Bob - October, 2002

I was suffering a bad case of Dreaded Island Fever (DIF) by the end of June that I felt another trip to Hedonism (a.k.a. "Hedo") would be the perfect cure.  I had enjoyed my trip last October despite the fact that it's hurricane season there and we had one pass while there.  I like going in October as the weather is cool in New Jersey and it's nice to have that "tropical escape" to look forward to.  I wasn't expecting my New Jersey friends from Vegas, Pam and Barry (a couple I met last October) to be going, as they talked about other tripss they were thinking of doing instead of going to Hedo.   I sent them a card soon after saying I would be going to to Hedo but they did not respond.  When I arrived at Hedo I learned, from someone who also knew them as well as the artist at Hedo we mutually knew, that they had planned to be at Hedo but Barry had passed away sometime in July.  It was kind of shocking but it didn't dampen my trip.  I did miss them being there as we had a great time in March and last October.

I decided to go during Lifestyles week (which is every October).  Lifestyles is an organization of "swingers" that go down and "take over" Hedo a few weeks a year.  There were about 200 plus people (about half Hedo's occupancy) who was booked through Lifestyles.  The group is mostly couples although there were other singles there as well.  You don't have to be a member of the group, or swingers to go with them to Hedo. They usually "take over" Hedo about one month total a year.  It's a fun week as the resort is at a high occupancy and the people are very friendly and yes some do show public displays of affection other than to their partner, wife or husband.  Many of these folks are normal everyday people, some are shy (like me) while others are very outgoing.  It's a fun group of people to socialize with

Once I booked the trip I posted my dates on the Denny P. Visitor Schedule.  I had sent a "hello" e-mail to others going at that time.  This was in early July so there were maybe 20 people booked so far.  Through the e-mailing I was invited by a couple, Ken and Cindy, to join a Yahoo! group called the Jamaicaloop.   There were 65 people when I joined the Jamaica Loop in mid-July.  I began a daily "ritual" of "checking the Loop".  The Loop was created in 1999 and the "loopers" as we became known were a very social group online.  This year's group was the most active they had ever had as there were upwards of 50 to 100 posts a day "on the Loop".  It was a diverse group which grew to 108 members by the time we left for Hedo.  There were 4 other couples from New Jersey (Bob and Pat, Howard and Liz, Durwin and Vanessa and Dave and Glo).  I enjoyed meeting them down at Hedo and it was great talking about "The Sopranos" with Bob and Pat and Howard and Liz one morning at breakfast.

I was an active "Looper" posting some 700 posts in the time before Hedo.  I did create contraversy and some Loopers were upset with my many posts which were sparked by my debates on changing Hedo's name to deal with the embarrassment of telling friends and family back home about Hedo to letting their Hedo age kids go to Hedo with or without them.  It was a debate that I knew I would not win but thought would be fun.  Unfortunately, many Loopers were upset with me and after many messages defending my position and trying to make peace over 2 days most forgave me despite the time and space it took up on their e-mail.  I read my mail on the Loop as after a day with 60 messages in my e-mail it was easier to read and respond on the Loop.

Many of us had "labels" and I was known as "Bob - The Single Guy from New Jersey" and I also had an Allegra towel which I got at work and was bringing to Hedo which I promoted heavily on the Loop during the month before the trip.  I had a great time chatting and e-mailing on the Loop with such folks as Nikkomon (Monty, a former NFL player with the Seattle Seahawks), Bob and Sara (Sara was the most active on the Loop), Dave and Debilee (Debilee was a moderator for the Loop), Angela (a.k.a the Anginator, but she is a sweet person), Nick and Anne (I met them last year and Nick tried to keep me in line on the Loop), Carl and Barb, Mom (Diane) and Carl, Jim and Corinne, Dave and Kay, Mike and Shelly, Liz from Wales (who was at Hedo last October) and Tommy and Della from Oklahoma.  It was fun singing "To All The Girls I Love Before" with Tommy on Karoke night.  I also had created a Loop Quiz which was popular as well.  Special thanks to Ernie (who helped correct my mistakes), Lena (who let me into the Loop) from Sweden and Jesper, and finally Tina and Steve.  Tina created the Loop and did a great job with it this year and I plan to to go back to Hedo next year.  Other Loopers who deserve kudos are Stacy (who created the Loopers tank top shirt) and Ken who created a poster.  Unfortunately, it didn't come out but it was a nice effort.We still post on the Loop but it is closed a few weeks after the trip until May as by then the Loopers are planning for October.

Well after spending more time on the Loop than I would at Hedo I was psyched to actually meet these people.  Most of us posted pictures so I had a "name with a face".  The day finally came, after working all day Monday and posting goodbyes and "see ya at Hedo" messages to the few that remained (most Loopers were at Hedo as they arrived within the last week) I was all packed and ready to go.  I packed light but we were doing a clothing donation so had a duffle bag with some clothes in my big suitcase.  I brought down 3 pairs of shorts, 2 bathing suits and T-shirts for each day. as well as tolietries.  I also had my Allegra towel, suntan lotion and one of the bathing suits in a small carry-on bag. 

I left home at 4:30 to go to Newark Airportfor my 7:30 flight to MoBay.  It was amazing how quiet it was, check-in was a breeze, I was the only one to pass through the checkpoint on the way to the gate, it was eerie, but was feeling irie, mon!  It was a fairly empty flight, maybe 50 people TOPS!  I slept most of the way down but listened to the reggae on the headphones.  We got into MoBay at 10:05 (Jamaica doesn't observe Daylight Saving Time).  It was again unusually quiet as I never thought I'd walk right up to immigration and customs.  I got to SuperClubs counter and there were 4 single guys going to Hedo and two couples going to Grand Lido.  The ride was the best ever.  The road to Negril all done and like a 2 lane U.S. highway.  We saw our share of goats, cows and the like.  The guys had the driver stop for Red Stripe (hey it's Jamaica mon) but I was happy with my water as the mudslides at Hedo were free!  By 11:15 I was at Hedo and after the QUICK check-in with Sandi from Lifestyles I headed to my room and unpacked.

From then on it was five days of burgers and jerk chicken from Robert's McMon grill.  I bought a Hedo mug at the gift shop and reloaded it with mudslides and rum punch..  I went over to the dining room for lunch one day but most days hung out listening to the tunes at Delroy's (love that reggae!).  Breakfast was good as always, eggs, pancakes, sausage and Charlie's omlette were great.  Lunch one day was good but the Lunchtime Spin was kind of lame (it was my fifth trip so I'd been there, seen that!).  Besides, it was more fun and there was much more conversation at the nude pool.  Dinner at the main dining room was OK, nothing great and Showtime was OK the first night and Toga/talent night but was mostly lame.  The Men of Steel on my last night was cheesy.

The dining room was very hot and humid despite the ceiling fans.  This was worse at night as it was packed for dinner.  Dinner is very dark in the dining room and a sleepy time for me.  Also, I don't like to intrude on people at dinner but did have dinner one night with David from San Francisco was like me is also "disabled" and it was nice to chat about our jobs, he works for the transit authority in San Jose.   There are very few small tables in the dining room.  It's also dim with a candle on each table and the music is unusually jazzy and makes me sleepy.  Hedo has a  GREAT "house band" Roots Explosion that is seriously underutilized.  Most nights I ate dinner and went back to the room and chilled to CDs I brought on the CD player.  They brought in a singer after the Man of Steel who was quite good but many people had headed to the disco or piano bar.  Despite the sweltering heat he was relaxing to listen to.  The dining room roof leaks and there are puddles all over the place.  Hedo's ammenties are great but the dining rooms and the guest rooms are in a "state of disrepair".  The other thing was I saw the WET PAINT sign on the bar as they were painting it BLACK (that's also the color of the room doors and outside catwalks) and from accidentally leaning on the bar I had black paint all over my arm.  Luckily scrubbing with soap and water got the paint off.  By the way, the next morning the WET PAINT sign was still up at the bar.  Pastafari was nice and cool and the food is much better plus you get waited on.  I went to Munahana, the Japanese restaurant in March which is also good.  I missed it this trip.  You need to make reservations for Munahana and Pastafari.  Both are closed Thursday which is Toga/Talent Night.

The piano bar was my favorite spot, Dave (The Peanis) really keeps the crowd going and this being Hedo a few folks (mostly ladies) strip on the piano to "Piece By Piece" a song Dave wrote for the occasion.  In addition he does a great version of "Big Bamboo" (a Caribbean staple) nightly where anyone can be a target.  Dave is so popular he even has his own CD which he sells at Hedo for $20 or you can get by going to his web site Dave The Peanis. Dave plays most nights from 10:30 until 2:00 (usually he breaks up earlier) in Veronica's, the piano bar.

The disco is OK and I sometimes go there when Dave gets slow or is done.  The music is rarely good and it's usually smoky and cold there.  The crowd was good most nights and is usually the prude people you never see if you stay on the nude side.  The bar is usually not busy so getting a drink is no problem.  Some folks hang at the main bar in the dining room as there is a "midnight snack" of hot dogs, chicken and sandwiches which is good.

What makes a trip at Hedo is Delroy's bar, Robert's grill and the nude pool complex.  There's the pool with a swim up to the bar with stools and tables.  There's also a cool tub that sits about 8, a grotto with a waterfall that is part of a rock wall with ivy going down it.  The grotto is sometimes called the Fornicaterium as some folks go there to get intimate, sometimes as a group.

The star attraction is the clover leaf shaped hot tub, it actually is 4 clover leaves and can hold 350 people (with one body part in the water).  Many people gather there for Happy Hour before dinner (around 5 pm.) but we had a cloudy weather most of the time so many people went there as early as 3 pm.  Then many come back to cap off the night around midnight-2am.  There's music going at the nude pool pretty much all the time after 10 am.  There's music even late at night which is nice.  The hot tub is a pretty active place during Lifestyles week as we averaged about 100 people there during the week.  Lifestyles week ended and many folks left Saturday.  You could tell that when Lifestyles or another large group leaves Hedo is very quiet these days.

My room was 2153.  The building near the new prude complex.  Hedo's rooms are very barren and could really use some updating with paint, pictures and furniture.  The bed was a king size with two twin matteresses of unequal firmness stuck together.  The shower was typical the first day, no pressure.  However the shower head washer was broken.  I took it to the front desk and was amazed that night that it was fixed and the pressure and temperature were normal.  The airconditioning was fine although I knew putting it on High was gonna give me a sore throat.  The power did go out as we had a thunderstorm that chased us from the hot tub the first night.  We also had one late afternoon but many of us kept dry under Delroy's canopy.  The light fixtures could use updating as the lampshades are cheap fabric covering.  The light switches are all next to the bathroom so it can be a dark blind man's trip to bed unless you turn off the lights manually.  The best thing about the room is the CD player.  Also, the safe is great as what makes Hedo great is it's all-inclusive so you don't need your wallet.

The prude complex is nicely done but a waste if you go to Hedo as a nudist.  While the prude beach and complex is "spread out" it doesn't have the same social factor to draw people.  There are very few people on that side of the resort and while the pool tables and such are nice it's tough to find cue sticks or basllst to use them.  The slot machines from the piano bar (now in a section next to the gym) hardly see action.  I feel sorry for the worker having to sit there hoping someone will need change.  Ther human chess set by Veronica's is neat.  The rock climbing wall and "psuedo" ice rink are a waste.  Ice skating in Jamaica, GET REAL!

The best part is the water slide and many people come over from the nude slide to go down naked.  It's quite fun to watch although I'm afraid of heights so I wouldn't try it.  There's also a "glass bottom" hot tub on the roof of the disco but I don't think it was open.  One thing many people don't like is the maze you have to walk through to get to the beach.  The quickest route is the catwalk over the waterslide.

The prude beach was packed as they did lunch on the beach as I was leaving.

The catamaran cruise was fun as always and Rasta Ralphie playing the guitar was the highlight.  The weather was sunny that day and the snorkeling was great.   The water was calm as there was just our boat at the reef.  The diving and swimming at the Pickled Parrot were great too.  The Island Picnic at Booby Cay, a small island across from Hedo is back but I missed it.  The island was recently reopened after government re-preservation.

Five days is just perfect for me at Hedo.  After five trips I know that you can only drink and party in the hot tub so much before it gets "old".  One thing I do regret is not making it into Negril.  That's the thing about the nude pool at Hedo it's tough to get dressed and leave.  They have daily shopping trips in at 10 am. and 1 pm. and never went.  It's tough to leave Hedo as you don't want to miss anything.  Also, it costs money outside of Hedo to do anything.

The trip home was OK.  The ride to MoBay was a breeze, for the first time it was just me going.  The driver was very friendly and he was giving a friend a lift to MoBay so I just listened to them chat in patois as we drove.  We did have a few close calls with some goats but it was a quiet Sunday on the road to MoBay.  Even Lucea (where my driver was from) was quiet.  He told me many places are closed on Sunday in Jamaica.  We chatted about his family and he asked about me and joked of my "single guy" status.  He said he is one of 27 kids (22 girls and 5 boys), quite surprising even for Jamaica.

I had done the Air Jamaica checkin at Hedo at the piano bar, which didn't go smoothly as the Air Jamaica rep was an hour late.  Many had early flights and some like me wished they were at the nude pool getting in that last bit of Hedo.  The guy finally came and I made sure I tagged my check-in luggage.

Went to the departure lounge and bought some CDs at the Bob Marley store and had a rum punch and watched the Eagles game at Margaritaville.  I got to the airport at 4:30 and my flight left at 7:10 pm.  It was a packed flight (more Jamaicans come to New Jersey than go there).  The plane was not in the greatest of shape.  They had to reassign my seat as it was "not serviceable".  This plane must have been one of the original 727s (even though they said it was an A-320).  My seat they gave me wasn't much better as I sank into it and could feel springs in my butt.  The lady next to me had a bad seat as well and finally moved further back in the plane, her friend he was fine so he stayed put.  It was cramped.  One thing I have noticed is the large (sorry for being politically incorrect) Jamaican women that barely fit in the seat (maybe that's why they are broken, the seats that is).  The food and reggae music were good though.

I got into Newark at 11:30 and was home by 12:30.  The worst was getting up at 8 am. to go to work the next morning.