Vagabonding : 2007 June |

Our last day

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I remember last year while I was vagabonding, overhearing a sad little boy tell his parents that he wished it was not their “last day”. It was at that moment that I realized how different my new lifestyle really is. In theory, I should not have any more “last days”. Unfortunately, this trip was more vacation than vagabonding so indeed today was our last day and it was a little melancholy.

Our last day was spent in the rain, but at least we had good company. We met an English couple, Lynda and Terry, on the beach that lived near Lyndsey’s home town. They are Negril regulars and even though it was 90 degrees F, we enjoyed a nice hot cup of coffee and tea together. Go figure.

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Posted in Jamaica | Tags: drinking, greg rodgers, Jamaica, negril, travel

Just another day in Negril

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This is an interesting place.

I don’t think he’s getting much shade from his tree!

Like many of the developing countries I have been to, most areas just off the beach demonstrate incredible poverty and signs of tough living. Here, the budget hotels are mixed in with everything from nice places to simple shacks. There are no high-rises, the law being that no building can be taller than the palm trees. The all-inclusive places loom farther up the beach in their own Bay and the guests rarely venture down to my part of the beach. In fact, the resorts discourage them to leave at all and when we walked on their beach, the security guards asked to make sure that we were guests not straying too far from “home”. The logos and “plasticy” feel of the place made it look a lot like a Jamaican Disney Land - where fun comes in packaged, nice and neat, controlled bursts.

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Posted in Jamaica | Tags: beach, greg rodgers, Jamaica, negril, snorkel, travel

Sweet adrenaline

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It has been a long time since I did something that my brain felt was so stupid that it made my legs wobble. As I stood on the edge of the cliff, I could feel the long lost adrenaline hit my bloodstream, my brain’s way of hedging its bets to stay alive in case my body got injured and I needed a boost. It was a welcomed feeling, and it reminded me just how much I need that feeling in my life.

greg rodgers cliff diving in Jamaica