Grand Lido Braco-  May 5 - May 12 - Braco yahooligans  

This trip marked our third trip to Jamaica, our second to Braco, and our first with the Yahooligans. We were lured to the Yahooligans because of a great group travel rate but came to found out that this was a wonderful and fun bunch of people.  

Our trip began at LAX  on the  Air Jamaica red-eye. Unbeknownst to my husband Jeff, I booked us on  first class. I really didn't want to go FC  as I am what Jeff calls "stingy". Nevertheless it was obvious to me during our last flight  that AJ had added an extra row of seats to the plane at the expense of coach. I'm 5_5" and MY knees were in the back of the seat in front of me. Jeff is over 6 feet. Last time we fought over who got the window seat, I lost and ended up wedged between lurch (Jeff)  and some portly breath- hound. We could deal if the flight was 3 hours but it is 5 1/2 hours from LA.  I ended up twisted across his lap (Jeff's, not the breath-hound's) and got absolutely no rest- which would have been cool in a different situation but...  Anyway,  I think the FC was worth it- if not only for the look on Jeff's face when I stepped up to the FC counter - he tried to advise me that I was in the wrong line and when I didn't stand down, dude broke rank and bolted to another line.  Anyway, the flight was delayed  for an hour but all else went smoothly.  

May 5

We arrived in Montego bay @ 7:30 AM. From Immigration to Customs to getting checked luggage to getting to the superclubs desk- everything went quickly and smoothly. While waiting for the other guests to show, I went to the bathroom to change into some shorts. When I came back Jeff was chatting with Mike- 1/2 of a Yahooligan duo from San Diego. Shortly after we met his wife Ginger- these two were a riot and pretty cool couple. We rode on a small bus to Braco together and ended up hanging out with them  for part of our stay.  

We got to Braco @ 9:30. It was just wonderful to pull  in those gates and see the green grass of the golf course, all the beautiful flowers, and then finally the buildings. My heart did a small leap. Yay. We hopped off the bus, tipped our driver , and walked into the lobby. Our arrival was too early, I suppose, for cold towels  and drinks, but otherwise the check in went smooth. Our room, as expected, wasn't ready yet so we went to breakfast.  Afterwards we found a shaded hammock on the Textile Side beach relaxed until the room was ready. Beach drink service was much improved as within minutes a smiling young woman popped up to take our order. In fact, we were approached 3 more times plus offered popsicles for our short stint there.

At 12:00 PM we got our room. As we were walking over to the A/N side I asked what floor we was on and was disappointed when I was informed that we were on the first floor. I was an idiot, our room rocked! First off we were upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite in block B and the ground floor location turned out to be awesome. It was only too trick  just opening your door and being on the beach- and toilet runs were a joy! Since our stay in 99, some improvements have been made concerning room amenities. The rooms now have robes and slippers- which are definitely value added. The soap/shampoo kit now have improved spa-like products and includes a sewing kit and a small container of q-tips and cotton balls. Also new are scales- but with all the great food here, I didn't use it.

Anyway, we lost our clothes and hit the beach. While floating in the water, we met up with Yahooligan Royalty: Scott, Sherri, Deanna, and Babette. I had chatted over the Internet with Sherri a couple of times- but meeting faced to face was cool. These people were so friendly and fun loving- we were immediately comfortable. We joined our new friends for lunch at the clubhouse. While we were waiting for our food, I was sprayed in the back with (what felt like) some very cold floral spritzer. The trigger man was a new (for us) social director: Gilbert-by-Day/Alex-by-Night... I struggled almost daily to call him the right name. This guy was a trip- showing up with shots, popping up with the spritz gun, getting to know us, going with the flow, driving the action.  He is also a very friendly and nice guy. Lunch was pizza (as an appetizer), cheeseburgers, and David (the wizard that set up all of the yahooligan_s trips) allowed me to sample one of Braco's famous lambchops. I don_t like lambchops- but these- goat chops, lamb, whatever- were delicious and I was hooked on them for the rest of the trip.  

After lunch, we moved to the pool and floated around, drinking and meeting more Yahooligans. We also met Wayne the new A/N bartender. Dude is cool- his demeanor reminded me of a celebrity athlete. Suave and smiling, he served up the thirsty nudies without breaking a sweat. A while later, overcome by several Braco Lemonades and like the caring, devoted  wife I am, I thought I'd cannon-ball Jeff who had been peacefully sunning himself on a raft. Well, I missed him and landed right on my heel spur the pain swiftly radiated through my entire foot:  "Oh  @%$# ! Day one and I have jacked my @%$#ing foot up !" Trying to play it off, I floated over to the bar, had a couple of drinks, and continued to socialize. It wasn't until I got out of the pool, that I realized the pain was so bad I  could barely walk. At the room we showered and prayed over my foot. Later, we had dinner at Victoria Market which was excellent.  After dinner we made the colossal mistake of going back to the room to "recharge" for the Toga Party. No recharging took place- my foot was kicking my butt (no pun intended) so we just collapsed! Rats.  

May 6

We hit the gym which had been enclosed and air conditioned this past fall. There was more cardio equipment- two new stairmasters and WORKING treadmills.  Now if they could only get some new weights. I know you_re thinking what am I doing at the gym with a messed up foot. First of all, we fully expected God to work a miracle with on my foot and secondly, I'm a gym rat and I turn completely bitchy if I don't do something.  I used one of the new stairmasters and afterwards my foot felt alot better (go figure!) From that day on, my foot improved drastically (I was a dancing fool at the Street Party- thanks Lord!)  

We had breakfast at Victorias Market. They have a great breakfast spread with omelets, carved meat, pastries, fruit, cereal, etc. The juice, water, and coffee service was very good and a big improvement over 99.  

We hit beach and then was hit up by Sherri to do the Yahooligan Scavenger Hunt. What a BLAST! We were teamed up with Bing & PJ- a real fun couple and ended up going all around the resort collecting the items on the list. Guests and employees not in-the- know probably thought we were nuts. Two items on the list were a pair of bathing suit bottoms and a room key from the textile side. I flagged down a young woman and brought her back to the A/N side with me- and got points for her bottom and her key. She cracked me up when we walked onto the A/N side and she said "I don't see any naked people... "(then we rounded block A revealing the pool bar) "oh!"  Meanwhile, my husband turned into Quint from "Jaws" spending all his time trying to catch a fish for the scavenger hunt.  After several minutes of fruitless hunting, a couple of staff members fishing on the reef offered him a starfish- which- in his infinite wisdom- he turned down. No problem. Another team was already sprinting out to the guys. Our team's chance at winning was blown.  No problem, we had a great time and met some great people. We had lunch at Nanny's Jerk Pit. It was delicious, though we think they stopped making the Jerk as hot as they did two years ago. Dinner was at VM again- again it was delicious. At 10:30 we checked out the disco- there was only five other people there and the music and DJ sucked. His idea of mixing was just ripping the next song on (no transitions). In my opinion, I feel the disco is the weakest link here. I would love to spend the night dancing away and this place would be real cool if they would just play dance music- disco, hip-hop, top 40.  

May 7

Black Monday

They day started off innocently enough- breakfast VM, beach, pizza and burgers on beach, pool, mixology..........mixology......  I don't know why I was late, but I was and got penalized with a shot of Appleton. I don't know why I couldn't remember the rules, but I couldn't  and a got at least 3 more penalty shots. The game was real fun despite the fact I ended up wearing a BJ all over my face and chest.  For some reason I can't remember the other drinking game we played afterwards- but that was a fun one, too.  Diva and Carl were the presiding social directors. They were a lot of fun and like Gilbert-by-Day/ Alex-by- Night they were genuinely friendly.  

After polishing off two 32oz mugs of Mudslide, I joined Jeff and the other Yahooligans for what I call the Yahooligan Family Reunion. It was actually a group photo but now that everyone was gathered in the same place, we were all running into people we had chatted with. It was terrific- you'd hear a name, see a face, shout out a Yahoo ID, make the connection and just run over and give that person a hug as if you had known them for years.  Several minutes of picture taking elapsed and my sobriety was eroding like Malibu during an El Nino. I remember walking around the beach and babbling aimlessly (sorry Lois). My guess is what finally did me in was a couple of vodka, Bailey's, & Frangelico shots.  I remember walking into our room thinking I had plenty of time to shower and make our 6:30 reservation at Muna Hana- next thing I know I'm wrapped in a blanket laying in the fetal position on the edge of the bed  and sick to my stomach. The room is spinning and  the Muna Hana reservation has long passed (in fact Jeff had already eaten his room service). My guy had to help me to the bathroom- where in between boots- I swore I'd never drink again. How totally humiliating. I usually hold my liquor quite well  and  almost always remain in control.  But hey! I'm on vacation, right? I'll NEVER see THESE people again! I have no recollection of what happened in the several hours between entering the room and waking up on the bed(Jeff alludes things got a little spicy)- thus the adjective "black" in referring to this day. Needless to say, I missed bonfire and the Yahooligan  PJ Party.   

May 8

Alcohol Free Day

Believe it or not, I was fine the next morning and able to the hit gym. We had the usual VM breakfast and had Jerk burgers at Nanny's. Due to the foolishness yesterday, I vowed not to drink any alcohol and discovered the very tasty frozen fruit punch. I also did some shopping , buying some dolls and wood carvings for my daughters and Mom-in-law.   

Jeff had been dry-docked by the nurse as he had split open his toe last night trying to get into the bathroom. [FYI,  Jeff thought the nurse was very friendly. She told him there is no charge unless they call in a doctor. Don't hesitate to see her if you have a minor injury]. So we pretty much stayed out of the water and sat out on the deck when everyone was in the Jacuzzi :(  [Where's a Wally when you need one!].    

To celebrate the 15 yr. anniversary of our 1st date, we ate at the Picaere, the French restaurant. The food was delicious  with me ordering two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts- and Jeff only ordering one item each. The waiter must have thought I was such a pig.  

May 9

Today was my day to have the famous Massage-on-the-Beach. I had the 1 hour massage and it was clearly the best massage I ever had. My masseuse was Tensilyn. She was very pregnant but extremely good. I now know why she is legendary on the net. Tensilyn found all the knots and her hands just seemed to flow with the crashing surf caused by the approaching storm. I was so relaxed and just laid there on the table for several minutes after she finished. When I came back I must of been REAAALL happy as Jeff offered to send me for another one. Thinking back I should've taken him up on it.  

Double dinners seemed to be the thing as we met Mike and Ginger for dinner at the Beach Party (which was being held in VM because of rain) and then went over to Muna Hana for an 8:30 sitting. The food at both venues were delicious. After Muna Hana, we exited toward VM in time to see Scott doing "hootchie cooch" in a line of guys that had been plucked from the audience. It was a riot. I also grabbed two plates of dessert- apple tart pr pie- which I brought back to our room.  

May 10

After our morning routine, we hung out at the pool. About 12:30 P.M., the staff set up the A/N lunch buffet- steak, land chops, chicken, fish, rice, rolls, several types of salads, and desserts. The food was awesome and the service was great.  Around 6:30, we and the rest of the Yahooligans went to the courthouse for the Returnee Cocktail Party. They served champagne, drinks, and hors d'ourves.  

Another double dinner night. Still hungry after the cocktail party and anticipating Jeff's hunger pains, we went with Mike and Ginger to La pasta where we had Pizza. Jeff and I had reservations for the Sushi Bar at 8:30 PM, but Jeff is not a sushi eater and was going for my benefit. We finished at La Pasta just in time to make our reservation. The sushi was delicious, served in these cool looking boats along with soup, salad, tempura appetizer, and dessert.

We went back to the room to "rest and digest" for the Pajama Party- but again we fell asleep- we awoke at 11:00 PM to what sounded like a heavy rain. Unwilling to walk through the rain in our undies, we decided to blow off the PJ Party.  

May 11

It rained hard all morning and afternoon which was a bummer since it was our last full day. I had forgotten to put out our Continental Breakfast slip the night before and could have kicked myself. Luckily I had brought two sun umbrellas and a nylon hooded jacket- so we were able to slosh over to VM.  For a short time in the late day the sun came out. We went to the pool a bit. It started to rain hard again and I took everything to the room- everything except Jeff whom I had seemed to have lost. After waiting ten minutes, I went outside and spied him in the large hot tub in a driving rain storm. I thought it looked neat so I joined him.  He was there was another couple and all four of us sat there- just chatting in the driving rain. Around 6:30 we went to the main bar to meet Mike and Ginger for the Street Party. We missed the street party in 99 and I had been totally bummed about it. The rain had let up and though the buffet and seating was being set up in VM, a DJ was setting up on the sidewalk across from the Main Bar. Cool. So, we're just sitting there telling Sasquatch jokes and downing Braco Lemonades, Red Stripes, and Appleton Shots when all of the power went out.  We all shouted "OHHHH!"- you know like in grade school when the teachers shut off the lights for an assembly and all the kids scream for no reason. Ten minutes later the power came back on and we then shouted "YAY!". About two minutes later the power went out again "OHHH!" (Now I'm thinking Tom Slick) This power outage lasted for about an hour. We just kicked back. Finally we decided to go eat.  Trying to serve a plate in almost complete darkness brings a whole new meaning to mystery meal. One of the guys who work in the Sushi Bar came over and followed us around with a tap light so we could see what we were getting. All the food was delicious. They had these shrimps that were VERY spicy. Unfortunately I had heaped them in the center of my plate in the darkness and everything that they touched was HOT, too.  I can eat spicy food but  these shrimps were extremely spicy. I ate one and gave the rest of them to Jeff and Mike. Towards the end of our meal the lights came back on "YAY!" After dinner we went over to the main bar to refresh our drinks. The Dj started up and Jeff and I danced our butts off. We would have stayed longer but we had to pack - we were leaving tomorrow via AJ and our bags had to be out by 7:00 AM (more on that later).  When we were about 95% done, we went to the Jacuzzi for a while and then to bed.  

May 12 :(

If you fly Air Jamaica, you can now check in for your flight at Braco. This saves you from standing in line at the airport. You must put your bags out by 7:00 AM and check in with an AJ rep. between 8:00AM and 9:00AM.  Last night I remembered to put out the Continental Breakfast slip- I checked  7:30 anticipating that breakfast would arrive at 8:00. I was right- but at least room service called at 7:30 to say they would be late. No problem. Room service breakfast was good- but I recommend writing in an amount next to the items you ordered.  

At 8:30 we went to the reception desk and was told the AJ check-in was being done in the Courthouse. They gave us our Immigration/Customs paperwork (which they took at check-in). The courthouse was full of bummed Yahooligans and Jeff uttered a slow, defeated "Yahooooo." That got a couple of chuckles. The wait wasn't too bad (better than standing in line) and the checking-in was easy. We left the courthouse around 9:00 AM and had until 12:00 PM to check out.  We swung by the gift store and bought a load of Jerk seasoning and marinades.  

We hit the beach until 11:30, then we grabbed our carry-ons and Jeff went to check us out. I grabbed two lounges and hit the pool. When Jeff returned he told me that we had been given room vouchers for two days to make up for the rain. YAY! For the rest of the day, we hung out, ate burgers and lambchops at the Pool Grill, and had our last Braco Lemonades.  

All during the day, Yahooligans were saying their good-byes enroute to the front. Diva came around and gave all of us kisses and hugs. Gilbert/Alex seemed really upset about everyone's departure- I could see tears under his sunglasses- but he_s probably like that for everyone.  Mike and Ginger walked us up to the front and we said our good-byes . They were totally cool and so much fun.  

The bus ride was uneventful  except for the photo Sherri arranged to take of all of us- we all swung around in our seats. At the airport, we said our last good-byes and went our separate ways. I swung by a gift shop and bought some rum, rum cream, and Tia Maria- the prices are much better at the airport- next time I'll get my Jerk stuff here, too.   AJ has a very nice FC lounge in Mobay. It was much better than Delta's LAX set up.  The lounge had little living room areas, snacks and a full bar. Our  flight home was on time and one of our best ever flights.  

Overall Observations

As if this trip report couldn't be long enough! But I do have some random thoughts:  

Almost everywhere the service was friendly and very good:     Drink service at VM was a 9.5 out of 10.  Service at the A/N clubhouse was slow and sometimes argumentative.  Wayne and the A/N bar staff are excellent. Definitely have some pineapple from Cynthia the Fruit lady. The popcorn machine was a great addition to the A/N bar area.  

Disco: Sucks- would be live spot and packed if they played the same music (and used the same DJ) from the Street Party.  

Snorkeling: due to the weather and sheer laziness on our part we have yet to do this.  In other watersports info, there is now has a small station (table) with a kayak, lifejackets and snorkel equipment on the A/N beach. 

In closing, this was our best vacation ever. It is true by the saying "Life is what you make of it".  Even the rain didn't ruin our time. This being our first time vacationing with "Internet Friends" we were somewhat nervous and had planned to spend most of the time to ourselves. However, the Yahooligans are a wonderful bunch of people. We came out of our shells, had a blast and are very happy to have met them.  God willing, we will be back next year.

Jeff & Lisa