On a nonstop flight from Chicago to Montego Bay Jamaica, the landscape changes quickly.  Our first trip to the Caribbean.  We step outside and hire a car to take us to Negril.  The two Jamaicans in the small van are in disbelief it’s our first time to the island.  Winding around the coast the driver puts in a scratched up cd with his own Bob Marley mix.  As Redemption Song comes out the speakers, we make a pit stop at a small shop and pick up some Red Strip.  The drive is about an hour in a half, so we cheers and kick back.

We arrive at Negril Tree House Resort and check in.  This was one of the first places established on 7 mile beach that is still open.  For 100 dollars a night we get a large room with our own private garden area and hammock.  This is not an all inclusive but it includes a breakfast that has Jamaican staples, foods like plantain, yams, fried dumplings, and fresh fruit.  There's a friendly cook that insists on cooking lunch for us at the Tree House’s bar and grill steps from the ocean.  Spicy jerk chicken burns my mouth but is so delicious.  My wife orders jumbo coconut shrimp. We spend the rest of the day walking to beach.  Aggressive Jamaicans approach every few minutes trying to sell goods.  I know others who hate this, but if you smile and say no thank you, it is not a big deal.  Lots of Jamaicans give me and my “boss lady,” as they call her, the fist bump followed by a “respect mon.”  The stereotypes of large amounts of marijuana and drugs in Jamaica are real.  On the beach we approached by a man with over 20 different varieties of marijuana and multiple kinds of shrooms.  I am still unsure of the legality of drugs, but judging on how relaxed and carefree the police are around the dealers, it is not of concern.

There are also vendors trying to sell crafts and wooden goods.  We meet Tony, enthusiastic and persuasive about getting our business.  I, boldly knowing I would have to buy something, ask what was the best piece of art he had.  He brings me in his wood shed on the beach, and shows me a newly polished wooden carved parrot.  It is stained with red, yellow, and green.  As an art teacher, I can tell you this was gorgeous.  He pulls out a chair for my wife to relax and look. “Take your time,” he says.  She picks out two elephants.  We ended up buying all three.  Now imagine us carrying three large wooden animals down the beach.  I have no idea how we got them in our backpacks or back home..

One of the advantages of staying at the Tree House is the free use of stand up paddle boards.  Make sure you sign up in advance.  We glide across clear turquoise waters with ease.  In the water we can see multiple stingrays.  Jumping off the boards into the warm water is beyond refreshing.  This is the perfect place to relax the day away.

I am going to make a bold statement here.  The best sunset I have ever seen in my life may be in Negril.  Due to it’s location on the west side of the island it sets it up perfectly.  The best spot to watch it is at Rick’s Cafe.  Overly packed with tourist, this spot has large cliffs that create great people watching as some jump at great heights into the ocean.  The live music creates a great ambience, and this is the perfect way to spend another evening.

The following day our Canadian neighbor at the hotel knocks on our door.  He gives me his bottle of Canadian Royal Whiskey since he does not want to take it back through the airport.  We sit to chat, and he tells me it's his and his wife's 12th year coming here.  He likes the Tree House Resort because unlike the other inclusives, things have not changed much.  

One of the advantages of staying in a non-inclusive hotel is going out and picking where you want to eat.  It was highly suggested by our taxi driver to check out Cosmo's Seafood.  The food is delicious, fresh, and local.  I enjoy a bowl of conch curry.  My wife orders the largest lobster I have even seen.  It is so good she even eats the brain accidentally.  This reminds me of why I married her.  Since we left Jamaica, Cosmo’s has been sold to a neighboring resort for expansion.  A sad reality that many of the small restaurants in the area are facing.  

Negril has been changing over the years, but it is currently changing fast.  On the way back to the airport our taxi driver points out a large new all inclusive being built.  It takes away from the locals he says.  The tourists go in and they don't come out of all inclusives.  Jamaica is the second poorest country in the Caribbean.  It’s economy is tourism-based, and many of its residents live in poverty.  I don’t know what the future holds, but I recommend seeing Negril before all of it’s charm is lost.

My wife and I will again be returning this spring. We have decided that the benefits of a healthy, happy, cleared, and refreshed mind cannot have a price tag. Both of us share the desire to see the world, however, Negril is our paradise.