Granted, it was humid as hell (hello- I live in the desert, I am not used to humidity) and my hair wouldn't stay curled, but other than that, the weather was gorgeous.
Also, let me say that the men I encountered were VERY friendly. One told me that they are not used to seeing a lot of "young, single, Black women" on the island.
Sweeeeeet, cause I do not mind being a novelty!
I met a lot of guys, more than I was expecting to actually. Almost every single one of them was from Jamaica (and YEAH they are aggressive as my grandmother warned).
Most of them worked at the various restaurants and bars I frequented during my trip.
A few of them offered to take me on 'tours" around the island, but I honestly think getting into cars with strangers while in a foreign country is a completely idiotic thing to do when you're a single woman, so I declined.
No siree.
Oh and yes, I did have my *vacation fling* with a Haitian guy I met on my second day there. I'll just say the following about that...
1.) It was on the beach in the water- SHHH, don't judge me- we were way far back into the water, the beach was damn near vacant, and we used a condom!
*Oh and we were in the water making out and "doing stuff" for about 3 hours straight so when I got back to my hotel room and looked in the mirror, I was like 5 shades darker! 55 SPF be damned, I got one HELL of a tan! Wowza. You should see my tan lines!
2.) We hooked up twice. The first experience was hot, but the second was decidedly NOT. (He must have given his all to wow me that first time and didn't have anything left after that. Boo. I hate when that happens)
3.) I didn't give him my room number (or anyone else for that matter) so every day afterward he was lurking around my hotel like a lost puppy.
Did I not predict that would happen? Why don't I learn from past experiences? Why do I think some guys will be "different" when it comes to pursuing me in ways that I find excessive?
So many WHY'S!
Ugh.
I ran into him at the hotel bar on two separate occasions after our hookup...once while I was flirting with the bartender.
Awkwaaaaaard.
For him, not me.
The second time he nearly caught me coming out of my room which pissed me off a little. I had to tell him to give me space and demanded that he stop hanging around my hotel. I believe my exact words were "I do not want to play honeymoon with you while I'm on my exotic, single girl vacation!"
Thankfully, he took the hint.
Other than that, everything was fab.
Here's the rundown:
*I had some excellent food (which initially I was a little worried about food options because I'm a vegetarian who eats no meat OR seafood). The best restaurants were Hemingway's (at The Sands Hotel) and Parallel 23 (at The Regent Palms Hotel). If you ever visit the island, do not miss these places!
*All of the establishments I visited were VERY generous with the liquor and nearly all of my bartenders gave me free drinks (Jamaicans are apparently generous like that when you're a wide eyed, flirty Black girl who is traveling alone) and they were NOT watered down. Whooo!
*I had dinner with a really nice guy I met on my way to go sailing one day...Jay from Jamaica.
*I discovered just how sexy Caribbean accents are- albeit a bit hard to understand all the slang they use.
*I had a night of drinking and joking with a group of gregarious Jamaicans (male and female) who work at the O'Soleil Restaurant inside The Somerset Hotel. The food was a bit lackluster and I paid $6 for a total of four french fries (I am NOT exaggerating- there were exactly FOUR of them) but the staff was hilarious and fun.
All in all, it was an outstanding trip and I am really happpy I went alone. In fact, I think I'd prefer to do ALL of my traveling alone now. People talk to you a lot when you're by yourself. I got to have an abundance of alone time on the beach, which was very calming. It was great to be on my own schedule. It was nice to meet men without worrying whether or not they have "a friend" we can hook up with MY friend. And lastly, it's very liberating to have flings and flirt audaciously without anyone there to judge you for being a Slutty McSlutterson on your vacation.
I don't know what next year holds but I'm considering Spain's Canary Islands, or maybe another trip to the Caribbean. Possibly Antigua, St. Lucia, Grenada, or some other interesting island...I really want to go to the less traveled destinations because I feel like everyone goes to either Jamaica, Mexico (which I will never set foot on, sorry), or The Bahamas.
Any interesting recommendations from the audience?
Mahogany Misfit - 
