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Re: Negril - A month in Jamaica--Trip report from queenb
Day 2-4
Disclaimer: I did not take notes, too much like work, so everything is from memory. I'll try not to leave out any details**read vodka haze**
I notice that there is someone else living on our floor with us, last year we had it to ourselves. Lo and behold it's Lenny
from Motown's trip report and adventure in the sea. The next day he moves across the street to Perseverance, but I see him often out and about.
Next morning after Alberto leaves for work, I tidy the room and walk down the drive to the beach. This morning I'm full up with happiness, so I lug along my CD player and a duffel full of CD's to liven up the beach. First thing first, I go and hail up the Bar-B-Barn staff, getting hugs all around. I really love this crew!
Elaine at Bar-B-Barn
I set up the music, I've gotten some new Mary J. Blige, Tweet, Truth Hurts to go with my staple Lauryn Hill and Wyclef. The water is even warmer than I remember, but the beach is a shock! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] About 1/2 of the beach is gone, washed into the sea. It isn't more than 40 feet wide here now.
(My theory is that when Hurricane Michelle hit and the tidal surge hit covering the beach with sea weed and junk, the method to clean up the beach is the cause of this. Most of the hotels rented bulldozers and backhoes and dug deep holes and just dumped the trash into these holes. Then when the next storm tide reached those places the water sank into spaces between the weeds, etc. and washed it back into the sea, carrying the sand with it.) No real excitement these days, though. Just swim, rinse, read, drink. These were my days until about 4, when I went home, showered and read while Alberto cooked dinner. Usually we had company, either Tommy (his wife is working in the States), or Robert, the young guy who works for Alberto, driving his boat. On Monday though (day 2) Alberto's friend Duncan came over and cooked curried goat for me, because he knows I love it. 
I love being spoiled like this; I could get real used to it, and I did!
On my second day I got to meet Rizla. She is staying next door to Bar-B-Barn at Barry's. What a cutie she is, no bigger than a minute. She looks about 17 years old and weighs about as much as my arm. Wait a minute, I think I hate her!! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] (joke) I really felt a link with her. Not only is she a fellow sufferer (read teacher) but a fellow Jerseyite. She actually lives no more than 7 miles from me. We both feel the pressures of our jobs and Rizla is worrying because she's only going to be there a few more days; she has to go back to teach summer school. I feel her pain, but you know--been there done that, I haven't worked in the summer for about 10 years, but I remember the days when it was necessary. Poor baby.
I also got to meet Ms. Mention and baby Tyrone. She was staying a little way down the beach at the Beach Club Condos. I had forgotten she lived in the UK, but at her first word, I remembered. That accent kills me coming out of a Black person! You must remember here in the States, we don't hear that accent often, so it's really unique. Lawd how that ooman caan talk!!
I do believe she chats almost as much as me. Meanwhile quirky Baby Tyrone refused to let his feet touch the sand--I thought that was hillarious. He just clung on her hip like the little primate he is, but a lot cuter, an absolute heart-breaker in the making.
I don't usually go out much at night. I did the beach bars the first couple of trips, and Alberto doesn't have much money to spend. Tourism is still very slow, and I know he likes to be able to spend some money once in a while, he doesn't want me or anyone to think that I'm supplying all the funds. We usually stay at home and lots of his friends come over and chat and play dominoes. I keep the Red Stripe stocked, so he can offer it to them, and of course I must have my vodka. Believe it or not, I rarely drink at home, but in Jamaica I'm forced to drink socially. We usually turn in by 9 or 10, and wake up by 6 or even before.
One July 1, we get new neighbors. Robert, an American from Ohio, and his fiancee' Karlie, a pretty and very young Jamaican girl. Alberto calls her "Indian" (to her face, no less), because she has obvious East Indian blood. She doesn't seem to mind, and answers to the name. We settle down and play dominoes and get to know them. This doesn't happen often, we find out later, because they are totally addicted to television. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that we now have cable television!! I think I looked at it 3 times the whole month, always very, very late at night if I was wakeful.
On July 3, Ms. Mention and Rizla stop by on their way to be on the scene when Negril.com has their weekly meeting at Fun Holiday. No way do I intend to walk that far up the beach, and I'm not really interested in the meeting. I figure if anything big comes up, Alberto will tell me; he seems to know anything and everything that goes on on the beach. Later Rizla comes by to talk. She's miserable because she's due to leave the next day. I tell her to extend her trip a day or two, since she doesn't have to go to work until Monday. Later I found she did stay one extra day, but was bummed out to have to leave.
Day 2-4
Disclaimer: I did not take notes, too much like work, so everything is from memory. I'll try not to leave out any details**read vodka haze**
I notice that there is someone else living on our floor with us, last year we had it to ourselves. Lo and behold it's Lenny
from Motown's trip report and adventure in the sea. The next day he moves across the street to Perseverance, but I see him often out and about.Next morning after Alberto leaves for work, I tidy the room and walk down the drive to the beach. This morning I'm full up with happiness, so I lug along my CD player and a duffel full of CD's to liven up the beach. First thing first, I go and hail up the Bar-B-Barn staff, getting hugs all around. I really love this crew!
Elaine at Bar-B-Barn
I set up the music, I've gotten some new Mary J. Blige, Tweet, Truth Hurts to go with my staple Lauryn Hill and Wyclef. The water is even warmer than I remember, but the beach is a shock! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] About 1/2 of the beach is gone, washed into the sea. It isn't more than 40 feet wide here now.
(My theory is that when Hurricane Michelle hit and the tidal surge hit covering the beach with sea weed and junk, the method to clean up the beach is the cause of this. Most of the hotels rented bulldozers and backhoes and dug deep holes and just dumped the trash into these holes. Then when the next storm tide reached those places the water sank into spaces between the weeds, etc. and washed it back into the sea, carrying the sand with it.) No real excitement these days, though. Just swim, rinse, read, drink. These were my days until about 4, when I went home, showered and read while Alberto cooked dinner. Usually we had company, either Tommy (his wife is working in the States), or Robert, the young guy who works for Alberto, driving his boat. On Monday though (day 2) Alberto's friend Duncan came over and cooked curried goat for me, because he knows I love it. I love being spoiled like this; I could get real used to it, and I did!
On my second day I got to meet Rizla. She is staying next door to Bar-B-Barn at Barry's. What a cutie she is, no bigger than a minute. She looks about 17 years old and weighs about as much as my arm. Wait a minute, I think I hate her!! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] (joke) I really felt a link with her. Not only is she a fellow sufferer (read teacher) but a fellow Jerseyite. She actually lives no more than 7 miles from me. We both feel the pressures of our jobs and Rizla is worrying because she's only going to be there a few more days; she has to go back to teach summer school. I feel her pain, but you know--been there done that, I haven't worked in the summer for about 10 years, but I remember the days when it was necessary. Poor baby.
I also got to meet Ms. Mention and baby Tyrone. She was staying a little way down the beach at the Beach Club Condos. I had forgotten she lived in the UK, but at her first word, I remembered. That accent kills me coming out of a Black person! You must remember here in the States, we don't hear that accent often, so it's really unique. Lawd how that ooman caan talk!!
I do believe she chats almost as much as me. Meanwhile quirky Baby Tyrone refused to let his feet touch the sand--I thought that was hillarious. He just clung on her hip like the little primate he is, but a lot cuter, an absolute heart-breaker in the making.I don't usually go out much at night. I did the beach bars the first couple of trips, and Alberto doesn't have much money to spend. Tourism is still very slow, and I know he likes to be able to spend some money once in a while, he doesn't want me or anyone to think that I'm supplying all the funds. We usually stay at home and lots of his friends come over and chat and play dominoes. I keep the Red Stripe stocked, so he can offer it to them, and of course I must have my vodka. Believe it or not, I rarely drink at home, but in Jamaica I'm forced to drink socially. We usually turn in by 9 or 10, and wake up by 6 or even before.
One July 1, we get new neighbors. Robert, an American from Ohio, and his fiancee' Karlie, a pretty and very young Jamaican girl. Alberto calls her "Indian" (to her face, no less), because she has obvious East Indian blood. She doesn't seem to mind, and answers to the name. We settle down and play dominoes and get to know them. This doesn't happen often, we find out later, because they are totally addicted to television. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that we now have cable television!! I think I looked at it 3 times the whole month, always very, very late at night if I was wakeful.
On July 3, Ms. Mention and Rizla stop by on their way to be on the scene when Negril.com has their weekly meeting at Fun Holiday. No way do I intend to walk that far up the beach, and I'm not really interested in the meeting. I figure if anything big comes up, Alberto will tell me; he seems to know anything and everything that goes on on the beach. Later Rizla comes by to talk. She's miserable because she's due to leave the next day. I tell her to extend her trip a day or two, since she doesn't have to go to work until Monday. Later I found she did stay one extra day, but was bummed out to have to leave.
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