We booked our second trip to Grand Lito Braco through Go Classy Tours. Lance took care of all the details. We received all the necessary papers a few weeks before we were to leave. We usually go to Chicago the nite before the flight and stay at the Doubletree hotel. We get the park and fly package so that we don’t have to spend 2 hours driving to chicago the morning of the flight. Instead we get more rest and the hotel shuttles us over to the airport the morning of the flight. After we get back we call the hotel from the airport and they come and get us and take us to the hotel to pick up our car.

Wake up call was at 4:00 AM. Off to O'hara at 4:30 to get our seats assigned and check in our bag. Notice only 1 bag as we are only going down for a 4- day weekend. Much easier to get away for 4 days than 7 and my customers don’t even know I’m away. The flight was right on time and we were off to Jamaica without a hitch. Breakfast on the plane was a cheese omelet with the usual dressings, champagne and orange juice. Only half a glass of champagne but what the heck, we are on our way to Jamaica mon. The food was excellent on both trips, nice and hot. Service was excellent. Every one on board was in a good mood.

Our arrival in to Montego Bay was smooth as silk.The usual band was playing yellow bird as we entered the terminal. Customs was backed up a long way. Seems nobody knew there was 7 lines to get in and so we slipped past the long line and got in to the line way to the left and were through in about 15 minutes. Baggage was slow to arrive but after a fashion we made it over to the super clubs desk and checked in. She took our name and told us it would be 15 minutes and we would be leaving. Just long enough to hit the restroom and change in to cooler clothes.

As usual we were lucky enough to get A.J. Foyts cousin the wanna be racecar driver, and we were off to Braco, drafting all vehicles we came upon. We had no close calls because in Jamaica the vehicles horn is used to mow a path in front of you.

Check in at Braco took about 20 minutes, as there was several people in front of us. We did receive our complementary beverage while we waited, 2 in fact. We were finally taken care of by a charming young lady, can’t remember her name. She had us fill out a couple forms, which takes care of next of kin, lock box key and charge card for telephone calls. She then gave us the bad news that we were being upgraded to room 3010 on the au natural side. This was more like a small apartment, complete with king size bed , refrig, stove,2 bathrooms, 2 tv’s, 2a/c,a couch coffee table etc. We were right next to the pool swim up bar with access to the beach through the patio doors on one end and to the sidewalk on the other end. Ground floor. The air conditioners were hardly needed as the weather was kind of wet the 4 days we were there. It did not get that hot except for Sunday which was beautiful.

We arrived on Thursday at 11:30 and left Sunday at 3:00. Check out was 12:00 but they did let us check out at 2:00. The weather was partly sunny on Thursday, rainy on Friday and Saturday but Sunday was lovely.

After checking out the room we decided to see if any of our friends were still employed by the hotel. Sure enough Dean was still the bar manager and was glad to see us. Dean was very helpful in getting our refrig stocked with red stripe and ting, and getting some champaine to take to the hot tub. Leone was still at the room service bar at the textile end of the beach. She has a new boyfriend and is very shy about discussing the fact. She is a very capable bartender and can mix you whatever poison you desire. Two of the friendliest waiters at the main dining area were gone, fired I was told. Good by "Doc and Medicine". It’s great to be welcomed back by friends you have hardly known but are so excited to see you return. Getting to know the waiters will ensure that you have a rewarding vacation. A few descrete tips don’t hurt either.

Back before the all inclusive no tipping polices began you could tip your waiters to show your appreciation for a job well done. I remember the first time we went to Jamaica in 84 the sight of a dollar bill stuck under your plate guaranteed you top-notch service. We always had waiters waiting in line to fill up the coffee cup and they would even fight over who was going to carry our plates through the buffet line. We went back to the same place for many years because it was like going home. Unfortunately when Trelawny Beach hotel as well as others went all inclusive, no tipping ,the waiters quit waiting and as far as I’m concerned you got less for your money, not more. The Jamaican people got less also. On well, so much for the good old days.

After checking out the place we noticed that the beach was much nicer, less rocks and gravel. Either they have brought in more sand or are raking out the rock cause the beach is starting to look more natural and less man made all the time.

The food seems to be about the same as last time although we thought the service was a bit slower in the main dining area. A couple of the waiters could sure learn how to smile a little more. Service at the room service bars at either end of the beaches was superb. Top notch with a smile. We did not try the French or Japanese restaurant. They were filled up when we got there. I think you would have to fax ahead and make reservations if you are only going to be there over a weekend. Nanny’s jerk pit had the usually good , jerk chicken , pork,and burgers. The waitress there was not nice.

Thursday nights Pajama party we missed. Couldn’t talk the wife in to going. Last February’s PJ party was pretty wild and we left early. I guess we were weary after the early morning flight or we were anxious to try out the hot tub. The hot tub was nice and hot the entire weekend, just right as a matter of fact. Except the bubbler system was inop all weekend. We stayed there a couple of hours and left to partake in other activities. The smaller hot tub on the au natural side saw little use while we were there. The rocky trail to the tub is kinda hard on the feet and the water was kinda hot. The textile side hot tub by the carry out bar was cold all weekend.

Friday saw the usual activities after a good breakfast at the open-air dining room. Probably the best variety of any buffet style breakfast you will ever see. Personally we like the omelets made to order, the fresh pineapple and Blue Mountain Coffee. Be sure to water down the coffee if it is strong, to keep from having a stomachache later. Nothing like having breakfast while watching the surf break over the rocks. After a good breakfast we spent the rest of the morning getting as much sun as we could. The dark clouds threatened us with rain all afternoon. Sure enough it started raining early in the evening. Every one retreated to their rooms for a nap or hit the hot tub. Friday nights street party was postponed till sat night due to Halloween. Good thing as it rained pretty hard Friday night and would have spoiled the festivities. Instead they had a male singer in to put on a show. We have heard him perform many times so after a while we retired to the hot tub to enjoy each other’s company. 3 or 4 other couples were already there. After talking to some of them for a while we retired for the evening.

Saturday brought forth better weather although it did rain a little while in the afternoon. The evening looked like a wash out but the weather cleared off toward evening and the Halloween party looked like it would be dry. Saturday morning I got up early and hit the beach at 7:30 to try fishing. With ultra lite rod and reel in hand and a cup of tea I strolled down to the beach to try my luck. There was already a couple of people out getting some sun. Nothing like au natural fishing. Have to be careful though, as there are few doctors in Jamaica that specialize in hook removal from vital areas. These fish are very fussy about what they eat. Several fish that looked like Gar followed my rapala in but would not strike the bait. I did manage to catch a 6" white fish. Kinda looked like a white bass. I released it unharmed. After that I went back and got the better half and headed for breakfast. Breakfast was the usual omelet and bagels. From there we went back to the pool and layed around till dinner. The place must have been pretty full, as there were a lot of couples enjoying the pool area. This pool is rather huge, I could only swim from end to end a couple of times before I had to recharge my self at the bar. They do have a moveable basketball hoop at the pool, next to the hot tub. I challenged my wife to a game of horse and got bet 3 times. She does pretty well at au natural basketball. I was too busy watching her to concentrate on my game. Sunday I did better, I bet her 2 games. Be sure to take your own basketball along. They didn’t have one and we had to use their underinflated volleyball. You might want to take along a volleyball as theirs is kinda soggy. Nobody was game for water aerobics that day so the only thing we played was bingo that afternoon. 6 games and the prizes were keychains, and a shirt or something. Wife won 2 games and took home 2 key chains. Anyone who didn’t win got a prize at the end also. If you screwed up and called a false bingo you had to jump in the pool and then drink a shot of taquila.

We had a couple of orders of fries at the au natural room service bar to tide us over till the Halloween party. The waiter was delightful and was eager to please. It seemed not to be too busy a place. The fries were really good. He kept coming back to see if he could do more. Nice fellow.

The Halloween party started about 7:30. We went over to the textile side carry out bar to give Leone a candy bar for Halloween and wish her a happy Halloween. As we were about to leave the room we heard a knock at the door and were surprised by 2 Jamaicans dressed in costumes trick or treating and handing out small bags of candy. A lot of they were in costumes for the party or had masks on. I had my flashing pumpkin on my shirt, which was a big hit. If we would have been thinking we would have brought costumes along but there were many people dressed up. Later in the evening they had a contest and the winners of the costume contest received a free weekend back to Braco. Food for the evening featured Lobster and just about everything you could imagine. Unfortunately the Lobster was not very good at all. Everything else was great including the wine. They had Italian and French wine. The Italian wine was the best. The waitress just kept filling up the glass till my wife told her she might need help getting me back to the room. After that I switched to ???? funny I can’t remember what I switched to. After the meal we went out and got a place to sit in the main square to watch the show. As usual it starts out with dancers dancing around in colorful costumes. The golden girl was replaced this year by a couple sprayed in silver paint that did a dance. Then there was the crab man doing his joint damaging crab imitation. Last but not least was Meco Blanco and the limbo dancers doing their skit. Meco Blanco has really slowed down. He doesn’t stare down the audience like he used to and he has been replaced in the fiery limbo . There was also a fire eater there blowing fire all around. Quite a show if you have never been to Jamaica before. Too bad the place doesn’t have a better stage for putting on a large show of this kind. It is very hard to see what is going on in the limbo unless you are right in the front row standing as so many were. Any body behind them can’t see only their backs. They need a elevated stage like at Trelawny Beach hotel. The stage in the dining room is too small to put on a large show.

After the show we wandered around from bar to bar till we got back to the hot tub where we soaked and reminisced about all the great times we have had in Jamaica.

Sat afternoon there were Jamaicans selling their jewelry and baskets by the textile pool. You could barter for baskets, carvings and Jewelry. We talked to one Jamaican lad that said he was going to America and be a pilot in the navy like his cousin. Didn’t buy anything as we have so much stuff already.

You will notice that on entering the au natural areas there is a large sign "No Photography Au Natural Area" Respect the privacy of others. We saw no violators. We saw no one bothering anybody. It was as if everyone was fully clothed. No one was staring and no one was complaining. For the most part everyone was fully nude. One couple,who looked to be body builders, were in the hot tub with suits on . Everyone completely ignored the fact and they left after a hour or so. This is a real nice place to try the au natural experience if you have never tried it. I guarantee you will be a changed person afterwards. Take your wife or a friend with you. This is not a place for singles. You will be bored .

As usual the day came where we had to pack our stuff and leave our second home and head for home. We got up early and walked the beach and listened to the surf pound on the rocks. The only sex we saw the entire trip happened on the beach in full view of god and country. This big crab was sitting on the sand right in front of us. He was about 5" across and wasn’t about to move. As I kicked sand on him he finally moved and what do you know. Under him was a smaller crab, a her I presume. No wonder he was reluctant to move.

We called the front desk and requested that we check out later as we had to catch the bus at 3:00. No problem mon they said. So back to the pool for a couple more hours after we had packed. 4 days is just not long enough ! It took us 3 days this time just to wind down and get comfortable. Guess we will just have to start planning the next trip. Check out took just a couple minutes. The porter gathered the bags from in front of the room and left them in front of the check in building while we got a bite to eat before the trip to Montego Bay. We said our good-bye’s, to our friends and boarded the bus. This bus driver was very good. He drove very carefully and we got to the airport with no delays. As usual the porters were waiting for us at the airport and we used them. Once through the main doors they usher you to the AJ desk in front of the main check in line. There they give you a next of kin form to fill out, check your papers and tell you what to fill out on your declaration papers. Then you get to stand in line to check in and get your seating assignments. The metal detectors are very touchy and just jewelry will set them off. First time I ever set one off.