Day 5 - slipping into paradise

Something happened today. I was sitting on the beach under a mangrove tree and I looked out onto the scene below and something happened inside and I thought to myself, "This is paradise." It hit me hard. I was enjoying my getaway but I didn't feel Jamaica until today.

Of course, I leave tomorrow...

Day 4

This is my home away from home.
I wasn't feeling 100% today so spent most of the day inside.
I did manage to venture out for sunset.

The Cotton Tree

There is something special about this tree.

When I wake up in the morning, I hear hundreds maybe thousands of bees swarming the unassuming tree.

At dusk, when I leave my cabin for sunset, countless bats are performing a similar nighttime ritual.

When the tree is under attack, even I think I can smell the sweet allure of the cotton buds.

This is how I feel today

The Green Flash!

But can you see it from such a distance? I can't zoom the iPhone video camera.

Day 4 - More of the same

It is getting harder and harder to write about my days because they are pretty much the same.

This is the view I sat in front of all day. I'm not getting as much reading done as I had hoped because the beach keeps hypnotizing me.

Religion in Jamaica

Nicole, the woman running the B&B I'm staying at, told me that Jamaica has the highest number of churches per capita in the world. I haven't noticed as many here as I did in Hawaii which must be in competition for the title.

She leant me a Rough Guide for the island and according to them there are over 250 denominations in Jamaica and 80+% of the people identify themselves as Christian.

Day 3

Another lazy day on the beach. Despite my vampire tendencies, I may have gotten a little sun today.

The highlight of my day was watching a sand crab make its way along the beach. I first noticed the little guy (maybe four inches long, two and a half inches wide and as white as the sand) when I went move my shoes. Turns out they were his clever hiding place. Immediately, he buried himself up to his eyeballs. When I sat back down, he scurried a few feet away then burrowed into the sand once again. He startled easily but made his way under someone else's chair and disappeared.

I saw another green flash at sunset but doubt I'll ever be able to catch it on camera. Tomorrow night I'm going to record the sunset on my phone.

Rasta Pasta

Inspired by the Bible (Proverbs 15:17), Rastafarians eat a strict diet that is called Ital which is basically vegetarian prepared without salt. Usually, Ital is organic and low on soy. They view the body as a temple so they eat well, do not consume liquor and they don't smoke (except of course ganja which according to them is sacred as per Psalms 104:14).

There is a yummy Rasta "joint" (the local term for all the roadside shacks that sell rum or food) down the road from where I'm staying called Ras Rody. It is so good! They serve pumpkin soup, callaloo (a dish made of greens), ackee (a local fruit/vegetable that looks and tastes like eggs), and the Jamaican staple of rice and peas cooked in coconut milk amongst other things.

Today, I had Rasta Pasta for lunch.:

Good morning, Jamaica!

Last night was a long night. By all appearances, Jamaica is a fairly poor country. The number one industry here is tourism and with the world economy in such bad shape business all over the island is slow. The roads here are in a bumpy, pot hole riddled state of disrepair, most cars are old and run down, many businesses are just shacks alongside the road with no power. The one thing the local people seem to spend their money on is sound systems. Spending the night here is like living in a radio with a broken tuner and the volume cranked up to 11. Everyone wants to share their music. Every open air bar wants to entice new customers with their music. It is a very competitive night and I just want crickets to lull me to sleep.

One thing I really like about Negril is that by law, no building can be taller than the highest palm tree. I can't imagine any such law anywhere in the states.

Christmas Day - Negril, Jamaica

I'm the most anti-tourist Negril has probably ever seen.

I wake up at the crack of dawn in a town that unbeknownst to me has a reputation for being a little hedonistic.

I cover up on the beach like I'm like a vampire.

I spent most of the day reading, slowly sipping on rum punch and occasionally just staring out at the calm sea. I broke up my routine with a nap in a hammock which got off to a slow start because I was too enchanted by nearby humming birds to close my eyes. I made my way back to my cottage by the cliffs just in time to watch the sunset. Afterward, just as everyone else was gearing up for a debaucherous night out, I took a shower and crawled into bed.

I hope to repeat the whole routine tomorrow.

Money, mon!

I went to the ATM today to get some money. It is $84J to $1US. That requires a surprising amount of math. I decided to start out with $10,000J which is about $120US. What made my head hurt was the $253J ATM fee. Basically Jamaicans only use dollars, there are no cents. So, a single Tootsie Roll cost $3J and a liter of water is $90J. My lunch cost $800J. I don't like he big numbers so I've decided to think of every dollar as a penny. It takes the sting out of a $253 ATM fee.

Christmas Eve

I arrived in Negril about an hour before sunset. I quickly unpacked then walked across the street to a bar that hangs off the cliff called Rick's Cafe. The view of the ocean sunset from the cliff was definitely the highlight of my day.

When I moved to San Francisco someone told me a about the phenomenon of the green flash at sunset. On hearing the story I envisioned the horizon flickering green at the moment the sun disappeared. I've been looking for the green flash ever since. Well, on 12/24/2011 my quest ended. As the sun sunk below the horizon I saw the green flash. Turns out it is a brief flicker that appears right as the last sliver of the sun slips into someone else's sunrise. It is such a brief moment that I feel I've been training my entire professional career for this chance. Honestly, my eye registers it as a digital hit. Now my new quest is to get a photo of this illusive event.

Travel Tips

When it comes to in-flight movies, choose wisely.

This morning I picked "The Help" over "Elf" -- big mistake. An hour and twenty minutes in, tears. I'm not in a dark theater where I can discreetly brush away the tears. It is daytime and I'm sitting next to a guy who is trying to watch "Dog the Bounty Hunter." All attempts to hold back the flood gates result in little gasps that sound like I'm trying to hold my breath until I pass out. I just couldn't keep the tears back. Embarrassing. In a vain attempt to save face, I changed channels.

Now, not only am I a whimpering mess, I don't even know how the movie ends.

From Jamaica Queens to Negril, Jamaica

I am looking forward to spending Christmas on the beach.
I've never needed a getaway more.