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+--- Thread: Rain Rain Go Away (/showthread.php?tid=102047)
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - TAH - 01-27-2018
This is honestly the best trip report I can remember reading for quite a while. Keep it coming, please!
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - Firemon - 01-27-2018
Thanks TAH.
Saw this bus while walking to the Orange...err...Red Dragon.
[attachment=2653]
My incredibly unspectacular sunset photo.
[attachment=2654]
A few souvenirs.
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - Firemon - 01-27-2018
A few more.
[attachment=2656]
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - Firemon - 01-27-2018
Volleyball was being played here and there along the beach. Can't remember where I was when I stopped to watch some top-notch women players playing some hardcore 2-on-2 which if you don't know takes tremendous skill.
A Jamaican youth was working on backflips, handstands and other gymnastics moves down by Margarittaville.
A very talented white Canadian saxophone player with dreadlocks named Isaac aka I-Sax was playing with various house bands ie-Hurricane Band. Added a lot to the ambiance.
Bought banana bread almost daily. Vendor came by frequently. Not sure why I didn't buy any of the ganja brownies/cake. Guess I've never been a big edibles guy. Not a fan of anything too strong.
The show was winding down at Roots Bamboo when I noticed the owner Denise Plummer dancing by herself behind the bar so I ran over to the bar and started dancing "with her" saying "It must have been a good night," to which she smiled.
Had my trusty survival knife with me to cut mangoes, open beers, and (ahem) clean my fingernails. Left it behind with one of the staff whom I've known a long, long time after he begged it from me literally every day for a week. Gave me satisfaction to give it to him and he'll make good use of it. The knife he was carrying was a joke.
Went to The Jungle on a couple occasions. Ladies night (free admission Thurs) is still very popular. $1000J for the men. Most of the early (pre-2am) action is upstairs on the deck; then the heat picks up on the dancefloor downstairs and the grinding begins. It was literally too hot for me downstairs. I needed fresh air.
Cabbies insistent I needed to go to Scrub a Dub since I left the Jungle without a woman.
On Monday's the late-night (2-5 am) party is "Mega-Mondays." Then on the West End there's "Rocky Wednesdays." I opted not to go. It sounded like fun but I played it safe and opted for going to bed so I could get up in the morning before noon.
At this hour if I walk the road/sidewalk a motorcycle is guaranteed to pull up alongside with a young girl on the back looking for a date and you wish she had better opportunities in life. Politely declining leads to a request for dinner from the nearest jerk vendor followed by a request for a cigarette and if you're not in the mood to buy her anything the name-calling begins "Cheap Charlie," "you're not gentleman" etc. And if you buy her a cigarette, well, that's just a ruse to give her more time to intensify her sales pitch.
Never figured a 26-year-old woman from the hills above Kingston would ask me how to roll a spliff (built with a filter), but that did in fact happen. Hey, I've had practice.
Watched a delightfully bad B-movie "Blood and Bone" via the internet/youtube during one rainstorm while sitting on my porch. It was around 7pm, really dark already, and I had a Bluetooth speaker for sound. Soon I had five person Jamaican audience joining me. Lotta chatter. Lotta fun.
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - Firemon - 01-27-2018
I went solo kayaking in the boundary waters between Canada and Northern Minnesota last summer and was delighted to find my transistor radio could pick up one station and it was National Public Radio. So one afternoon while paddling and listening to their World Beat (or similar title) program I hear a jazz version of Bob Marley's "Soul Rebel." It was by Hugh Masekela, an African trumpeter, and my affection for the song grew immeasureably. And given I was paddling I took special joy in singing the lyrics "he never did the backstroke Marley."
Anyways, I became a Soul Rebel in spirit and couldn't stop myself from first buying a Soul Rebel T-shirt and then Soul Rebel swim trunks. I've commented on this song before, but decided to bring it up again since Masekela passed away this week.
New York Times article:
Hugh Masekela, a South African trumpeter, singer and activist whose music became symbolic of the country’s anti-apartheid movement, even as he spent three decades in exile, died on Tuesday in Johannesburg. He was 78.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/obituaries/hugh-masekela-dies.html
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - Firemon - 01-27-2018
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - Firemon - 01-28-2018
Putting up the fence around Roots Bamboo's stage for big events is no easy task. The workers begin by digging holes with a machete and their hands. Bamboo poles are dropped into the holes. A roll of chain link fencing is then affixed to the poles, followed by a 10-foot tall sheet of blue plastic. If they didn't the freeloaders would multiply and outnumber the paying customers. Alas it also takes away the view of the Caribbean which adds so much to the ambiance when you want to dance barefoot in the sand. In that way the free shows on Mondays and Wednesdays are the most fun.
Got in a little exercise early one Saturday morning helping with the fence removal carrying all the bamboo poles to their under-the-stage storage.
Went over to Woodstock to buy a fresh coconut thinking they wouldn't have a problem breaking a $5,000J note. Was told the coconut was $300J. Then I mentioned the $5,000J note. Then a manager came over and said No Problem only now the coconut was $6 US.
Bumbaclot! I passed.
Bought a set of salt & pepper shakers with an aquatic design. Would have rather gone scuba diving but I think I'm retiring from that endeavor given all the difficulties I have clearing my nasal passages/eliminating pressure. Wasn't able to hear (partially ruptured ear drum) very well for 3-4 months after my last mis-adventure. Anyways, I left my PADI card at home for the first time ever. Sigh. Trying not to imagine all the beautiful fish and corals I missed seeing. Snorkeling just isn't the same.
Did a little juggling on the beach most mornings. Hadn't had my toys out since my last reach. Stopped practicing at home long ago but for some reason love to juggle on vacation. It's just more joyful when you're in paradise under the shade of a palm tree. Brought some balls, torches and machetes to play with and picked up a couple bottles of Kingsford charcoal lighter fluid downtown.
The elements can make it pretty challenging. First there's the wind which is variable and can almost make you laugh sometimes when you miss a prop by several inches to a foot. It definitely gets your attention when you're juggling machetes. Then sand gets on everything making them slippery requiring almost a double-catch necessitating a quicker release. Gotta wear sunglasses to keep the sun and sand out of your eyes. Suntan lotion is slippery. But after a couple days those obstacles fade away and everything is under control. Bar staff and waitresses come out to watch a fire session. Imperfect but a pretty decent run of tricks and you can feel their excitement. Even felt good to enjoy the smell of my nostril hairs getting singed by the fire again. Trust me that wakes you up. (Yes, I know, this is avoidable if the wind's to your back...but it's more fun when the wind is licking the flames right back into your face. Lots more fun.)
I also have some balls that light up (red, green, and yellow) beautifully at night and I jammed with them a couple nights during concerts. Tried to figure out some moves that coincided with the music. Didn't drink much alcohol, if any, most days so I could juggle at night if I wanted. Never have been able to hold my liquor.
Filled my fridge with bottled water, Ting, soursop and other juices.
Made my own breakfast most mornings having brought along an electric griddle and coffeemaker. Blue Mtn coffee and rum cream followed by jerk bacon, eggs and pancakes.
Eaten on a sunny porch listening to Irie FM. Wish I was back there right now.
Time for a swim. That wonderful coolness. You spin around out in the water looking back at the beach and in all directions watching the people, the clouds, the birds, the approaching whitecaps. You think about all the effort it took for you to get here to experience that one moment and wonder why life can't be so magnificent all the time. Sigh.
Was a bit disappointed in my Jeep when I got home. The cold had sapped so much air from my tires (old leaky rims) that one was essentially flat. And the battery was dead. Living in Minnesota builds character I guess.
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - kylake - 01-28-2018
Thanks for the continued report Firemon, really nice report. Yep, winter can sure be hard on vehicles tire and batteries.
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - Aquavit - 01-31-2018
Nice trip report - really! Sounds like you had a great time despite the weather. Which, by the way has been fabulous (pretty much) since you left lol. Still - all my Jamaican friends are telling me this is the MOST unusual January weather they can remember - EVER. My friends own a dive shop and its sucked out loud for them since even when not raining, cloudy and cold the sea has been to rough to dive.
"Across the street towards the cambio/Scotia Bank there was a whole string of large shops barred and shuttered that used to be full of merchandise." Are you talking about the plaza where Burger King is? If so, that corner piece (where the Digicel store used to be) is on its way to becoming a Popeyes and a Little Caesars (barf).
As far as Jamaicans cutting in line at the ATM or supermarket, I got this down finally. Instead of seething and kissing my teeth, I cut in front of them. Slipped into one of the two working ATMs the other day ahead of the line. I was buying a water, a Jamaican was unloading her cart - boom, I'm at the cashier first. What's good for the goose...
I HATE what's happened at Woodstock. I went there early one morning 2 years ago when they first opened and it was a nice chill place. I walked by there the other day and its a major scene, a la Margaritaville. No thank you. Charela is still my beach spot.
YES! The finally got the horses off the beach. A local woman was run down by one and pretty seriously injured (my friend's niece as it turns out).
RE: Rain Rain Go Away - Firemon - 01-31-2018
Thanks Aquavit. Great comments.
The shuttered shops I was referring to would be
the old two-story building across the street from Burger King where Digicell used to be located. (There used to be a sexy lingerie shop upstairs too which is where Smith744 used to do his Valentine's Day shopping.)
Was reading a social media post expressing condolences for a bartender at Bourbon Beach named Dave. Believe he was the one who got stabbed last summer. No worries now though, like I said, top-notch security checking everyone.
Mya the housekeeper was cleaning my room when she walk off to get fresh linens. While she was gone I snuck back into my room and put a $5 US under the new roll of toilet paper I saw sitting on my bed. After she return I hollered out from the sidewalk to make sure she put on a new roll of toilet paper. So she grabs the roll of TP and holds it up so I could see she was already on top of it. Then she puts it down without noticing the money. Rats. I have to try again so I ask "what brand is that? Is it a good brand?" At this point she picks it up to show me again and is holding it up above her head when she does a classic double-take noticing the money out of the corner of her eye and starts laughing. That was fun!
Did something pretty stoopid I must share. Okay, so I needed cash, and wanting to get airline miles etc I grabbed my Jennifer Garner credit card and headed to the ATM downtown. Only when I got there I realized that although I'd used my card extensively to make purchases for years, I'd never actually used it at an ATM before and I had no idea what my PIN was. So I had to leave empty-handed and go back to my hotel to get my other bank card, a debit card I was more familiar with, in order to make a withdrawal. Didn't think that one through.
Another tourist is sitting by Rohan watching him paint. I comment it's a good thing he's there because Rohan's color-blind and someone has to sit next to him and tell him what color he's using all the time, and since he was there, I was free to go swimming.
Captain Evers aka Ever-ready still wears a Superman shirt everyday on the beach as he solicits passengers for his Wild Wild West See Bottom boat. I comment he must have a dresser drawer full of Superman shirts at home which elicits a smile. Oldest son now first mate.
Concert sign says the M.C. (sic-emcee) is Allan Ranks. Sign-painter short-hand or short-coming?
Drank a Magnum. Sweet like cough syrup.
Charlie is the vendor to see for a coconut chalice. He's on the beach between Roots Bamboo and Woodstock. One day service to build one. Tell him Firemon sent you.
A bottle of Bourbon Beach jerk sauce now runs $15 US/$1900 Ja. An annual necessity for my kitchen. No refrigeration required. Chef Squatty's secret formula. "Squatty is still in the house," say nearby vendor Ann aka Goose's sister.
Norman the pattyman walks by. I chase after him to give him $100J which was slightly more than what I owed him from yesterday's purchase when I was a likkle short.
Not having as much fun playing dominoes as I'm accustomed given the absence of my long-time opponent, a Jamaican woman with a better game than mine--but not by much. "Lock up the shop and win," she'd say as she slammed down a bone. Many near-even battles over the years. In her absence I play a multitude of inferior gamers who cause me to lose interest. Next time I seek out better players.
Tried to buy a CD from Crystal Axe but they were in the trunk of a different car than the one she took to the Boat Bar that day.
When I got back to Roots Bamboo painter Rohan and I argued over which of us was more in love with Crystal. I asked him if he noticed how she moved her hips when she sang and he shake his head like he about to faint. After a few more compliments/observations we call it a draw.
Groundskeeper/Handyman Speedy is all cleaned up and wearing a colorful sequined shirt for the Capleton show. "The ladies are going to notice you tonight," I say. "I know," he replied.
A few hours later I was drinking champagne off a young woman's behind. She said she was a tourist from Geneva. She lied.