Fall in Negril
Negril has always been one of my favorite vacation spots in the world. While living in Minnesota, I visited there four times: the first time in 1995 with my friend, Barbara, and the last time, six years ago this month, a month after my mother died. I even left a small portion of her ashes swimming the the clear, blue ocean before I returned home. I’ve always loved the laid-back, small-town feel of Negril, with its postcard-worthy sunsets, seven miles of beach and mixture of restaurants, bars and souvenir stands all along the way.
But, like any hidden paradise, eventually other people find out about it, and it expands to fit all the extra visitors. I returned to Negril in October for the first time after moving to the island. I was amazed at how much the place had grown since I’d last been there. New hotels filled spots where before there were park-like spaces. The side of the street opposite the beach, which had only a few jerk stands and tiny stores, was now crawling with more hotels, chain bars and even a bobsled-themed water park (who the f*** puts a water park across the street from seven miles of beach?!?).
Not that I’m complaining exactly. Negril will always be a beautiful place. It’s just different. I had a great weekend back in October with my friends, Evelyn, Jshri, Jeff and Jeff’s daughter, Alexis. And we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets that I’ve seen there.
Since then I’ve been back twice more. It’s just so easy: It’s only an hour away from Montego Bay and it’s easy to find a clean, cheap hotel. In mid-December, Cliffy and I took two clients there for the day. We drove through town and up into the hills, then headed over to Rick’s Cafe, where the clients went cliff-diving. (I did it once years ago, and will never do it again.)
On the way home, Cliffy took us to a rasta compound on the beach for a fresh lobster dinner. So fresh I could literally see them squirming on the grill (I think I might have even heard one squeal).
Although it’s not quite the sleepy hamlet that it once was, it’s still one of my favorite vacation spots, and I’m sure there will be plenty more trips to come.
Originally published in 2013 at www.jocelynstone.com.
