TRIP REPORT!!!

[neutral]

one stop dere driver shout the stout man,I was rather pleased as I was so squashed that in another few minutes they would have had to mop my dinner from the floor of the overcrowded minibus.first the ductor got off,then a couple more passengers,then I inturn had to maneuvre myself into a position to let the large man off.
I was travelling from lucea to negril,and had opted for the economical version of a coastal trip to negril,ie,me and 30 other people in a minibus only equipped for 14 people plus driver.
as the blast of the dancehall music penetrated and made an assault on my eardrums I simply tried to act nonchalant and eased back in my tiny space in a way as not to give any clues as to my newness at this game.
it is rather difficult acting nonchalant when you are squeezed between a rather large paunched man,and an irritatingly schoolgirl who chose to pick every bogey out her nose without even acknowledging that she is in public let alone on a bus packed like sardine people.

I thought to myself,...welcome to jamaica ..roots style,....not for me those nice cosy air conditioned luxurious looking coaches that ferries tourists from montegobay to negril,I thought to myself,..what would those same tourists make of this,the real jamaica,if they too had to abandon their luxurious airconditioned luxury on wheels,and face jamaica instead of the cosy 7 miles of beach to which they retreat for two weeks amongst their very own,and then return to the airport in a cocoon of naivety....where was I ..I digress......yes..I was on a minibus heading for negril from lucea,...lucea is a market town,it is the capital of hanover,...if you travel from montegobay airport to negril,then it is 99% possible that you *have* to travel through the town.....for christ`s sake...stop!!!!have a beer,ask your driver to stop,..spend a few minutes in the town...that is all it takes.
all inclusive holidays are killing the livelyhood for the average jamaican that depends on tourists,..if you do get a chance to spend a dollar/pound or two with the indegenous population then please do..it is of great importance to the jamaican economy...
gawd!!!I digress again...damn!!
anyway,,soon my minibus driver was hurtling up the newly built highway at a speed of 90 miles an hour overtaking up to 4 other vehicles at once even on the most treacherous bends,I held my breath as the music pumped and everyone looked so cool even though they were possible two seconds away from meeting the great dancehall guy in the sky.
someone in the road put out a hand as we zoomed past bullbay,I felt safe in the knowledge that the driver is not likely to stop under no circumstances to pick up any other passengers,..the bus was over full,the ductor bwoy was standing with his head in a funny angle due to the height of the bus+height of his body= uncomfortableness for neck.
but...to my horror,the bus stopped,the man got on ..somehow,and once again we were not humans...just a great big squashed lump of people being pounded by loud dancehall music in our ears to dull our senses until we reach negril...90 miles...100 miles an hour,..I could hardly breathe,..funny thing though,I enjoy dancehall music,..If I was gonna be squashed to death,then at least it would be to the sounds of beeny man and bounti killa...
is that the sight of hedonism I can barely see ..it must be..at least four people got out at the entrance to hedonism..workers I assume,for them no luxury of the airconditioned bus...rough it with the rest of us...tonight you can put on your cheesy smile and entertain the tourists..life`s a *****hh.
I took comfort in the thought that at least I too will be getting off soon,..I was going to say when I get to marguertaville ...one stop please driver...he will stop,..the ductor wiil take my fare..$40 dollars...not even enough to buy a stick of wrigleys in the states due to the stringent quotas the usa has put on jamaica in return for lending money from the imf.
I got off the bus at my destination,..I sighed,I put on my sunshades to hide the tears,I am far too cool to be seen crying for my little island in the sun,..what is to become of us,I wondered,...but for now at least I have one advantage that the rest of the population hasnt..I could go back in two weeks to the relative safety of a thriving economy,..I had a good time....this trip was great...should I say..enlightening...boy what a trip from lucea to negril that was.

[Nanook]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

WOW neutral, PLEASE, I haffi beg ya now, please doan stop here....THIS is my kind of trip report, WOWWWEEEEE....one stop indeed, OK, mi a wait [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[MacDawg]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

Excellent Imagery!!

I almost felt myself being strangled by the mad crush of an extremely overcrowded bus! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Keep it up please! Don't stop now!

[gmarieggers]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

More please, not enough yet [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Murry

[darkberry21]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

[img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]
Your trip report kept my eyes glued to the screen. As you told your happenings my mind started flowing with my own very memorable mini bus rides around the island. It sparked a whole conversation between me and peops about our anual trips back home. I was in stitches all night from all the laughter and story telling your report sparked. Please keep it goin

[Tiger Eye]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

i definitely want to read more of this...waiting semi-patiently. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[queenb]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

**tap fut** C'mon, c'mon!! On with the suss!! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[neutral]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

ahhhh!!!margeritaville,.bliss,I found a nice cosy spot on the beach and watched lazily as adults ...(and kids when they are allowed),..bounced excitedly on the oversized trampoline buoyed 100 yards out....I was just about to get comfortable when my laziness was interrupted...."hey sar,lobster?"it was one of the many vendors I had seen walking endlessly up and down the beach selling whatever they can to eke a living out the "tourist trade"...a young man in his late teens I guess,he had pretty tasty looking lobsters already cooked and ready to eat,I bought one for 200 dollars and he cut it in half and squeezed lime over it,it tasted as good as it looked..its hard to be objective when you are surrounded by obvious poverty in the midst of a multi million dollar tourist industry.
I always try and patronise the vendors as they go by,......on a good day at negril beach my stomach is rumbling with 3 lobsters,6 bananas,a slice of mango,juice of 2 pieces sugar cane,various seasonal fruits,..and an aloe vera upper body massage thrown in.....my stomach may resemble a 7 months pregnant woman,and I may be wretching safe in the knowledge that I have supported the real tourist trade.

a group of sorry looking fellows slowly walked up the beach looking miserable and not afraid to show it,they carried various musical instruments,..I use the term loosely,...their "musical instruments"resembled something noah would have thrown off the ark to make room for a couple kangaroos.
there was a "guitar" or what used to be a guitar,a double bass that had long gave up pretending it was still a part of the music family.there was also a homemade "something" that could be sat on whilst being plinked to facilitate some kind of music,..and bringing up the rear,everyones favourite,...the "shake in the hand"things......
I guessed this must be the resident beach band,..have musical "things" will travel,
I beckoned for them to come over,and in an instant their previous hang dog looks had been transformed into cheery smiles as if auditioning for "get your brown teeth here"toothpaste.
I requested them to play .."island in the sun"..and after a few moments hesitation that appeared to look as if none of them knew which one was the vocalist,they struck up the song...beautiful!!the eldest of the troupe sang in a kind of bassy tenor voice and transformed the song into a tale of a once beautiful island handed down by "my fathers hand"...I sat tranfixed and marvelled at the instant transformation of the musical instruments,they did what they were supposed to do,but they did it beautifully...what was previously decrepit looking musical instruments were suddenly master musical instruments,..my mind drifted as he sang.."oh island in the sun,given to me by my father`s hand"...I wandered all the way back to my boyhood days in jamaica,..I had heard the song then,..it was very popular on the radio,..
..."all my days I will sing and shout"...the ballad continued,...when he finished his song I was still in my boyhood days....the days when a dollar was about 3 dollars to the english pound,now its 74..in five years time it will be necessary to carry a wheelbarrow full of dollars just to buy a loaf of bread in jamaica, the days when tourists freely walked down the streets and aimlessly window shopped and buy stuff from locals....now they are cooped up in all inclusive hotels away from the people that their dollars should benefit...
"sar,"sar"!!!it was the ballader waking me back to reality and also to remind me that musical geniuses as themselves need to eat and feed their kids as well,..I payed them a sum commensurate with numbers in the group,and also musical merit,..I didnt pay them for presentation,but I dont think they cared,.they walked away looking a lot happier than when they first came.

[grandma2]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

wow (((neutral))) baby,tap out some more nuh man

[Guest]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

Sounds great ! Keep it coming.

[Rasta Stan]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

The lobster and mento music...it's a great time you be havin' on da beach.
Great report..more please. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Nanook]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

neutral, what a great way to start the day, having my morning coffee and finding this here!

Please do a homesick lady a favour and do it some more!

[neutral]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

I had seen a special looking wood carving in an inbond shop on a previous trip to jamaica,..I had not bought it then as I thought it too expensive,..duty free they describe those shops,
the only thing free about them is the big cheesy smiles you get from the mainly indian owners who see you as a walking wad of cash coming through the door....I decided on this trip to visit one of the local craft market in search of the carving,..a kind of "kissing couple" but done in one single piece of wood,...I walked up to the craft market looking for all the world like the most touristy bloke in the world...big mistake!!!.for a split second or two I nervously glanced behind me looking for the target of the advancing crowd...it was me!!the sudden advance by at least 6 vendors seemed like something out of charge of the light brigade,..that was mild compared to this unslaught,.."hey gimme a look no"!!.."come over here sar".."unnu leave de gentleman alone"..."hey nice gentleman,si mi here"...it was the usual patter that I guessed would have been used a thousand times before.

I settled..or rather surrendered for the rather calorifically challenged lady who had my wrist firmly in her hand,..a naive looking lamb to the slaughter,..I tried to explain what I was after,but I may well have been explaining how they built the spacecraft that landed on the moon...after rejecting at least the twentieth piece of wood that looked absolutely nothing like my kissing piece of wood,she surrendered.
I wandered back out her craft shop to face the next unslaught,at least whilst I was in her shop I was safe from attack,....."over here sar"...."a wah im waan sinting weh a kiss?"......
"gimme a likkle look please".....it was a young lady in her early twenties with a sweet voice and a pleasant manner that I decided to surrender to,..I once again tried to explain about my elusive kissing piece of wood,..ohhh!!I tink I know wot yu mean man"...she forraged in a little cupboard and came out with a piece of wood with very prominent lips,..but not my kissing wood,...we got talking and she explained that the vendors were very insistent when they did get a potential customer because they hardly see any,...the craft market was too far from the main tourist area,..they had formed a group and protested,and in return they were all given certain days where they could put up stalls on the hotel compound,..that was the day they depended on to make their living..if they didnt make any money that day,it meant waiting a whole week to try again...I ended up buying a piece of carving from her,..but still didnt find the elusive kissing piece of carving...
I was anxious to set off back on my return journey before nightfall,..I had a bad experience of night time driving in jamaica,...also a bad experience of walking...it was two nights previous,and I had decided to walk the short distance from where I was staying to the nearest bar,...I opted to walk on the side of uncoming traffic,..that way I can see which model car is going to hit me,....for some strange reasons jamaican drivers put their main beams on at night,....absolutely annoying if you are driving towards them...even as lethal if you are walking towards them....as I stepped slightly into the bushes to keep out the way of an incoming aeroplane with main beams my feet found no purchase.....simply fresh air,and I went tumbling down the embankment arms and feet flailing in sheer panic,..I had no idea where I would end up,.I managed to grab hold of a clump of bush and slowly made my way back up..I certainly appreciated the drink when i finally reached the bar....
I was now dreading the ride back home,it was exciting admittedly,...but so is parachuting.....
I walked into negril town centre and chartered a taxi to take me home,..I was all for helping the local economy,..but I wasnt a sadist...ahh!!
the total freedom of having a chartered taxi to oneself...,the bartering,the sweat,the tears,the begging,..and thats just to agree the price......but thats another story................ [img]/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[gmarieggers]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

neutral

Thanks, for the lovely memories your bringing back to me.

The water trampoline (margville) was just 3 doors down from where I stayed in Feb. (The Treehouse) You were on a part of beach where I spent most of my time.

While reading your words I was back home for a likkle while - thank you so very much. Did you get up to the TH, how's the beach doing up there?
When I was there in Feb the water was up to the outter most point of the bar.

Yes, that same band came down and played at the TH bar the first day we were there. I recall those smiles you spoke of.

The higglers sugar cane - first time I'd ever had sugarcane - had no idea it was so juicy - umm umm good.

Keep the report coming - love it. Thanks for talking me back home.

Murry

[neutral]

Re: TRIP REPORT!!!

Originally posted by Murry:
[qb]neutral

Thanks, for the lovely memories your bringing back to me.

The water trampoline (margville) was just 3 doors down from where I stayed in Feb. (The Treehouse) You were on a part of beach where I spent most of my time.

While reading your words I was back home for a likkle while - thank you so very much. Did you get up to the TH, how's the beach doing up there?
When I was there in Feb the water was up to the outter most point of the bar.

Yes, that same band came down and played at the TH bar the first day we were there. I recall those smiles you spoke of.

The higglers sugar cane - first time I'd ever had sugarcane - had no idea it was so juicy - umm umm good.

Keep the report coming - love it. Thanks for talking me back home.

Murry[/qb]

hi murry,..I didnt visit the tree house beach,I quite enjoyed hanging out at margaville`..the cool hammocks,the restaurant....the trampoline....cool [img]/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] my report was just meant to be about my day out....sometime when I have time I may write an extensive report about my last visit. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]