Monday May 9 - Beach recovery day

After spending such a large portion of the previous day in the van, we decided to take Monday as a lazy beach recovery day.  I slept in until about 7:30, wandering out to the deck to find some coffee and breakfast.  We settled our stuff into the chairs and did some swimming and fish feeding.  I've noticed that the morning temperature is about perfect until around 7:45... then the sun has come over the trees and is hitting the sand, then if there is absolutely no breeze things heat up fast.  I've stopped applying sunblock before breakfast, opting to be as comfortable as I can be while eating food. 
We swam for a long time, feeding the fish, searching for shells, chatting with people and generally floating around.  G created a new game where she has me lay over a mat and she tows me around in the water, up and down the beach.  When I feel too warm from the sun I dip into the water, then climb back on for more towing.
For lunch we decided to eat at Chill Awhile, coming in from the sand to sit at a table and grab some grub.  I ordered their jerk chicken and fries.

After lunch we decide to take a walk down the beach, past the Waves market, to Ozzie's stand. 
Ozzie is a guy we met last year, who used to be set up inside the market.  We would pass his stand every day, he'd chat with us and ask us to buy something, and D kept saying "you just don't have anything that's grabbing me".  One afternoon Ozzie said "Aw man, at least buy me a beer sometime!" so the next time we came down we brought him a beer.  This afternoon we did the same thing, grabbing a beer from the bar on our way up the beach.  When we arrived Ozzie was all smiles, laughing and introducing D to the guy he was playing dominoes with.  G and I spent some time looking over his stand while D got into a game of dominoes for money.  He did really well, though in the end he didn't win, he kept it really close.  Ozzie seemed impressed that he could play.

S, D, G and Ozzie

D playing dominoes.

I spent some time taking pictures of the stand with both my digital and the Holga.  Ozzie saw me loading film and started asking questions about the camera - "they still make cameras that take film?  What is that?"  I told him the little nuances that I like about shooting with the Holga and we spent some time chatting about that while D continued his game.

By the time D was done playing, G had picked out a wood carving for herself and some bracelets for friends back home, and we headed back to the chairs to get a little more swimming time in before showering up.
We decided to stay around Idle Awhile for dinner, so after enjoying the sunset we grabbed a table on the deck and looked over the menu.  I ordered the shrimp rundown... which was excellent (shrimp in a sauce made from coconut milk, papaya, and other goodness)

My shrimp rundown, rice and peas, and veggies

 G likes to sketch while we wait for our food.  This is her stingray.

For most of the trip I've stayed away from blended drinks because they are so filling, but tonight I decided to have a dirty banana as my dessert.

After dinner we hung around the bar again, getting into games of dominoes and exchanging stories before finally closing up the bar and turning in for the night.

Sunday May 8 - a very adventurous Mother's Day.

I shift in my sleep and halfway wake up, still mingled in the dream about flying straight over to another island but having forgotten the eggless dessert I left in the fridge of our room.  I'm somewhat aware that the cricket sounds are gone, and bird sounds are starting.. indicating morning light, then I drift back off to sleep.  At precisely 6:30 I hear the sound of ice being scooped in the neighboring restaurant's kitchen.  It's a little loud, but not bothersome, and it's generally a good time for me to start thinking about maybe possibly getting out of bed.  Perhaps.
This morning D and G are both dead to the world... D went out with S last night to listen to music, and G took a benadryl for particularly irritating bug bites - which makes her sleep hard.  I boil some water for coffee - D bought us these travel french presses that are wonderful for making a fresh cup in the room - and start to pack my day bag with just-in-case items, leaving the biggest compartment for the camera gear.

I use my camera bag to transport my gear, and I'll use it while wondering within the property of Tensing Pen, but as a general rule I don't go out into the countryside with that giant "LOOK AT ME AND MY EXPENSIVE GEAR" bag strapped to my back... so my lenses are sectioned off into individual protective cases and dropped in the bottom of a generic backpack.  The camera itself is usually around my neck.

I sit at the patio table with my mini-pot of coffee and set to work backing up the photos I've shot thus far, a quiet Mother's Day morning sipping the dark brew and listening to the sounds of music drifting from the kitchen next door.  I'm not sure what they are listening to, but it sounds like something appropriate for Sunday morning, melodic and soothing, and I can hear at least two people humming along to it.

After a short while, D and G both come out of their beds and we all head over to the deck for breakfast.  Ty is planning on picking us up to take us out to Floyd's Pelican Bar... however instead of going around the edge of the island to get over there, Ty plans on taking us up through Green Island, over the hilly interior, and down through what he calls the "Real Jamaica".

The drive through the country is stunning, and I spend a lot of time with my Holga poking out the window trying to get drive-by shots of the countryside, the buildings, and the overall majesty of it.  Every so often, when the road is not so bumpy, I stick the point-and-shoot through the opening to catch a few snapshots.

Sugarcane fields on our way out of town - a backdrop of the mixture of trees that grow around the countryside

Sugarcane field

It was Needle's day off, so we had invited him to come along with us.  As we drove up into the hills, the road snaking around with a cliff to one side and a deep valley to the other, he and Ty explained how the area had been planted with crops of oranges, scotch bonnet peppers and mangoes... but the weather could be so rough that people planted banana trees to help block the wind from the crops... so this area had a large amount of wild bananas growing.  I looked down over the valley and saw some amazing greenery... stands of timber bamboo standing easily 80 feet high, if not 100... they took my breath away as we zoomed past.  There were massive, imposing mango trees 20 feet tall, their branches stretching out 40 feet across, the fruit dangling from the branches light bright red gems.  The road was too rough to shoot with my big camera, and too narrow to pull over for me to get out and capture these sights in color... but we'll see what the Holga managed when I get back home and develop the film.

Driving with Ty and Needle was a blast.  They have been teaching us some patois phrases, and it is particularly fun to listen to Ty say a phrase, then explain to us what it means.  He speaks patois in his heavy Jamaican accent, then repeats the phrase in English with a very North American accent (think... Eddie Murphy imitating a white guy)
"So when I say "lickamore"... das what means... 'I'll see you later!'"
The entire ride is filled with conversation about just about every topic one could imagine coming up... over the mixture of music playing and the breeze coming in through the windows.. there is never a dull moment.

On the way out we did stop by Peter Tosh's estate... here are D, Needle and S at the front gate.

Needle said "This is for Facebook, right?  Let me pose for you!"

Along the way we saw these crabs (still alive) dangling outside of a shop to advertise that they were for sale.  Holy Crab, that's huge!

As we dropped out of the hills and back towards the coast, some of the sites began to look familiar.  This is the route we took last year to get to the Black River Safari, and I recognized the town and the roads here.  We actually stopped off at the Safari's new building for a quick restroom pit stop (the place looks amazing!) and then on down the road towards Treasure Beach and the Pelican Bar.

Floyd's Pelican Bar is a spot built out of driftwood on a sand bar about a quarter mile offshore.  The only way out there is by boat... people flock there to hang out, have a few drinks, and do some snorkeling in the conveniently shallow waters surrounding the building.  Their kitchen is minimal and they don't always have food available, but Ty arranged for us to have lunch out there ahead of time.  We had packed all of our snorkel gear and I had originally intended on snorkeling along with everyone else, but while we were out there a boatload of tourists arrived, and I didn't want to leave my camera gear inside unwatched... so I stuck to enjoying the opportunity for a lot of photo shooting.

Needle and G outside of our transportation to the bar.  That black dot on the horizon is the place we are headed to.

There's plenty of room for everyone in the boat... no worries about camera gear going overboard... not at all

Almost there

This is the front entrance to the bar... the boat pulls up and you hop out onto the bottom step

The "back door" has a deck you can hang out on to dry off after swimming, or just catch a bit of sun

The interior of the bar, G and I standing by the pass-through window where you can order drinks

D and G in the hammock to the left of the pass-through window

 There is one low table, and the exterior walls are lined with logs which serve as benches to sit on or rest your bags/towels while you swim.

The most solid portion of the floor in the Pelican Bar

This is what holds up the floor

The deck stretches out the back door

Standing on the deck looking back at the bar

 The kitchen, in it's entirety.

 We are served pan fried snapper for lunch, with some onions/veggies and rice and peas.  Head and tail still on the snapper.

That would be my 9 year old, eating fish that still has the head attached.  She gets mega-points for being so daring with food at such a relatively young age!

 After lunch D and G enjoy some snorkeling.. the water was so shallow G didn't even use her snorkel vest

The only pelican I spotted at the Pelican Bar

 After much snorkeling, and spending a bit of time drying off and chatting with other folks, we packed back into the boat and motored back to shore.  From there we climbed into Ty's van and made the journey around the edge of the island back to Negril.  On the way, Ty noticed a fruit stand with soursop displayed, so we made a brief stop to pick up some provisions.

On the middle shelf to the far left, those are soursop... the green orbs on the bottom center are breadfruit

 After a quick stop off at the hotel to drop our snorkel gear and freshen up, we were all right back in the van and headed out to Green Island for dinner.
D had arranged a special Mother's Day dinner for me with Courtney the chef... though his restaurant is not yet complete, he has access to a place on the beach at Green Island on Sunday nights where he grills up dinners for family and friends.
And I have to say here how much I appreciate Needle looking out for my allergies.  There had apparently been something on the original menu that included duck eggs, and D explained my allergies to Needle, telling him that it needed to stay away from my food.  I can tell my patois is improving because I fully understood Needle when he got on the phone and not only told Courtney to not make that particular dish... he said "don't even walk past an egg with tonight's dinner!"  After hearing that, I felt entirely safe exploring whatever there was to eat.
We pulled up to what appeared to be someone's house, with a few people congregated in front.  We were directed down the driveway, through a side gate, and into the back yard where we saw a fishing boat had been pulled ashore and the children of the fishermen were working to untangle the nets.  To the right of that was a large tree with bamboo benches built around it, to the left was an outdoor kitchen.  Inbetween they set up a small 4-top table with barstools for us to sit at, and dinner was brought out.

The kitchen counter area

The grill...

The fishing boat, after the nets had been stored for the night

Dinner turned out to be one of the wildest and most exotic dinners I've ever had in my entire life.  First to come out was brown stewed conch and roasted breadfruit, along with pouches of grilled fish...

...and then the lobster.  All that stuff in the center of the grill in the photo above.. that was all lobster with an onion/pepper mixture on top.  These three below are the ones that I ate.  It was mine... all mine!

The fish we were served... that was lion fish.  Remember those football sized fish with the poisonous fins we encountered on the cliffs?  That's what's for dinner.

It was the first time I'd ever eaten anything that was potentially poisonous to everyone... not just me with the egg thing.  Apparently only the fins are dangerous... so the fish takes some special handling with clipping all the fins off before cooking.  It looks like Courtney did a great job of it, because we all ate it (save for G) and we are all still standing.

The flavor was incredibly unique... not the least bit fishy... a firm texture but not as steak-like as the mahi mahi.

Conch, lion fish, rock lobster and breadfruit - an amazing combination of flavors and the most incredible meal I could have ever hoped for on a very special Mother's Day.

After we'd all had our fill we stuck around and chatted about food with Courtney - cooking methods for things like shrimp rundown, making jerk chicken properly, and how to manage lionfish without killing yourself.  It was a great evening filled with interesting conversation, but the night eventually came to a close and we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.

Saturday May 7

Saturday dawned with perfectly blue skies and calm waters.  I woke around 7 as usual and put a cup of coffee together for myself, sitting on the porch and checking over my photos from the previous days.

A fisherman on a sit-on-top kayak - there are a few who pass by early every morning.

After having our usual oatmeal breakfast, we gathered up a few supplies and took a cab over to Tensing Pen to show S the place we stayed, and the bridge, and give him the opportunity to jump.   D and S jumped from the bridge first, then from the cliff side while I snapped photos and shot some video.  We stuck around the property while they dried off, G and I enjoying the air conditioning in the gift shop for a little bit of time, then talked about where to eat lunch.
We'd heard a lot about Push Cart up on the cliff, but we'd passed it on the way in and it looked to me like it was closed... and a long walk.  I hadn't reapplied sunblock and could feel the heat on my arms and shoulders, so D grabbed a cab for G and I to take us to the restaurant while he and S walked it, stopping off at the cambio on the way for S to exchange some currency.
The cab had two other passengers in it already, who appeared to not be going anywhere in particular, but were in the cab to keep the driver company.  As we approached the entrance to Push Cart I saw that it was clearly closed (huge front gate shut) and a sign in front showing that they don't open until 3.  I also realized that my understanding of Patois was coming along, because I understood the passenger in the front seat when she said to the driver... "It's closed, what should you do, are you going to drive them back?"  I answered without him having to ask... "No problem, we'll just walk back to the Rock House from here"... (it was right next door) then I paid him and G and I hopped out of the cab and walked what is probably the only 10 feet of real, concrete sidewalk in all of Negril... up to the entrance to the Rock House.  She and I took a seat in the bar with a clear view of the front gate, under the ceiling fans, and ordered cold fruit punches to sip on while we waited for the guys.
As it was the only place that was open for lunch on this stretch, we ended up just eating there at the Rock House.  Though the food tastes good enough, and the presentation is nice, it is somewhat overpriced for what you get (as compared to local joints) and the service is inconsistent.  Today we ordered our food, then watched as two additional tables were seated, ordered, and were served their food before ours made it out of the kitchen.  (One of those tables was almost done by the time our food showed up)

I had the fish with veggies - a mixture of callaloo, peppers and onions... served with a fried plantain, veggies and a side of rice and peas.

After lunch we grabbed a cab back to the beach and headed out to the water for more swimming.  For some reason unknown to me, G decided she wanted to swim... entirely on her own... out to the buoy line.  I didn't want her to go alone (because she still doesn't know how to swim without the snorkel and mask) so D walked with her, staying close enough in case of an emergency, but far enough away that she make the trek completely on her own.

That dot in the center of the photo is D's head... the small stick-like thing in front of him is G's snorkel poking out of the water... on her way back from the buoy line.

She made this trek twice... we got the second swim on video.
While swimming close to shore and watching the fish, G noticed something funny and started giggling.  There was a tiny yellow fish with black stripes... not more than an inch from nose to tail... swimming around D's legs.  It had apparently decided D's leg hair made the perfect habitat for hiding out from predators... and no matter how fast D moved or where he swam, the minute he stopped that little yellow fish appeared around mid-thigh... dodging around his legs and hiding from me and G.
We were concerned that perhaps he was hiding in the pockets of D's swim trunks, since he couldn't seem to shake the little guy, so I stuck my head underwater to watch and see what happened when D moved.  D took off running (as much as you can run in the water) and the motion created a current behind him, which swept up the little fish and tossed him about like a washing machine... until D stopped running, then the water rushed around his legs and the fishy re-oriented around his little "habitat".  After some attempts to catch the fish and move him to another part of the ocean, D finally just walked out of the water, with me snorkeling next to him to make sure the little fishy didn't end up in his pockets... then I had to jump out of the water myself to make sure he didn't try to hide in my hair.

After getting out of the water, we watched the wee little guy circle around in the shallows for a minute before paddling off to hopefully find a real habitat to live in.

After these fishy adventures, we called it a day on the swimming action and headed in to clean up for dinner.  D hung out at the bar playing dominoes with Shane and Needle for a bit while I cleaned up and snuck in a few photos.
Outside of our porch is a cement path which has the beach on one side, and a garden area on the other.  There are always ants in the sand on the beach side, and almost every time I approach our stairs I see a lizard scuttle from the sand to the garden to hide.  They seem to enjoy the easy feast of a pile of tiny ants, but want to hide the second I walk up.

This guy posed in the warm light of the sunset for me

The beach of Charela, next door, has a long line of palm trees which creates a lovely mosaic of fronds in the sunset light.

We decided to take S over to Canoe for dinner, so we loaded up and headed over.

D and I, cleaned up and ready for dinner

The jerk shrimp appetizer, a better photo than last time

Tonight I ordered the grilled Mahi Mahi, which came topped with onions and peppers... along with grilled veggies and some fruit.

It was a full day of fun in the sun, so after dinner we got back to the hotel and called it a night.

grrr...blogger

I have posts for May 7th and 8th written and posted, and unfortunately they're currently part of the "temporarily removed until Blogger returns to normal" maintenance snafu that Blogger has been working on for the last couple days.  I'm waiting to see if they are recovered... if not then I'll rewrite them once I'm caught up on the rest of the days.

Friday May 6

A word on sunblock.  We bought a few different types and brought two bottles of each. D insisted on getting a spray-on for the ease of application, even though I remember despising it, I figured he could spray all he wants and I'll stick to lotion.  One spray bottle exploded - not on the flight, but on the transition from one hotel to the other.  When D used the other spray on, he saw that it went everywhere uncontrollably and was also "sticky as hell" on his skin.  So I think we've given up on spray-on.  Of the two lotions we brought - Banana Boat SPF 50 sport and REI's brand of SPF 50 sport - both seem to protect equally as well on dry land.  Banana Boat goes on easier (seems to be a bit thinner) but feels slimy once you get into the water, even if you wait 20 minutes after application.  Once in the water, I'm not convinced it lasts as long as the REI brand for sun protection.  REI is visibly thicker, and while it takes a while longer to rub all the way into the skin, it is far more comfortable feeling both in and out of the water.  In short, it's worth the extra bucks to spring for the REI brand, especially if you're going to have to live in the stuff for a couple solid weeks.

Most mornings I bring my camera out in an attempt to get a random shot of birds or lizards in the tree.

One of the beach vendors walking by - this woman sells fruit from the platter she balances on her head.

Finally remembered to get a picture of Jennie this morning (who, funny enough, just said "good morning" to me from the bar as I was typing this from my porch table :) )

D and G at breakfast

 Tony!  Our favorite juice guy from years past.  We recommended him to a couple other families staying here.

 Tony had soursop juice, which he makes by blending the juice with milk and nutmeg.  It was tasty, but a little too heavy of a juice for me.  (He also gave us a mango with the juice, just because)

 There is a table set up just to the side of this property every morning of a variety of items for sale - different vendors but always the same location.  G will often look over the table, look over the wood carvings hanging from the tree, and come back to the chairs.  Today she came back telling me I "have to come see this" and "please, do you think I can get it for my room?"  I wasn't sure what she was going to show me, but I wandered over and she ducked under the table to point out - of all things - a painting.  Not toys, not jewelry... a painting.

I love that she wants to bring home artwork - this is something she'll be able to keep and truly appreciate for years to come.

D took some viewpoint shots with the camera today, so I'm sharing them.  This is the view standing in the doorway of our room looking out the back... the hammock has a perfect view of the bar and beach beyond.

Here is the view from sitting at our table on the porch - the bar is to the left the beach is just beyond it.  This is where I'm sitting right now as I type.

We did a lot of swimming today, more fish feeding, and I finally got a shot of one of the long skinny fish that kind of shows it's colors.

Eric, the groundskeeper, said these are piper fish.

Standing in the water looking back at our chairs, that's G putting her mask on and my snorkel sticking out of the water.

Trying to feed the fish by hand, the bread got mushy and slipped out just as the fish were coming up to it.

Swimming with the fishes

I did end up swimming out to the buoy line today with D.  The sand dips down deeper for a bit, then gets shallow enough again that I can actually stand out by the buoy line with my head out of the water.  The water undulates a bit more than I like out there, however, and when a wave comes up and my head gets dunked, I much prefer to be closer to shore where I have the option of walking to shallower water whenever I feel like it.

For lunch we grabbed a taxi and made a run down to the Hi Lo for a few snacks, then over to the main round-about it town to pick up some patties.  I went into the health shop again, and D went over to Juicy Beef to pick up patties and chicken for him and G.  

The lady in the shop convinced me to try her "complete meal" which included rice and peas, a blended vegetable stew-looking combo, and roasted breadfruit.  I also picked up another slice of "pudding" (this one almond and raisin flavored) and one of her veggie patties - filled with cabbage, carrot and spices. 

The pudding looks like cake and is the consistency of dense banana bread.  The patty has a very thin dough on the outside and is baked.  The roasted breadfruit is very interesting... the texture breaks apart similarly to a banana, but it is much denser and doesn't seem like it could ever get "mushy" - the flavor is rather bland, a bit like a white potato, but goes well with being broken apart and dipped in whatever sauce is available, and is very filling.  Apparently they cook the breadfruit by simply taking the whole thing and dropping it in the coals until the outside is charred, then they take the peel off and slice it up.
I have also discovered a drink that I hope is available in the US... Grace's brand of sorrel + juice.  Back home I get hibiscus tea at the local taqueria (they call the drink "Jamaica", while here in Jamaica it is called sorrel)  My favorite is the sorrel + cranberry.  Hibiscus tea has a unique flavor and is particularly good for re-hydration on hot days, so when I saw it at the Hi Lo I grabbed about 6 bottles of it quick.  Even if they don't have Grace brand back home, I'm going to do some digging around to see if I can find some form of sorrel I can get for our pantry.

After lunch we did some more swimming, reading, and lazing about until it felt about right to go in and shower... then we made our way back to the room to clean up and wait for S's arrival. 

While we wait I watch the sunset

D's best friend, S, arrived around 6:30 or so.

Friday nights at Idle Awhile they have a special menu, and a live band.  It also happened to be Veronica's birthday (a fellow vacationer who has stayed here, every year, the same week, for somewhere over a decade.)  Just about the entire bunch of us staying here at once had gotten to know each other so well that we conspired to turn Friday Night into a birthday party, complete with a surprise cake for Veronica.  

As the night began, the band had just started to play when we heard a "tap tap tap" of rain hitting the canopy above our heads.  A few of us quickly shuffled to better covered tables, while D and S popped up and helped the band get their gear under cover.  By the time the band had re-set under the tent the rain sprinkle had completely passed with not even enough moisture to fill a coffee cup, but the band stayed under the tent... just in case.

Around 7:30 the cake arrived, and we all sang Happy Birthday with the help of the band, who then broke into a round of "She's Royal".

Time for cake!  Everybody sings :)

G is super happy with her seafood pasta - this time complete with shrimp

My dinner - shrimp with peppers

Chilling out with my dinner

The singer of the reggae band

The guitarist and trumpet player

We stayed out until the band was done, playing dominoes up until the last of the guests had gone to bed and the bar was closed down for the night.