Jamaica ~ Couples Negril

Here are just a couple of pictures that I took of the resort, Couples Negril, over the week.

Jamaica ~ Day 6

Day 6 in Jamaica ~ May 30

Jamie, Jed, Vicki & I left the resort early again so that we could get back in time for 7pm dinner reservations we had with everyone else.

When we reached the first town, this guy road along side us and said "White lady, take my picture?" So I did.

Several of these photos (like the previous post) were taken from the car as we were driving.

Note the sidewalk in this picture.


And the road in this picture.

A fruit stand. Note the bathroom in the bottom left hand corner.

As soon as we arrived in Black River, this guy wanted to give us a tour. We kept telling him 'no thank you' but he followed us around for a while anyways.

Part of the city is just outdoor markets.

Vicki wanted to find some Jerk seasoning.


This is pretty much 'fast food' in Jamaica. You drive up and several people run at you with different food. You don't have to get out of your car, just buy from the vendors. Unfortunately, they all have pretty much the same thing; fried fish (with their head & eyes), homemade breads and warm Red Stripe.

We also stopped at a little hut to look at the handmade baskets. That is where we met Cheap Charlie. He had baskets, soda and cold Red Strip, even better!

He also had a nice park area and house behind his hut. He let us go inside to play with his dogs and use the bathroom.


Well...Jamie and Vicki used the bathroom. Lucky for me, my bladder was a champion. If you can't tell, Vicki is coming out of one side of the bathroom and Jamie is still using the other. All this privacy! Also, if you can't read the sign, it says 'WELCOME TO THE RESTROOM FOR LADIES & MEN' then next to the men's side it says 'MEN ONLEY' (note the spelling) and then between the doors is says 'JUST A LITTLE FEE FOR MAINTANANCE. DRAP WHATSOEVER IN THE BOX. THANK'S YOU.' (note the spelling again). This picture makes me laugh every time.

Jamie needed to ask them what they were doing.

Then he told us that little basket in the water is a 'people trap'. He thought he was funny.

By this time, we were hungry. We found Mama's Place on the way back to the resort.

If you notice her sign above, it says 'We provide a variety of local dishes and pastries.' But when we asked Mama what she had for lunch, she said "chicken or pork." We ordered one of each.

And enjoyed every bite. Mama also surprised us with grilled corn and rice/beans. Those must have been the 'local dishes'.

After lunch and more Red Stripe, my bladder was full. When Mama pointed out the restroom, I headed for the jungle instead. I should have gone at Cheap Charlie's place and draped something in the box I guess.

One more stop before heading back to the resort.

Jamie decided that we were going to drop off the Island Cruiser on our way back to the resort. He stopped at the rental place, found a guy out front cooking something on a homemade grill, and told him to jump in back. The guy looked and smelled like he hadn't bathed in a week, had yellow teeth to match his yellow eyes, and felt fully comfortable sliding between Vicki and I in the back seat. He placed his arms behind each of us on the seat and smiled. Thankfully it was only a couple of minutes back to the resort.

We were back in time to get ready for dinner with the rest of the group. And then some of us had drinks afterwards.

Jamaica ~ Day 5

Day 5 in Jamaica ~ May 29

When Jamie and I asked to rent a car, without a driver, we got a funny look from the tour desk. Apparently tourists don't ask to drive around Jamaica on their own. But Jamie was confident that he could drive us safely around Jamaica. Vicki and Jed wanted to go along with us, as did Vince. So the five of us piled into our "Island Cruiser" early on Sunday morning. We wanted to be back before dark and knew that we had a full day ahead of us.

It didn't take Jamie long to adjust to Jamaican driving. The steering wheel is on the right and they drive on the left, so that was a bit of a change. But darting in and out of traffic wasn't much of an adjustment for Jamie. Jamaicans honk their horns for 'get out of the way' or 'passing you' or 'hey 'mon', and Jamie quickly had that figured out as well. He was loving it! He honked at everyone too, just because he thought it was fun. Luckily for him, the speedometer was broken, so I could never tell if he was speeding or not.

I wish I could explain the roads to you. I couldn't tell you when the roads were originally paved, but they haven't been repaved since. There are a few patched spots in places, within the larger towns, but nothing has been improved otherwise. And, there are some very large pot holes (holes that would totally consume Doug) that you have to maneuver around without hitting people or other cars. Most of the roads aren't even a full two car width. Scary to me, but somehow safely traveled by many people every day.

There aren't sidewalks, unless you're in a large town, and the jungle or ocean are on either side of the road. Because their isn't transportation provided by the schools, there were always kids and you had to be very careful. These signs were everywhere.

And everyone seemed to have goats tied up in their yards to keep the grass/weeds down.

And very bright buildings to grab your attention.

And little shacks everywhere. You could get pretty much everything you needed in one stop: groceries, beer, fresh fruit or fish, car parts, and underwear. Each little shack seemed to have an array of products.

Luckily Vicki had her iPad and we used Google Maps to found our way around. And, crazy as it sounds, is worked most of the time. We did get lost a time or two though...but Jamie isn't afraid to ask for directions.

Our journey to Floyd's Pelican Bar brought us down South to Treasure Beach. It had taken us about 3 hours and we were still all having a great time. We decided to stop at a little pub (SeaSplash Pub) to see if we could get a boat out to Floyd's and for a couple of beers. The five of us made the place crowded.

Then we visited another little pub a few steps away.
Where Vicki got a cooking lesson.

And I just took pictures.

In the end, we decided to drive a little farther to a place called Jack Sprat's and get a boat ride from there because the cost was going to be a little cheaper.

And I know these next two pictures are really overexposed, but I liked them.
To get to the boats though, we still had to walk a little ways to yet another hut/pub.

Where we were finally able to get a boat ride.

And Floyd's Pelican Bar was totally worth the trip!

Walking under the hut seemed liked a good idea at the time.

This is Floyd cooking our lunch.

And one of his fishermen who catches and helps cook. (That looks sanitary right?)

Well it was the most delicious lunch I'd had in quite a while. Lobster, yummY!

Instead of carving each one of our names in the deck, which you are encouraged to do, Jamie carved US '11'. Vicki and I with Floyd.

Then we headed back to the SeaSplash Pub for more drinks with our new friends.

After a while, we headed back home. It started getting dark and raining. And when it rains in the jungle, it RAINS. Because there isn't a top on the back of the Island Cruiser, Vicki, Vince and I tried use our beach towels to shield us from the rain. It worked...a little. We still got wet, but because it was still so warm out, we dried quickly.

And we never, at one time, felt unsafe driving or walking through Jamaica. There was a point, on the way back, that I needed a bathroom break. The jungle was much more appealing than some of the outhouses or bathrooms.

We realized that some of the people had never even seen a white person before. Vicki and I got waves all day; "Hi white ladies!" or "Hey white chicks!". We just laughed and waved back.

We had such a great day that we decided to keep the Island Cruiser for another day.