I landed in Montego Bay at two in the afternoon, after a short stopover in Miami. Flying over the Carribean, I was amazed to see how clear the azure waters are, all the way up from the window seat. After a short wait in customs at Sangster International Airport, I was on our way. I had arranged for transportation to Negril through Clive’s Transport, a service which I was happy to use again later during my time in Jamaica.
The drive to Negril from Montego Bay is about two hours long, and not at all harrowing as some accounts I’ve read online described it to be. Sure, the roads are narrow and drivers have a habit of passing other cars in one-lane traffic, but that’s normal in many (if not, most) parts of the world. Jamaica’s west coast is beautiful and I loved getting to see so much of it right off the bat.
I soon checked into our cottage at Country Country, a locally-owned place on Seven Mile Beach.
Once we settled in, it was getting late, but I managed to take a quick dip in the ocean before the sun set. By that time, I was famished and had heard of a great jerk shack nearby, so we walked down Norman Manley Boulevard, the main thoroughfare in Negril, until we found what we were looking for: Ossie’s Jerk Center.
I ordered the jerk chicken and couple of Red Stripes. While I waited at the porch, a group of men played dominoes and tourists and locals alike stopped by to order take-out meals. Our chicken soon arrived, grilled to perfection and covered with a sweet sauce.
I’m pretty sure I ate every last morsel of meat off of those bones. The meat was juicy, the skin had a smoky flavor and though I usually don’t like sweet sauces, it was a good contrast to the chicken’s spicy kick.
After a long day of being in transit, Ossie’s was the perfect place to kick back and take in the sights, sounds and tastes of Negril.