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Monday morning arrives. The thoughts of beginning a new work week are the furthest thing from my mind. I am about to embark on my two week sojourn to Negril and my heart is as light as a feather. Not a care in the world except to make sure I get on the plane.
As we all experience before heading to the airport there are always last minute details to attend to. After the suitcase is packed and placed by the door I had to “box up my feline”. So I went to my local grocery store and found an appropriate looking cardboard container and headed back home. Small holes were then cut in the sides of the box to allow the beast to have access to fresh air. I then hunt down the sleek, agile, predator and lower him slowly in his temporary enclosure. After wrapping the box with duct tape to prevent any escape attempts I place the box in my vehicle and head for the kennel.
Cat In The Box
After much wailing and nashng of fangs we arrive. A pleasant lady approaches and introduces herself as the kennel worker who will be taking care of my kitty cat while I’m away on holidays. “Fine”, “just take him lady I have a holiday to start”, I think to myself. One last look at the box and I can see a little gold coloured eye spying at me through one of the little air holes. The puss was not impressed, but what is a pet owner to do if he does not want to burden family to look after his cat while he’s away in Jamaica. “Sorry Kitty, see you soon.” I reply to the box, and I’m headed back home to prepare for the start of my holiday..
The next couple hours are spent listening to R+ radio and sipping on a stripe. I close my eyes and imagine the warm sunshine on my face and the smell of the sea air. Paradise awaits and I want to savor every minute.
Next item on the agenda is to get myself to the airport. I leave extra early, due to excitement and as it turns out it was a wise move. Bumper to bumper traffic almost all the way would have made me miss my flight should I have left for the airport any later. I pick up my ticket, check my bags and before I know it my flight is called for boarding. I join the long line of Canadian holiday seekers and Jamaican citizens returning home after visiting family or doing business in Toronto.
Getting Ready to Board the Plane to Mo Bay
Sitting next to me is Ray, a Jamaican businessman who lives in Toronto but is involved in real estate development in and around Mo Bay. He is also well versed on natural health supplements and herbal remedies.
Ray and I chat and the flight takes off and lands in Mo Bay in what seems like mere minutes. Ray is a fascinating gentleman and his wealth of knowledge about Jamaica is vast. With the three and a half hour flight behind me, the plane taxis up to the terminal building in Mo Bay.Ray and I say our goodbye, the plane's doors swing open and we all scurry out onto the tarmac quickly.
Immigration, customs and baggage claims all go quickly and smoothly. I step out into the hallway of the airport and a pleasant lady ask if I need help. I tell her “I need to get a JUTA transfer to Negril”. She directs me to another lady who tells me it will cost $20US . After paying her I am directed to head out to the parking lot and my bags are thrown on a huge coach bus. As it turns out, JUTA did not have any other customers going to Negril so “a deal” was struck to put me on a bus full of couples heading to the RIU tourist prison, oops I mean tourist resort on Bloody Bay.
I have to forgo the usual resort rep on the bus welcoming everyone to Jamaica and telling us all how great the RIU is and what it has to offer. “I want you all to meet me in the hotel lobby at 11am tomorrow morning for a brief meeting she announces”. Lord, how many times have I been to those meetings in the past I ask myself. This time however I’m not staying at an all inclusive so no meeting for me.
It is National Heros Day In Jamaica and while driving to Negril we pass by many street parties and celebrations to mark the event. The one in Mo Bay was HUGE. Let me out here I joke with the driver, but it is getting late and he is hell bent on getting to Negril in record time.
The bus pulls up in front of the RIU and everyone but myself steps off into the very elegant looking lobby. Ceramic flooring, mahogany furniture and a fountain are all part of the setting.
The driver turns to me and asks “where yu go”? I tell him I’m staying at Secrets which is near or in the same property as Firefly. He calls to a young man and asks him if he knows where Secrets or Firefly is. The young man gives the driver directions and we are off. I feel so small riding on a huge bus all by myself. Thankfully we only need to travel a short distance before the bus pulls over and the driver announces our arrival.
I step off the bus and the driver places my bags at my feet. A thank you and tip are exchanged and the bus departs quickly. I enter through the front entrance to Firefly down a dark path lit by motion detection spot lights which light up as I make my way along it. Out of the shadows steps a man who for a brief second startles me. “Hello” he says. “You must be Mike, I have been expecting you. I’m Andrew the night watchman”. Andrew shows me to my room. It is a small 10'x10' cabin, very rustic and very basic. Not a surprise as I knew what to expect by the research I had done on the internet. Andrew gives me the lowdown on the property etc.... . My first question to him is “where can I get something to eat. The snack on the plane was tiny and I have not eaten since morning. It was now 11pm and I was both hungry and tired. Andrew points to a place up the beach that should still be open. However, as I soon found out, many places in Negril close earlier during the ‘off”season and this place was no different. “Come back in the morning and we will look after you” says a lady who was cleaning up. So I decide to go to bed hungry and wait until morning to have a big Jamaican breakfast.
As I lay in bed inside my little doll sized cabin I start to think about my upcoming vacation. The loud sounds of the insects keep me awake for what must have been hours before I could fall asleep. No air conditioning to drown out the noise, only a oscillating fan. As the nights would pass the sounds would lull me to sleep instead of keep me awake. Funny how things that at first annoy you can soon become soothing once you kick back and relax.
More to come.
As we all experience before heading to the airport there are always last minute details to attend to. After the suitcase is packed and placed by the door I had to “box up my feline”. So I went to my local grocery store and found an appropriate looking cardboard container and headed back home. Small holes were then cut in the sides of the box to allow the beast to have access to fresh air. I then hunt down the sleek, agile, predator and lower him slowly in his temporary enclosure. After wrapping the box with duct tape to prevent any escape attempts I place the box in my vehicle and head for the kennel.
Cat In The Box
After much wailing and nashng of fangs we arrive. A pleasant lady approaches and introduces herself as the kennel worker who will be taking care of my kitty cat while I’m away on holidays. “Fine”, “just take him lady I have a holiday to start”, I think to myself. One last look at the box and I can see a little gold coloured eye spying at me through one of the little air holes. The puss was not impressed, but what is a pet owner to do if he does not want to burden family to look after his cat while he’s away in Jamaica. “Sorry Kitty, see you soon.” I reply to the box, and I’m headed back home to prepare for the start of my holiday..
The next couple hours are spent listening to R+ radio and sipping on a stripe. I close my eyes and imagine the warm sunshine on my face and the smell of the sea air. Paradise awaits and I want to savor every minute.
Next item on the agenda is to get myself to the airport. I leave extra early, due to excitement and as it turns out it was a wise move. Bumper to bumper traffic almost all the way would have made me miss my flight should I have left for the airport any later. I pick up my ticket, check my bags and before I know it my flight is called for boarding. I join the long line of Canadian holiday seekers and Jamaican citizens returning home after visiting family or doing business in Toronto.
Getting Ready to Board the Plane to Mo Bay
Sitting next to me is Ray, a Jamaican businessman who lives in Toronto but is involved in real estate development in and around Mo Bay. He is also well versed on natural health supplements and herbal remedies.
Ray and I chat and the flight takes off and lands in Mo Bay in what seems like mere minutes. Ray is a fascinating gentleman and his wealth of knowledge about Jamaica is vast. With the three and a half hour flight behind me, the plane taxis up to the terminal building in Mo Bay.Ray and I say our goodbye, the plane's doors swing open and we all scurry out onto the tarmac quickly.
Immigration, customs and baggage claims all go quickly and smoothly. I step out into the hallway of the airport and a pleasant lady ask if I need help. I tell her “I need to get a JUTA transfer to Negril”. She directs me to another lady who tells me it will cost $20US . After paying her I am directed to head out to the parking lot and my bags are thrown on a huge coach bus. As it turns out, JUTA did not have any other customers going to Negril so “a deal” was struck to put me on a bus full of couples heading to the RIU tourist prison, oops I mean tourist resort on Bloody Bay.
I have to forgo the usual resort rep on the bus welcoming everyone to Jamaica and telling us all how great the RIU is and what it has to offer. “I want you all to meet me in the hotel lobby at 11am tomorrow morning for a brief meeting she announces”. Lord, how many times have I been to those meetings in the past I ask myself. This time however I’m not staying at an all inclusive so no meeting for me.
It is National Heros Day In Jamaica and while driving to Negril we pass by many street parties and celebrations to mark the event. The one in Mo Bay was HUGE. Let me out here I joke with the driver, but it is getting late and he is hell bent on getting to Negril in record time.
The bus pulls up in front of the RIU and everyone but myself steps off into the very elegant looking lobby. Ceramic flooring, mahogany furniture and a fountain are all part of the setting.
The driver turns to me and asks “where yu go”? I tell him I’m staying at Secrets which is near or in the same property as Firefly. He calls to a young man and asks him if he knows where Secrets or Firefly is. The young man gives the driver directions and we are off. I feel so small riding on a huge bus all by myself. Thankfully we only need to travel a short distance before the bus pulls over and the driver announces our arrival.
I step off the bus and the driver places my bags at my feet. A thank you and tip are exchanged and the bus departs quickly. I enter through the front entrance to Firefly down a dark path lit by motion detection spot lights which light up as I make my way along it. Out of the shadows steps a man who for a brief second startles me. “Hello” he says. “You must be Mike, I have been expecting you. I’m Andrew the night watchman”. Andrew shows me to my room. It is a small 10'x10' cabin, very rustic and very basic. Not a surprise as I knew what to expect by the research I had done on the internet. Andrew gives me the lowdown on the property etc.... . My first question to him is “where can I get something to eat. The snack on the plane was tiny and I have not eaten since morning. It was now 11pm and I was both hungry and tired. Andrew points to a place up the beach that should still be open. However, as I soon found out, many places in Negril close earlier during the ‘off”season and this place was no different. “Come back in the morning and we will look after you” says a lady who was cleaning up. So I decide to go to bed hungry and wait until morning to have a big Jamaican breakfast.
As I lay in bed inside my little doll sized cabin I start to think about my upcoming vacation. The loud sounds of the insects keep me awake for what must have been hours before I could fall asleep. No air conditioning to drown out the noise, only a oscillating fan. As the nights would pass the sounds would lull me to sleep instead of keep me awake. Funny how things that at first annoy you can soon become soothing once you kick back and relax.
More to come.
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