I didn’t know what to expect when we were headed to Clarksdale. Yes, it’s the birthplace of the blues, yes, it’s the location of the legendary crossroads, where bluesman Robert Johnson was reported to have sold his soul to the Devil, but other than that I had no idea. When you drive into town and get out of the car, it hits you. This is the gritty reality, the real deal, you can almost feel the blues oozing out of this place!
view from our window above Ground Zero Blues Club
Clarksdale claims Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke, Howlin’ Wolf, and Ike Turner among many other bluesmen and women, as native progeny. It attracts such superstars as the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and ZZ Top, who come to learn, and to honor the blues traditions. Actor Morgan Freeman, a local himself, co-owns a blues club here called Ground Zero, which is as gritty and real as they come. We stayed in the Ground Zero Blues Club Apartments but there seems to be a LOT of choice as to lodgings. (I was particularly intrigued by the Shack Up Inn, about three miles out of town, which is an eclectic collection of cabins renovated from old sharecroppers cabins and grain silos, and has their own juke joint and bar.) The Ground Zero Apartments are located perfectly in the center of the action. Besides sitting right on top of one of the premier juke joints in town, most places that you’re going to want to visit are just a short walk away.
THE crossroads
fabulous shoes can be bought on the street!
Carnegie Library
The Blues Museum is definitely a must-see. Wow! What an education. You can follow the evolution of the blues from it’s African origins to present day, and learn about all the musicians who have taken a part. Their highlight is the cabin where Muddy Waters was born, reconstructed inside the museum, and the guitar that Billy Gibbons (from ZZ Top) had made from a board of the cabin.
the first juke box?
Jessie Mae Hemphill’s boots
Charlie Musselwhite’s shoes
So yeah, the town looks like it’s at least 50% abandoned, but there are a lot of new businesses moving in, ready for the revival! Walking around, we stumbled upon Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art, a music store with it’s finger on the pulse of the local scene, and Hambone Art and Music Gallery, where Stan Street hosts music and events, besides offering local delta inspired art. The proprietors were all SUPER friendly and took time to talk to us about their town, what it has to offer, and to tell a few stories. And there are plenty of places to sample local style food, too. Notably Our Grandma’s House of Pancakes served up a breakfast feast of pancakes, eggs, grits, and all the trimmings, and Hooker Grocer and Eatery served up a slightly elevated, but still down-home dining experience, with lovely outdoor dining.
inside the Bad Apple
is that a freezer?
Live music abounds in this small town, with most evenings offering at least a few choices of venues. Sean Apple, of the Bad Apple Blues Club, performs most days at 3pm, giving an intimate and entertaining lesson on on blues culture and the different styles of blues, and later we saw Lucious Spiller play at Ground Zero for a thoroughly danceable evening of bluesy rock. (We also marveled at the decor. Almost every inch of that place has been signed by guests with sharpies!) There are many music festivals in Clarksdale throughout the year, besides the internationally acclaimed three day Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in August and the Juke Joint Festival in April. This is definitely THE place to go to immerse yourself in an authentic blues experience! And I have to say, as gritty as Clarksdale was, the streets were tidy and the people were warm and welcoming.
Red’s Blues Club
this place has HISTORY
signing the bar at Ground Zero
Check out the website www.clarksdale.com for a really good list of places to stay, eat, and hear music.
our own little stretch of beach at the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton, Point Lucea
So here it was, the end of tax season, an insanely busy time for the DH and his sis, and it was time for a little bit of well deserved rest and relaxation at an all inclusive resort. Jamaica called. Debbie and her honey had a week booked at Sandals Resort in Ocho Rios, and we were to join them afterward for a week at the Riu Palace in Montego Bay. We decided to take a few days on our own and booked some time at the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton, on Point Lucea, before meeting up with them. And I’m sure glad we did!
The location and setting of the Grand Palladium is somewhat rural. As you can see from the pictures, trees and natural coastline abound. From our balcony, we could see Sunset Cove, where you can book a scuba dive, snorkeling trip, or other watery adventures, or just relax on the beach with a cold beverage and yummy Jamaican food. The resort has an abbreviated bar and jerk chicken shack down there, where the vegetarian fare included bammy, a local specialty pancake of fried cassava, and “peas” with rice. Along with a Red Stripe beer, it’s the perfect snack after a dive! It’s a bit of a hike to get around the property, and the rooms are organized in separate villas which are spread out along the water’s edge. There are covered walk-ways and guys driving these little golf carts around who will give you rides, which definitely came in handy when we were transporting our scuba gear and luggage! And walking around the property is a great way to observe some of the local flora and fauna. We were happy to spot a pair of Jamaican Yellow-billed Amazon parrots, Jamaican Mango hummingbirds, and we got an introduction to the Jamaican tree frogs. These little critters made a HUGH chorus every night!
the view from our balcony
watching the daily storm roll in
our last day …. it was hard to leave
We really enjoyed staying at the Grand Palladium near Lucea, Jamaica.
As far as food and atmosphere at the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton, we were very happy. Despite some closures and changes due to the pandemic, there were a number of really good restaurants to try, including Jamaican food, sushi, and Mexican. The seafood place and the buffet had lovely open air seating. There were also a number of bars, besides the swim-up bar, well equipped to serve up whatever beverage you can dream of…. be sure to try the “Bob Marley,” a fun frozen mango and rum concoction with layers of red, gold, and green, and from the coffee bar, Jamaican coffee with rum cream! As for entertainment, there were some good live bands that mostly played reggae and reggae style covers, and the usual troop of dancers who, while they were very good and put on a different show every night, became repetitive and predictable. On the bright side, we enjoyed dancing ourselves in the aisle! The last night we were there, the resort made the questionable decision to hold a dance where everyone got a headset and danced to their individual choice of soundtracks, the silent disco….well,I guess I’m just too old for that sort of thing! Other pluses at this resort included clean accommodations with good housekeeping and down at the pool, we could generally find a couple of shaded lounge chairs, some overlooking the water’s edge, and little semi-private stretches of beach could be found around the property.
aerial view of the Grand Palladium… look at that water!
So How’s the Diving?
It was okay. If there had been more of us, I think they would’ve taken us out on the bigger boat. As it was, we went out in a tiny boat, and not very far out. The nice thing about that was that our surface interval was spent in a lounge chair on the beach while our guide loaded some fresh tanks. The water was warm, the visibility good, and we saw various corals, eels, and reef swimmers, notably Lion fish, which are growing in number there. The crew were pleasant, helpful, and very much on “island time.”
Montego Bay
When it came time to meet our peeps at our next all inclusive stay, we called again upon the good folks at Best Jamaica Transfers, to give us a lift to Montego Bay. (By the way, I highly recommend Best Jamaica. They were extremely friendly and accommodating, and very responsive whenever we contacted them, even when we called from the States to pre-arrange an airport pick-up. It’s definitely worth the price!) Our driver had to take us by the airport to pick up Debbie and Ron (since their bus from Sandals would ONLY take them to the airport,) and then on to the Riu Palace, which turns out to be only a couple miles from said airport. Unfortunately, the resort is in the flight path of the departing planes. You can’t really hear them from inside the building, but the planes get pretty noisy when you’re out on your balcony!
Oh yeah, our balcony? We had a great view of the service entrance at the neighboring resort, including the big cement drainage ditch and the chain link and barbed wire fence that kept the local population out.
view from our balcony!
off to the right, a decent view of the city
some rooms have better views
The setting of the Riu Palace is urban.
Okay, I’m done whining. The accommodations were nice and clean, with a modern vibe. (Some rooms located by the pool had swim up lanais!) And the staff was amazing. The food at the Riu was generally good, sometimes great, sometimes too spicy for some of our party. The Italian restaurant there served up some to-die-for vegetarian lasagna, but my crew, who don’t do a lot of spice, struggled with the curried goat in the Jamaican restaurant. My personal Jamaican food discoveries (found at both resorts) were callaloo, a leafy green vegetable, ackee, a very mild tasting fruit which when cooked and combined with salt fish on the plate resembles scrambled eggs, bammy, a flatbread made of cassava, and Jamaican fruit cake, a dark, dense, fruity, spicy treat.
The Riu is actually three resorts in a row, and when you stay in one you get to visit the others for entertainment, some dining, etc. We visited the neighboring Riu Reggae for a couple of evening shows, including a mind blowing performance by Silver Birds, a local, world famous steel drum band. Not only was their music incredible, but their dancing and acrobatics rivaled the dance show we saw the following evening. These performances were held in a spacious outdoor venue, with plenty of room to get up and boogie in the aisles and/or retreat to the back if it was too loud.
the fabulous Silver Birds
vendors aren’t allowed on the beach, so they stay on their canoes!
So I have to say, our experience in Jamaica, this time, wasn’t all that we had hoped. The island was pretty buttoned up due to the pandemic. Besides the curfew, tourists just weren’t allowed to roam free. We had originally planned to rent a car and drive ourselves around to get a taste of the local history and culture, as we had done on a previous visit, but ended up just staying on property except for a walk across the street to a shopping mall.
And the diving?
As in Lucea, the diving was fine. I mean, how can you argue with warm, calm water and good visibility? We booked a two tank dive with the dive shop on the beach of the neighboring resort, just a few sandy steps away. The crew were friendly and helpful. We encountered the expected array of corals and reef fish along with something I didn’t expect, LOTS of lobsters. Well, to be honest, they were mostly caught in traps. These weren’t ordinary traps, they were handmade with what looked like found wooden poles and chicken wire, and so large you could park a (very) small car in them! The traps were baited with breadfruit and coconuts, and teemed with giant spiny lobsters along with a few sad looking puffer fish and lion fish. Hmm…and from what I understand, lobster season was closed at that time…
Stunning panoramic view from the rooftop of Hotel Blue. With a restaurant and bar, there’s no need to go anywhere else!
Swimming with the whale sharks in the Sea of Cortez has been on my bucket list for a very long time, so when the fam was planning a get-away over Dia de los Muertos, the time of year when they are there, I piped up. We’d never been in that part of Mexico before, so it was decided, we would rent a car and stay in La Paz for four days before driving back over the peninsula to a resort we had booked in Cabo San Lucas. I’m so glad we did. It turned out that despite the various covid restrictions and closures, which we hadn’t fully anticipated, it was a great experience for all.
The Blue is an artsy little boutique hotel a few blocks from the beach. One of the tallest buildings in La Paz, the capital city of Baja California Sur, it has a commanding view of the surrounding area. We spent a lot of time up there on the roof…. eating breakfast while watching and listening to the city wake up, watching the sunset with drinks, gazing at the stars and city lights…. ahh, the good life! And did I mention the reasonable prices?
And despite the beach closure due to covid, there were plenty of shops, restaurants, and food stalls to visit, so just wandering around town was still good…. the Malecon at the waters edge is a good place to stroll, dotted with cool sculptures on one side, shopping and eating on the other.
the only whale shark I saw
I found my people, the Laurels!
So How’s the Scuba Diving?
In a word, the diving was fantastic. We were disappointed to learn that the whale shark sanctuary was closed for tourists due to covid (which did strike me as somewhat strange,) but we were allowed to book other dives. We went with Dive In La Paz, the staff was friendly and helpful, the short boat ride was beautifully calm, the water warm and clear. The first tank took us to play with the sea lions at Los Islotes. Wow! It was so cool to be in the midst of these wild animals as they frolicked in our bubbles and playfully nipped at our fingers, fins, and hoses. These puppy-like youngsters even tossed around a starfish for a while! The second dive was to swim through the wreck of the Ming Fang, a 54 meter, multi-storied ship. It was sunk in 1999 and now teems with marine life, including some giant turtles that hang out on deck.
I went to La Paz to swim with the whale sharks, what I got instead was a truly amazing experience with these adorable sea lion pups!
So, a few weeks after we left La Paz, the Mexican government opened up the whale shark sanctuary again, ARGH! Well, I will definitely be going back!
