Morning to night in Negril, Jamaica - cliffs, ocean and the Rockhouse Hotel

Between two winter European trips and coming home to cold, gray mid-western weather, we decided at the last minute to go warm up and relax mid-February.  Relaxing on vacation is not something we regularly do because there are too many new things to experience.  But once in awhile, like when you realize you haven't finished a book in too many months or when you have forgotten what the sun feels like, it is necessary to unplug somewhere away from the looming thesis and ever present work to bask in the sun while slimed up with SPF.  

Enter Rockhouse, Negril, Jamaica.
Tracy originally found this resort in 2004 when we were planning our destination wedding.  It didn't  appear in our story then, but eight years later was most welcomed into the plot.  Five days of amazing sunsets, rocky cliffs, clear ocean, yoga and exercise, meeting wonderful people, and great food...Oh and we each finished two books and started a third.

This artist has been in the same spot on the beach creating amazing wooden sculptures for decades.  

Do you see how "perched" our room was on cliffs?  Our bed was surrounded by windows showcasing the magnificent, meandering coves of the Caribbean...all of which we could climb ladders down to and swim in.

Every night during happy hour, the Rockhouse guests filled the pool patios taking in the picture perfect sunsets.  The location on the island puts the horizon at due west.

Here I am (It's Tracy) getting ready for another sunset while cooling off in the pool.  The days were long and lovely reading under umbrellas, doing morning yoga together with Fanette Johnson, swimming in the ocean, cooling off in the pool, reading lots of books, and talking for hours.  I can see why most every guest at Rockhouse is on their 7th or 8th year returning.  A very comfortable, pristine place that wills you to relax and take deep breaths.

Does it get much better than this?  A near perfect sailboat and sunset moment. We have strikingly similar sunset photos from a trip in 2008 near St. Barth's...but every experience is special and a separate memory that slows time for bit.

Do you see why we hardly left the resort?  (so unlike us, too!) 

Rockhouse Hotel at night as seen from the restaurant...with a very very long shutter speed.

An even longer shutter speed was needed to capture the stars over the Rockhouse pool at night. Warm nights, beautiful views, great food and a relaxed atmosphere make the cliffs south of the Negril a wonderful little corner of Jamaica.