Steve and Kari's Trip to Hedonism II

 

February, 2000

 

Steve had been to Hedo once before and I had never even been to Jamaica - so, although I had heard stories about Hedo ~ including lots of drinking, lots of being naked and lots of wild, crazy things, I really didn't know what to expect.

 

We arrived in Montego Bay and took a "puddle jumper" to Negril - to avoid the atrocious bus trip I had heard can be quite painful.  As it turned out, between waiting in the lobby for the plane to arrive, the actual 15-minute plane ride and the wait, again, for a taxi to take us to Hedo - the bus actually arrived before we did.  We did, however, manage to escape the twists and turns of bus trip, which in my book, was worth the $240 we spent on the tickets.

 

Anyway, we arrived to a whole host of friendly staff who, despite our long journey, helped us feel right at home.  Upon arrival, we scoped out our room, waited for our bags (which arrived unusually prompt) and headed straight for the nude beach.  Steve, I think, was a bit concerned about how I would adapt - but have no fear, I took quite quickly and comfortably to being naked.  Let's face it - what could feel warmer or more natural - and thus relaxing - than feeling the rays of the Jamaica sun bouncing off of your whole body.

 

Well, the week progressed and we met some incredibly nice people.  The dynamics of a nude beach are very different than those you may see elsewhere.  Everyone is completely him or herself, in a nutshell,  "what you see is what you get."  There's no hiding behind fancy clothes (or bathing suits), posing or pretending to be somebody you're not.   Everyone is who they are - and that was incredibly refreshing!  No pretense - just ordinary, fun-loving people like us.  What a treat!  Within a day or so, we had met a group of friends whom we clicked with - and life was great.    The really cool thing was that, although certainly there were people who had gorgeous bodies, (toned, tucked and trimmed) for the most part, they were just like us.  The majority of the nude-beach dwellers were generally healthy and concerned about appearance - but not overly anxious about the way they looked or how many wrinkles or rolls may be exposed.    Generally speaking, the folks we met all had very healthy feelings about their bodies and were self-confident and not ashamed of the way they look.  Again, we found that very refreshing.

 

So, our week was filled with sun, beach, poolside conversation, Red Stripe, eating (mostly grilled cheese sandwiches and yummy, greasy French fries from the poolside grill), dancing and relaxing.  Our biggest concerns revolved around the fact that we slept late every morning and therefore missed breakfast.  In fact, the only morning we made it to breakfast was our very last morning.  But that didn't really matter - because we always managed to find something to put in our stomachs besides the constant flow of Red Stripe.

 

Now, also let it be said that Steve and I are quite the connoisseurs of night life and partying.  So, we spent quite a bit of time, late night, in the disco and the piano bar.  The disco was fun - although admittedly, we grew a little tired of the same dance-house music night after night.  Being the 70's fan that I am, it would have added a lot to the experience if there would have been a 70's theme (or even an 80's theme) one of the nights.  It would've mixed things up a bit.  This being said, we still managed to dance and drink and laugh every night until the late night hot-tub activities.  The piano bar was fun, too - and we even sang kareoke a couple of times! 

 

That brings us to the hot tub and the daily routine after sunset and after the disco (or evening) activities.  The hot tub certainly provided a lot to see and do.  Between people watching and a bit of playing ourselves, the entertainment was not lacking.    That particular week, there was a group of people who had been coming to Hedo for years and years - and they were quite interesting to observe.  And, there was never a lack of some crude and rude "pool toy".  Our favorite was the blow-up pig with a vibrator stuck up his butt!  Never a dull moment in the hot tub!

 

In terms of memorable moments … here's a list of some things that have stuck, as permanent memories, in our minds:

 

         Overwhelming sense of comfort in the friends that we met - very nice people!  In fact, we've traded emails with lots of them, and even went to visit a couple we met about a month after our trip.

 

         Beautiful beach - filled with starfish and other cool aquamarine life.  I even found a baby starfish I named Buddy.

 

         Breathtaking sunsets, which everyone would congregate together to watch.  The most romantic and connected moment we felt as a couple was swinging lazily on a hammock, sipping our drinks and watching the Jamaica sun slowly fade into the water.  The sun left a ring of green that we were able to catch just a glimpse of as the pink and orange descended into the blue of the water.  That moment, in and of itself, was worth its weight in gold.  Certainly that was one of the most intense experiences … makes you realize that there is so much beauty in nature that surrounds us, and to take a moment to soak that in awakens the human spirit and reminds us of the miracles that we see every day, that unfortunately, we tend to take for granted.

 

         Funny pool incident where there was this older man who, for some reason, perhaps allergies, kept sneezing into the pool.  He would sneeze and then wipe his face off with the pool water.  We were all gauking and laughing because there were people swimming in the pool.  We just hoped that the chemicals were strong enough to kill whatever he was sneezing into the pool!

 

         The "pajama night" - a couple of nights there were themes - a standard at Hedo as I've come to know.  This particular theme was fun because the term pajama was certainly very loosely defined - and people's outfits were provocative and alluring.  I, for one, know that the outfit I chose to wear is certainly not something I would wear to go to sleep … black leather boots, a leather thong with a silver chain, a shiny black top and a purple wig.  To top it off, I had Steve on a leash - which, understandably, attracted a lot of attention - which made the evening very exciting!

 

         The "boat men" whispering and clicking to get your attention.  That was memorable simply because it was constant.  There definitely was no shortage of scary men in boats willing to sell any and all types of drugs if you were so inclined.

 

         The Catamaran cruise - one day we opted to take a 1/2 day excursion on the naked Catamaran cruise.  This took us all around the island, which enabled us to see interesting Jamaican coast lines.  And, a couple of times, the boat stopped and anchored, allowing us to snorkel or swim or play.  The coolest part was when we went to the Green Parrot.  That's a restaurant on a big cliff.  It has a water slide, which we bravely went down, which sent us flying into the water about 30 feet below.  What an incredible rush that was!

 

         Meeting the author of "The Naked Truth About Hedonism II" and purchasing a book from her. We had a competitive, little game going with another couple to see who could top whom in meeting Chris, the author.  It started with an autograph and led to having our picture taken with her when all 3 of us were naked!  You can't do that at many book-signings!

 

 

Overall, the trip was fantastic!   From the moment we arrived until the dreaded moment we left - we experienced all kinds of things that made us feel alive.  I can certainly understand why the repeat guest level is so high.  There hasn't been a place that we've visited that was quite like Hedo.  True, we wouldn't recommend this resort to everyone we know - it's definitely geared towards those who like to experience new things and aren't afraid to let go and be unconventional for a week.  But also true, we would recommend Hedo to anyone who is looking for a place to completely be whatever and whomever they'd like to be for the time that they're there.  The great thing about Hedo is that there are no rules.  Well, for the sake of safety and overall comfort - there are some.  But the day-to-day social mores that we all tend to live by are stripped away and what's left is fun loving people and opportunities to do and see things that you don’t normally see.  And this is, in our opinion, what is so attractive and wonderful about Hedonism II.