 night visit to Treasure Beach and had a chance to stay at 5 of our resorts (all beach resorts this time) .

We started out by renting a car from Island Car rental at the airport in Mo Bay, as we're on the go from morning to late afternoon visiting as many resorts as we can fit in (o.k....we made time for a "likkle" swimming and cold Red Stripe). No problem driving on the left but remembering that the turn signals and windsheild wipers are reversed can prove interesting! As usual, we got lucky and had sunny weather (with a few afternoon showers that cleared by evening).

Sunset At The Palms with their unique, romantic tree top accommodations, great food and service was our first 3 night stop.Next we moved down the beach to Beachcomber Club. Pretty beachfront and "the most spacious 1 bedroom suite in Negril". I love the large veranda and the washer and dryer came in handy.

Then we headed off to Treasure Beach to revisit our resorts and stayed just outside at the Button Bay Beach Getaway. This private, unassuming getaway will soon be offered on our TB web site. A great steak dinner at Sunset Resort and a fun night with the local band in town ( the singer was a no show so Bob did the whole show for him) was a highlight.

Back to Negril and our stay at Sea Wind. This popular resort offers great value and good food (they even have a pastry chef!). The costumed hallowen dinner/spooky evening was a blast. If you are in Negril next year don't miss it. Photos up soon.

And our last stop (but not least) was 3 glorious nights at Charela Inn. The lower sea view rooms (now with walk out to your deck) are wonderful and their deep beach front with lots of palm trees can't be beat. Their 5 course dinner was a fine dining experience. We visit at least twice each year, yet every visit we are again in awe of how magnificent Negril's beach is.

A Special Experience

Jackie's On The Reef is a holistic spa & retreat and one of the original properties on the cliff side of Negril. We enjoyed an exceptional afternoon here in early Nov. The deep tissue massage we received with the waves as a backdrop to their soothing music melted away tense muscles and frenetic minds. We then enjoyed a fresh and delicious lunch.

Stay for a week or come for the day. Various treatments are offered by experienced and knowlegeable therapists. Jackies is a highly recommended Preferred Onestop Vendor.

Driving Services

Airport Transfers &Tours The "Malcolm brothers" are happy to offer private, safe and smooth transfer to your hotel. Check out the new tours on our site. The guys will customize any outing to suit you. They now have a new 14 seater bus!

*You can now book your airport transfers and tours with them directly from our site.*

Other Resort News

Catcha Falling Star has finished their long awaited pool and it was worth the wait! Another delightful addition to this property. Catcha has also taken over the land side cliff resort formerly known as LTU. New bathrooms, all rooms with TV and micro wave, new landscaping etc.Right now we have a special of 15% off rooms.

Bar-B-Barn in Negril is offering awinter special and Onestop clients receive an extra special rate of $110. per couple per night which includes full breakfast and dinner with a complimentary drink.

Charela Inn is a charming 49 room Inn centrally located on a palm lined stretch of Negril's 7 mile beach.Spacious accommodations are offered as room only, optional meals included or all inclusive. Evening dining options include a 5 course prix fixe dinner that changes nightly and features fresh ingredients from their farm. Gracious (but never stuffy) service and ambiance ensure a relaxing holiday.

Noteworthy meals, places and things to do in Negril.

We really enjoyed our meal at "Pushcart", the new restaurant at the Rockhouse Hotel in Negril's cliffs on the West End. Great Jamaican food at very reasonable prices overlooking the sea.

If you want to finish off a great meal with a great desert...try Sheretas Restaurant at Sea Wind Resort. We had shrimp pasta with tons of huge shrimp then couldn't resist delicious bread pudding and keylime pie for desert!

Angela's Restaurant at Bar-B-Barn has ( among other things) great thin crust pizza....our dining companion said it was the best he's had.

Dancing on the sand at Alfred's Ocean Palace >or any of the Negril beach clubs is always fun. Negril is "the place for the best live reggae"...combine that with a lively mix of tourists and locals to make some fine holiday memories.

Ready to be more adventurous?...try a snorkeling trip, or book a tour to a waterfall, Jamaican bobsled ride, swim with the dolphins or see how rum is made.

Read the first article on this blog about Onestop Vacations.

Toll Free 877-651-7867

Onestop Vacations showcases smaller independent properties in Negril, Jamaica.

Don't hesitate to call us for more information. After all, as a travel service we will be more than happy to help! We take our own photos and we try and stay at every resort we offer allowing us to give you, the traveller, first hand, unbiased feedback.

We are a family run business, serving over 15,000 clients since 1998.

Susan, Bob, Bart & Derek

A Couple of Petty Criminals can Ruin a Vacation in Negril

2009-11-12T16:22:00.012-06:00

Today I was reading some other blogs about Negril and I found an article wherein some driver in Negril named Niyah who claims to be a travel guide was accused of stealing a lady's jewelry from her purse while she briefly left his car. Underneath that post was another where another lady said that she had also used a man named Niyah as a travel guide and her husband's camera was missing from their bag when they came back with him from Dunn's River Falls!

These are unfortunate incidents that can occur with one bad apple in Jamaica. They put a dark cloud over all of the great people and wonderful things that are there to enjoy. This is especially lousy if the Jamaican police (she didn't say if they were Negril Police or not) are uninterested in doing anything about it as one of the ladies claimed was the case with her.

These incidents reminded me of 2 friends of mine who now refuse to set foot in Jamaica again (after many trips there in the past) because their room was vandalized and things were stolen while they were away from it and partying on their last trip. These kinds of crimes are petty in the overall scheme of things and they are very rare. But they are really, really bad for tourism because they violate the tourist's sense of the innate safety and security of the accommodations there and the trustworthiness of the drivers upon whom they must depend to get back and forth to the airport.

I hate to even mention these incidents here for fear of scaring away some of you who are looking for information about taking a vacation in Negril. However, I do it to be completely honest with you about your safety in Negril. But at the same time I want to mention that after having taken many trips to Negril and other places in Jamaica myself, I know that a little extra cautiousness on any tourist's part can prevent these kinds of things from ever happening to them.

We have had great times in Negril and elsewhere on the island and we've never had any incidents of vandalism in all of our trips there because we are cautious. But we are cautious at home in Chicago too and my wife and I both feel that Negril is a whole lot safer than many areas here. We live in a very decent, well lit neighborhood on Chicago's far north-side and yet our 20 year old grandson was robbed by 2 punks early one evening when he was entering our condominium's secure entrance gate! So to us this incident proves that no place anywhere is totally safe and so we are very careful whenever we travel.

Tourists need to understand that Jamaica is in many areas a third world country and although the people there are so very wonderful and so extremely friendly, they are mostly poor and there are very few opportunities for them to advance themselves. So a few of them will turn to scamming and petty crime to try to make what they think is some easy money for themselves.

What they don't always consider when they do this is that if or when they get caught violating a law, the Jamaican legal system can put them away for an awful long period of time in a miserable third world jail! Therefore, very few of those who realize these consequences actually turn bad this way. Still, in both of these cases some did and bad things from them happened to each of these tourists.

Now because of these 3 petty crimes alone, 6 tourists who have each spent many, many thousands of tourist dollars vacationing over the years in Jamaica are never going to do it again! And they're also going to tell all of their friends and relatives about what happened to them when they were there so they might not go to Jamaica either! What a pity! In these tough times when every tourist dollar counts, at least 6 (and probably a few more) of those who can afford it will no longer vacation there because of a couple of bad apples and their petty criminal activities!

I just want to finish this post by reassuring everyone that Negril is really a very, very safe place. It has an adequate police force and an on foot tourist protection force and nearly every resort has some level of security to protect its own patrons. Because of these measures, unfortunate incidents such as these are really a rarity and should only be viewed as a caution, not in any way as a deal breaker for a vacation there.

The following are some links to further information about these and related issues which are present already within our Negril Jamaica Tourist Vidia and within this blog.

http://negril-jamaica-videos.com/logistics.html

http://negril-jamaica-videos.com/town-of-negril/Safety-in-negril

http://negril-jamaica-videos.com/town-of-negril/Safety-in-negril/crime-in-negril.html

http://negril-visual-info.blogspot.com/2009/08/following-is-plug-for-my-friends-at.html

http://negril-visual-info.blogspot.com/2009/06/rockys.html

Land Activities Available to Tourists within the Negril Area

2009-11-06T18:20:00.003-06:00

There is a large variety of land activities in which tourists may engage while on vacation in Negril. Of course for the rugged and energetic there is hiking and camping as well as bicycling and horseback riding.

These activities can be especially delightful for Negril's tourists because of the nice friendly Jamaican people you'll meet, its beautiful tropical setting and its awesome views of the ocean and the Great Morass. For the adventurous tourists who do not want to exert much human power to get around, Motor scooters, motor cycles and 4 wheel land cruisers are the call.

For the sports minded there are basketball and tennis courts in a few places and volley ball courts abound all up and down the 7 mile beach. There is one nice golf course on the outskirts of town and a couple more within an hour or so drive. Cricket, Soccer and Rugby fields are also available in a few places in town.

For shoppers, shopping excursions in themselves can become all day, exhausting land activities! This is because there are 200 + shops of great variety scattered all around town and within Negril's 7 Shopping Plazas and 3 Craft Markets.

A couple of the large all-inclusive resorts provide their own sports centers for their guests and there is also a yoga center / spa , a gym and a library in Negril.

During the high season of December until June when the weather is warm and balmy and there is only sporadic rain, it's a great time for tourists to engage in any or all all of these land activities. But in the off season, Negril can be boiling hot and / or there can be torrential rains or even an occasional hurricane so only the most hardy will engage in them then.

Water Activities Available within the Negril Jamaica Resort Areas

2009-11-02T18:35:00.006-06:00

Because of Negril's 14 miles of clear, warm, aquamarine ocean waters all along its 7 mile beach (shown above) and its additional 7 miles of cliffs (not shown but to the right of this beach scene), it is an ideal place for tourists to engage in all kinds of water activities.

On our Negril Jamaica Tourist Vidia - our visual encyclopedia - directory of all of Negril's enterprises, attractions and activities we have created research sections of vendors for all of Negril's water activities such as....

Jet skiing on Negril's 2 bays
Sail boating on Negril's 2 bays
Wind surfing on Negril's 2 bays
Water skiing on Negril's 2 bays
Para-sailing on Negril's 2 bays
Personal water-crafting on Negril's 2 bays
Kayaking on Negril's 2 bays and in the Negril River
Scuba diving in Negril's close by ocean
Snorkeling in Negril's close by ocean
Swimming in Negril's 2 bays and its resort pools
Cliff diving off of Negril's 40' cliffs
Power boating on Negril's close by ocean
Glass bottom boating on Negril's 2 bays
River fishing in the Negril River
Charter ocean fishing in Negril's close by ocean
Charter boating on Negril's nearby ocean
Ocean horseback riding
Nude or Topless Bathing in restricted areas
Nude cruises on Negril's 2 bays
Booze cruises on Negril's 2 bays
Romantic sunset cruises on Negril's 2 bays
Snorkeling / Scuba diving cruises
Small island fishing excursions with shore lunches
Kool Runnings Water Park for children

None of the above linked sections in our Vidia are yet as thorough and complete as we want them to be but the information we have so far compiled in them will help Negril's tourists to get started in their research on where to obtain water activity services. We will be improving all of these sections within the next year (by the end of 2010).

Services and places for tourists to go to in Negril to elicit these activities start with the major all-inclusive resorts that provide their own water services to their guests (mostly at no extra charge). But for those tourists who plan to stay in smaller beach or cliff boutique resorts, vendors for these kinds of water activity services at very reasonable rates may be found right there on some of their premises or nearby to them.

Check with your resort on the availability of these services before booking up your stay with them because this could affect your decision as to whether or not you do stay with them. But if you fail to do this in advance, just ask your airport transfer driver or ask at the desk of your resort when you get there for their on-site or nearby water activity service providers.

Music of the Night

2009-10-28T16:18:00.012-05:00

This is another interesting article that Markospoon posted on negril.com a while back. He sure has a comfortable and comforting writing style doesn't he?

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Anybody in Negril ever go out in the morning, eat, swim, take a ride, drink some cocktails, go back to your room and take a nap?

I did.

I didn't wake up until about 7 PM.

Man, I missed the whole day!

I jumped into the shower and threw on my glad rags. I opened the door and it was almost dark out.

It's a whole different world at night. The frogs were awake and calling each other (no cell phone needed).

Leaving my hotel, there were all kinds of people walking up and down the road, in the early evening. Cool cars out cruising around, showing off.

When I got to the beach, I could look down the shore and see all kinds of different size and colored lights twinkling away.

When the sun is going down, the shade of orange is so magnificent. The reflection on the water, with that bluish/greenish/orange color is mezmerizing.

It just seems like everything fits, like it's supposed to be.

The smell of dinners being cooked, the music from places that may have been closed or deserted during the day, but are open for the evening crowd.

There is a certaln vibe, electricity in the air at night. It's almost magnetic, in the way it draws out your imagination.

I picked a bar, ordered a cold one and just chilled. Even if nothing is going on, just being outdoors, at night is so cool.

All of the sudden, you are a secret agent, on a mission to find the coolest crowd, coldest beer, prettiest ladies and best tasting food.

Good thing about the beach, you can just walk and walk and walk. No car traffic.

Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation! Darkness stirs and wakes imagination, Silently the senses, abandon their defenses! The Music of the night!

Ted's Hand Woven Jamaican Grass Mats

2009-10-24T12:59:00.004-05:00

This is an article from Jamaica My Way - a blog wherein you will find out about how to get around for less, stay for less, see more, meet Jamaican people, experience Jamaican culture, and eat the best food.

Jamaican Craft

About 5 years ago I cyber-met a really cool American lady, Alice, on a Jamaican chat forum. Over the years we got to know each other really well by conversing online and by phone, and she eventually retired to Jamaica. My mission was to meet her on my very next trip and so it happened.

Alice, me and Ted at their home in Negril

I have now met and stayed with Alice and her boyfriend Ted on two separate occasions, once at their house in Montego Bay and once at their new house in Negril. I love Alice like a second mother and even though he’s quiet and shy, I’ve grown fond of Ted too. This is why I’ve decided to feature Ted’s beautiful craft of grass mats. I’ve watched him tediously weaving and braiding grass and seen the final and beautiful finished product.

A finished product

Drying grass before starting a mat

Pile of grass ready to start braiding

Alice and Ted have them all throughout their houses, at the front doors, as bath mats, out on the veranda, etc. Such a nice addition to any room really.

Ted has a regular spot at the Negril craft market where he sells his mats and will also take custom orders. Some of our forum friends who have met Alice and Ted, have taken home a mat or two. I have yet to take one home because I still think I’m just moving to Jamaica and will have them all over my house there LOL.

Ted braiding grass for a mat

If you’re ever in Negril and would like to see Ted’s creations, you can head to the Negril craft market. His spot is kind of tucked away and hard to find but if you ask the other vendors for the Rasta Ted with the grass mats they’ll be sure to take you there.

***Partial photo credits to Lula Carter of www.reliabletoursofjamaica.com***

Reggae Music Everywhere in Negril

2009-10-20T15:55:00.006-05:00

This article was written by Markospoon, a regular poster on negril.com message board who IMHO has very good writing talent. He is another one there whom I would encourage to start his own blog on Negril because of his great love for the place.

Reggae music everywhere, I went Reggae music. I have always heard reggae growing up, but never got into it. In Negril, it is of course everywhere.

It took me a while to understand Reggae. It is a powerful, soul inspired sound. Being in Negril or on the Island, is what I needed to understand it.

Sure, it has a good beat, rythym and soul stirring sounds. Those are 3 pluses, but my fav was Jazz. Coltrane, Miles and Bird (aka Charlie Parker)

It was maybe my 3rd solo trip, that I got into it, understood it, felt it. I met a gentleman and started to "hang" at his place. I would wake up, eat a biiiig breakfast, buy a bottle of OJ, then head down to his spot. Sitting, talking to him, hours and hours, day after day. That was 9 years ago.

The way he lived, how he was raised, the trials and tribulations that occurred during his life and the life of his ancestors. How he relates to his environment, the surrounding forest and hills, the veggies and fruit, the birds and butterflies. How they prepare and cook their food. The aromas and the sea air. The way it rains and the sun and the sunsets. The older people and the little kids, how they talk, how they walk far, and run fast. The weddings and funerals, its all connected.

All of this is in Reggae music. At dusk, when the sun is going down, sometimes all my reflections come together and I get it. Now, I gotta have it, here at home, or there on the Island.

On my cable TV provider, (Comcast) there are music channels, all kinds of music.
What I do at home in Chi-town is turn on the Reggae station, loud, jump in the shower and take a nice loooong one. When I finish and open the bathroom door, the music hits me!

For a moment i am in Negril, and all is well with the world.

I still love jazz and R&B music, but now I can add Reggae to my list of soul stirring sounds!

The Patty Man on the Beach

2009-10-18T17:34:00.006-05:00

"BEEF-VEGETABLE-CHICKEN-COCO BREAD"

(please credit this entire account and the photos of this fine man to Rambo and his wife CoComando (Ray and Jules Edwin) who are frequent visitors to Negril)

"PATTY MAN" is what he is normally called.....His real name is Neville Stewart, a man small in stature, but not in dreams or work ethic's.

He is a widower of six years from this writing (2009), and a father of 6 children. He lives in Grange Hall and leaves his bike near the beach area that he works each day, rarely taking a day off. He brings the "Patty Box" with him each day, loading it up in the morning with fresh pattys and returning at night filled with supplies for the next days sales.

His bike is safe-stored at the end of the beach, near where he starts and finshes each day. He has been pushing his bike through the beach sand for over 16 years now, and is in the process of fixing up a "scooter" to help him to get to work and home to cut down on his expenses so that he wont have to raise his prices........(smart man!).

His day usually starts about 5AM with the cooking and preparing of his days worth of patty's. A patty is a pastry shell filled with BEEF-VEGTABLE-CHICKEN-COCO BREAD, and then deep fried to a golden brown (like a brown taco) only soft and warm with a very light and flaky crust.

The patties filling varies with the choices, as does the prices...with the CoCo Bread being the cheapest. Normally we are talking about 1 US buck to a buck and a half a piece.......BIG Discounts for volume..LOL!

All the fillings are GREAT, with all being able to put that "certain" Jamaican "hot-ness" on the end of your tongue, which is washed away nicely with a Red Stripe or a Heinekins.

I made him a shirt with his photo on it and we gave it to him on our last visit so if you see a guy on the beach with a bicycle wearing a shirt with him on it - you have just run into the Pattyman!

As all Jamaicans do more than one job and so does the Patty Man. He will also will cook you a fine Jamaican Meal at your place or elsewhere, and deliver it to you.

We asked him for BIG LOBSTERS,,,and Mon did he deliver! We were taking a dip in the pool when he arrived at about 4 in the afternoon one day with a bag, in it were 3 of the BIGGEST JAMAICAN LOBSTERS we had ever seen. They were maybe 2 to 3 lbs of tail meat each!

A good sales day for Neville is 70 patties (when Spring Break is in session) going down to an average of only 35-45 per day during these slow times. He very rarely brings any back home with him, giving the last away or trading them for rides.

When he gets back home he does his "chores" and gets ready for the next day. When he's done he'll say his nightly prayers, and finally close his eyes...it will be around 11 PM!

So when you see the Pattyman, pushing his bike full of patties along on the sand in the blazing heat why don't you get up and go over and buy him out....and help him get that "scooter" on Di Road!

And as you watch him walk off, you can feel proud and honored that you have just met a real "Jamaican Legend".

By the way, this is the second article from Rambo (The Fruit Lady was the first)and we are encouraging Rambo and his wife to start a blog of their own so a few encouraging comments below from you readers here might help to convince them to do so.

The Fruit Lady in Negril.

2009-10-12T15:43:00.006-05:00

"ANYBODY WANT FRUUUUUUUUITS"?

This is one of Jamaica's unsung heroes that tourists should know about. Please credit this entire account and its photos of this fine woman to Rambo and his wife CoComando (Ray and Jules Edwin) who are frequent visitors to Negril and who often post on negril.com's message board.

The fruit lady's name is Mrs. Gem Gidden and she truly is a gem! She lives in St Elizabeth so she travels by route taxi about 3 hrs to work and 3 hrs home every day. She wakes around 5AM and by 6AM she has bought her days supply of fresh picked fruits at the farmers market and is on her way to the Beach.

She arrives about 10AM and walks the beach from Roots Bamboo to Coral Seas (shown in map below) repeatedly until her day ends around 6PM and she gets back home by 8:30-9:00PM.

She and her husband of 32 years have raised 14 children. At 55 years old, she is the sole provider for her family and she does so by selling fresh fruits which she carries in her basket and her 2 hand bags...the basket weighs about 25-30 lbs, which she carries and balances on her HEAD! Her BAGS will weigh about the SAME each!

She does all of this while walking in thick beach sand under a blazing sun only stopping to rest now and then. So when you see her please lighten her load and buy a few things from her because she has many steps to walk selling her fruits before she can rest.

Mrs. Gidden has traveled extensively for the Jamaican Tourist Board in Jamaica and elsewhere. She has a "BEAUTIFUL SINGING VOICE" and is called upon professionally for weddings and events.

So the next time your sleepin on the beach, and you awake to hear this strange sound...."Anybody Di Fruuuuits"????????", get up and walk over to her and help her out by buying a few of things and please TIP HER WELL!

You might even get treated to a little song? She has an amazing voice!

By the way, we are encouraging Rambo and his wife to start a blog of their own and a few encouraging comments below might help to convince them to do so.

Negril's World Renowned 7 Mile Beach

2009-10-04T10:26:00.054-05:00

The 7 - mile beach in Negril is one of the best beaches in the world according to many, many travel critics. It is actually 2 strips of beach but it is considered as one continuous beach by Negrilians. It is about 4 miles long along Negril's Long bay and then another 3 miles long along Bloody Bay. This is nicely shown in the wonderful adjustable Wikimapia map below.

The northernmost 4 miles of this 7 mile beach area are where the newer, larger, all inclusive resorts are located as well as most of Negril's nude beaches (which are restricted areas on the property of the couples only type of resorts).

The southern 3 miles of beach contains about 60 colorful and uniquely styled boutique beach resorts of all sizes, most of which are Jamaican owned and operated.

Here may also be found some of Negril's dance clubs, entertainment centers and quite a few beach bars and beach restaurants most of which continuously play great Jamaican reggae music.

On this beach there are also many small shops of various kinds and an arts and crafts market with about 50 stalls of locally produced goods which is situated just outside of Negril's downtown area.

Here may also be found for-hire glass bottom boats from which to fish or snorkel or just observe the bay's interesting underwater features and creatures.

Para sailing services are very popular and may be contracted here. Para sails givs you a birds-eye view of the beach and its bays.

Jetskiing, waterskiing and catamaran services may also be found here.

photo courtesy of Wild Thing Catamarans

Booze cruises and sunset cruises on the big catamarans that are for-hire here are very popular pastimes for tourists because of their tremendously romantic and / or relaxing effect.

This lower 3 mile section of the beach is where tourists who are familiar with Negril love to walk and browse around much of the day.

At night it's also the area where most of Negril's beach action occurs so the tourists gravitate to its clubs, bars, restaurants and entertainment centers for party time activities.

Their parties begin at about 8 pm and last up until about 2 am when almost everything in Negril totally shuts down. Just a few places like Mi Yard stay open all night for partying.

Some of you might wonder why most clubs and entertainment centers shut down so soon but if you think about it a minute you'll realize that they are open every night, so much later activities will conflict with their tourist's next day's beckoning call back to the beach. After all, spend a day in the sun and surf and then all night partying and it won't be but a day or two before you'll have had enough and need your rest.

One of the reasons that this 7 - mile continuous stretch of beach in Negril is so famous is that for about 100 yards out into its 2 bays it has very clear, shallow water. Additionally it has cool, white sand all along the beach itself even on the hottest days. Also, its warm, shallow waters are usually quite calm so it's a very safe place for children of all ages to play.

Every resort along this beach sets out beach chairs and lounges for their patrons but they also welcome beach walkers to use them. Beach walkers are also welcome to stroll into any of the beach's shops, bars, restaurants or clubs as well any of the the beach's resorts grounds. Encouraging walk-ins is all a form of advertising in which the owners of Negril's enterprises engage. This is another reason why Negril is called the Capital of Casual.

One visit to Negril's ultra friendly 7 mile beach will capture you for the rest of your life! It is highly addictive because of its great Jamaican vibe. Yes, there are beach scammers and aggressive gigolos to pester the tourists but they're just trying to make a living and they do add to the beach's ambiance, even though no one really looks forward to encountering them.

Negril's beach resorts are wonderful places to spend your winter vacations or your springbreak or to propose to your fiance or have him (or her) propose to you! It's also a great place for wedding ceremonies or to renew a couple's wedding vows.

Isn't this a couple's to die for wedding photo?

Photo courtesy of FG Photos & Videos

Here couples can also honeymoon or celebrate their anniversary in a gorgeous, lush, tropical setting.

Words nor photos nor even videos can ever adequately describe the wonderful experience of staying at a resort on Negril's fabulous 7 - mile beach! Whatever reasons might prod you initially to go there, you will find your visit to definitely be a life changing experience for you just as it was for me! Do you want proof? Take a look at me now!

Now that I'm completely Jamaicanized I'm ready to put the reggae into the reggae, mon!!!

Economizing While Visiting Negril

2009-09-30T16:10:00.009-05:00

This is a subject that nearly everyone who wants to visit Negril is interested in now that the world is in such tough times. Economies can be obtained in each of the various aspects of a tourist's visit here so below I identify a few of them for each of them. It is often suggested to sleep cheap and dine fine when traveling and that can be applied to a stay in Negril also. But there are other ways of skinning this cat, so please bear with me.

Seasonality

The most expensive time for visiting Jamaica is during their winter season from December until May (when it is not the hurricane season or very rainy but warm and balmy). Because this is when the island has its best weather, this is when tourists from all over the northern hemisphere flock here in big numbers. This is also when all prices for everything everywhere are higher because this is when Negril's enterprises have to make their money to carry them over to the next season.

So to most economize on a trip to Negril come during the off season. But be prepared for some wicked heat, lots of rain and an occassional hurricane which if intense, can badly ravage the island and upset your vacation.

But if you want to come to Negril on season when its weather's to die for and Negril is full of action then to economize try to book everything well in advance and inland of the beach or the cliffs so that you get the lowest prices possible.

Airfares

Off season non-stop round-trip airfare with Air Jamaica (as of 2009) from Chicago or New York to Montego Bay by advance reservation can be on special for as low as $99 USD each way + taxes! But usually these round-trip airfares total out to be in the $400 to $500 USD range.

On season can be as low as $450 USD round trip from Chicago or New York to Montego Bay if booked in February or March for December thru May. Any later bookings and the airfares increase gradually up to abut $900 - $1,000 USD round trip non-stop airfares in November - December!

Air fares for flights with layovers or transfers in an airport on the way like Miami can be a little bit cheaper but they add at least a half day each way to a trip.

Airport Transfers

There are 2 unionized airport transfer bus services servicing Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and all of the resorts in Negril. They are JUTA and JCLA and they are the cheapest form of transportation for visitors and locals. Both of these companies offer similar low rates for their bus trips back and forth to and from these places. As of this writing their prices were in the $30 to $40 USD range per pasenger for each trip plus tip. You can book yourself onto one of their buses when you land at Sangster International Airport as long as you arrive not too late (in which case you'll have to take a more expensive charter taxi).

Hotels, Resorts, Villas and Rooms

As a rule of thumb, staying in places that are off of the beach itself or inland of the cliffs will give you the lowest room rates. An inexpensive resort on the beach in the off season will rent their lowest cost room for - $50 - $70 USD. On season that same room will cost $75 to $125.

Right across the street at a resort (and maybe a pool) within easy walking distance to the 7 mile beach will rent an inexpensive room for $40 - $55 USD off season and for $50 - $80 on season. The same pretty much holds true for places that are on and inland of the cliffs.

Food

There are quite a few grocery stores all over the greater Negril area and there is a large Hi - Lo supermarket right downtown. Here all kinds of food, rum, beer, pop and other goods may be purchased to save you money over resort prices. Just be sure that you have a working refrigerator in your room or access to plenty of ice there if you elect to go this route (which will cut your food bills nearly in half compared to buying cooked food at even the cheapest street grills or restaurants. Many people go to places like Ossie's or 3 Dives to purchase jerked chicken or pork and they take it back to their room to enjoy with cheap beers ($100 JD each from the supermarket) in their refridgerator.

You can bring all kinds of snacks from overseas into Jamaica, just not any meat products. The Jamaican government wants tourists to spend money on the island for everything possible so thay make it hard for tourists to economize by bringing in large stocks of food or beer / liquor.

Restaurants

The rule of thumb for dining out is to ask the locals where they go to eat because they know the lowest priced good places. Ossie's and Selina's on the land side of the 7 - mile beach and Fatty's and 3 Dives on the cliffs are 4 places known for serving good sized portions of great food at low prices. These are places where you get more than enough to eat so you can take leftovers back to your room for consumtion later. Be careful though because some of the resorts have a policy of not allowing their guests to bring in carry-outs from other restaurants off of their premises.

Bars

There are a couple of hundred bars and restaurants in Negril, each more colorful and more fun than the next because of thier wonderful, friendly Jamaican vibe. Usually everyone in them is colorful, nice and polite, even their tourist patrons. The price of beers in them starts at a low nowadays of $200 JD ($2.25 USD). Rum and fruit drinks are usually double that and up.

Transportation within Negril

Negril provides a free shuttle bus every 2 hours which traverses One Love Drive from the 7 - mile beach all the way to the lighthouse in the cliffs. This bus may be flagged down all along its 14 mile route by tourists and locals. It's purpose is to pull 7 mile beach resort patrons up into the cliffs to increase their tourist enterprises' trade there. This bus is the cheapest form of transportation other than walking but you have to time your hookups with it on the road to its schedule of going past wherever you are on it.

The next cheapest form of transportation in Negril is the route taxi. These run either up and down the beach portion of One Love Drive to and from downtown or up and down the cliffs portion of One Love Drive, also to and from downtown. Either trip is $80 - $100 JD (about $1 USD) one way no matter how far within these 7 mile routes you desire to go. Since this is only about $1 USD per ride most tourist passengers alos give a tip of anothe $100 JD to the driver.

Licensed route taxis have red license plates and should not be confused with unlicensed robot taxis that are not legal to use and that are sometimes unsafe for tourists to enter. The red plate route taxis are often speed demons because they have to run enough trips a day to pay for their vehicles before they make anything for themselves. So many of Negril's tourists will not use them and instead opt for their resort's safer driver at twice the price or more.

Anytime a tourist enters a taxi of any kind in Negril they should first negotiate the price per passenger for their trip! Some unscrupulous drivers (usually route taxi drivers) will charge exhorbitant rates at the end of a ride because this was not done. Don't just jump in a taxi and expect a fare box to be there to compute your trip as you would do in many overseas cities because they do not have them. They have designated

Entertainment

The least costly entertainment available in Negril is to just walk the beach or the cliffs road for free and observe the goings on of some of the more colorful locals. However, when tourists do this they are invariably hounded by scammers and hawkers but this in itself can be entertaining. Tourists should always be polite in their haggling over price and when they're ready to go on, they should be firm but polite in their refusal of any more goods or services.

Single women can be accosted by obvious gigolos and some enjoy the attention and the flattery but many don't so this may or may not be a form of entertainment to them. If a woman is polite and firm in her rejection of these suitors they will back down but some of them can be so aggressive that the lady may have to threaten to call for an officer. But that can be fun too, especially if there are a couple of girls who are out together reinforcing one another.

Negril has a number of clubs and entertainment centers on the beach, in the cliffs or inland of both which have something going on every night in one or another of them. Some are free but some may charge a small entry charge because the local bands and entertainers there are usually great and ell worth paying a little to see. The Red - Stripes at these occassions are $300 - $400 JD ( $3.50 - $5.00 USD) which is very reasonable considering the high level of entertainment found at some of these places (add another $100 for Heinekin's).

Some of you readers probably have many more suggestions on how to economize during a visit to Negril so I hope that we will see many comments on this post to give us all additional thoughts on thei matter.

Negril's West End - Beautiful, Colorful and Wonderful Yet Sometimes Tourist Difficult

2009-09-26T13:56:00.062-05:00

The fantastic 30' - 40' West End cliffs of Negril stretch out for 5 miles starting about a mile and a half west of downtown and arcing around south along the ocean-front.

All of this 6 - 7 mile area of western-most Negril is referred to by the locals as the West End or the Real Negril!

Negril's ocean front cliffs and the beautiful resorts, bars and restaurants that run all along them are only accessible via One Love Drive which was formerly known as the West End Road or the Cliffs Road.

Running up this road within the first mile and a half from downtown (before the cliffs actually rise up), there is a line of 3 small public beaches.

These 3 beaches are interspersed with a few of the West End's colorful bars and restaurants such as Mary's Bay Boathouse, Canoe and the Love Boat.

The most well known enterprise in the cliffs is Rick's Cafe which among other things provides its patrons with a wonderful view of Negril's fabulous sunsets.

Rick's Cafe is housed in a beautiful set of hurricane proof stone buildings with a bar, restaurant and swimming pool. It is a world famous club that covers the property all the way up to its cliff where people can do cliff diving.

Photo courtesy of Rocky's Taxi and Tours

Here tourists and locals mix it up nicely as they eat, drink, party and dance together to the unique sounds of live reggae and dance-hall music performed by good local bands.

Some of Rick's bolder patrons will even jump or dive from its cliffs into the gorgeous aquamarine ocean below.

There are even professional local divers here who climb another 20' or so up into a firmly anchored tree to dive 60' down from it just for tips from the patrons. So all in all it's a very unique place and well worth visiting.

However, the West End has a lot more to offer than just Rick's even though so many tourists only go there when they stay at resorts on the 7 - mile beach. For instance, there are over a dozen amazingly designed boutique cliff resorts, each one more unique and beautiful then the next.

And there are many, many, independently owned and operated restaurants, bars and entertainment centers all along One Love Drive where great local food, drinks and music, especially Jamaica's reggae music, are provided.

photo courtesy of negrilonestop.com

Enough cannot be said about the colorfulness and vibrancy of everything that can be found in this part of Negril.

photo courtesy of FG Photos & Videos

When tourists come to Negril's large, all-inclusive, westernized resorts located on its 7 mile beach, they are ferried by their resort's shuttle bus (usually only one day during their stay) to Ricks Cafe and back, just to give them a taste of Negril's supposedly real Jamaican flavor. But in stopping at just Rick's, they miss out on all of the rest of the fun and color of the West End which has kept to its Jamaican heritage and actually is the Real Negril.

So to help the tourists who are staying in any of Negril's all-inclusives or any other beach resorts, to go up and sample some of the rest of the West End's real Jamaican places, a free shuttle bus has now been made available.

This bus called the One Love Drive Free Shuttle and it makes a circuit from the beach to the cliffs and back again every 2 hours. It can also be used by Negril's cliff dwelling tourists or residents to get to and from the 7 - mile beach area.

The Jamaican government inaugurated this free shuttle service primarily to help the smaller West End Cluster of tourist enterprises. This cluster group's desire is to gain more visits from those tourists who reside in the beach resorts on the other side of town that have been drawn to Negril by the big all-inclusive beach resorts' international advertising. With this free shuttle bus it is hoped by the government that the tourists residing in all of the beach resorts will come out of them and use it to come up to the cliffs to sightsee and trade.

One major detriment to the West End that adds to its dearth of tourists is that its portion of One Love Drive has a reputation as being a very hard road for tourists to drive, cycle or even walk upon. Speed-demon route taxis (especially the unlicensed taxis known as "robots") and reckless local motorists running up and down it does not help in any way to allay this negative impression of the West End with Negril's tourists.

Unlike the 7 - mile beach's flat, straight expanse of road with wide shoulders, the West End portion of this road has many serpentine twists and turns all along its 6 or 7 mile length. When it is being frequented by reckless, speeding and even rum-drunk drivers it is very dangerous to all. There have been many fatal accidents on it, a few of which involved Negril's tourists. Many of these have been attributed to excessive alcoholic consumption on the part of drivers and / or the pedestrians who have been hit. So be very careful whenever you're walking on it, especially when you've been drinking. Here's a video to show you just what these roads are like....

Another detriment to the reputation of Negril in general but the West End in particular is that some of its native residents can be scammers and can be a little difficult with lone tourists. Here they can seem to just appear out of nowhere and then disappear away from them more easily than can those who are operating on the other end of town with its straight wide road with nowhere to hide. So it's always best stay in groups of 2 or more when walking about on the West End Road (which is good policy for all travelers everywhere anyways).

This is not to say that the West End is a particularly dangerous area because it's really not. But its poorer elements are not always well mannered towards timid or unwary single tourists as they try to get money from them and they can be difficult to deal with.

The West End is safe enough that many, many long-time repeat visitors have decided to reside on the West End when they are in Negril. They make this decision because it is very economical to stay there and after they become familiar with the locals and are accepted by them as part of the community, they will watch out for them as they traverse this area alone. Here's 2 videos of a lady traversing a part of the cliffs section of One love Drive....

In these videos you will also notice that at various points in the road there are no sidewalks on either side which makes those road sections very dangerous for pedestrians, drunk or sober!

The local scammers who accost tourists as they are sightseeing on the West End of town (and on the 7 - mile beach for that matter), are usually peddling some kind of small goods or services. Please understand that most of these folks are poor and too proud to beg so they do this to eck out a meager living from the tourists.

Unfortunately, many of them use pushy, scam artist tactics which are such a turn off to most tourists. It can be very hard to look past this huge flaw in one of them to see his or her very real need to survive but it's most often lurking there. So if you can be generous to any of them please do so. Over-paying for something or big tipping can be a form of masked charity which allows needy Jamaicans to get some survival money and still maintain their pride.

But one outrageous, often perpetrated scam to watch out for and never allow is when locals very nicely ask you to include them in one of your photos. Then, right after you have taken it, he or she will demand $20 USD! So, in that case or when enough becomes enough with one of them and you want to go on about your business, just give them a firm but polite, "No thank you!". This will usually suffice to set you free from their demands. But when pressed beyond this, a polite but firm, "Do I have to call an officer?" will send them packing.

Remember, all Jamaicans have a very big thing about "respect" so do not be impolite to them when you haggle over price or tell them "No" in order to avoid a row with them over disrespect. Bear in mind that sometimes poor people feel that all they have is their pride, so they will wear it like a badge of honor and defend it at all costs.

This photo contributed by FG Photos & Videos

The West End is the favorite area of many, many of Negril's repeat visitors because of its colorfulness, its relative inexpensiveness and its authentic Jamaican reality.

photo courtesy of negrilonestop.com

Most of the many places on the West End to eat, drink and party are owned and operated by very friendly local Jamaicans that when the tourists get to know them they will befriend them. When the tourists leave they can then stay in touch with each other on negril.com's message board or by e-mail.

Without big budgets for international TV and Radio advertising or fancy banner ad websites these small enterprises, no matter how nice and colorful they are, must rely entirely upon their happy repeat customers and their word of mouth referrals to friends and others in order to stay in business.

The major reason that I am writing this blog and that my partner and I are continuing to develop the free Negril Jamaica Vidia is to try to help these small Negril businesses to get a little bigger piece of the tourist pie without having to spend any money with us on their advertising.

Next time you're in Negril why not consider staying in one of the West End's beautiful boutique cliff resorts or at least visiting some of its bars, restaurants, clubs and shops a couple of times?

photo courtesy of Onestop Vacations

If you have not yet done this, please do so on your next trip because you will discover a whole new flavor to Negril that you are certain to really like and you will be helping some good little people who need your help!

What some of the Travel Blogs have to say about Negril Lately

2009-09-16T16:57:00.005-05:00

The following are links to current blog articles about some of Negril's all-inclusive luxury spa resorts. Some people who winter vacation in the Caribbean love to be pampered and these places sure know how to do just that.

Travel Buddy

Wayfaring Travel Guide

Jet Set Life

Online Travel Agent Opportunites

Here's a few current general interest articles that have been written about Negril on the travel blogs....

Chris Vaughn Was Here

Outboand Holidays

Caribbean Travel Deals

Gather.com

There's a lot of articles on Negril which you will find when you do a blog search on it.

Country Country Beach Resort

2009-09-12T11:50:00.013-05:00

THE COUNTRY COUNTRY BEACH RESORT is a mid-size Caribbean vacation paradise located on Negril's 7 mile beach, out about 3 miles from downtown.It is a very colorful boutique resort which has been locally architected to give its guests the real Jamaica feel.THE COUNTRY COUNTRY BEACH RESORT is set in lush tropical vegetation while offering its guests a great view of (and spot in the midst of) Negril's famous 7 mile beach.Guests (as well as beachcombers stopping by) can dine in style at its lovely outdoor beach restaurant.

This brings up one of the fabulous draws for tourists to stay in Negril. It's the mixing of people from all over the world as they stroll up & down the beach, sightseeing and stopping to shop, dine or drink anywhere they please on it. This beach interactivity is so pleasant, especially since many people become more uninhibited and friendly as the the balmy afternoons turn into evenings and the rum and red stripes emerge.
THE COUNTRY COUNTRY BEACH RESORT is one of Negril's better mid-size resorts that tourists rave about when their stay ends.

It is one of the nearly 50 fine places served by ONESTOP VACATIONS, Negril's most knowledgable travel service. Contact them for further information (with no obligation) about THE COUNTRY COUNTRY BEACH RESORT.

The Seaview Retreat - A Small, Economy, Inland Resort

2009-09-06T08:57:00.020-05:00

The little Jamaican tourist town of Negril has over 200 resorts (!!!) strung out along its 14 miles of oceanfront! That's a lot of places crammed into a small area therefore only a few of them are large resorts. Some of them are mid-price beach or cliff boutiques but many are smaller inland places that are very economically priced.THE SEAVIEW RETREAT is a great example of an economical, very small resort in Negril. It is a brand-new inland villa located in Negril's outskirting hills about 10 minutes from downtown Negril.This is very clean, modern place with 2 apartments that each have a wonderful panoramic view of nearly all of Negril's 7 - mile beach.Only one guest party at a time may rent its downstairs 2 bedroom apartment (because the owners occupy the upstairs apartment) so it is very private. The guest apartment has its own tranquil veranda from which may be seen its great view of the ocean (that is, when the laundry is not hanging on the line in front of it!). THE SEAVIEW RETREAT is a great bargain for tourists because they can rent this entire 2 bedroom apartment for USD $80/night or $500/week! There is also a cook available for a small fee, and if the owner's doing the cooking you don’t want to miss out! His food is to die for! They also have transportation available.

Places like this are wonderful for families who feel that they just can't afford to stay at the beach or cliff places in Negril and therefore might not even come to Negril. Its pricing is under 1/2 of the price for a family to stay in even a small beach or cliff boutique resort. THE SEAVIEW RETREAT, being brand new and providing such a great view is a real steal at these prices!

Just contact Ted or Alice (its owners) at - 876-407-6618 or 876-898-8769 - jamaicamiss@aol.com to find out more about it and to make a reservation. You won't be sorry.

There is another article on THE SEAVIEW RETREAT which has been written on the Jamaica My Way blog written by their friend Kristi who made me aware of their business and kindly allowed me to use her photos and some of her information here in this article.

Are there really Naturist or Nude Beaches in Negril?

2009-08-30T17:07:00.054-05:00

The simple answer to this question is Yes, outdoor nudity is permitted in various places in Negril! This answer then leads to the next set of questions - are nude people everywhere along Negril's ocean front like on some of the beaches in Europe or if not, where are the places located that allow nudity and how much of it do they allow?

photo courtesy of the Firefly Resort

The answer to these questions is that there are quite a few spots reserved for outdoor nudity and they may be found all over Negril but especially on the north end of the 7 - mile beach in the all-inclusives for couples only.

photo courtesy of Secrets Tiny Timber Cabins

You'll find spots for outdoor nudity inland, on the 7 mile beach and even in places up in the cliffs. Most of them are kept isolated from family activity for the sake of children.

However, the naturist places do allow full family participation in outdoor nudity.

photo courtesy of the Firefly Resort

Many of these nude areas are for female topless only but most of them that allow nudity to be practiced, allow complete nudity for both sexes.

photo courtesy of Grand Lido

Resorts that permit this outdoor nudity usually restrict it to their beach front and / or their pool and pool bar (if they have one) where no cameras are allowed.

photo courtesy of Hedonism II

When nude or semi-nude people appear in wrong places, which happens on occasion (especially with European tourists who consider public nudity to be normal), the resort staff people move quickly to suggest that those who are unclothed go back and cloth themselves or go directly to the area reserved for nudity.

Yet this can work both ways because clothed people trying to enter the nudist areas are also prompted to disrobe or not enter the restricted area for obvious reasons.

If you are interested in finding out which resorts in Negril offer nude facilities you might want to review the left margin, drop-down, pop-out menu on our Vidia's Hotels, Resorts, Spas, Villas and Rooms section. Here you will find a list and links to all of the resorts in Negril that we have been able to find so far that advertise that swimsuits are optional within some portion of their facilities.

Beach nudity is definitely appealing to many people, that's for sure. However, be very careful because sometimes the beach's eye-candy can be somewhat deceptive....

This is a Blatant Plug for my Friends at Onestop Vacations

2009-08-23T06:35:00.038-05:00

Negril Jamaica, as we all know, is a world reknowned, favorite vacation destination which obviously should have at least one good travel service for its tourists. So in 1998 up stepped Bob Read and Susan Gilbart, the creators and owners of ONESTOP VACATIONS to fill this gap.They already had a vacation house in Negril and had much local knowledge of the town and all that is involved in traveling back and forth to it from Canada. So they created a Negril focused travel service to acquaint vacationers with some of the town's really nice, colorful, small resorts and to book them into them.

They began their service back then by creating the negrilonestop.com website. They created it as a way to showcase to the internet world the information they had been accruing about Negril's smaller independent resorts. They saw the internet as a great new venue by which to not only draw the attention of vacationers world-wide to these wonderful, smaller resorts, but at the same time to give them enough decent textual and visual information about them to get them to come to Negril and stay in them.

They've been proven to be right in using the internet in this manner because it has worked very well over the years in bringing multitudes of tourists to Negril who have booked through them. It has also worked well for their client resorts who continue to utilize their services to draw more tourists to their resorts. Consequently they have grown large enough to now service almost 50 of the best resorts in Negril and service hundreds of vacationers every year (who give them scads of good reports on their services).

They've even created the following great Negril travel video which briefly displays many of its most colorful and interesting tourist places. ONESTOP VACATIONS travel service has been so well received and has become so popular that they're taking the business past just servicing Negril and on into servicing all of Jamaica's tourist towns and also resorts of all categories, from comfortable and basic on up to luxury 5 star all inclusives.

Additionally, ONESTOP VACATIONS now serves travelers to other West Indian Ocean vacation destinations like St. Martin and the Bahamas.

As fellow travelers themselves, the owners understand and empathize with each vacationer's need for:

-Good, sound advice and accurate information.

-Great rates with discounts wherever possible.

-Personal, responsive and reliable travel services to handle trip details.

-True representation of tourist places.

This is why they conduct their own on-going inspections of all of their client properties and why they post only their own up-to-date photos and videos of each of them.

Because of ONESTOP VACATIONS intimate knowledge of Negril and their close personal relationships with the management of each of their resorts, tourists are given sound advice by which to custom structure great vacations at the best and most affordable place in town for their needs and desires. And this service ends up costing vacationers nothing! How? Because the resorts pay them for their services from volume discounting. So, , whether they book them through ONESTOP VACATIONS or directly with one of their resorts, individual vacationers will have to pay the same rates OR LESS for their resort accommodations.

Since it costs vacationers nothing, a big advantage of booking through this service is that they give knowledgeable, unbiased advice about the current condition of every one of their client resorts and about each of the activities that vacationers want to do in Negril. Even highly experienced Negril vacationers who could easily book a resort for themselves will still book through ONESTOP VACATIONS just to take advantage of their current knowledge of Negril as well as to obtain their highly valued discount coupons for many of Negril's restaurants.

The owners have established ONESTOP VACATIONS's mission as being to always ensure that those who book their travels with them will have as economical and carefree a vacation in Negril as is possible, without having to waste any of their valuable vacation time on extraneous details. Consequently, they are available throughout each traveler's stay in Negril to make sure that they are having a great time and to solve any problems that may unexpectedly occur. Of course they do all of this in hopes that their satisfied customers will use their services again when they invariably return to Negril.

Bob and Susan have also hired Derek and Bart, 2 more great people to help with their expansion.
They all work well together and take the wise, common sense attitude that Onestop Vacations continuity depends entirely upon their vacationer's complete satisfaction.

They also provide reputable driving services for those vacationers who don't want to take a public bus and need someone to get them from the airport to their resort and later back again (and / or to take them on island tours).

Though the owners have worked hard for their good fortune, they're also very grateful for it and they share it with the less fortunates in Jamaica like the island's poorer school children.ONESTOP VACTIONS does this by donating a portion of each of their booking's charges towards helping some of the poor children in Jamaica through the financial maintenance of the Mt. Airey Schools.

These nice folks at ONESTOP VACATIONS are great people with great hearts and I highly recommend their services to you or yours to set up a great Negril vacation, whether any of you have been there before or not, because they're certain to add something positive to your Negril experience.

Roots Bamboo Resort

2009-08-15T10:56:00.017-05:00

THE ROOTS BAMBOO ROOMS have been around forever, it seems like. For vacationers on a tight budget, it's clean economy cabins are a favorite place to stay.And the Spring Breakers just love this place because it's totally casual and it's right in the middle of all of their wild and crazy beach action.THE ROOTS BAMBOO ROOMS also have an inexpensive restaurant and bar on the property.It is also one of the few places left in Negril that still allows campers to setup tents on its property.Besides being a beach resort ROOTS BAMBOO is also a club and reggae entertainment center.They normally feature local bands but for special occasions they headline internationally known groups like ....During this economic downturn all of the resorts in Negril are slow but during the winter season many people will still come to Negril to vacation and this place will be one of the first to fill up. So why not contact the nice people at ROOTS BAMBOO and make a reservation now before they're all booked up.

Tensing Pen Cliff Resort

2009-08-09T18:18:00.022-05:00

THE TENSING PEN CLIFF RESORT is one of the most beautiful places in Negril and to go even further, this resort as well as many of Negril's other cliff resorts could certainly be deemed some of the most scenic places in the entire world!THE TENSING PEN CLIFF RESORT's vacationers rave about its lush grounds and its beautiful day time views of the ocean and its utterly fantastic evening sunset views.THE TENSING PEN CLIFF RESORT's younger visitors just love to frolic in the ocean when its calm (which is most of the time) and this great resort gives them some very unique ways to do it.Wouldn't you just love to stay in a great place like THE TENSING PEN CLIFF RESORT for a while and rest up in one of its cottage's gorgeous bedrooms?Or how about finishing off your day in their colorful bar with their friendly bartender sipping a couple of exotic fruit and rum drinks or tipping a few ice cold Red Stripes?A person should not go through life without experiencing at least once, the kind of a tropical paradise that THE TENSING PEN CLIFF RESORT has to offer, wouldn't you agree?

So how about contacting ONESTOP VACATIONS, the really nice travel service people (who were kind enough to let me here show you some of their photos of this gorgeous place) and let them explain just how surprisingly inexpensive a nice trip here can be for you!

Informative Websites All About Negril & Jamaica

2009-08-07T16:25:00.015-05:00

I felt that some of you might want to learn of a few good textual information websites about Negril, so I have listed below a number of those that have been informative to me and which I often utilize to find out about things in Negril and Jamaica -

Negril.com - a daily updated guide to Jamaican travel destinations in a blog format. The great thing about this site is its very active message board by which for tourists to become quickly informed and get the lay of Negril's land, so to speak.

negrilonestop.com - gives some excellent tourist advice, photos, videos and related information for their client resorts and for other enterprises that may be found in Negril and all of Jamaica. These nice folks offer a very personal travel service and obtain the best rates for their customers from their client resorts.

negrilonestop.com even made the following great video of all kinds of places that tourists-who-are-in-the-know love to visit when they're in Negril...

NegrilEntertainment.com - keeps you updated on upcoming events such as staged shows, beach party's and clubbing activities.

negrilinfo.com - a very informative site with a lot of text and photo information about Negril

Negril Travel Guide - a travel and tourist resource guide to shops, dining, attractions, activities and services within the Negril Jamaica area.

realnegril.com - up to date information about various events taking place in Negril.

negriltoday.com - a concise source of textual information about Negril

negril-tour-guide.com - concise tourist information on Negril (text and photos)

Negril Photos - a large group of photos of Negril

visitnegril.com - good information about some of Negril's resorts and villas.

Wikipedia.org - an encyclopedic article about Negril. It links to another article about Jamaica itself.

Virtourist.com - An excellent photo tour of Negril accompanied by some wonderful information about each photo scene.

Jamaica Gleaner - the daily newspaper for all of Jamaica. This is much read by expatriate Jamaicans to stay abreast of the news, sports and politics of the island. It has a real estate section, editorial section, business section and many other features.

Jamaica - Once you go, you know - Jamaican travel site.

seejamaicacheaply.com - has great information about inexpensive places to stay in Negril.

There are probably a few more Negril oriented websites around but these should be enough to get you started, don't you think?

At Last! A Complete List of All of Negril's Resorts, Hotels, Villas, Cottages and Rooms for Rent (220+ A - Z)!

2009-07-17T19:28:00.032-05:00

Today is a milestone for the Negril Jamaica Vidia project! Today we have finally completed and alphabetically listed all of Negril's resorts, hotels, villas, rooms and cottages for tourists. We've also linked them to each of their visual information pages on the Vidia and we have provided mouse-over, basic resort pop-out information on each resort name!

You can find this complete list of each one of them on our Vidia's Resorts & Villas page. This page also has an adjustable Wikimapia map of Negril which is gradually being filled in by geek tourists and locals. It is therefore becoming more and more complete in showing where each of Negril's enterprise's are located right there on the map. Besides that, we have a link on that same page to the wonderfully comprehensive 2008 PDF map created for the schools of Negril and Jamaica that shows the approximate location of many of the town's resorts and other tourist enterprises as well.

No where else on the internet (or anywhere else that we know of) is there one complete list of each and every one of the places in Negril within which for tourists to reside. And besides being such a thorough list it is also linked to each of these place's information page within our Vidia. So interested tourists may now easily contact any one of them.

We even list the names of the enterprises which we know to be out of business and link them to an information page about them which states that they are now defunct so that old time tourists trying to trace them down can quickly learn that they are no more. But for those that have been renamed we have an information page on that enterprise's old name which explains the rename and routes those seeking information on it to the newly named enterprise's information page on the Vidia.

One other nice thing about our Vidia is that there is a link within every enterprise's information page to the enterprise's own website (if it has one). This link is placed within its underlined name up in its page's title. We also link the words Negril and Jamaica in all titles on every information page to their appropriate Wikipedia information pages so that a particular page's readers can find out more about the entire Jamaican island and this great little tourist town. Finally, whenever we can find a review or an article on any enterprise we link to it on the enterprise's information page just above its photos and / or videos.

Truly our Vidia encyclopedia - directory is becoming just that with the completion of this list. Next, we will try to list alphabetically all of the bars and restaurants, ice cream shops and internet cafes, coffee shops and jerk centers in Negril. This will take quite a few months but gradually, little by little we will get that done too.

Please be patient with us while we work on this website and please send us any information which you might have that will help us to do this task better. Text, photos and videos of anything in Negril will all be useful to us in accomplishing this task.

Thank you.
Jim Hanson

Minstrels on Negril's 7 Mile Beach

2009-07-15T20:50:00.010-05:00

There are quite a few minstrel groups that move up & down the 7 mile beach in Negril, playing Jamaican and Caribbean music for the tourists for tips.They can be very, very colorful and entertaining and the kids, especially the little ones, all love them. They carry their musical instruments with them up and down the beach all day long in the hot sun and set themselves up anywhere that there is a group of tourists or when they are beckoned to play.

These people are of course looking for a handout but they are offering something worthwhile in return for it. They are not some kind of criminals stealing or doing other worthless things like some people end up doing to survive in a poor country. They're just plying their legitimate trade, trying to eck out a meagre living from the benevolence of the tourists. Some tourists are so ignorant as to let them entertain them or even beckon them to entertain them and then just walk away without tipping them! This is disgraceful! These minstrels provide colorful entertainment that deserves at least some small compensation.

Sure, they're not top talent but we have to go way out of our way and then pay big time to be entertained by top talent somewhere. These folks bring their little entertainment right to us while we're lounging around, magnetized to the sand. So a tip of a few bucks when they come by and play for us is certainly in order.If you don't want to spend any money on this form of entertainment then walk away from it before it starts or tell them "No" when they ask if you'd like them to play something for you.

You might want to ponder all of this next time you see these wonderful little people doing their good thing for everyone on the beach in Negril.

Planning Your Trip to Negril

2009-07-14T17:46:00.017-05:00

The most expensive time for visiting Jamaica is during their winter season from December thru May (when it is not hurricane season). This is when the island has its best weather so it's also when most tourists want to be here because they want to escape the northern hemisphere's cold weather. During this time period the intense heat of summer has passed (as has the hurricane and rainy season) so it's when Jamaica's famous temperate, balmy weather ensues. Consequently, don't expect any bargains anywhere during these months because this is Jamaica's busy tourist season and this is when they have to make their year's profits.

However, to get the lowest rates possible then and the lowest air fares, try to book up your airline flights and your resort stay 5 - 6 months ahead of time. Air fares normally go up as you get near to your trip dates then so start checking in February or March for airline reservations for a trip to Negril in December or later. By June prices will already be going up.

Tours of Negril's and Jamaica's attractions can also be booked in advance from Rocky's Tour and Taxi Service or right from your resort when you get to Negril.

Everyone must now have a valid passport to enter Jamaica!

Be sure to take the time to familiarize yourself with the Transportation Security Administration's Article for Travelers as you prepare for your trip. Then make absolutely sure that you and all of your traveling family member's passports and driver's licenses and / or photo ID's are valid or get them updated immediately so that they are valid by trip time. It's also a good idea to bring along a copy of your birth certificate.

Read Miyard.com-about-Jamaica where there's a thorough rundown on things about Jamaica of which you should be aware before you visit Negril. Also read the Logistics section of the Negril Jamaica Vidia for more trip preparation information.

The First Time I Drove on the Left Side of the Road in Negril....

2009-07-13T04:03:00.004-05:00

....I rented a small open land cruiser and with 2 of my buddies I drove up and down Norman Manley Blvd. along the 7 mile beach strip. No Problem Mon! It was a piece of cake! What was all of this chatter about how difficult it would be to adjust to left side of the road driving? To me it was easy as pie.

So we ventured on downtown. Again, no problem mon, just a little bit of traffic to deal with. Big deal! Then we decided to let it all hang out and explore the cliffs road, so off we went. When someone behind us would honk at us because we were going too slow, I'd merely pull over and let them pass. No problem mon! I quickly realized the secret for me to acclimate myself to left side of the road driving was for me to just go slow and not be a road hazard to those who are in some kind of a rush.

It was mid-day when we did this so the road wasn't too busy. Consequently, we were free to stop a few times to snap some photos of the interesting places along the road. Proceeding in this manner we gradually made it all the way up to the split in the road with no incidents. There I turned around and we headed back. Still no problem mon! By this time I was feeling quite confident in my left side of the road driving abilities which made me become rather smug about it.

So down from the cliffs we coasted, enjoying the ocean view and the road view and still no problem mon! When we were nearly at that place just before downtown where the road dips down and turns right to the HI-LO market (it has a long brick wall lining the right side of the road there) we began to hear the gradually increasing wail of a fire engine's siren. I didn't pay much attention to it thinking it was on some parallel side street, not realizing there really aren't any parallel side streets along there where a Fire truck could be driving!

All of a sudden, Surprise! This big-butt old Fire Brigade truck comes screaming up that hill right at us! Here's this insane gigantic metal monster bearing down on my little land cruiser loaded with 3 road ignorant tourists with no left road shoulder to speak of upon which to stop and let it go by! BIG PROBLEM MON!

Just then I spotted a big parking lot ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE ROAD just before that brick wall starts. So rather than just stop on the far left of the road and let it drive around me, I instead gunned that little sucker and turned hard right in front of that Fire truck and we flew into that big parking lot barely being missed by it.

This was a knee jerk reaction from driving on the right side of the road all of my life and thank God no one got hurt when I did it. I surmised that this would be the best way for me to get out of the way of the Fire engine so it could proceed unhindered. But doing this scared the you-know-what out of all of us and, as they flew by, the bug-eyed firemen didn't look too pleased with me either!

Boy, all the rest of our trip did I take one heck of a tongue lashing for doing that fancy bit of maneuvering. My only defense was to protest over and over again that I saved all of our lives and we all lived through it to tell about it. But that rationalization just brought forth more hoots and some rather derisive comments about my driving in general!

So the next time I'm there in Negril driving, I'll try to not let pride and smugness over my great prowess driving on the left side of the road possess me because I think that God sent that incident my way to humble me for being so darned smug and proud of my driving. And it sure did and I wouldn't want something worse to occur!

Canoe Beach Bar & Grill

2009-07-09T21:56:00.035-05:00

CANOE BEACH BAR & GRILL is located about 1 1/2 miles from downtown on the West End, fronting the beach side of One Love Drive. This little place has become very popular for the locals and for tourists-in-the-know because of its great food, ice-cold beers, free high speed wi-fi and refreshing ocean views.They've been known to have ice-cold 200$JA Red Stripe beers that are so cold you'll think you're in Canada! They also tout wicked 2 for 1 Rum punches (the Kirby specials)that reassure you that you're truly in Negril! They also offer up bloody Ceasars or a glass of red wine from a bar that they claim is fully stocked with everyone's favorites! I haven't yet put that to the test by requesting a shot of Mallort but one day I might!The CANOE BEACH BAR & GRILL's owners, Kirby & Patty Redwood take the attitude that folks can pretty much relax and hang around here as much as they want to, even when they're done purchasing and consuming their food and drinks. This is especially appreciated by interneters who want to spend a quiet morning or an afternoon doing their computer thing in a pleasant public environment with no hassle. This is an ideal setting for the e-set because inside there are a couple of tables, a bar and a comfy couch upon which to do their work.Out in back there's a pleasant, relaxing, open shaded veranda facing the ocean with plenty of tables upon which to set up their computers. But you don't have to bring a computer to enjoy this pleasant bar & grill. Just bring yourself and your family and friends and you won't be sorry!The CANOE BEACH BAR & GRILL is a place that is frequently mentioned on the negril.com message board as being somewhere that everyone should try at least once when they're in Negril. These boardies are in the know, because they're all fans of Negril's truly good things and they share their knowledge of them with one another so that all can enjoy them. So take my and their advice and stop in here next time you're in Negril.

Also there is a very good article about this place at - CANOE BEACH BAR & GRILL on the Jamaica My Way Blog. Check it out!

Ossie's Jerk Center

2009-07-08T19:59:00.009-05:00

OSSIE'S JERK CENTER is located about half way up the 7 mile beach from downtown on the inland side of One Love Drive. My family has eaten here many evenings when we've been in Negril because their jerk chicken and jerk pork are to-die-for and their red stripes are served ice cold!

OSSIE'S JERK CENTER occupies a road house with a porch full of park benches upon which to sit and eat and drink and watch the shenanigans on the road. Low overhead is how they keep their food and their beers so reasonably priced. A lot of Locals are in and out of here all of the time which is proof to the tourists that the food is good. The have only one set of prices for both locals and for tourists so this also speaks well of them. This is a small, legitimate roadside business that's open year-round to provide good food and drinks to everyone, rich or poor.We never met Ossie himself but Paulette and her helpers always give great service. They are all wonderful and friendly and we feel that they've always taken very good care of us. When walking along the beach and you see this sign. just drop everything and do what it says! Leave the beach and go straight to the road and there you'll find it across the road. You will not be sorry that you detoured off of the beach because we and everybody else raves about OSSIE'S JERK CENTER'S authentic Jamaican jerk chicken and pork.

Firefly Beach Cottages & Apartments

2009-07-07T18:04:00.028-05:00

The FIREFLY BEACH COTTAGES & APARTMENTS is a very unique, smaller resort located right in the middle of all of Negril's beach action, about 2 miles from downtown.It is especially an especially unique place because here naturist men, women and children are allowed and encouraged to practice full nudity on their public beach, if they so desire!This resort even conducts naturist weddings on premises for those who are so inclined.The FIREFLY BEACH COTTAGES & APARTMENTS is a very interesting, quaint little place with an obviously liberal minded owner - David Sykes - who provides tourists with nice, clean rooms at very reasonable rates.Even the resort office is in a cute, quaint little cottage decked with beautiful flowers every day.But the office help just will not be confined when the sun's out and Negril's beautiful, mostly calm beach beckons!This resort sports a public bar & restaurant right on the beach which draws in curious beach walkers with it's parsimonious advertisement uniquely touting both the restaurant and the bar on one small beach sign.Come to the FIREFLY BEACH COTTAGES & APARTMENTS some time and experience for yourself the fun and personal freedom that Dave, this marvelous little place's owner will provide for you.You won't be sorry that you stayed at the FIREFLY BEACH COTTAGES & APARTMENTS whether you're a naturist or not because of its wonderful ambiance and its reasonable prices.

Destiny Gift Shop - Sea Wind Resort

2009-07-06T18:39:00.019-05:00

THE DESTINY GIFT SHOP in the SEA WIND RESORT is a very nice little place to shop for good quality souvenirs, gifts, beach wear, tobacco and liquor. Its courteous Indian owner has established a no-pressure policy with his sales help so shopping here will be a much more pleasant experience, as he attests below, than it can be at a lot of other gift shops in Negril.There are small gift shops like this located within most of the quality resorts all over Negril. They cater to the tourists who are staying there or within close walking distance of them. Many of them have similar goods for sale but each one has its own unique things too. this is what can make it worthwhile to shop in a few of them. Besides, often you can barter up a better deal for similar goods in one place over another. Shops like these are one of the convenient things that you'll find when you're staying in Negril because one of them is always right nearby to give you an interesting respite from the blazing hot sun as you explore the area.THE DESTINY GIFT SHOP however, is one of the really nice resort shops in which tourists can find name brand goods, sold at reasonable prices by friendly, low pressure sales people.

Margaritaville on Negril's 7 mile Beach

2009-07-05T18:40:00.015-05:00

JIMMY BUFFET'S MARGARITAVILLE is a fun bar to go to any time of the day or night up until about midnight. It is located right in the heart of Negril's 7 mile beach action area about 2 miles from downtown so people wander over to it from a lot of the nearby resorts, cabins and rooms.People come here to drink and flirt and party away their time. Young people just love to come here to show themselves off and have fun with their friends while they get bombed.Here's a video taken by one of Negril's hunky MALE tourists hanging out at MARGARITAVILLE's beach enjoying the scenery while he stays in Negril. Most young people who like to grab a suntan, drink, flirt and party spend of their time in Negril at places like MARGARITAVILLE on the beach and RICK'S CAFE up on the cliffs because both places usually have some kind of their action in progress most times.

Jamaican Tourist's Survival Gear

2009-07-04T19:03:00.006-05:00

Negril is almost a complete paradise for tourists. But there is one aspect of a visit there to which few look forward. That aspect is the approach of the hustlers. Granted that most of them are poor and just trying to scratch out a living and some of them are very interesting characters but those who press in on the tourists relentlessly make it bad for them all. One fellow was so intrusive and unrelenting with me that he made me threaten to seek out a policeman to get rid of him because he just was not taking no for an answer.

And then there's the gigolos who can be even more bothersome to the ladies. When rejected they are rude and surly and even sometimes threatening. Surely there must be something that tourists could use to signal these con-men nicely that they are just not interested in whatever these bad-boys are trying to peddle?

So I decided to design some beach wear items that can be used by tourists to very nicely but firmly deflect this onslaught of unwanted pests by trying to shoo them off using their own patois language. Some of my readers might be interested in purchasing these goodies to help them with this task.

When we were last down to Negril in May my Jamaican wife wore the t-shirt that I sell here that states in patois that she does not want a man because she already has one and everywhere she went all of the local women would notice it and laugh and comment about it. So it also became for her a great 'how to open a conversation' piece! And by the way, no man dared to approach her!

I wore the money dun mon ball cap at the airport as we embarked on the plane back to Chicago and a number of people liked it and asked me where I got it. Well, Zazzle's the place to find it and some other cute goodies to use as shields to deal with these pushy folks.

Mary's Bay Boathouse Bar & Grill

2009-07-03T15:52:00.028-05:00

all photos compliments of Sue Steinhilber MARY'S BAY BOATHOUSE BAR & GRILL is located on the beach side of One Love Drive on the West End about 1 1/2 miles up from downtown. Scots Al & Janet, its proprietors have a very good reputation amongst repeat Jamaican tourists and local Jamaicans for serving great food and providing really good service to their customers.This new management team of long time Negril restauranteurs are held in high esteem among their peers. They're very friendly and hospitable folks and they know that the best way to grow a business is to treat every patron right so that's just what they do as so many will attest.MARY'S BAY BOATHOUSE BAR & GRILL's ocean bar gives its patrons a wonderful view of the shoreline and nearby smaller beaches of the West End. It is housed on the ocean side of the same building in which you will find SUE'S EASY ROCK INTERNET CAFE, the DREAM TEAM DIVERS office and STANLEY'S DEEP SEA FISHING's office.

IMHO on the West End MARY'S BAY BOATHOUSE BAR & GRILL is a good pick for great meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) served by 2 really nice people in a friendly international atmosphere with easy access by boat or by road, plenty of parking and a wonderful ocean view.

Culture George Music Shop

2009-07-02T13:43:00.013-05:00

CULTURE GEORGE has his little music shop located right on the beach about 3 1/2 miles (5 km) from downtown Negril, between the Foote Prints Resort and the Palms Resort.He is an excellent musician who plays and sings some great old Jamaican calypso and island music. Here on the beach he sells his CD's to beach walkers and tourists who know him and love his music and seek him out or to those who don't yet know him.Here's a sample of CULTURE GEORGE's sweet and mellow island tunes. Click right here on CULTURE GEORGE to find out more about him.

Go to his My Space account for additional musical info.

Sun Divers Watersports & Scuba School

2009-07-01T13:08:00.024-05:00

photo compliments of Yatmandu on Flickr Sun Divers Watersports & Scuba School is located in the Point Village Resort which is about 5.5 miles up the beach from downtown on Norman Manley Blvd.Sun Divers Watersports & Scuba School has a very good reputation amongst Scuba diving and snorkeling enthusiasts who have utilized their services. Over and over again you will find commendations for them from people who have been very happy with them on the negril.com message board and on Trip Advisor.If you love Scuba Diving, snorkeling, fishing,boating or even para sailing (or any other kind of watersports for that matter) you might want to contact the nice folks at Sun Divers Watersports & Scuba School. They will be happy to provide you with detailed information about all of their water activities in Negril.Here's a video example of the kind of wonderful Scuba diving to which they can safely guide you.Next time you're in Negril, whether you are an experienced enthusiast or a total beginner, contact Sun Divers Watersports & Scuba School and they will be sure to accommodate you.

Bourbon Beach Restaurant Bar Villa & Disco

2009-06-28T18:45:00.021-05:00

Bourbon Beach is an all around great place for tourists to visit. It is located right on the 7 - mile beach in the heart of Negril's beach nightlife area (some say it is the heart of Negril's beach nightlife).Tourists can stay here inexpensively or just stop by anytime of the day or night for food, drinks and / or its great live reggae music played by some of Negril's finest local bands (which most people in Negril consider to be very, very good).Bourbon Beach is rated by many to be one of the best places for partying when you're in Negril. Just listen to what their beach walking pitchman has to say about the place.

Bourbon Beach is highly rated for its evening entertainment and its great jerk chicken and pork. When you become one of those in the know about Negril you won't miss visiting this place at least once when you're in town.Bourbon Beach is definitely one of Negril's iconic tourist stops so be sure to go there soon after you arrive in town! You won't be sorry!

The Llantrisant Beach Villa

2009-06-28T14:32:00.026-05:00

The Llantrissant Beach Villa is a very unique beach front villa which, though its located right in the heart of Negril well within walking distance of downtown, provides great privacy for its guests!It is an ideal place for a tropical wedding or a get-together of old friends or for intimate meetings with a few special business associates and their wives.Llantrissant is a one big house villa within which up to 12 people may stay. It is located right on Negril's small northern ocean front but it looks out upon the entirety of its famous 7 - mile beach front across Long Bay. The property has 2 of its own private beaches where swimsuits are optional.Llantrissant is a very comfortable place for all with its 2 nice, airy verandas facing its 2 beaches.It also has clay tennis courts on the grounds so it makes for a great place for tennis buffs to stay in Negril while keeping at their game.Llantrissant's property is centrally located exactly where Negril's beach ends and its cliff geography begins as shown in the photo below.This resort's central location within Negril positions its guests for quick and easy walking or taxi access to any of its beach and cliff nightlife. The Llantrissant Beach Villa is one of Negril's little known places that has not let itself become so commercial as to lose its "real" Negril flavor, as have so many of the area's resorts. It's the owners' intention to always keep it just as Negril once was so that people may still experience that ambiance which is now nearly gone.

Mary Gate of Heaven Catholic Church

2009-06-27T16:59:00.017-05:00

The Mary Gate of Heaven Catholic Church is located about 2 miles from downtown on the land side of One Love Drive across from Negril's 7 mile beach.

photo by - FG Photos & Videos and Rocky's Taxi and Tours The Mary Gate of Heaven Catholic Church is a nice little place to worship that is convenient to the beach's resorts so you will find some of Negril's tourists (as well as its local residents) coming here for services.

Negril is home to over a dozen local churches of various denominations so it has plenty of places in which for tourists to worship the Lord, should they be so inclined.

The Negril Jamaica Condomium

2009-06-26T15:28:00.017-05:00

photos by - FG Photos & Videos THE NEGRIL JAMAICA CONDOMINIUM is a beautiful 1 bedroom, private condominium apartment located in the Point Village Beach Resort about 5 miles from downtown. It is a second floor apartment in the resort's far corner building facing the oceanfront. From here may be viewed lovely scenes of the ocean and of Negril's beautiful, romantic sunsets and moonlit evenings.The condominium's owner keeps it in great condition and well stocked with everything you'll need while you stay there including TV, stove, 2 refrigerators, microwave, stereo and high speed internet wifi. You may also make use of all of Point Village's facilities such as its pool and restaurant while you stay here.The apartment comes equipped with snorkeling gear and 2 bicycles with which to roam around the area.This is a wonderful, private, romantic getaway that is very economical but has many more amenities than are provided by most expensive resorts.If you wish to reside at THE NEGRIL JAMAICA CONDOMINIUM on your next visit to Negril, please be sure to book your stay well in advance because this is a very good vacation buy in or out of season, so it books up fast.

The Caves Cliff Resort

2009-06-25T18:28:00.015-05:00

THE CAVES is a colorful cliff resort located about 5 miles from downtown off of One Love Drive.
This unique resort offers beautiful ocean front bungalows with great views. It's also famous for offering its patrons cliff diving or jumping opportunities from a unique spot on their cliffs called the blow hole.

Or they can just jump into the ocean from right in front of their own cabin.

People who have stayed at THE CAVES over the years consider it a very wonderful place to spend their Jamaican vacations so they come back again and again.

THE CAVES is one of the nearly 50 fine resorts in Negril served by ONESTOP VACATIONS, Negril's most knowledgable travel service. Contact them for further information (with no obligation) about staying or just dining here.