Trip Report Fall 2009 Negril & Ocho Rios, Eco

[ECO]

Finally someone who can label stuff!

The one thing you did not label is a dumpling or that is what people tell me it is. It's sort of pasty and IMO it's only good for soaking up the grease from the salt fish.

[ECO]

Thursday was sort of depressing since I feel in love with the West end of Negril and did not want to leave I had some salt fish and ackee at the Xtabi along with a Red Stripe for $1400 the morning before I paid $600 for the same meal up the road a bit. The food was good and since they have a wireless internet connection I was able to catch up on some e-mails over breakfast. After breakfast another swim was in order.......I'm glad they did not charge for swimming since it seemed like I was taking a few swims a day!

b1.jpg

b2.jpg

After we packed up we drove 5-10 minutes to the lighthouse to take some pictures. Since the sun was high in the sky I only took a few pictures (I like to shoot early in the morning or at sunset). I guess you can go up in the lighthouse but seeing as it was hot out, they did not have an elevator and I doubt they had air conditioning I opted to revisit that idea on another trip.

b3.jpg

The over to Ocho Rios was boring.......I hate being in a car for 3+ hours.......maybe a cheap flight will be in order next time? On the way over I exchanged $500USD at 89 to 1 since I was running low on Jamaican money. Along the way we took a detour up in the hills so I could get some pictures of Discovery Bay (might have the name wrong).

b5.jpg

Before I forget, every time I saw this "sand box" over in Negril I wondered how many kids from the US thought it was a sandbox to play in

b4.jpg

[ECO]

Arriving at Rooms on the Beach felt nice after a long trip and since I had stayed there before it gave a warm feeling like I was sort of returning home or something.....it was a long drive, maybe I was a little nutty. As soon I walked through the pool area, Katie (Ashley's friend) ran over to introduce herself. Out of habit I gave her a nice hug and then began to wonder if her boyfriend "Killer" was around.......not so sure Jamaican men like others to hug up on their women

c1.jpg

After the horrible check in process at Rooms and a mental note to review them I headed up to my Room. This was the second time in a row there that they did not have the room I requested and they made me wait until they found one After unloading my luggage I was able to do some laundry, I was lucky enough to have a washer/dryer on the 3rd floor that actually worked Lol, I only had to travel to the first or second floor to find a working ice machine that actually had ice in it.

c2.jpg

While I was waiting for my laundry to get done I found the top secret passage way from the beach to the market area. NOTE: if you stay at rooms and want a great shortcut to the market area be sure to find this passage way! At the super market I was able to stock up on Wray & Nephew, mango & carrot juice and a few other small items that got somewhat heavy on the return trip since I could not remember where that shortcut was.

For dinner I wanted to try Jamaican "fast food" so I went to Mothers. A simple meal cost $700 and while the food was not great it was not horrible either. I'll post a picture from my phone once I get around to uploading those to my computer.

c3.jpg

[damswell]

lol fast food from mother - should have had the cheese patty!!!

[ECO]

lol fast food from mother - should have had the cheese patty!!!

I had a BBQ chicken leg and a chicken sandwich with fries. Something there had chemicals in it because I got that the same sick feeling I get when I eat fast food/chemical food in the states. I was hoping they would have veggie patties but either I missed them on the menu or they did not serve them.

[ECO]

LOVE. LOVE.LOVE the sunset pic!

Thanks, I think that was the only nice one I got the whole trip. Negril had poor sunsets the first two nights I was there and at Ashley's wedding I was more focused on her and Ainsley and didn't pay the sunset any attention.

[GhettoGurl]

That is defenitely dumpling, it's boiled and I even think they use "corn meal" in it. Eco I love the report so far!!!!!!!

[Wahoo]

I bet that's guava jelly. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

[Wahoo]

That Ochi sunset pic blew my mind! I saw that and thought I was having flashbacks!

[Wahoo]

Dayum, Rooms looks like pretty decent accommodations. If they put big mirrors on the ceiling, I'd stay there myself!

[ECO]

Dayum, Rooms looks like pretty decent accommodations. If they put big mirrors on the ceiling, I'd stay there myself!

I overpaid on Skyauction.com but still got the room for a little under $60 a night, not bad for an ocean front room in Ochi. If you think that room is nice you should see the ones they have over in Negril......really nice!

If you look at the right corner of the picture you can make out a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey.....drink enough of it and you will see mirrors on the ceiling

[ECO]

That is defenitely dumpling, it's boiled and I even think they use "corn meal" in it. Eco I love the report so far!!!!!!!

Thanks.

Out of interest, do you eat dumplings and actually enjoy them on their own?

[GhettoGurl]

I have eaten the boiled ones with Ackee and Saltfish in that place in Dorchester (which BTW I found out they closed dung for operating without a license). I liked it but the one I ate was bigger than that and wasnt boiled dung from the inside.

Wayne also used to cook dem like that.. With any meal. I like eading dem. Fills yu up pretty good It's not like I would wanna eat dem every day. But I do like it. I'd pick fried over boiled anytime tho

[Jelakins]

:rock: Finally someone who can label stuff!

The one thing you did not label is a dumpling or that is what people tell me it is. It's sort of pasty and IMO it's only good for soaking up the grease from the salt fish.

It just didn't LOOK like boiled dumpling!! And it it didn't taste good its because it didn't have cornmeal inna it!!!! LOLOLOL

[Jelakins]

That is defenitely dumpling, it's boiled and I even think they use "corn meal" in it. Eco I love the report so far!!!!!!!

Thanks.

Out of interest, do you eat dumplings and actually enjoy them on their own?

God Yeah!!!
Its even better the next day if you cut them in half and fry them and then smother them in Tomato Ketchup!!!!!

And GG - dem deh dumplin nuh ah nuh carn meal inna dem!!!

[Jelakins]

Cornmeal in anything is disgusting!

ah weh di.....!!!
carnmeal mek people trang!! Wha'pen tuh yuh!!!!

[Rose21]

Cornmeal in anything is disgusting!

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dumplings without cornmeals that's a no no!

[GhettoGurl]

Tinks.. dat corn meal ah guh give yuh (or DEM ) strong back or in my case a jelly crack

[GhettoGurl]

I was tryna mek it rhyme!!!!!! LOLOLOL

[ECO]

Thursday Evening I went over to Margaritaville for over priced drinks, an expensive admission price and a beach party with nobody on the beach The clever people at Margaritaville decided to hang black curtains over the entrance so you could not see inside before you paid your $500 or so. I peeked inside and made a comment about nobody being there and they said the action was on the beach..........liars! After an hour or so the action picked up a little but the $500 drinks and the touristy feel began to turn me off like it had done so many times in the past......time to move on. Actually I think I ran out of money so my plan was to get more from my hotel room or find another place to party.

When I left the entrance I made a commitment to one of the vendors to buy a beer from him.....so I sort of had to return. Once I crossed the street the dude that was selling the 5-10 year old pro Ganja booklets hit me up for some money. Almost 3 blocks later I gave him $200 for 3 of the booklets and a promise that I would meet him later at Margaritaville with some socks (the dude has NASTY feet that he had to show me).

Blah, blah, blah.......so I get some money from my hotel room and get chatting with the guard at the entrance about how Margaritaville sucks and how I wanted to find a place with cheaper drinks and more of a local feel......so now I am off to Amnesia......crap I made the promise to deliver socks and buy the beer from the street vendor (I hate going back on my promises). I found a taxi driver of sorts, he had a nice clean white plate taxi and was willing to drive me to Margaritaville to drink my beer, deliver socks and then over to Amnesia for $200. For some reason I was in the mood to break rules on this trip so the white taxi was just the perfect thing to add to my list

Amnesia was packed with locals and other than seeing Kristi, I can't recall seeing another white person in the place. The music was good and it was cool seeing the crowd reacting to the songs like they knew them well. Other than some dude trying to sell me Ganja with police walking around I had a great time at the club! When I left after a few hours my taxi driver was still waiting for me...........only in Jamaica

Lol, strolling into my hotel a few hours before heading over to Ashley's wedding was not a smart idea in hindsight but at the time I was having a blast.