Out and About
Trip Start
Nov 15, 2006
1
3
13
Trip End
Nov 16, 2008
Where I stayed
Treasure Beach, Jamaica
Thursday, November 30, 2006
I made it out of Kingston already too as the weekend just gone, I headed of to a place called Treasure Beach with a few of the girls. It was dark by the time we got out of Kingston (the sun sets at 6pm here all year round) so I didn't get to see much of the countryside on the way but my eyes were popping out on the way back with the spectacular view and lush countryside But oh my God....The roads are horrendous! It's very similar to Africa it has to be said. The towns are more built up, you'll still have shacks along the road and in the towns too of course but they seem of a higher standard if you can imagine that. Dotted all along the countryside too are an incredible about of unfinished brick houses. I don't know did they run out of money or just didn't get around to finishing them off yet but it's quite odd to see. And you can hardly go 3 miles without passing a Jerk hut where with flies buzzing around your head you can sample the infamous jerk chicken served up in a piece of tin foil, bones, bits and all, and a slice of bread! I'm probably not painting a pretty picture here but it's actually lovely!
And speaking of which - Treasure Beach! Now there's not much too it other than Jakes which is a little getaway in the middle of nowhere. It's a hostel of sorts but all the chalets or bungalows are built right on the sea or the beach and there is nothing drifting off to sleep to the sound of the ocean and then opening your window or door in the morning and the sea being right THERE in front of you! Breathtaking! We had a lovely relaxing time, lots of R&R, pampering and even a couple of cocktails... We decided to so the Appleton Rum tour on the way back on Sunday and started following the signposts advertising it in Treasure Beach. After we'd been driving for nearly an hour we decided we'd ask a few people how much further it actually was. Turns out if we'd kept going towards it we'd have covered quarter of the island - A bit like advertising The Giant's causeway from Mayo!! God loves a trier!
So this week has been really productive so far anyway. I found somewhere to live anyway but probably won't be able to move in until after Christmas. It's a 2 bed apt, with a pool, so absolutely no excuses now for not coming to visit! Can't wait to get into it!!! I'm in a temporary one at the moment which is nice enough in fairness, apart from the mossies taking lumps out of me in my sleep.I also got my car this week, and do you know, I actually don't know what it is yet - how bad! It's red! And has a CD player... Anyway, I took off for a supermarket on Monday night after work and my impeccable sense of direction let me sorely down. Firstly I ended up at a supermarket which wasn't the one I'd set out to go to but thankfully stumbled upon. I thought I knew where I was at that point but on the way home, I don't know where I went but ended up in some very dodgy part of town with strange boys knocking on the window at traffic lights, offering to wash my window and all sorts of other 'services'!! Unfortunately I was on a one-way street at the time too but thankfully I managed to pox my way out of there and back to 'New Kingston'. It had to be done at some stage though I guess. Nothing like a baptism of fire!
All in all though it's going great here so far. No regrets yet and in fact the whole experience is more enjoyable than I thought it would be. And indeed much more do-able than I thought too. I did get some sad news from home this week though that reminds you how far away and removed you actually are but hopefully there won't be any more where that came from. And it turns out that they actually show LOST on Thursdays here too so happy days!!! Looks like I'm going to stick it out for a while yet. And in any case, I'm home for Christmas and New Year in just a few short weeks so I guess I'll see ye then! Only 25 more shopping days to go - Happy Panicking!
