Frank & Marcey's Hedo II trip report (April 23-30, 1998)
OVERVIEW: Our first trip to Hedo and our first nude adventure anywhere. In a word: Fantastic!
PRE-TRIP: We both tanned before going, and the sun gave us very few problems. Frank got a little pink one day, but we kept sunscreen on and had no problems -- even on the 3-hour nude cruise. We also took the advice of people online and made checklists. That was invaluable. There's so much to remember. We started packing 2-3 days in advance, and we were actually able to get a little sleep before the morning of our flight. We also read Chris' book "The Naked Truth About Hedonism II." It was great for the first timer or repeat traveler. We had a flawless booking through All-Inclusive Vacations.
TRAVEL: We took Delta to Atlanta and then switched to Air Jamaica. No problems, mon. Flights all left on time and essentially arrived on time. We opted for the bus from MoBay to Hedo. Since we were the only bus riders, one of the drivers (Duke) took us in his personal car. Very nice ride (a few close calls on the road), and we were glad we took the land route on our first try. Despite getting stuck in rush hour traffic and stopping 3 times for beer, we still managed to make the trip in less than 2 hours.
One mistake: After getting off the plane in MoBay, we stopped in the lobby for a restroom break and smoke. Go directly to customs! When we got there, we were at the back of the line of about 50 people. And there are restrooms in the customs area, so you don't have to stop at the first one you see.
CHECK-IN: We arrived about 7:30 p.m. on Toga Night and, of course, got bumped to another resort. The biggest hang-up was the other resort was not air-conditioned and did not have hair dryers (which caused much distress for Marcey in preparing for Toga Party). Ah, no problem, just an inventive hairstyle and we were off to find our friends we were meeting at Hedo. We were in our room about noon the next day. Room 2245 in the H-block.
TOGA NIGHT: A great way for first-timers to break in to activities on our first night. It provided a nude feeling without being nude. Plus it was fun!
PJ PARTY: The disco was very warm that night. We didn't stay much over an hour, then everybody retired to the hot tub. For us it was mainly a struggle at the bar for drinks and a mini fashion show. It was too loud and hot to stay long. But, some of the outfits were nice!
THE PEOPLE: This was perhaps the greatest part of the trip. We had talked to people online before we left and managed to find many of them there. It seemed very easy to meet people. Just go for a drink at Delroy's and there's no telling who you'll run into. Before it was over, we'd made friends with a dozen or more couples. Some of the friendships will be long-lasting I suspect. Also, overall, the staff at Hedo was very helpful.
NUDITY: It was our first nude experience, and it took a year for our friends to talk us into going with them. Frank was more comfortable in the nude setting than Marcey. But she did try it, and thought she was going to be okay, but as the week progressed she never found the personal comfort level that we had hoped she would find. We'd both go back to Hedo in a heartbeat, but perhaps with a little less nudity.
DAILY ROUTINE: For the first part of the week, the daily routine included breakfast, then spending most of the day at the nude pool/hottub, then dinner, and Veronica's Piano Bar, and the hottub. Later in our week, we branched out a bit, and did more shopping. We enjoyed the Nude Catamaran cruise, where I had my first taste of snorkeling. One day we took a trip into town on the "Negril Highlights" tour. It cost us $15 each, but we did some shopping, visited the Negril Lighthouse and stopped at Rick's Café. One day we stayed after lunch and watched the wet t-shirt contest. Otherwise, we didn't get involved with many other events, something we might change next time we go.
DRUGS: By the time we got through the airport, about 10 locals (mostly airport workers) asked us if we wanted to buy ganja. But they didn't seem upset when we thanked them and said no. Some even continued to talk with us for a bit about our visit. From our observations, the ganja there is potent and readily available. We saw a half a joint put somebody out of commission for 18 hours. Smoke with care!
DRINKING: We started out with Red Stripe, but soon moved to Vodka Slushes and Purple Rains. We tried some of the other drinks, but found those combinations to our liking. One highlight was the trip to Rick's Café, where we found Corona! It took about 45 minutes to down 3 Coronas, and enjoyed the bus ride back to the resort even more!
SEX: We did see a couple of activities behind the waterfall, but activities at the hottub were closely watched. We did hear of a late-night romp among 3 females where the security guard came over to watch, but then broke it up when 2 males joined in. Late in the trip we talked to a security guard who implied that the crackdown has to do with bodily fluids going into the water.
SHOWERS: Awful. Allow extra time. We were usually the last ones to join our group at dinner, mainly because the shower pressure and water temperature were such a hassle. We understand some people we knew opted for baths -- not a bad idea in some cases.
AIR CONDITIONING: When arriving from the pool area, the room was often chilling. But don't make the mistake of turning off the air conditioning. It could take it hours to re-cool the room, especially if you're showering and preparing to go out.
SHOPPING: Items were a little pricey at the resort. The bus shopping tour provided some more reasonable prices. Bus driver obviously had a deal with the merchants at the Sunshine Village Shopping area, because he took us straight to the merchant he wanted us to use. We purchased T-shirts and other goodies. Then stopped in a jewelry store, where Marcey had an idea to buy me a new wedding ring. They greeted us with a Red Stripe beer (did we look THAT much like tourists?) and a chair. Before we left, we had a 20-inch chain, two charms, and a bracelet and one of the wildest shopping adventures we've every seen! Totally different approach from what you'd see in the USA.
PASTAFARIS: Made reservations at 10:30 that morning, and best time we could get was 9 p.m. that night. It was very good, but don't expect to rush through the meal -- we went with 2 other couples and were there over 2 hours! It was a delicious meal.
FOOD: In general it was okay. We highly recommend the fish, and the chicken on most nights. Overall, we had plenty to eat. The nude beach bar was delicious. There was some differences of opinion over the hamburgers there, but we liked them; some people didn't.
CHECKOUT: Up at 5 a.m. and to the front desk at 6:45 to get a taxi to the airport. Hedo security made sure we were getting out of there. They picked up our luggage at 5:30, and the security guard made 3 trips to our room and we received 2 phone calls to check on our progress. This part was a little irritating, because his conversation at the door almost caused us to run late as he was waiting to escort us to the checkout desk.
DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
Chris S. had graciously agreed to express mail me a copy of her book (The Naked Truth About Hedonism II). We received it the evening before we left and had planned to read it on the flight down. But the passenger sitting next to us quickly pulled out his Bible and placed it in his lap. He was a cop/preacher. Hmmm...We'll wait a bit to read this.
FRIDAY: Took Chris's book to the pool, where it got lots of lookers and questions. Most people we saw were familiar with it, but it was a great conversation piece!
SATURDAY: Transition day. Some couples we'd met left, but a new bunch was arriving. Like a second vacation!
MONDAY: Pretty much a day of rest. At the hot tub, someone told Frank to look under the towels in the used towel bin for his sneakers. BINGO! They were there! He doesn't have to wear beach shoes home!
TUESDAY: We were awakened by the hammering sound of new stairs being installed outside our room. Went on the nude cruise ($40 each). It included some snorkeling, a first for Frank (which he loved), and a trip to the Pickled Parrot for rope swinging and cliff diving (which we did not try!). After the cruise, we took a long nap, then went to dinner and the PJ party.
WEDNESDAY: Last full day! Took care of last-minute details, such as checking on my refund for the first-day bump, mailing postcards, making reservations to Pastafari's and looking at souvenirs. At 3 p.m., we went on the shopping tour of Negril. It included a stop at the Negril lighthouse and Rick's Cafe (CORONA!)
THURSDAY: We made it to the Negril airport by 7 a.m. and started our journey home. Once in the Aero Express flight, the camera quit working. As I fished in the travel bag for spare batteries, I felt something round -- my wedding ring! (Yikes! More suspicious stares!!!). Air Jamaica left on time and the trip was pretty uneventful - until we walked off the plane in Atlanta and two huge drug-sniffing dogs almost attacked the woman's luggage in front of us. We didn't hang around to see what happened!
THURSDAY: As we stepped onto our flight, sitting in first-class was the governor's wife. Gosh, what a great way to start the trip -- a dignitary! We found our seats near the back and the plane and sat down. Frank looked at his hands and to his horror realized, his wedding ring was missing -- NOT a good way to start a trip! He had lost weight recently and the ring was a little loose. Too late, maybe we'll find it later, plane about to leave.
SUNDAY: Frank realized he'd left his sneakers at the hot tub the night before. So he resorted to beach sandals for now -- later visits to lost and found turned up nothing. Dread having to wear this footwear home! After dinner entertainment was an Elvis impersonator. Wonder if Elvis is really alive and running around nude at Hedo? (think about it!) Our panty policeman found a newcomer wearing panties under her dress to dinner. Offered her $20 for them. She dropped them. He paid up. Ah what a life!
Don't forget to sign the guestbook, damnit!
Hedo Links
Denny P's Page (with visitor's list & trip reports)
Contraband's Corps of Corruption Page (great info)
Hedo Links (Almost everything you need to know)
Hedophile's Page (includes Hedo map & more)
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