Negril revisited

As a child, I visited Negril in Westmoreland, Jamaica many times with my parents, brother and cousins, as it has the most beautiful white sand beaches and cool, clear, warm water and on the west end, people were having fun jumping off various rocks into the clear blue waters. 

You see, where we lived in the neighboring parish of St. Elizabeth, had nothing comparable.

At that time, Negril was a little sleepy fishing village.

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Somehow in the 1960's, rich hippies from the nearby USA, heard about it and propelled by the thought of being able to freely enjoy some top quality ganja (marijuana) while lounging on the beach or jumping off 40 foot high cliffs into the clear water below, started to visit. 

The  Negril lighthouse

People from all over the world are still enjoying themselves, jumping off the high cliffs into the clear blue waters today.

Then they were accommodated in nothing but thatch huts, offered by extremely hospitable people.

  The existence of this new hot spot near the USA spread rapidly  and soon people from all over the world started to find their way to the exotic village. 

That was the genesis of tourism in this most prized section of Jamaica and today, almost all the land on the 7 mile section of the beach is lined with bars, hotels, restaurants while the cliff side is abuzz, offering everything including high end accommodation, non-stop music, partying and fun for people of all ages.

The late great Peter Tosh who also hailed from Westmoreland, strongly advocated for the legaling of marijuana and numerous paintings of him with his mantra " Legalize It" are prominent on the wall at Ricks Cafe.

I had not visited the cliff side for more than a decade and was really impressed with what it had become.

Ricks Cafe which established itself    

beside the jumping spot 50 years ago, has been expanding  exponentially too.

 That's the party center of the West end.

Boats bring visitors from the beaches to the cliff side to jump off the rocks.

They come from land and sea to party.

Negril is definitely now on top of its game and I loved the vibes.🥳

Museum of Illusions

 This is one cool place.

Omg. My head on a platter?😭

When you come to Orlando you automatically think of Disney, but Icon Park is a wonderful place to relax and take the kids, as it has a lot of really great stuff.

They even have early Christmas.

And looks what's beside it!

That is where Madame Tussauds is too and there are lots of food and souvenir places. But my favorite place is the Museum of Illusions.

We sure had fun there.

At some angles you see a face

Yup. Enjoying my  second childhood.😁

Omg. Why?

 Look at this beautiful Airbnb unit.

It even has motion detector lights so when you get up in the nights you don't have to feel around for light switches.

Love that aspect. In fact, love everything about the unit.

It is flawless. 

The owner is a wonderful person too but best of all, it is in walking distance of  Sultanahmet Square and many exotic places, like the Blue Mosque, museums, hotels, restaurants and also near the grand bazaar.

But there is a garbage problem outside our beautiful home, in the general vicinity of Fatiah, which is where our Airbnb is.

Yes you guessed it. It is in the middle of Istanbul. But I can't recall seeing a dirtier place in my life!

However, the good news is, this is not an Istanbul problem, just a Fatiah problem as we did a hop on hop tour and the rest of the city is pristine.

I am sorry for my Airbnb owner, for with the environment in which his beautiful unit is located, repeat business will be non existent!

Such a pity.