FLIGHT and BUS (5/6 Wednesday 1-2pm-ish):
This was my first trip to Hedonism II....actually, my first trip anywhere fun. Oh, and I went solo too for 10 days! Anyway, I won't bore you with the flight and bus ride events because there were none. I did, however, feel like the exit off the plane was really cool because I had never stepped right off the plane onto the ground before...oh, little things amuse me. The bus ride was much shorter than I thought it would be so I was pleasantly surprised. I heard afterwards that most of the time, people drink on the bus and party. My people were quiet but next time I know.
CHECK-IN:
Check in was slow and my room wasn't ready for a couple of hours. I was told to go have something to eat since it was lunch time. I was completely lost and for that meal, I thought there was only a salad bar with rice and other food choices I didn't care for. It wasn't until dinner that I realized I had missed an entire section of food, which was ALWAYS delicious. I've never eaten so well. My suggestion for Hedo would be to assign someone to greet guests and actually lead them on a quick tour of the dining facilities and explain where everything is so while they wait, they are not feeling lost. I actually took it upon myself to do this a few times...I'm telling you, once you're at Hedo for a few days you get infected with the "disease" as my friend put it. You talk to everyone and help out everyone. It's great.
Cute story: When I flew home, I went via Atlanta and I'm from Mass. My flight was delayed over 2 hours and all my friend knew was the time it was supposed to get in. He didn't know the flight number. Well, he said he overheard a couple talking about how they had just come in from Jamaica and he went over to them to ask about delays...he then told me that "They had the same disease you have." I looked at him like..."Oh my goodness, what do I have??" He continued, "They just started talking away about where they stayed and asked where you had stayed and blah blah blah..." So, the moral of this little story is that you will find a part of yourself in Jamaica that gets lost in the states. I found it and I want more!!
DAILY ROUTINE:
Basically, I kept a pretty routine schedule. I tried to get up early, eat breakfast and head for the prude beach. I was on the prude side and ventured on the nude side a couple of times, but found I preferred the prude side. There was a slight difference in the feel. I just wasn't a nudist at heart. However, the people on the nude side are very, very friendly too and I did meet a few. It's so easy to talk to anyone and it wasn't long before I was hanging out with a bunch of people in the water. I was popular because I had two big containers to fill with drinks. We had a little scene going where we'd bring a raft out and get a bunch of cups to fill from my drink containers. We thought it would cut down on drinks runs but found out we just drank more. Oh well. The beach bar was the best area to meet new people. Paulette was the regular bartender there and she was fantastic and very sweet. Volleyball was right next to the bar and people played everyday. I only played once because I was too busy doing nothing. At about 4pm, the beach quiets down for the most part. I actually managed to go running the first two days I was there because I was bored at that time and didn't know as many people yet. My workouts lasted only the first two day. I ran off the resort on the main road and it was neat. I passed many, many Jamaicans and they were all very friendly. Even the women were smiling at me which is interesting. The men were very flattering as they cheered me on and yelled "You look good girl!". Of course, as soon as I was out of site, I would rest. I wasn't in the shape I thought I was but I couldn't let them know that.
Since my commitment to exercise only lasted two days, I mostly spent the other days at this time, drinking and socializing on the beach with guests and staff. I also tactfully avoided the ladies on the beach, trying to braid my hair. The first few days I was there, they kept asking me because I have long hair. I heard it was per braid and very expensive. A lady off the resort quoted me $150 US dollars to give me extensions. YA, RIGHT. It's rip off unless you can talk them down, if you ask me.
Later in the evening, I'd go back and shower for dinner. I dressed up for dinner on most nights. I was told by several people to not bother bringing dresses, but I definitely recommend it. I saw a lot of women dressed up and personally, it separated the day from the night for me. After dinner and entertainment, I would either go to the piano bar or directly to the disco. I LOVED the disco. Not too many people went and I'd say it was mostly the prudes, but I just love to dance and let me tell you, I was sore. By the end of my trip, I had swollen feet. In fact, I would have stayed another night if I hadn't been swollen.
A few nights, I ventured over to the nude hot tub, which is a must for everyone. I went about 3am when I knew there wouldn't be any or at least not much lewd behavior! I was wrong, because one time I saw people having sex. It was no big thing though...sounds strange to say, but it's true. One complaint was that the hot tub temperature varied greatly from HOT! to warm. I preferred HOT!. They also have a mini waterfall over there and a swim up bar. I introduced myself to Delroy because I had read about him on the internet but I didn't chat with him.
Oh, try the jerk chicken. It's fantastic, especially when you're tipsy and very hungry.
ISLAND PICNIC (Wed: 10:30 am):
Let me tell you....next time I go to Hedo, I will schedule my arrival so I come just in time for this island picnic. It was, by far, the most fun I had on any organized event. It seems so simple now; you go to a little island, where you are required to drink and play games (some were dumping it out in the water to avoid being drunk, some were drinking TOO much). The games are slightly naughty and that's what makes it fun. The philosophy is "What happens in Jamaica, stays in Jamaica". At least that's what we said. I didn't tell a soul...they just wouldn't understand what went on. Don't be scared though because it's not that bad, just occasionally outrageous! AND....let me just state right now, you are not forced to do anything you don't want to do at Hedo. Well, almost....see the Wet T-shirt section.
WET T-SHIRT CONTEST:
Okay, I have a large chest and many of my new friends figured that this would be the perfect contest for me...NOT!! I watched it and only a few women kept their shirt on so, um, what is the point? So part one was a disappointment, if you ask me, because it should be based on the merits of looking sexy in a wet t-shirt and not on showing your breasts. PART II: Now, this is what made me very glad I did not participate (aside from my less than enthusiastic attitude to the whole idea). The coordinator of this event had each woman pick out a man or men from the audience. Then he would have them do or receive various acts. For example, the two girls who did not take off their shirts were told to lie down and pull up their shirts to show their breasts. They hesitated for a good minute (which is very long for Hedo) and basically did it, not knowing what they were in for. Well, the coordinator poured chocolate over their breasts and knees and told the four guys to lick it off. That was a little over the edge, in my opinion, because if it had been me, I'd have felt molested right about then. Plus, I would have felt uncomfortable if I had refused to do it. Anyway, I may be a prudist, but I'm no prude so to each his/her own.
TALENT NIGHT (Thurs/Toga):
I was there for 10 days, so I got to go to Toga night two times. I found it to be a pain in my butt. I don't really look great in togas and I just couldn't get it to tie correctly. I ended up changing half-way through. I also thought the actual toga competition was boring. They did have a talent show by all the guests though and that was interesting.
The second Toga night was a lot better for me....but I guess that was due to two reasons: I performed in the talent show (toga-less, mind you...I didn't even bother this time) and it was my last night to party. I was leaving the next morning. Watch out if you don't want to perform in the talent show. After the coordinator heard me in the piano bar earlier that week, she and the others continuously asked me if I was going to perform...every time they saw me. I had no choice...but I didn't really mind once I was up there and everyone cheered for me. The attention after didn't bother me either! :-)
CRUISE TO RICKS (M-Thurs, Sat: 3pm):
This was rather boring. The cruise wasn't that crowded so that had something to do with it. Once we got there, I couldn't get out on the ledge of the cliff to actually jump off. The height wasn't the problem, the cliff was. It was very rocky and not very big. I tried to crawl out 3 times and was frozen with fear of falling before I could voluntarily jump. There were some young Jamaican men who were running and jumping off, climbing back up the side of the cliff and doing flips and various daredevil acts though. I was holding my breath for them. They actually asked me to jump with them at one point...YA RIGHT! I swam back to the boat for some adventure.....sheesh, that was rough. I am a good swimmer, but I swallowed a bit of water on that short jaunt.
CRUISE TO CLIFFS AND SNORKELING (M-Thurs, Sat: 10:30am):
Now THIS was THE trip. It was crowded and very social. Also, we had a good mix of nudists and prudists, with the nudists winning the majority. First, we snorkeled for 30 minutes. It was beautiful and relaxing. Then we went to another area of the cliffs. We swam from the boat into the caves and climbed a ladder that went up through the walls of the cave. Very nice. Jumping off was easy because the ledge was not a jut of rock, it was just the edge of the cliff. I jumped twice. It was fabulous!
SCUBA DIVING:
I've always wanted to scuba dive so this was an incredible bonus to my vacation. I couldn't believe they offered lessons free of charge. In order to scuba, you have to pass a test at 8 am in the morning though. That was rough. I felt very funny from days of drinking and wasn't sure I'd have the strength. I had to swim 6 laps non-stop, then go the length of the pool under water...no breath and then tread water for a minute with just my legs...no arms. I passed. The next step was to watch a video and talk about the rules of diving. Then we got to use the equipment in the pool to practice. It's a strange feeling to breath under water.
The next day we went out on the boat and the beginners (that's me) were able to go 30 ft and the certified divers were able to go 60 ft. I think they go as deep as 90 or 100 ft too. I was most nervous about flipping off the boat into the water because of the heavy tank I was wearing, but that was no problem. Scuba diving was so serene and being up close to all the coral and fish was amazing. I'd suggest it to anyone who can swim. Next time I go, I'll plan to get certified there. You can perform 4 dives and take a test and get certified for $200 cash.
PJ PARTY (Tues)
I wasn't really into this either. To be honest, I was a little annoyed that I wasn't able to fully enjoy dancing in the disco that night because of the crowd. It was interesting to see all the costumes because they were outrageous. I didn't take any pictures because I don't care about stuff like that, but many people did and it was allowed. Hey, if you want to talk about something when you get home, you could definitely surprise all your friends with these pictures. I was supposed to go off the resort this night with one of the staff and I chickened out at the last minute. I should have went because for me, this wasn't very fun. It was hot and sweaty and by the time the crowd thinned out, I was too tired and bored to dance.
GUESTS:
I met so many people and exchanged addresses with several. This surprised me because I'm the type who doesn't like to be stuck with anyone for too long. I'm a social butterfly. I almost never felt bogged down by clingy people here, yet I developed relationships with many of them. It was great. I'm already exchanging emails and calls with them. We even want to plan a reunion Hedo party. There was potential for romance, but personally, I'd advise against it because once you do that, you may feel obligated. Keep it light.
STAFF:
I absolutely loved the staff at Hedonism. Maybe some of it is because they have to be "up" all the time, but I can't believe it's not also due to their culture. I met more staff members than guests because they were just so friendly and fun to talk to. Many nights, I would walk the beach and come back to the disco around 4 or 5 am and hang out with the bartenders. We would watch cartoons until about 5:30. Be nice to the bartenders because they have many people to serve and it can be slow at times. It's not their fault. The coordinators were wonderful too. My favorite was Marc, with a C. I could mention all of them, but I don't want to ramble. Just make sure you chat with them if you like to meet people because every Jamaican I met had good vibes. I miss them the most, actually. All of my pictures of people and they account for at least half of my photos.
LAST MORNING (5/15, Fri):
This was sad...actually, the day before I had to leave, I was so upset. I cried. The morning I left, I just walked around the beach looking for people I hadn't gotten on film yet. Then I sat up in the dining area with two friends who were also leaving on the same bus and we just vegged. We couldn't move. It was very depressing, but I didn't cry that day. I had conversation to distract me. Then, at the airport, when I left for my flight (they weren't going to the same state), I cried a little. The day I arrived home and had to sit in my apartment was horrible. I felt alone. I'm usually a person who cherishes my solo time, but I couldn't get over how lonely I was. I actually drove to an ex-boyfriends house to hang out with him because he's Jamaican! How silly is that? :-) I'm a little better now, but I miss the people I met and I miss the atmosphere. I'll be going back as soon as I can. Who knows, I may not come back this time...
If you have specific questions, you can email me at vonness@aol.com.
Thanks for the wonderful trip report. - Denny