Re: OchoRios - My First (And Definitely Not My Last) Trip To Jamaica
Remo the food was soooo much better than it looks and it looks good!!!
Ms. Kat I think that I would pay for Andrew to come to the States if he agreed to cook for me everyday. He made some slap your momma cabbage one day-I though I was gonna die a happy death.
Marilyn-Oh yeah, I felt like a Jamaicaholic before I left. Now I know that it is an addiction that will be satisfied by reading as many trip reports as possible and hoarding all my money for future trips.
PLV-my little Miss was not happy that mommy went to JA. I'll tell you more when I get to the end of the report.
Ok I gotta go and spend some time with Little Miss. She doesn't appreciate the fact that people want mommy to finish this report.
Re: OchoRios - My First (And Definitely Not My Last) Trip To Jamaica
Sammy-Hopefully Jamaica can make me glow like that soon, soon, soon.
Dave-I still can't believe I was just there. Just a week ago. It was so beautiful, so lush, so undisturbed. And right next to it was Margaritaville. Oh well.
Re: OchoRios - My First (And Definitely Not My Last) Trip To Jamaica
Off To Explore
I decided to go down to the beach. I go to the front desk and pick up a pass from Charmaine. It’s about a 2-3 minute walk from the beach from the hotel. The first thing I notice is all the flowers. I also pass a couple of hotels along the little walk. I couldn’t believe that a beach is fenced in. It seems against nature.
I am just beaming. I hope that I don’t have a stupid grin on my face. I’m just loving the sun and the heat. I pick a spot to drop my stuff down and go straight for the water. I notice that the people on the beach are about 80% black. Although I am in Jamaica, I though that because the beach was private that it would be full of tourists. As I’m wading through the water, heading to the deep part, I notice that I’m hearing mostly patios. I go under the buoyed rope and start to float. I’m looking up to the sky and having a conversation with God. When I stand up a guy comes to me and says, “Hey fatty are you standing.” Yep I’m standing. He can’t believe it. I ask him how tall he is. He says he’s 5’6. No wonder, I’m 5’8.
Re: OchoRios - My First (And Definitely Not My Last) Trip To Jamaica
Kunta
So now I’m playing the catch me if you can game with a guy with gold teeth and a white netted shirt on. I finally duck him and try to start my convo with God again. I hear, Hey fatty. I look up and see this brown skinned brother hollering at me and waving. I wave back and float quickly in the other direction. I’m floating and staring at my feet laughing because I already have a tan line where my flip flops rest on my feet. I feel the water around me moving and hear someone say, hey girl. It’s the guy that was waving at me earlier. His name is Kunta and he’s from Kingston. He told me that he was afraid to step to me because when he said hi I ran in the other direction. That made me grin. I told him that I’m not in JA looking for a man and I’m not trying to get played by a beach boy. He asked where I was staying and I told him that I was staying at a hotel on the beach. He grins. He said that he understands because there are a lot of people who will use you because life is rough here. He told me about his life in Kingston. He told me that he grew up poor and had just lost his job. He asked if I was in school and I said yes. He told me that he would love to be in school, but that he didn’t have the money. Kunta was real sweet and had a really cute smile. I liked that while he was talking to me he kept his distance and wasn’t invading my space. He told me that he and a group of his friends had come down to the beach with his cousin who drove a JUTA bus. He cousin came over and told him to come. Kunta told me that he would be right back. I floated in the water for about another half an hour and decided to head back to the apartment. As I walking out of the water I hear someone calling to Sugar. I turn around and its Kunta. He picks up my towel and shakes out the sand and carries my bag to the exit of the beach. He walks me over to the shower and holds my stuff while I wash off my feet. I told him that I really enjoyed talking to him and stay sweet. He said wait right here. He runs back to the beach and gets his cousin’s phone and asks me for my number. For the next 10 minutes were are laughing because we can’t figure out how to save my number in the darn phone. I say bye and walk back to the hotel.
After I shower and get dressed I decide to explore Ochi. As I’m leaving I see Chris and he asks where am I going. I told him I’m just going to see what I can find. He tells me that most things will be closed since it is Sunday. He’s right. I walk up the street and get the catcalls and marriage proposals of the men I pass, but I just keep walking. I find the craft market and go inside. As soon as I step through the gate a woman walks up to me and asks me if she could show me her stall. I agree, but tell her I’m just looking and don’t intend on buying anything. I have the same song and dance happen with a number of people. I soon leave with promises of coming back tomorrow.
I see people going further up the street so I decide-OK why not. I keep walking and notice that I’m the only foreigner around. Most of the people around me are locals. I look up and see the Jamaica Grande. From the trip reports I have an idea of where I am. I keep passing things that I have heard about in trip reports-Little Pub, the Clock Tower, Jucci Pattie. Once I get to the clock tower I decide to turn around and head back to the hotel since it’s getting dark.
I go back to the hotel and call home. I talked to my daughter and she made me laugh. She told me that she went out with her grandma and got food in her hair. She said that her grandma was really mad, but now she has a popsicle. You gotta love ‘em.
I need to eat and haven’t found anything that’s open. Since I did go through Margaritaville this morning, I decide I’ll eat there. I go inside and get the Jerk Chicken. It was good, but overpriced. I feel a little uncomfortable because its getting all romantic in there. The sun is going down and I’m looking at the beach wishing that I had my camera with me. One of the workers starts lighting the torches around the porch area and they start playing slow songs. Ok, its time to go. I’m bored now with no prospects for the evening except to watch TV and go to bed. I decide that I will ask Chris what is there to do. When I get back to Fisherman’s I don’t see him and decided to go in for the night. Before I go to sleep I talk to myself about being more open. I didn’t really look at the people who were flirting with me. I’m trying not to be the stereotype. I realize that the men of Jamaica are not here to satisfy my needs, but if they are offering?
Re: OchoRios - My First (And Definitely Not My Last) Trip To Jamaica
Kat next time you are in Negril I will show you guys the spots where I normally dine and you can get the goods.
there are quite a few places where you can get a decent set up of brown stew/fried chicken, ackee/saltfish steam fish, banana, plantains, rice, rice and peas, callaloo, dumpling or dasheen- usually a small is 150-70J. And for Angie and M they do not serve finish soup, lol...they usually are stocked.
you gotta watch though, cuz a lot of places use the cheap foam which then becomes part of your meal.
a friend of mine had a deal going at one mile- we'll eat until we taste foam, then decide how much to pay.
Re: OchoRios - My First (And Definitely Not My Last) Trip To Jamaica
Rudemonk-Never heard from him again. I'm not surprised. I don't think we put my number in that phone right. He wanted me to come to Kingston to visit him, but I just wasn't there long enough.
Re: OchoRios - My First (And Definitely Not My Last) Trip To Jamaica
Thanks Patty. When you read the rest of the report you will see that it was divine intervention that I wasn't feeling him, because I would have been sadly disappointed and aggravated to keep him in my life.
We process personal data about users of our site, through the use of cookies and other technologies, to deliver our services, personalize advertising, and to analyze site activity. We may share certain information about our users with our advertising and analytics partners. For additional details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
By clicking "I AGREE" below, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our personal data processing and cookie practices as described therein. You also acknowledge that this forum may be hosted outside your country and you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your data in the country where this forum is hosted.
Tweet
Peace 
Comment