July
18 25
Well
after all the planning, message boards, and e-mails we did it!!
Ill try to add some hints for anyone considering this trip.
After
all the prep work we were down to 2 wheelie bags and 2 carry-ons (one for
Vickeys shoes!) and we still over packed!!!!.
The trip began with a stretch limo to the airport and a smooth flight
once everyone took their seat (they must have been giving something away in
the planes lavatory that I was not aware of).
Customs was a bit long but that had more to do with my uncanny ability
to find any line where no one has their documentation filled out correctly.
OK get the bags and head for the luxury motor coach.. well in my
dreams anyway. The reality is its a little minivan-like taxi.
All 7 of us were heading to Hedo so that was good.
Lots of construction on the road and a rather weak A/C made the trip
seem longer but it was 1:45 (no stopping) and in my opinion not bad at all.
We
got there around 3:45 and the check in was great. Fill out some forms, tell the bell man the room number and
off to explore. All told maybe
15 minutes. Rm. 2118 (Oceanview
Au Natural). Get in the room and
look out the window hey cool! Nekkid volleyball.
As soon as I look out the window, the ganja boats start waving to me
(Man they are relentless!). Note: I know many will disagree but I think the
resort caters to these boats too much. If
they must be there (and I know they do) then keep them to one area.
One, on a kayak, came right up to the shore on the nude side and that
made many feel uncomfortable.
We
then checked out the room (nice mirror up there!). There could be more light in the room. The florescent bulbs were not that bright.
I did not find the A/C hard to operate.
Its a bit noisy but you need that with those tree frogs! (Truth be
told I liked the frogs, it added to the tropical atmosphere)
I
will not begin to go thru a day by day here.
They were all VERY similar (you find something that works and you stick
with it). Breakfast in the main
dining room (get an omelet they were excellent an dont get me going on the
coffee!!). The days were spent down by the nude beach or the pool (when the
pool was less active). By
late afternoon wed gravitate to the pool (usually after it was shady) and
wait for the Jerk Chicken (definitely worth the wait).
Then off for the afternoon nap and mirror checking session.
There
were many single guys while we were there and some made us uncomfortable.
They tended to gravitate to the pool and a few were less than
respectful. Most were fine and
some downright nice but alas its always the vocal minority that taint your
opinion. While I know it will not
end the debate... The pool/hot tub water was VERY clear.
I suppose I was expecting a biohazard but I can safely say the water
was excellent. There were times the smell of the chemicals was very strong.
At
nite we usually ate in the main dining room but did go to Pastafari twice
(very good food but wow are they slow. I
was joking that they only had 2 plates and served tables one at a time).
The shows on the main stage were much better than I thought theyd
be.
For
our late nite activities, Veronicas is an absolute must!
Dave was hysterical and really kept the place jumping.
Piece by Piece and Big Bamboo are musts ya gotta luv a
guy who can get women to strip on the piano!(Note: Dave is off Monday and
Tuesday and they use a karaoke machine so keep that in mind)
After Veronicas it was off to the disco till around 1ish for some
bumping and grinding. After 1 the
music usually became a bit too house for us.
We would then proceed to the hot tub, cool tub, or the point for some
personal time.
Security
was excellent. We felt very safe
and I am happy to say there were no incidents (that we were aware of) while we
were there.
The
showers can be temperamental if you use them between 6 and 8 pm.
Otherwise, they were fine.
We
brought enough medical supplies to start a clinic. Happily they went unused for the entire trip!
Well better safe then sorry right?
Get
an AT&T phone card and make sure you ask for the AT&T operator when
you call. We left the $200
deposit on the credit card and all of our calls totaled $6.00. I had a 350 minute card and with the conversion of about 7 US
minutes to 1 Jamaican minute it lasted the whole week.
Dont
be afraid. They will not run out of alcohol.
Make sure you drink some water to keep yourself hydrated.
Lots of alcohol and 6-7 hours of Jamaican sun can ruin a day if you are
not careful.
I
drank enough Red Stripes to ensure they have a very profitable year but not
once did I have any nasty aftereffect of my indulgence. If you like Baileys
Irish Cream then you have to try the Sangsters Rum Cream.
We brought a few bottles home with us.
The
room had no unusual odors. We
brought the Lysol and did use it but it was not really necessary.
The
hair dryer in the room worked great and was plenty powerful.
Vickey gave it a thumbs up and if anyone knows hair dryers its
her!
There
were almost no bugs to speak of. There
are these teeny tiny ants and some funky red bugs under the trees but none of
the biting variety and it was almost a news flash when I saw a bee.
Hats off to the staff on the nude side.
They keep the place so clean the bugs could starve there (OK that is a
bit over the top).
We
brought our own towels and that was a good thing. They were hard to come by at the nude pool and ours were much
softer.
You
cannot bring too much sunblock. We
are both very tan and go to the beach every weekend and we still went through
2+ SPF 30s (but our tans look great *s*).
Buy
your souvenirs from the people who set up near the prude grill.
Their prices are very good (much better than the airport) and make sure
you bargain with them.
We brought beach shoes but they were not really
necessary. The nude beach is a
bit rockier as you go out further and there is some sea grass so if you are
not thrilled about that then bring them but I did not have any problems.
We
went right after the WWWers so there were rafts galore.
Whoever had the dark blue double raft before the 18thThank
You!!! We made GOOD use of it!.
For
lingerie nite, whatever you think is too much someone will have you beat (a
few were nude). Guys there
were plenty of boxers worn so dont lose sleep over them.
I would try to make them at least a bit less run of the mill.
Mine were see though and made Vickey happy so. <S> Oh, she was
the only woman in a corset I thought that was odd but My gain!!!!! We had a
few requests for our pics so I think we looked OK.
Will we go back? Can
you stop us? It was a completely wonderful vacation. The people are great, the
facilities are fine, food was tasty and plentiful. The nude thing is really
nothing (youll see what I mean when you get there).
We thought we did such a great job packing and we still over did it. If
you do not plan to leave the resort you will spend the entire day in a bathing
suit or less. All you need are
nite clothes and they were pretty small <wink><wink>.
I must go now and consult the PDA to figure out when next I can indulge
in a few PDAS of the more fun variety!!!!!!
Oh, one thing I am sure will go unheeded. If you are
a single guy you should know that the ratio of single men to single women
while we were there, had to be easily 5+ to 1.
If your intent is to garner the favor of one of the fairer sex I
strongly suggest BYOB (Bring your own Babe!).
While there, there was lots of construction going on. I have heard that there will be a Japanese Restaurant (Munahana), a new prude pool (with a slide) where the volleyball court is, an ice skating rink (I cant make that one up) and a new gym facility (it is currently in an un-air conditioned open space). I have no clue when these things will be done but it should be nice.