Meet Me by the Sea: Another Day in a Yaad in Negril pt 7

Last year on Xmas Day I passed up dinner in Negril for the opportunity to go to GT Taylor's Xmas Extravaganza in Black River. We picked up food on the way, in Whitehouse, fish and bammy, and headed out for the show, road to the venue and purchased our tickets, actually we wanted to be sure we were in the right spot, we had decided to make this an overnight stay.

After getting the tickets we went to Parrotte which is about 10 minutes away to find a room for the night, Black River has hotels, but after staying at IverCauld Great House when my friend Libby Thompson managed it, I wanted something a likke more up to date. We found Idler Rest Hotel a nice clean spot with antique artifacts throughout the hotel. Nothing spectacular but it was on the beach and our room over looked it and the rooms were clean and the grounds were pretty nice. The show was outstanding.

The cost of the room also included breakfast, sort of a get whatever they were serving which turned out to be callaloo, fried dumpling, breadfruit and fruit. I remember a time when I would have demanded food from the menu, but the charm of the entire 2 days was not lost on me, You're in Jamaica, away from your family on Christmas Day, your Xmas dinner was fish and bammie, your breakfast was simple country fare, and both meals were two of the best I had ever had, that is when I knew, that I had turned a corner, and I was getting my wish, the dream had come true, I could live here and no longer needed the bling bling trappings of years gone by. A quiet life, a simple life, a happy life.

I love it when my Jamaican friends and Family tell me that I have introduced them to something they have never done before, in thier own country. When I asked if he had ever been to Pelican Bar, the answer was no. I called my buddy Carey who works there, and told him to expect us, and to pick us up for the boat ride over to the bar. Imagine my friend's awe at seeing this bar, on the reef out in the ocean, he had been to Black River, and Treasure Beach but never even heard of the bar. He loved it. A gift for me(the show) a gift for him (the bar). We had dinner, lobster and fish, drinks, the boat ride over, the meal maybe a cost of $40.00 US or 3500 JMD.

The experience was priceless, considering that a few days before my Birthday I was considering flying home to spend it and Christmas with the family, a likkle guilt a likkle loneliness for my babies set in,felt like I hit a brick wall, but after finding out that 3 of us in the yaad are Sagittarius, I decided to woman up and stick it out. So glad I did. Luvin the simple life.

It has been a very good year.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain