Mary and Kevin, May 11-20, 2001
Our 4th trip to Hedo was once again both a fun
and relaxing vacation. I used to
read the oft-spouted its the people who make Hedo with a certain
amount of cynicism, not being a particularly social creature, but its
really true. We arrived at the
end of Nude Week and saw many old friends, and then reunited with the Grin and
Bare It crowd, and met some new GABI folks as well.
I cant think of any other vacation where you have so much pleasant
interaction with others but still have many romantic moments together as a
couple.
The Bus from Hell was my favorite part of the
journey both ways. Sure it was
bumpy, but at least we were moving.
We sat with our long legs contorted while the plane languished on the
tarmac for 2 hours in Atlanta and on the way back for over an hour in Montego
Bay. Why do they put us on the plane if theyre not ready to
take off? Jamaica is a
fascinating and beautiful country, and the bus ride is a great chance to see
some of it. My favorite sights
include the beautiful coastline, the bright flowering trees, the school
children in their uniforms, the dreads, the brightly colored roadside
refreshment shacks, the mysterious looking steps and paths leading into
foliage, the misty hills, the baby goats, and of course the giant ganja stalks
that inevitably get waved in front of the bus (how exactly do they expect us
to make this tempting transaction through the window of a moving bus?)
And the short trip through Lucea is so visually rich I can never take
it all in (and thus am doomed to repeat the bus from hell over and over
again). I recommend getting a
Dragon Stout (or two) during the beer stop youll have plenty of Red
Stripe when you get to Hedo, and the Dragon Stout is a very smooth and sweet
stout.
Check-in at Hedo was so uncharacteristically pleasant and
stress-free I still cant
believe it. We filled out our
paperwork, and this time when we checked back after eating lunch our room
really was ready, and we were escorted with our luggage to our room. Weve now stayed in 4 very different locations (all nude
side) first year ocean view by the carved lion, next year garden view by
the basketball courts (very close to dining room), next year garden view H
block, and this year ocean view by the nude pool, bar and hot tub!
We liked all 4 locations for different reasons, so I think its not
worth worrying about your room location.
It was raining and we hadnt slept for about 40 hours,
but Delroys was beckoning when I peeked out the window, so we had a great
afternoon on the beach and pool, and then happy hour at the hot tub.
The rain was warm and didnt seem to bother anybody else either!
We took a nap and were then again ready to party we had dinner and
then went to the beach party, and then to the disco, where we danced for
hours. This was the only night
during our trip when they consistently played dancehall in the disco, so Im
glad we made the most of it.
This is where things start getting hazy, so Ill get to
some key points and abandon the chronological narrative:
Public Sex: seemed
about the same as always in the hot tub, but more prevalent in the ocean
during the day. I didnt at any
time see the activity coordinators encourage public sex, unless you count
their extremely suggestive and highly flexible gyrations in the disco.
Nobody had sex in the dining room on the salads (for those of you new
to the Denny P message board, Im not just announcing this out of the blue
this is a public food safety announcement based on concerns voiced in past
posts).
Snorkeling: I
have never seen so many sea critters whilst engaging in raft snorkeling off
the nude beach! Maybe the sea
critters are attracted by the increased public raft sex, those naughty
voyeurs! I saw a barracuda, lots
of large puffer fish, a school of squid (really weird looking at first I
thought they were aliens from another planet!), some really cool starfish,
lots of urchins, and quite an amazing number and variety of fish.
Snorkeling from the catamaran cruise was fun and relaxing, but it
seemed like there were less fish than usual.
I took the snorkeling boat one day, and we went to the Bloody Bay reef.
The sea was choppy, which made snorkeling somewhat challenging, but I
saw some cool fish and a spotted eagle ray.
Food: Well,
the food was yummy, but certain other things were runny. I remember having that problem for a day on our first trip,
but this time it persisted for several days.
It hit Kevin towards the end of the vacation, and just about everybody
I talked to also suffered. Travel
hint: bring Immodium!
Actually, the Immodium didnt seem to help much it was the first
time Ive had to take more than one dose.
Culinary highlights were Roberts fries (mmmmmm), Indianas grilled
fish, Charlies omelets, ackee and saltfish at breakfast, crab linguini at
Pastafaris, pasta with mushroom sauce, and grilled ahi tuna.
Staff: The
service couldnt have been better, and exceeded the service of our previous
trips. The dining room and
Pastafaris staff could give some lessons to the restaurants here in the
U.S. Overall the staff was professional and friendly, and they are
definitely included in the statement its the people who make Hedo.
Entertainment: One
of the highlights was the Battle of the Sexes we enjoyed it last year, and
this year it was even funnier! The
gentleman who won the orgasm contest was outrageously funny, and should
probably have his own comedy show.
Music: Bring
back the reggae! It was my first
trip to Hedo that introduced me to reggae, but this year it was somewhat
scarce, except for on the prude beach. Our
first night was a reggae bonanza a great DJ at the beach party (both roots
and dancehall) and again at the disco, but after that it went downhill the
other nights at the disco we heard lots of techno, a bit of hip hop (good
selections), and way too much ((shudder)) actual disco.
I know that musical tastes vary, so I think they are actually improving
in the variety of music they offer, but I wish theyd throw in a bit more
good old (and new) Jamaican dancehall.
We went on a trip to Ricks and they had a live band,
but it was a Hedo bus trip and we had to leave after the band had only played
for a few minutes (and the sun wasnt even done setting!) next time well
get a cab to Ricks so we can leave when we are ready.
The house band at Hedo was impressive as always - a very versatile and
talented group of musicians. Thanks
to Rudy, a new activities coordinator, for singing a reggae tune during the
talent show he did a great job.
Next year we probably wont make our reservations so
early we missed Beenie Man at the Long Bay Beach Club by one night and
Luciano at MXIII by one week. It
was a bit frustrating to see the signs advertising the concerts all the way
from Montego Bay to Negril!
Weather: May
is rainy season, so I wasnt surprised that we encountered some rain.
There was only one day that was bad, and we almost got our free sunshine
guarantee day, but the rain finally went from torrential downpour to
trickle at 4 pm, and the sun came out just in time to squelch our vouchers.
Some advice for first-timers plan to take the catamaran cruise
towards the beginning of your trip that way if it gets rained out youll
have a chance to take it later in the week.
Our cruise was rained out that day (they give a refund if youve
already paid), and we were ok with that since it would have been our 3rd
cruise of the trip, but there were some other very disappointed people who had
waited and were going home the next day.
Beach/Ocean: Yes,
I noticed the trash on the bottom of the sea when I was snorkeling off the
nude beach. It does make me sad,
because this is a great marine environment, and respect means not trashing it.
I see trash in our national and state parks also, and that makes me sad
too. However, I still enjoy the
beach at Hedo. I dont mind the seaweed, because I stay on the raft.
I took a kayak out a few times and paddled out to the really clear
waters and white sands by Beaches and the public beach, and that was great
highly recommended a good way to relax and get some exercise at the same
time. The water by the Pickled
Parrot is my favorite I love swimming there on the catamaran cruise.
I did get bitten by the sea lice this year, but it wasnt that bad
(not nearly as bad as the mosquitoes that feasted on me later).
And of course lounging on the beach is always nice I
love watching the boats and the watersports, and the hills of in the
background complete the picture. One
afternoon there was a beautiful rainbow that made it even better!
Grounds: As
always, the grounds looked beautiful, and it was a pleasure walking along the
paths and looking at the beautiful flowering trees and bushes. Im still hoping to see a tree frog someday, but I did see
lots of cute little lizards and a sideways-walking crab startled Kevin one
night as we were walking back from dinner (aaaagh!
What the **** is that? An
alien creature?)
DIF: Yes, weve
got it bad. But it helps to have
some Blue Mountain coffee to drink, our Jamaican souvenirs (walking sticks and
a large, intricately carved wall decoration), and plenty of reggae CDs.
The video from the catamaran cruise is also a nice elixir for DIF.
Summary: Maybe were not able to judge this adequately after just 4 trips in 4 years, but I dont see a deterioration of Hedo at all if anything it has improved. For us its an excellent value for the money. Were looking forward to the next trip!