We arrived at Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport just 3 hours later and after immigration and customs, we immediately made the 1.5 hour-drive to Negril. Our driver, Carlton from Reggae Tours offered a wealth of knowledge about Jamaica and pointed out important sights during the drive. The highlight for me was driving through Lucea, a bustling city between Montego Bay and Negril, where you can watch the locals go about their day.
Our accommodations for the next 6 days is Tensing Pen, which is a 22-room (divided among 17 cottages) hotel set in the rugged but beautiful cliffs of Negril's West End. It opened in the 1970s as a tiny hippie hangout. Now, Tensing Pen is where people come to unplug--no TVs, phones, internet or radios in the rooms.
Upon arrival at Tensing Pen, we were greeted with a refreshing complimentary drink.
Then we had lunch at Tensing Pen’s superb open-air restaurant. I had the callaloo fritters. It was the first time I had callaloo, a spinach-like vegetable used throughout the Caribbean. Husband had escoveitched fish wrap. Escoveitched fish is a traditional Jamaican dish introduced by the Spanish settlers in the early 16th century. Whole or sliced fish is fried and then covered with a spicy marinade (which acts as a natural preservative). It was a convenient dish in the days before electricity as it could be left for over a day without refrigeration.
After lunch, a hotel staff took us to our room, the Garden Studio.
We unpacked and because we were exhausted, we spent the late afternoon taking a nap. We woke up just in time for dinner. After consulting our Lonely Planet guidebook, we decided to go to LTU Pub for dinner. LTU Pub is a small restaurant just a short walk from Tensing Pen and provides an awe-inspiring cliff-face setting. We had the crab balls and pumpkin soup as starters and Husband had jerk chicken while I had the seafood pasta for our entrée. Both were delicious and the service was superb. So far, the trip was exactly what we hoped for.
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