It Takes 7 Hours and 2 Flat Tires to Get to Negril

This weekend, we decided to finally leave Kingston and go the western coast to the town of Negril (see map).

Coast-to-coast travel: Kingston to Negril

Rather than depend on public transportation to get there, we decided to rent a car!  Driving in Jamaica is pretty difficult.  Not only do you have to drive on the left side of the street (meaning the steering wheel is on the right, the blinker is on the right, and the gears on the left), but also you have to watch out constantly for 1) potholes, 2) people on bikes, often riding in the wrong direction, and 3) stray animals.  Given that the driver needs to be aggressive at all times... we made Ashley drive.

Driving under the open sky!

Tollbooth Sign...

So the trip itself was supposed to take ~4 hours.  It took us about 7... So we had the option to drive along the north coast, through Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, or the south coast, through Mandeville.  We opted for the south coast, which was supposed to be a bit faster  Below are some pictures we took of the views along the way...

Palm Trees and Some Scary Clouds

View from the Drive... Looking over Manchester

Bird!

An old church / graveyard hidden away in the mountains

Drinking coconut water out of a tender coconut on the street!

During the Tropical Storm Nicole, some of the roads got really messed up with bad potholes, which really slowed down the drive.  Also, nothing is labeled.  There are no street names or anything.  At each intersection, it is up to the driver to make a random guess on which way to go...  So unfortunately, we got a little lost going around a roundabout and ended up taking a longer route on worse streets (through Mile Gully and Maggotty and past the Appleton Rum Estate).  We stopped along the way to take pictures of the valleys and the fields, and get tender coconuts from the locals.  We saw stray dogs, cats, pigs, and horses.  Yup, giant horses that were strays!  The drive through Manchester was definitely beautiful but it also led to... flat tire #1.

Luckily, we realized we had a flat tire right when we were next to a gas station.  The incredibly nice men there helped us change our tire and also patched up the broken tire.  It also started to pour as we waited, and then worked so hard to help us in the rain!  Once we were finally on our way again, we passed through beautiful towns and a road that had a long tunnel made of bamboo.   

Bamboo Sticks

Bamboo Tunnel

But soon again, we hit a hidden pothole and lo and behold, flat tire #2.  The hubcab flew off as well, so we had to find it in the pitch dark using our cell phones!  Luckily, some very nice people drove by and helped us switch the tires (back with the originally flat tire) and fix up this messed up tire.  All of this was done in the dark, lit by the beautiful and humongous and extremely bright stars!

The Palms Resort, Negril

Finally, 7 hours later, we reached Negril.  Unlike some of the other touristy spots, Negril's "7-mile long" beach of white sand and blue water is lined with smaller resorts, not sprawling hotels.  There are stores and restaurants along the beach as well.  We stayed at "The Palms," Jasmine's cousins' resort.  It was so cute, with a huge pool, bar area along the beach, and views of the ocean and entire strip.  That night, we explore one of the local clubs.  It was humongous, with several outdoor decks, dance floors, and a pool table area.  A fun night of hanging out in the nice weather and listening to some good music!

We woke up to some pretty perfect weather... shining sun, cloudless skies, and blue water...

View from the Palms Resort

Palm Trees and Blue Ocean!

We spent the morning drinking ice coffees, diving in the pool, and wading in the waves.  We were also serenaded by some talented Jamaicans! 

Me, Jazz, Ash on the couch by the ocean

Being Serenaded by The Rasta Men!

GOATS!  In Grangehill

In the afternoon, we took a trip with Jasmine’s friend Teddy to the town of Grangehill, which was beautiful.  We drove through the neighborhoods, with some cute houses and where everyone was hanging out outdoors, playing dominos and eating fruit!  We met a group of extremely nice people from the town, who gave us fruits and enough sugarcane to last us for months.  It was such a happy and relaxing afternoon, just sitting in the country and eating with the locals.  I could see how happy they seemed, living a life that felt far more simple and slower than the fast-paced ways in Kingston.

Next, we went to Rick’s Café, a little tourist spot that is located along the cliffs.  The main attraction is seeing professional drivers jump off the top of these cliffs into the crystal clear blue ocean.  Apparently, tourists can jump as well when the sea is a little less rough.  I would be scared to try, but Ashley keeps reminding me that Queen Latifah did it, so we would be able to as well!  The sunset from this spot was beautiful, above the endless ocean!  For dinner, we went to a very local place that overlooked the ocean (of course) and had delicious fish.

Cliff at Rick's Cafe

View from Rick's Cafe

Platform for Cave Divers

At night, we decided to venture back into the ocean.  Ashley and I enjoyed revisiting our favorite gymnastic moves along the coastline, trying really hard to do handstands in the ocean.  The beach was beautiful at night, totally quiet except for the crashing waves.  The entire coast was lit, but you could barely see the ocean… it disappeared into the blackness after ~20-30 feet, and just seemed never-ending!  We finished up with a cool swim in the pool and then fell asleep watching a movie…

Me and Ash doing synchronized cartwheels!

Ashley and me, trying to do the splits...

In the morning, it was unfortunately a little rainy.  We went to Teddy’s restaurant (where he is the head chef) and it was breathtaking!  The restaurant was similar to Rick’s Café in that it was set up in the cliffs, overlooking the endless ocean. 

Ashley with her coffee at Teddy's Restaurant

We enjoyed our coffee with the scenic view!  Afterward, we climbed down into the caves, which led into the ocean.  If we didn’t have to leave, we would definitely have jumped in… next time!

Caves!

The ride back was far quicker, as we made it back to Kingston in about 5 hours!  No wrong turns either!  Even got to stop for a bit for coconuts and jack fruits.  Overall, a successful roadtrip and relaxing weekend :)