gobble gobble turkey day in Negril, Jamaica

Last Thanksgiving I was in Madrid, New Mexico with my brother, his wife, returned Peace Corps volunteers, and the local Madroids doing the drunken shovel rodeo over the campfire(nobody got hurt!) while the snow fell. I never would have guessed a year later I would be in Negril, Jamaica with 20 of the most inspiring, diverse, and amazing people I have encountered in my 30 years on this Earth. 

This particular weekend was initiated by a scary and most unexpected event, which luckily didn't curse the whole weekend. My good buddy Tom and I moseyed on down to the fisherman's wharf to see Reagan for a fresh ackee and saltfish breakfast. As we walked into this danky old shack, we greeted a gentleman quietly sitting on a bench. Upon ordering, we turn around and notice the man going into a serious seizure. He falls to the ground and Tom and I look at each other and ask Reagan if we should call the medics (even though Tom is one himself). Reagan insists that we leave him be as he does this often apparently. He informs us that when he comes to he cusses out anyone who touches him. We are both a little shocked, give each other a bizarre look, and decide to take our breakfast to go. 

2.5 hours later after "smalling up" in two taxis, one bus, and being called derogatory names in Montego Bay, we arrive in beautiful Negril. Ryan is there waiting, so we swiftly change into trunks and get over to the cliffs for some jumping and refreshing cool Caribbean water. I puss out on the backflip a couple times, and eventually we walk back to the Cleary's place. Next we follow some vague directions to where a local man lives who is constructing a new "house" or big room if you will. We volunteered to help him out. I spend the next 2 hours rolling gigantic limestone rocks from the woods to the foundation of the new unfinished shelter. Finally we take a long walk back into town, and on to The Canoe where we meet up with the rest of the bunch. We enjoy great food, 100$ Red Stripes($1.31 USD....I am currently on the wagon), and good conversation as we catch up with volunteers we haven't seen in awhile. 

I camped under the stars without the rainfly, and fell asleep to some relaxing music on my iShuffle. Saturday morning I walked a good mile or more to Burger King of all places. I know what you're thinking, but they serve Jamaica's famous Blue Mountain coffee and I had been craving a cup for some time. I sat there for a few hours reading a great book called Cadillac Desert. The remainder of this lazy day was spent cliff jumping again, and prepping for our gigantic Thanksgiving dinner. The Cleary's tracked down a turkey for about 45 US dollars! The feast was preceded by all 20 of us each taking a turn to share a few of the many things we are thankful for this year, and of course, a champagne toast. The food was amazing, and the moment couldn't have been any more perfect. As you may have predicted, the tryptophan and all the other food put everyone into a turkey-like coma. Before dark, we caught our second wind and walked down the street to famous Rick's Cafe on the cliffs.  Some of us, myself included, took the 40 foot plunge into the water! Awesome! I was feeling so confident afterwards, I braved-up and did a backflip off the 12 footer with a large crowd watching, and was very proud of myself;) One of the more interesting things I discovered about cliff jumping is that when I hit the water a nice shot of seawater blasts its way into my nose and further on into my sinuses. Even hours later I can lean over perhaps to pick something up, and drip drip, the seawater, by the wonderful force we call gravity, emerges once again. It's kind of a cool sensation...haha. The evening ended at a local bar where Ryan, who proudly played his Guns 'n' Roses cd, which I personally found a little annoying. Apologies to Axel Rose.

After a restless second night under the stars, I arose early enough to make it to the "BK Lounge" for another cup of coffee and an egg 'n' cheese croissant. Gotta have some food in my belly before a scuba dive! The waves were a bit choppy today, which made getting in and out a little tricky. Saw many bright sponges and a plethora of smaller fishes, but again no dolphins, sharks, or barracudas. I controlled my breathing much better on this dive, and after our short 32 minute dive I still had 1200 psi in my tank. We had to cut the dive a little short because my buddy Jason sucked up all his 2600 psi in 32 minutes! It's all good buddy. I was glad to come out with ya on your refresher dive. 

After lunch it was time to say goodbye to the bunch as we all headed off in different directions, and dispersed across the island back to our respective sites. It's always a little depressing getting into a taxi all alone and trekking back home after such a fabulous weekend. That feeling all goes away when I step back into my humble little place, and fall on my bed with an exhausted, but big smile on my face. I love this place. I still hate mosquitoes though.....just for the record. 

thanks to:

Tami for the mashed potatoes

Grace for the cobbler

Cecilia for the green bean casserole 

Jason Candido for the champagne

Jason Cunningham for the roasted yams

Shanna for the stuffing and pumpkin pie

Brian and Yvonne for the turkey and hosting us

Ryan for the Oreo cakesters...haha

Jess for the yummy veggie gravy

Jessica for the real mac and cheese

and to everyone else who cooked food i ate that i have forgotten! 

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die, so let us all be thankful."                           ~Buddha