A Weekend Away: MoBay and Negril

This past Thursday brought the arrival of my first visitor on the island - Andre, a friend from my hometown. After a bit of confusion with his two hour flight delay and finding my unnumbered apartment, we set about making plans for his first of two weekends in Jamaica. It took much deliberation, but eventually it was decided that we would catch an early bus to Montego Bay for one night, and then off to nearby Negril for the second night. Unexpectedly, I had the Friday off due to concerns at the UNESCO office where I work about my not having a temporary work permit (a story for a different time...). This allowed Andre and I to catch the 6am oh-so-early bus out of Kingston for our 4 hour journey. We drove across the country at a fair pace, taking in the scenery (when I wasn't distracted by the on-board movies, failed attempts to sleep, or temporarily losing my cell phone). Our drive included passing through Fern Gully, a wonderfully lush and green area, but not the forest that the Disney movie is based on.

Once in MoBay we picked up a 'local guide' - basically a guy who knows some of the sites in town but isn't a legitimate tour guide. It was a good trek around the city, with the highlights being St. James Parish Church (built between 1775-1782, with stain glass windows, marble statues and steel drums alongside the organ), Sam Sharpe Square (a national hero who led Jamaica's Christmas Rebellion in 1831) and a wonderful view of the city from high up on a hill, who's name escapes me. After the tour and finding a hotel, our time was spent walking, eating and visiting the beach. Naturally we hit up the Jamaican Bobsled Cafe, which is inspired by "Cool Runnings", a movie which plays on loop in the restaurant. Thankfully it's on mute while it plays, because as a former waitress, I can't imagine how painful that would be to listen to day in and day out.

Getting off the bus in MoBay, it doesn't take long to find the water and spot the beaches down the shore.

View of MoBay, the area the actual city is in and not the tourist area, known as the "hip strip", near where we stayed.

Early Saturday morning we hired a friend of Tracy's, Alfred, to take us into Negril (an hour and a half away). We had heard rumors that Negril was far superior to MoBay or Ocho Rios, and I certainly had to agree. The atmosphere was much more relaxed. The beach near our hotel, Seven Mile, had the full length open to the public (with hotels backing onto it), unlike the blocked off private beaches more common in MoBay. Alfred helped us find a room, and then off we went to the beach. More sun and swimming (plus a hint of pink on my skin, of course, no matter if I put sunscreen on). I immediately noticed that the relaxed atmosphere extended to the peddlers on the beach as well, especially compared to their Colombian counterparts. Quite friendly and not too pushy, they would make their pitch and then accept our answers with well wishes (along with invitations to return if we changed our minds).

What luck! Rain clouds coming in along the beach - which we'd also experienced in MoBay, and would leave Negril in the midst of a downpour. Apparently we took the weather with us everywhere we went.

In the afternoon we ventured to the Negril lighthouse, which marks the most western part of the island. It was built in 1894 and apparently has a tank at the bottom filled with water to help stabilize the lighthouse in case of an earthquake. Mr Johnson, the lighthouse keeper, led us up the 106 stairs to the top so we could take pictures. Naturally, the view was amazing. Afterward we hung out at nearby Rick's Cafe, named one of the "Top 10 Bars in the world" by Caribbean Travel & Life Magazine (although I can't imagine any possible reason for bias in that situation...). The cafe originally opened in 1974 and was destroyed in 1988 by Hurricane Gilbert, and again in 2005 by Hurricane Ivan. Both times it was rebuilt, it's fame coming from the prime location on naturally formed cliffs offering an impressive view of the sunset.

Originally lit by a gas lamp, the lighthouse has been solar powered since 1985.

View looking north along the coast - Seven Mile Beach is hidden, but if you can make out the Jamaican flag on the cliffs, you've found Rick's Cafe.

Our second day in Negril was a walk around the Great Morass, a preserved wildlife area of a large bog. A 1.5km walkway through the bog is located at the Royal Palm Reserve, so we hired a taxi and went for a walk. We were accompanied by the security guard at the Reserve, who told us he had been recently hired and that the place was under new ownership. Part of this meant that some of the animals that used to be kept at the Reserve are gone now, since they belonged to the old owner. It was wonderfully peaceful, being the only ones there, as we made our way through some of Jamaica's lush greenery.

Taking a stroll along the boardwalk, our wildlife sightings were few but there was no lack of different trees and plants.

Sadly for us, due to the recent rain, we didn't get to see the crocodile (actually alligators). When the water is low he's visible, but all we could see were the bubbles rising up to the surface.

We made one last trip to the aqua waters before we packed our bags and met up with Alfred again for our ride back to Kingston. This time we drove along the South Coast, giving us a whole new view out the windows. Alfred pointed out points of interest along the way, and occasionally just called out town names as we drove through, reminding me of a being on a bus. It rained on and off the whole way back, enhancing the need for Alfred to be cautious on the road - any puddle could end up being a pothole. We arrived back in Kingston to the right of a large rainbow in the distance, marking the end of our journey.

Me, and the sunset, doing our thing with the shadows in Negril.