Jamaica Part 7 - The Sunset Cruise

It was called a "Sunset Cruise". I was really looking forward to it, too. I had no idea what to expect.......never been on one of those before. The boat was a catamaran with the name "Wild Thing". We all gathered on the beach property of the Sunset At The Palms resort...........I remember seeing the catamaran approaching............I looked at how many people were waiting on the beach............I remember thinking "how in the hell are all of these people gonna fit on this boat?". Not only the Chesapeake Medical Staffing gang were going, but also a few wedding groups as well...........about 120 to 150 people maybe all together..............hmmmmm.

The boat pulled up to the shore and sat there waiting for us to line up and load on..........you need to wade out into the water and get onto the boat via a lowered stairway..........it was a good thing it wasn't very wavy right then......hehehehe.......half of the gang was already loaded. We found a space to sit or stand and get ready to head off.

This was to be a sunset cruise................and we all know Tropical Storm Noel is not very far away.

Looking back at our pick-up spot as we pulled away, It is rather calm.

They were everywhere on the boat........everywhere you looked.............a full load of the fully loaded, if you will........hehehehe.

It did not take very long for everyone to get their "buddy kegs" filled up with their preferred intoxicant.........we were off and running. Me?..............I had a Red Stripe.

Looking out to the west horizon.......this is what I see. There is a very obvious array of clouds. I was wondering just how much of a sunset we would actually get...........but I tell myself "they probably don't let threatening weather stop them at all"...........and I was right.

We were heading along the coastline of Negril, Jamaica...........and those clouds were looking a bit ominous to me. Aside from what it looked like......the weather was warm and the wind was minimal. I had no idea how long this ride would be.........and I always pay attention to my surroundings.............the rest of the group is busy partying their tails off........it is as if either they don't care, have no worries, and everything is perfect...........maybe drinking helps that along. I am not very much of a drinker......one or two beers here and there. I am sober as a judge.......but don;t get me wrong here........I am enjoying everything immensely. I am where I want to be and with who I want to be with. For me, this is what dreams are made of.

I was perched by the railing and I remember thinking, as I looked at the people in my view, how if this thing goes down...they might be too drunk at some point to be able to save my non-swimming butt. The Wild Thing makes a pit stop by pulling into shore to pick up trays of pizza.....imagine that!

We were headed to a place called Rick's Cafe on the coast. They said there will be cliff diving there.......hmmmmm. As we travelled along the coast, I watched as the sea crashed against the walls in front of assorted structures. As you can see in the picture above, some of these places sit high up off the ground. I see this and and reminded about the tropical storms and hurricanes that pass through here. Imagine what this is like during one of those storms.......imagine the sea level rising up over that wall...........wow!

The Negril Lighthouse is just beyond where we are heading. I do not like that cloud though.

We have reached our destination..........that's Rick's Cafe sitting up on the rocks there. This is gonna be interesting.

There was a stairway leading to the bottom of the rocks and I could see alot of people. Chances are.........the grand majority of those folks are inebriated in some fashion.

Years and years of battering waves have formed caves. Jamaican kids climb around on the rocks on the right.....holding up hand made signs that say "Dive Picture $1". They will take the leap off the rocks for you for a buck..........imagine that. At this point, I remember thinking how chaotic the water was in this immediate area. The pilot of our boat did a fine job manipulating and maintaining our position.

We would pull in..........drop off about ten people..........pull out.........and come back to drop off more when the way was clear. Everyone was required to wear life jackets if they wanted to go ashore.

Me and Supernurse stayed on the boat to watch those who dared to go ashore and climb the steps to assorted levels for leaping into the water. Hit the water wrong and pay the price. Bruises and a week of sore butt.........not my idea of a souvenir......hehehe. But jump they did. Good for them! The boat rounded up everyone just as it had unloaded them........several gulps at a time. There was one Jamaican dude that would climb to the top of a tree right above the caves. He would make alot of poses......hamming it up.......and then show everyone his prowess...........diving like it was an Olympic event......right into the abyss below. Everyone would cheer and applaud. I actually did try to take his picture but it didn't work out..........it looked like a crayon mark on a picture of some rocks.......hehehehe.

I looked behind me and saw this sight. Now THIS is what I want to see.............a sunset! Savor the moment...............inhale it in.................enjoy it while you can...............am I a bit dissappointed?........well...........I would have liked a bit more color in my eyes, but I will take this.

There is that lighthouse in the distance.........I wished we could have gotten closer.

Well, we got through this half of our adventure unscathed.......it has been rather good so far.......but we still have quite a ride back..........have we run out of good fortune?

With each minute, the remaining sunset is vanishing...........gobbled up by ominous clouds. Still......it is an awesome sight. I cannot paint a picture like this. This picture is constantly changing......each moment is spectacular.

Sometimes there is a dark cloud hanging over your head. Let's hope this one is a dud........but the sea is not oh so calm anymore.

The sea is awesome. This is the Caribbean Sea.........imagine the history of this area.......pirates.......conquerors.........discoverers............and the nature of this sea remains unchangeable.

Two or three Red Stripes later............it's all good. It is all good anyway. I remember thinking.......gee......if we sank right there on this spot..........what a way to go! How many people ever die doing exactly what they wanted. How many ever die happy?

Nobody died here on this day.............there was more partying to do back at the resort......hehehe.

You want it to last as long as possible. The daylight was fading quickly. And we were not quite near the resort yet. I snapped off as many picture as I could. Fish were leaping out of the water. I noticed that the boat was moving faster than it had been............seemed like a sense of urgency about it............let's all get back before the deluge.......hehehe.................. I didn't care........I could do this 24/7. THIS is better than Disney...........better than Vegas..........better than just about anything.
I snapped away..........I wanted at least one great picture before it all went away.

And there it was................

The clouds looming in the distance, and the ones looming over us...........and the only remaining light emanating from between the two.

We returned to the resort safely. Our excursion was a success and I shall always remember it. Me.....the wife.........and paradise.....................uh........and a boatload of nurses!

I love it!

Next Up: Jamaica Part 8

Jamaica Part 6 - Halloween

It's wet..........very wet. The clouds have come in. Okay.......it's the tropics.......one should expect a bit of rain here and there...........but Tropical Storm Noel isn't very far away and it is frustrating.......it is taking what seems to be an eternity for this storm to get the heck out of here.

Tropical Storm Noel is almost a hurricane now and it seems to have stalled a while over the eastern portion of Cuba. While sitting there, Noel has dumped a barrage of rain and high winds......punishing Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Me?..........I am sitting on the very western point of the island of Jamaica......in Negril. To our northeast sits Noel.........yes.......a "dark cloud" has been lurking...........I have to admit that it is a bit to worry about, but I have been through this kind of thing before.

That's Noel....swirling right over eastern Cuba........as you can see.....the clouds cover a huge area.........this is not a tightly knit storm at all and it has far reaching effects. The worst is always in the northeast quadrant of these storms. Jamaica happens to be in the southwestern to southern quadrant. This is a good thing........however..........as you can see......the entire area is congested with activity. For us...........it's just squalls of rain and lots of cloudbursts.........very cloudy and the sun only occasionally bursts through it all. It appears that mornings are the best shot for some sun with the remainder of the day a bit of hit or miss.

This is not gonna stop any of us from enjoying ourselves.

It was Halloween......and a Halloween party was in order. Supernurse had brought our costumes with us on the trip. She was Tinkerbell and I was a pirate..........hehehe.......pirate in the Caribbean......hehehe. The party was held at the pool bar and the entire Chesapeake Medical Staffing group was there.................oh.......and did I mention the humidity?

Captain Morgan and Nurse Stickemoften strike a pose. They are husband and wife and great friends of ours. We travel together quite often.

They even got the bartenders in on the fun...........notice how happy? Chesapeake Medical Staffing had given all of us a "goodie bag" for the trip which included sunglasses that had flashing lights. As you can see...........the bartenders are wearing them too. One of them, when asked what he would do with the glasses after that night, said "I am saving them for Christmas"..........I don't quite know what that means.........maybe he wants to wear them again then....or maybe he intends to give them as a gift.......who knows?

There was a steel drum band..........guess what their name was?........."Steel Drum Band"

They were very good and you could see that they were very serious about their music. It was amazing how they were able to play just about any kind of music with those steel drums....they even did the Mission Impossible theme.....imagine that!

The drummer was very animated and very into his craft........the bass player........well.....more on that later.

This party was just getting started.

Now we're talkin'............look at all of those nurses! Supernurse is in that bunch somewhere.....hehehe.

Anyway..........as it happens.......when a man drinks Red Stripe at a Halloween party, that man will also find himself having to go take a leak at the nearby necessary facilities..........as it happens.........while in those facilities, I bumped into the "Steel Drum Band" members who were on a break. They seemed to be having some sort of discussion/disagreement amongst them. As it happens.....I interrupted that. I said to them..."Hey, you guys sound great." The drummer looked at me, smiled really big and asked me if I played drums.......I, of course, said "No."

That is where one would ordinarily stop the conversation and move on..........but there was a Red Stripe influence about me that this little pit stop could not remove.............so I also said "I can play guitar and a little bit of bass". The drummer's eyes lit up........uh oh..........he asked my name......I told him my name and he said "I am gonna call you up"........so.......after that........I said "okay".........and it did not register immediately what I agreed to. I walked out of the restroom and went back to the bar and told the wife what had just taken place. I said "They are gonna call me up". Uh oh........better get me another Red Stripe........hehehehe.

As it happens............the band didn't wait very long after their break......they cut to the chase and ..........as it happens..........called me up. Oh shit.....what have I gotten myself into now?

I had no clue what I was doing...........they hand me the bass.........."Hey, I play by ear"..........and so I test out the bass by playing a little bit of Sunshine Of Your Love by Cream. The drummer got a huge grin on his face.....he was very happy.......and he said "okay....let's play". I tell them to just play and I will follow along. I had no idea of what they wanted to play. Well......they started playing a song.....as far as I can remember....which was a typical steel drum kind of song.......and I just followed along by ear. The steel drummer with the huge scarf over his dreadlocks kept leaning back towards me uttering "Am.........D.........Dm"....etc. The traditional drummer would keep telling him that "he plays by ear".............anyway.........we got through the entire song.

The drummer was elated and looks at me and says "One more"..........oh well.....here we go again.

They want to play Unchained Melody............hey....I am familiar what that one! So they start playing and while I am following along.....I notice that their bass player doesn't look too happy and he is staring at me.

Oh well..........I kept on playing...........and to my surprise....it wasn't all that bad. The band seemed to be getting into it.

I knew that Supernurse was taking pictures of this. The band kept playing......and I kept my eyes mostly on the drummer.........he would show alot of emotion when he played and he would nod in acknowledgement of what I was doing. I tried to focus on him.

But the bass player kept staring at me.......and he was standing right next to me as I played. It was just a little unnerving.

And he kept staring and looming. I figured he wasn't very happy.

So I gotta look the other way now.........he is still standing right there.....watching.......and a bit disgusted.

Okay.........the second song is over...........can I go now?.............the drummer says "One more!"

Oh geesh..........here we go again......what are we gonna play this time?

As it happens........they start playing "Can't Help Falling In Love"........an Elvis song! Okay then......I am a bit familiar with that one too...........alrighty then. But look over my right shoulder and what do you see?............yep.........he is still looming there and staring at me. The rest of the band is smiling and happy........but not him.

I thought about the situation while playing.............hmmmm.......how can I diffuse a possible event here? Something else is going on here..........it's not just that I have stepped on this man's shoes.....there is surely a reason I was called "up".

I figured out what I would do..........finish the song.......thank them and shake the bass player's hand....pat him on the back.....tell him how good a bass player he is.......and tell him to "do his thing".........yep.......that'll take care of him. I surely am not good enough to show anyone up on a bass..........but I did follow along fairly well........at least the drunks at the party, with their limited capacities, would never have been able to be aware of the parts of songs where I messed up........and as it was......I finished the song. Wow.....it's one thing to get called "up" for a song......but THREE of them?.........me?.......you got to be kidding me........whew!.....did I mention how humid it was?

Anyway, take a look at the next picture.........it was the end of the song......and lo and behold!........there was ELVIS! ..........and I don't think that bass player ever saw him........hehehe.

It felt good. I had never done anything like that before. A personal victory for me........but back to the staring band member..............I followed my plan...........I thanked him for allowing me to use his bass and bearing with me........I patted him on the back.......I told him how great a bass player he is and how I wished I could play like he does. I even looked at the other members of the band and told them that the bass player is very good. And then I told him to "tear it up" and I walked away.

I thought about what had just happened. A friend told me that the bass player had been "falling asleep" on the job...............maybe he looked a bit "out of it" during the first set they played. That would explain their discussion in the restroom during the break. As it happens.........I walked into the middle of that discussion and.....as it happens......served myself "up" to prove a likely point to that bass player. I could imagine that the drummer had told him something like "we could get anyone to take your place tonight".........and as it happened.....they got lucky when I had to take a leak right then.

So there you have it.......Halloween in Jamaica.

Stay Tuned.

Next Up: Jamaica Part 7

Jamaica Part 5 - Sunset At The Palms

Sometimes pictures make stuff look better than it truly is. And sometimes pictures never seem to do some things any justice. What is seen by your own eyes is the only truth and reality there is. The pictures I have taken here in Jamaica are the best I can come up with. None of these are carefully thought out or even remotely resembling anything professional............just snapped on the fly, so to speak. If my camera saw what I saw.......then there you go.

The Sunset At The Palms resort in Negril, Jamaica is a quiet all-inclusive resort. It is also somewhat smaller than most........but that's a good thing.......not everyone likes disneyesque places. If you like natural settings, flowers, trees, peaceful surroundings, and cannot stand the claustrophic style of packed dining and beaches.....then this is the place to be. Upon arriving here......I look at the entrance sign......unaware of what it indicated and represented.......I was soon to remember all of my years creating signs for businesses. Those signs had a purpose and meaning. Sometimes subtle and sometimes flagrant and in your face. This sign was proper.

The entrance to the resort has a gate. Not just anyone may enter.....there is a security guard in the little room. The path to the left takes us to the beach. I passed through here rather often during the week I was there. I understand the need for the guard....especially after having seen how life in general is on this island nation..........yet I never once felt threatened in any way, shape, or form. Sometimes you read reports of vacationers to Jamaica that have experienced problems of criminal nature.......but while these things can happen, they can happen anywhere you find yourself.....even at home. It is wise for any vacationer to be aware of his surroundings and use some common sense.

It is my intention to show you some images of Sunset At The Palms that you might not find elsewhere.....unless you actually go there yourself. If you seek more information about this resort, you ought to visit their website at www.sunsetatthepalms.com.

The front entrance of this place is lush with foliage. You would never guess it is a hotel of any sort.

There are walkways throughout the resort, which lead to the "treehouse" style rooms. Each building holds two rooms and those rooms are elevated above ground. In this picture, you can see the drainage system in place here.

Very peaceful...........and much to look at. Various species of trees and plants throughout and are identified with placards placed next to each. The majority of the flowers I spotted, I had never seen before. And this place is very clean and well kept.

Hey........that's my room!

Wouldn't you enjoy walking here every day? I did........and I am not much of a walker.

I walked throughout the ground..........sucking it all in. I was also taking advantage of what good weather we had........that storm system was reported to have stalled a bit and ventured back towards us...........Gotta seize the moments!

There is a Far Eastern touch to the decor here. Mixed with tropics........a good match.

I really like palms...........there is something about them that does something for me..........I could live right here, no problem.

Each of the "treehouses" has its own porch. This is the view from my porch looking right. A small table with two chairs. With all of the foliage surrounding, there is a large sense of privacy.

Looking left from our porch.........an outdoor bed!.........imagine sitting here reading or doing puzzles......or even just snoozing. To be honest with you........me and Supernurse never really utilized the porch other than to dry our swimsuits or occasionally stand there and look around. We were far too busy with other things......hehehehe......like the beach.

It was stunning and we had never been anywhere like this.

Hardwood flooring...........very nice. The double doors led to the porch........but HEY!.....look at the glass on those doors.............they are a bit naked aren't they?............okay, okay.......you have no idea of what I am trying to get at here............well, it just so happens to be Halloween and Halloween decorations are in order!

Ahhhhhhhh..............just like home......hehehehe...........our friend Nurse Stickemoften brought some Halloween cling-ons and shared some with us. I put them up right away. You would never know it was Halloween at this resort, if not for these cling-ons.

See the towel hanging on the chair?.........I wasn't kidding. We had brought two citronella candles with us............they are on the table in the picture.........we never used them. I left them for the next people that show up.

Enough for now.

Next Up: Jamaica Part 6 - Halloween