Vagabonding begins!

I remember last year while I was vagabonding, overhearing a sad little boy tell his parents that he wished it was not their “last day”. It was at that moment that I realized how different my new lifestyle really is. In theory, I should not have any more “last days”. Unfortunately, this trip was more vacation than vagabonding so indeed today was our last day and it was a little melancholy.

Our last day was spent in the rain, but at least we had good company. We met an English couple, Lynda and Terry, on the beach that lived near Lyndsey’s home town. They are Negril regulars and even though it was 90 degrees F, we enjoyed a nice hot cup of coffee and tea together. Go figure.

For dinner, we decided to submit and join the tourist ranks at the famous Rick’s Cafe. It is a huge complex on the cliffs, equip with live Reggae, cliff diving, and delicious but overpriced food. The grand finale was me getting my one foo-foo drink of the trip. (A foo-foo drink is anything fruity served with an umbrella). To preserve my manhood, my personal policy is that if I drink anything of that nature, I must be close enough to the sea to throw it in. That makes it alright. Otherwise, I might as well put on a dress.

My foo-foo drink of choice this trip was a pina colada. To my great disappointment, the bartender literally took a small, plastic Dixie cup, tapped a slushy machine full of the pre-mixed white liquid and slid it in my direction. The cost - $7 each. Yep, $7 for a machine generated drink, no umbrella, no fruit pieces, no frills, not even a proper glass. There was even tax and tip built into the check, what a joke! Sorry Rick, but your cafe is a scam.

Sorry for the “bursty” nature of my postings lately….I write here and there (including the Atlanta airport) and post whenever a juicy wireless signal makes itself known.

Pictures soon to come!

This is an interesting place.

I don’t think he’s getting much shade from his tree!

Like many of the developing countries I have been to, most areas just off the beach demonstrate incredible poverty and signs of tough living. Here, the budget hotels are mixed in with everything from nice places to simple shacks. There are no high-rises, the law being that no building can be taller than the palm trees. The all-inclusive places loom farther up the beach in their own Bay and the guests rarely venture down to my part of the beach. In fact, the resorts discourage them to leave at all and when we walked on their beach, the security guards asked to make sure that we were guests not straying too far from “home”. The logos and “plasticy” feel of the place made it look a lot like a Jamaican Disney Land - where fun comes in packaged, nice and neat, controlled bursts.

Jamaica is an unpredictable place, the animal life is awesome. Last night, after returning home, we were startled by a GIANT crab in front of our stairway. This thing was at least 3 pounds and several of his relatives are splattered all over the busy road between our room and the beach. I have seen the largest frog in my life, the size of 2 fists together. There is also a slender ferret that sneaks around the garden looking like it is up to no good.

Today while looking for shells in knee deep water, we found a wet but spendable $20 note – a nice change to the constant bleeding of money that seems to happen here. I have never been in a place where I have been deliberately given the wrong amount of change back so many times. Most people seem to pull the exchange rate directly from their bottoms when you pay in US dollars, and the 18% “tax” is sporadic as well. Almost everywhere there is a 10% “service charge” regardless of how much if any service that you receive. The 65:1 exchange rate in my favor provides no benefit whatsoever after tourist inflation is calculated.

Even with this being a budget traveler’s worst nightmare come true – the paradise quality of the beach and water makes up for it. The beach is the cleanest that I have ever walked on and the water is like one giant swimming pool. There is not much salt in the water, so you can open your eyes and see for meters without the slightest burn. I guess you have to pay to play in paradise.

It has been a long time since I did something that my brain felt was so stupid that it made my legs wobble. As I stood on the edge of the cliff, I could feel the long lost adrenaline ... [Continue reading this entry]

A local fishing boat Aside from all the scams and hustle, there are some awesome things here. Today we took a boat out to the reef for US$15 each and I hopped in ... [Continue reading this entry]

After surviving the almost dangerous dive, I decided that it was time to celebrate life. Lyndsey and I decided to hit the nightly reggae party at a big venue on the beach called Bourbon Beach. To sum the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Another perfect Jamaican day As our small dive boat bobbed up and down in the choppy but crystal clear water, I suddenly realized that I had not been issued one vital piece of scuba ... [Continue reading this entry]

I signed to do my first Caribbean dive tomorrow morning. The dive will be 25 meters, deep but not too deep, and maybe a shore dive where there are usually dolphins. The operation was tiny, and the divemaster that was ... [Continue reading this entry]

I don't know what made me accept the flier the girl was handing out on the beach, I have learned to just reflexively say “no” to every question asked. I was glad that I did. We ended up getting a free ... [Continue reading this entry]

Futball, football, soccer, whatever you call it - brings everyone together! It is hot. We alternate between burning in the sun and cooling ourselves in the water. In between swims, I am reading the Celestine ... [Continue reading this entry]

This picture sums up the meaning of life for me. The beach in Negril could not be any nicer – in fact, if beaches were models, this would be the old school Cyndi Crawford ... [Continue reading this entry]