Shrimp Curry

We had lovely morning on the beach and under orders from Cousteau-cub Requested a sangria for the Silver Vixen. There is a saying - what happens on the beach stays on the beach (with apologies to Fight Club, but fortunately it didn't come to that). Photos were taken for evidential purposes and fellow guest were warned in advance.

We headed for the beach bar for lunch, while eating there was a cookery demonstration. The chef showed how she prepared shrimp curry, then passed round the samples for us to try. It was very simple and very tasty but we would probably approach it differently and use a different spice mix.

It started to get thundery during lunch, but it didn't look as if it would actually rain. We headed back to the beach. The thunder continued, but other than the odd drop, it stayed dry. We stuck on the loungers (all of which have been replaced in the last 48 hours) and got on with our books. It remained lovely and warm, but the sun was obscured by clouds throughout the afternoon.

Tonight we plan to go to the Royal Grill and then there's the Steel Band, and the fire dancer. The Gorse Fox will be keeping his head down.

Supernova

We had a long chat with the General Manager, Arnold. He really is a charming chap and you can see the mutual respect between him and his staff... and the great humour that pervades all their dealings. Clearly the staff would walk through fire for him.

Jamaican night was much better this week. The food, as usual, was great. The Gorse Fox plumped for the BBQ shrimp and chorizo skewers with pork belly and scotch bonnet gravy. Exquisite.

The three old chaps started the showtime presentation with their lugubrious style. Maybe we were better positioned this time, but the Gorse Fox was actually able to make out the words to many of the songs and realised that many were quite funny and in some cases risque. When they finished a young band called Supernova took over. Drums, bass, lead guitar, and keyboards with two girl singers. They couldn't have been over 19 years old, but goodness were they talented. The lead singer had real presence and fabulous voice and the backing was just brilliant. She commanded the terrace and cajoled people to get up and dance with her, and got others to sing with her. At the end of the set we approached her and the band to thank them and congratulate them on what a sensational show they had delivered. That's two nights running that we have been blown away by the quality of the entertainment.

No real plans yet for today. The Gorse Fox has done his 5 miles in the gym for the first time in a few days... he missed one day after the late night at the Rabbit Hole, the following day he missed because we were seeing Mulder and Scully off first thing, and yesterday he missed it because he had a degree of gastric discomfort (he said delicately). That has now eased and he he dares to work out again!

Firefly

Our butler prepared a cool box with drinks and a couple of fruit and sandwich platters. The minibus called for us at eleven. We were the only people on the tour. The driver went on to explain that it is popular with British tourists, but nobody else goes there. Indeed it was three years since his last visit.

The road from Ocho Rios hugs the coast as it heads eastwards through into the Parish of St Mary, past the Ian Fleming Airport, past James Bond Beach, through Oracabessa, past Goldeneye, and on. Firefly sits atop a hill near Port Maria. The road turns sharply and immediately deteriorates to a rutted and potholed track that would give a Land Rover cause for concern. The Toyota minibus took it in its stride as we lurch up the hill.

As we parked, the driver tooted his horn and our guide arrived to escort us round the property. We had it to ourselves. In fact, they are usually closed on Friday, but opened especially for us. We entered by his studio and then through the garage where Noel Coward kept his pink jeep, then onwards to his living room. This is, by any measure, a modest single bedroom house. The view from the living room, however, was a view that took your breath away. It was a view across the bay that you could never tire of, and never ignore.

We carried on through to the tiny kitchen and then back upstairs to the bedroom. That was it. A very modest house perched on a hillside with one of the most spectacular outlooks the Gorse Fox has ever seen. We ventured out into the gardens passing the bronze statue of Noel Coward looking out over the bay. At first you wonder how he managed to entertain so many luminaries  of the age in such a modest house... Sophia Loren, Liz Taylor, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Peter Sellers, the Queen Mother... the list seemed endless; in fact he had a separate guest house, called Blue Harbour,  at the bottom of the hill. This had seven bedrooms and provided accommodation for all his visitors.

When he died, aged 74, the house and estate was left to a friend. The fried thought it would hold too many memories, so passed it to the Jamaican Government. (For the record, the guide explained that the estate covered 11 acres and cost Noel Coward 150GBP when he bought it.)

We were allowed to linger as long as we wanted, so wandered about taking photos. We tipped the guide handsomely, then our driver took us back to Royal Plantation. The rest of the day was spent with our books.

Tonight is Jamaican Night on the terrace. (The Gorse Fox will avoid the brownies... as Cousteau-cub knows, Otto was famous for these and we are taking no chances).

Reggae

We settled down on the terrace for Italian Night. The assistant manager came to join us and ask how things were going. Needless to say we got talking and in the end we must have spent half and hour talking about leadership and management theory. She was charming and so eager to learn and absorb ideas.

The meal itself was of the usual high standard with a large buffet selection and chefs on hand to prepare anything you wanted. It was a warm evening and, sitting by the tree, we could watch the bats hunting insects through the branches.

When we had finished we moved back to the verandah and settled down on some comfy chairs to enjoy the evening's entertainment. Initially it was the Rush Band and then they were joined by Rojjah. It was an evening of reggae and was absolutely excellent. For a change we didn't get the usual reggae classics that seem to played non-stop everywhere - in fact we even had a reggae version of Johnny B Good. We enjoyed it so much we even went along to chat to the band as they were packing up.

It will be a quiet morning today as we have to be ready at eleven for our trip to 'Firefly'.

Just Us

It was sad to see Scully and Mulder leave this morning. It has been a lovely week with them and certainly we would love to meet up with them again for another holiday. As Mulder will be retiring at the end of October, hopefully we should be able to arrange something.

We had a word with our butler. We want to visit Firefly. It's not one of the standard tours available at the resort, but needless to say the butler has managed to arrange the trip for us tomorrow.

We spent much of the day on the beach with our books. We did manage to have video calls with Urban-cub and Ellie, and later with Cousteau-cub. It was nice to catch up and to see Ellie (who was a little more forthcoming this time). Cousteau-cub managed to catch us as we were finishing lunch. She brought us up to date on her new job and how the first couple of days have gone. It sounds as if she's settling in.

Tonight is 'Italian Night' in the restaurant so the Gorse Fox suspects it hasta be pasta.

Would you like wine with that

We met just before seven. Mulder and Scully had started their packing ready for their return home Thursday. The Gorse Fox had finished another book and the Silver Vixen had caught up on the newspapers. Our butler escorted us down to the Royal Grill and we took our seats overlooking the beach. The menu was not extensive, but it was very good. As we sat and deliberated, the wine waiter topped up the various wine glasses. As he stopped to fill one glass the second bottle on his tray toppled and the Gorse Fox ended up wearing pinot grigio or maybe sauvignon blanc for the rest of the meal. It was a good job it wasn't red wine. The waiter was apologetic but the Gorse Fox is not sure he realised just how much wine had tipped all over him.  We didn't see much of that waiter for the rest of the evening.

When the meal was finished we headed for the terrace. The Gorse Fox diverted to our room to change as his polo shirt was still very damp. We then sat and chatted and listened to a very good live band as the staff laid our all of the goodies for 'chocolate night'.

We're meeting up with Mulder and Scully for breakfast and to see them off. It's a real shame to see them them go as they have been great company throughout the week and we've had an absolute blast.

Lazy Days

It has been a lazy day. A leisurely breakfast followed by a morning reading on the beach. It has been hot today, at 32C, but there's been a stiff onshore breeze that has had the tendency to whip up the sand and sandblast you if you weren't careful.

We had lunch up on the terrace. The Gorse Fox had a lovely salad with some mahi mahi, and the SIlver Vixen went for chicken. Mulder and Scully resorted to quesadillas. Then we had to struggle back to the beach for another lazy afternoon with our books. As the time drew on, Mulder and the Gorse Fox went to the Rewards Office to get him enrolled in the programme and allow the Gorse Fox to claim his referral points. All these point are beginning to accumulate nicely.

We got a message from Cousteau-cub. Her first day at work had gone well, but she was (predictably) tired. Hopefully we'll get the chance to speak with her tomorrow.

Dinner is planned for the Royal Grill tonight.

Password

We met just before six and after a couple of photos, we were escorted over to the dinner. It was quite a nice 'do'. After cocktails and canapes we went in to the dining room and were greeted formally by the General Manager. He introduced all of his senior staff and talked about Sandals and, in particular, the Sandals Foundation which supports the community, the kids, and the environment. They showed a little video of some of the projects to which they contributed. It was really quite impressive.

The dinner itself was delicious and gave us a chance to chat with other guests and one of the managers. It was clear that Royal Plantation guests are very loyal and rarely visit any of the other resorts once they have been to SRP. We even managed to get an appraisal of one of the other resorts that we had been wondering about.

The dinner broke up by half eight and we decided to go across to the Sandals Ochi  Hillside resort. They have a Speakeasy called The Rabbit Hole which is highly recommended. We approached the bid circular door and the doorman demanded a password before he would grant us entry. Fortunately we were well briefed and whispered the magic word. Inside it was a bit smaller that we had expected and was already filling up. We managed to find a vantage point up on the balcony and settled down with some drinks while awaiting 'Big Mama' to start her set.

Soon after ten Big Mama sashayed onto the floor and started to sing. A several things came to mind: a) the sound balance was poor for the recorded backing tracks; b) she was a lot younger than the Gorse Fox had expected; c) if there was a flood, she would surely float - indeed we could all use her as a floatation device.

Her set lasted for about an hour. The Gorse Fox had been expecting some blues, but what we got was 1960s classics. He has no problem with this, but it seemed a bit incongruous in the setting.

When she finished her set, soon after eleven, we headed for the door and took a stroll around the gardens and pools before heading for the 'Hop'. This shuttle is designed to carry Ochi guests around the huge resort, but after eleven you can request that it diverts to SRP, and so we were home and in bed before midnight. Dirty stop outs.

The Gorse Fox allowed himself to sleep in this morning. There has been no trip to gym as yet. We'll see how the morning progresses. He knows that Mulder wants a further sailing lesson at some point.

Tripping and dripping

We met up on the beach just before ten. We had to sign our lives away, but that provided access to a life preserver and the glass bottomed boat. Soon the intrepid foursome were making their way to the dock to embark on this latest journey of discovery.

The Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen had done this trip last year and were amused to find that the patter had hardly changed at all. We were happy to go along for the ride and let Scully and Mulder enjoy the trip.

Once back on the beach, Mulder went off for a sailing lesson on the Hobie. The Gorse Fox decided he had swallowed enough of the Caribbean yesterday and didn't need to repeat the experience.

We lunched up on the terrace instead of the beach bar. This was excellent and whilst we missed the coconut shrimp, the choice was very good. The Gorse Fox had a snapper sandwich (essentially a burger without the meat but with a huge chunk of snapper). While there we received a message from the Gorse Fox's sister. She had alerted us to the fact that Daniel Craig had been injured while filming the latest James Bond movie here on Jamaica - and what were the Gorse Fox and Mulder going to do about it. We discussed it and decided the Gorse Fox would take over the stunts and Mulder could do the love scenes. Seems like a fair split of responsibilities (though someone commented how short some the scenes may be).

We went back to the beach. The Gorse Fox took some ice creams down to the Silver Vixen (who hadn't joined us for lunch). By the time we got there the ice cream was dripping down the cones and all over the place. That's the problem with 31C and a long walk to the beach from the terrace.

Tonight we have the formal 'Returning Guests' dinner.

Sitting on the dock

The butlers managed to pull out the stops and get us a table at Kelly's Dockside. It was a nice open air restaurant on a dock that looped into the bay. Water lapped beneath us as we sat and chatted. Maybe it was the open air or the general hubbub, but all the waiting staff seemed incredibly quietly spoken and we found it hard to catch everything they said. It wasn't a problem - there was no exam at the end of it.

We started with a sharing platter of jerk chicken, cauliflower dumplings, marlin, and shrimp. Then the Silver Vixen had chicken from the grill and the rest of us had grilled snapper. It was very good, but not exceptional.

The Gorse Fox should explain that Kelly's is at the Ochi Beach Resort which is next door to Royal Plantation. Being there yesterday evening reminded the Gorse Fox why he would never consider staying there. It was like one huge frat party, with thumping beats, and drunk rednecks wandering around.

The Gorse Fox was in the gym for 6:30 this morning and is now enjoying a coffee before we go down for breakfast. We are planning to go on the glass-bottomed boat trip this morning.

Sailing

It has been a quiet day with the book and chatting with Mulder and Scully. The day was perfect. 30C and cloudless for much of the time. Even those few clouds that did venture out, stayed well clear of our beach.

At lunchtime we repaired to the beach bar and while there we managed to catch a video call with Ellie and Urban-cub. It was lovely to see them, even if Ellie does get completely tongue-tied when we do these calls.

During the afternoon the Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox spent some time swimming, relaxing in the over-water hammocks, and floating in the tethered rings. It was hoot as we tried to climb onto and off of these rings with some degree of decorum or elegance. We failed miserably!

Back on the beach, the Gorse Fox and Mulder decided that it would be fun to go sailing. David, the instructor, loaded us onto one of the Hobie-cats and we set off. Out of the sheltered bay, out past the reef and into the open water. There was a stiff breeze and the cat fairly flew across the waves. We weren't out for too long but certainly covered quite some distance. We were soaked to the skin by the time we got back. It was incredibly exhilarating, but the Gorse Fox did manage to consume several gallons of sea water. He suspects that a glass of wine may help clear the taste.

Plans for tonight are a little fluid. We were hoping to go across to Kelly's Dock, but they are fully booked. The butlers are working on it, so we'll see what they manage to arrange.

Jazz

We had a lovely evening. We met with Mulder and Scully outside the Wobbly Peacock. After the late afternoon rain it was very humid and warm. The Silver Vixen and Scully stayed on the terrace, but Mulder and the Gorse Fox retired to the air conditioned interior. There was a cheese and wine tasting in progress, so we grabbed a glass in passing.

Our butlers arrived to escort us up to the restaurant and get us seated on the upper terrace. The Gorse Fox had requested this because the evening's entertainment featured two separate jazz events. We all love jazz and can think of no better way to spend a warm Sunday evening that eating fine food, drinking good wine, and listening to cool jazz. It was a perfect evening.

We went our separate ways soon after ten when the entertainment was about to morph into karaoke. There are limits, after all!

The Gorse Fox was up at 6:30 this morning and has done his hour in the gym. He can only hope that their scales are faulty or that his clothing and trainers weigh significantly more than he would have thought.

Not much planned at the moment. Agent Mulder has gone to play golf this morning. Scully was talking about visiting the other resort. We are hoping to meet up at lunch time.

Liquid sunshine

We have spent most of the day on the beach. Mulder and Scully joined us in a shaded spot on the east beach. It has been a tad windy again, but lovely and warm. We stopped for lunch (lying on the beach can be so tiring); but soon returned to our loungers. A snooze was in order, to overcome the exertions of the morning.

The Gorse Fox took the opportunity to sneak off for a swim and when he returned Mulder suggested we headed out on a Hobie Cat (small catamaran). The wind was still blowing hard and the heavens looked very threatening.

A huge clap of thunder interrupted our deliberations and collectively we decided to head for cover. We had timed this to perfection. Just as we got back to the covered terrace, the heavens opened. The rain (or liquid sunshine as they call it) poured down, on and off, for about an hour but now it has turned into a lovely late afternoon.

No photos

The Gorse Fox snuck out of bed at 6:30 and headed for the gym. His hips are hurting a bit so he limited himself to 45 minutes and wound the speed down a bit. It was still a good workout but less intense than yesterday.

Back in the room, showered and dressed he caught up on this blog and the overnight messages while enjoying some coffee. The Silver Vixen was doing some reading. Urban-cub called and we had a lovely long video chat with her, Ellie, and Cousteau-cub.

After some breakfast, where the Gorse Fox resisted the temptation to sign autographs for his fans from last night, we changed and headed down to the beach. There seems to be a lot going on today. It's Mother's Day here and the staff keep approaching the Silver Vixen to check if she is a mother so that they can wish her a happy day.

Mulder and Scully have been in the gym this morning and are about to join us on the beach.

Hot, hot, hot

We met up, as planned, and took the shuttle across to the Sandals Ochi Beach Resort where the Kimono's restaurant is. Our butlers escorted us to reception and booked us in while we took a seat at the bar. Our table was soon ready and we set sat round a large tepanyaki grill. It was incredibly noisy in the restaurant and, at times, it was hard to hear what the waiting staff were saying. The chef arrived at the table and within minutes it was clear that he had real personality. He sang and he joked as he broke the ice and got most of the diners involved and chatting. Two corpses at the far end of the table didn't really get involved at all... but at least it was only two, this year!

Then as a challenge he put one pea on each of several plates and then putting them in front of each couple decided there would be a chopsticks race. Whoever managed to pick up the single pea and feed their partner first would be the winner. This was no challenge for the Gorse Fix and the Silver Vixen was munching on the pea within a second... meanwhile everyone else was still chasing their peas round their plates.

Oil was sprayed onto the grill surface and ignited. Huge gouts of flame charred the vegetables as they were cooking. This was repeated several times with the meat and also the mahi mahi later. It was a really good experience this year - making up for our disappointment last year.

We hopped on the shuttle back to Plantation. We had just missed the steel band, but the second show of the evening was just beginning. This was the chap who balances things on his head - sounds naff, but it's actually very impressive, particularly when one of the items is his daughter sitting on a chair, that he is balancing on one chair leg. He was followed by the limbo chap. This involved some audience participation as several chaps were press-ganged into having a go. It was all good fun, and once the audience members had sat back down, he culminated the act by dancing under a flaming bar.

Flames became the order of the evening. The next act was the fire eater and juggler. The first part of the act involved a lot of fire eating... but we were still full from dinner so didn't get tempted. Then he started juggling with fire wheels. These were like small bicycle wheels with three flaming spokes and an axle that could be grabbed. He started to pick on audience members to join in. This was where the Silver Vixen got caught last year... so we had chosen seats way back. Scully took no chances and displayed her walking stick, the Silver Vixen ran out of sight entirely and the Gorse Fox was looking for the video from last year to show Agent Mulder. That was when the chap pounced and the Gorse Fox was taken up to get involved in the act. He had to dance with the fire wheel rotating on his head. Oh the shame! Agent Mulder was quick enough to get the whole thing on video.

That was actually the end of the entertainment so we chatted for a while then headed off to bed.

Out-ish

Though the Gorse Fox had managed to get a hat yesterday, the Silver Vixen was unable to get one that fitted - they were all way too big. It was suggested that we should go and try the shop in the other resort so we hopped on the shuttle and were deposited outside the gift shop at the reception block at the top of the hill.

The Sandals Ocho Rios is huge and this was clearly their more prestigious area. It was modern and very open. There were lovely large swimming pools and beautifully manicured gardens. It didn't take long for the Silver Vixen to find a suitable hat so we went for a stroll so that we could guage the place. It seemed nice, but clearly not as secluded, nor exclusive as Royal Plantation where we are.

We took the 'Hop' shuttle bus back down the hill to the beach resort. We had some time to kill before the shuttle back to Plantation so again took a stroll. There were some nice spots, but would not suit us. As we strolled along we caught sight of someone who was clearly having a hard day at the office!

Back at Plantation we went down to the beach bar and ordered a drink and waited to meet up with Mulder and Scully. We had a nice lunch then went our separate ways. The Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox headed for the east beach and settled down with books. In an effort to reset his body clock, the Gorse Fox was intent on grabbing a power nap; it just didn't happen. Try as he might, he couldn't drop off.

It got very windy during the afternoon and for a while the sky looked a bit threatening. Whilst it was clear that the headland to the west of us was getting a thorough soaking, it remained dry for us.

Tonight's plan is to meet up and head to Kimono's for dinner.

Jamaica Night

We met up with Mulder and Scully for dinner. It was 'Jamaica Night' so the food was all based on local favourites and the entertainment was too! Mulder confessed he had taken a power nap after lunch, which explains why he was still so chirpy. The Gorse Fox was beginning to droop after the early start (it must be something to do with age).

The food was superb. It was a buffet style, with a  grill chef managing any speciality requests. Now, the Gorse Fox finds buffets are his nemesis. He tends to act like a giant vacuum cleaner - trying a bit of everything. He decided to be strong and deliberately walked away after he had some curry goat, jerk chicken, plain rice and salad. He ignored the 10-15 other dishes... he can try something different next week.

We had a lovely meal and chatted about everything under the sun. The entertainment started with the trio of old men playing laid back, slight off beat, and slightly out of tune reggae. Two of the trio we remember from last year but the guy on the boom box drum was new. After them there a a moment where we all stood for the Jamaican National Anthem and had a quick quiz... then the next act came on. They were younger with a varied repertoire but no idea how to segue from one song to the next. All the songs had exactly the same bass riff, and the singer clearly thought he was a cross between Aretha Franklin and Ed Shehan. It was not a crossover that worked.

By nine-ish the Gorse Fox decided his tank was empty... Scully was also fading fast so we all headed off to our respective rooms.

The Gorse Fox was awake early again this morning but forced himself to stay in bed until six. Then he snuck out to do 5 miles on the treadmill. Now showered and enjoying a coffee, we are surveying the view from the room and preparing for breakfast.

All Change

Well the room swap went through withoutany problems, but it did take a little longer than expected. We are nowesconced in one of the prime rooms on the resort. With wonderful views over the bay from our balcony, we can turn and through another window we can see out to the west. It really is rather lovely.

We had a quiet morning with our books and then met with the travel re. She was only checking in to make sure everything was in order, but we met with her to ensure we knew who to contact if we needed help. It seemed a bit pointless as you every wish is taken care of by the resort staff.

We met with Scully and Mulder for lunch - coconut shrimp, of course - and a beer, then headed back to the beach. The sky looked a bit threatening for a while, but it never amounted to anything. The Gorse Fox decided to hit the water and spent about 45 minutes or so swimming and chatting with Scully.

We're back in the room now, properly unpacked, and getting ready to meet Scully and Mulder for cocktails and 'Jamaican Night' dinner.

Early start

With the change of timezones, the Gorse Fox was awake early. By 5:45 he was in the gym pounding along on the treadmill. He did a solid hour on the treadmill then moved on to the rowing machine for a warm-down. It was a bit embarrassing to realise he had strapped himself in but now couldn't reach the 'oars' and had to unstrap himself, grab the oars then strap himself back in. Never mind, it was a good workout.

It was great news to hear from Cousteau-cub that she had been offered the job she interviewed for on Tuesday. She starts next Wednesday.

We saw Scully at breakfast, but Mulder was still asleep.

We're down on the beach now, and hopefully we will have moved rooms by the time we get back. (We had requested a specific room, but it was occupied until this morning, so we are being moved once it is clear).

Travelling again

We had a very comfortable night in the Sofitel. The room was quiet, and the bed was very comfortable. No alarms were set as we knew that we had plenty of time to get up at our own pace. We contacted Urban-Cub who was on her way to work, but stuck in traffic. She called ahead and one of her staff met us at the Premium Security desk and escorted us through the various checks. We bypassed all the queues - but despite that the Gorse Fox still got picked on for the full body scan and his hand baggage was checked becuase of his box full of electronic adapters and cables.

We went straight to the No.1 Lounge and checked it out. It was busy but one look at the breakfast choice and a question to staff and it was no-go... how can you have any breakfast buffet that doesn't provide eggs! We moved on to the Virgin V-Lounge. There was a much better choice there, s we settled down for a nice breakfast and to read the papers.

The Gorse Fox's instinct had been right. He had forgotten to pack his running shortsand his sun hat. We hit the shops. A cover for the Silver Vixen's new iPad and some running short for the Gorse Fox. Then we met up with Urban-Cub for 5 minutes before we had to say our goodbyes and return to the lounge. We had arranged a buggy to get from the lounge to the plane, but it was a little late so we didn't get to pre-board.

Our seats were excellent and we had a very comfortable flight, arriving just a few minutes ahead of schedule. The VIP Meet and Greet chap met us at the ramp and whisked us through the formalities and before we knew it we were at the lounge freshening up before the drive to the resort.

Our driver, Keith, loaded the bags into the boot of the brand new 5-series BMW and we settled into the back seats. Canapes, and drinks were laid on, but we resisted. We had eaten well on the plane. Keith was a very smooth and steady driver, which given some of the driving we witnessed on the trip was a consoling thing.

We pulled into the resort just after 18:30 and were greeted like old friends. Meloney went off to get us some champagne and to alert Agent Mulder and Scully that we had arrived. Once we had completed all our greetings we were shown to our room and briefed by the butler, Ricardo, then we went back down to have a light bite and a drink with Scully and Mulder (who Meloney says has a very strong resemblance to the Gorse Fox - for which he can only apologise).

After a very long day we hit the sack soon after 21:00.