We landed at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica and made our way through immigration and customs, with fellow dive bar enthusiasts, Vern and Barb. By the way Vern is our resident rum expert, essential for our visit to Jamaica. After exiting the arrival hall we were met by our friend, Fabian, greeter extraordinaire for Clive’s Transportation. We travel to Jamaica often and we always use Clive’s for getting around the island. Today’s driver is Mario, and we’ll get to spend the day with him as we go in search of the legendary Floyd’s Pelican Bar.
After leaving the airport we headed for Black River, 90 minutes away and 55 twisting potholed miles to the south. Thank goodness we had Super Mario behind the wheel. We had told Clive’s we wanted to go to Floyd’s and they took care of the rest. As we got close to Black River we wondered how we were going to get out to Floyd’s, not much more than a pile of driftwood out in the Caribbean. We then pulled into a tidy property dotted with small apartment buildings. Fred, the friendly Canadian proprietor, gave us a quick tour and history of his place, and offered us the use of his loo (that will be very important later on). When our boat transportation arrived we piled in and headed out to Floyd’s.
A typical afternoon Jamaican storm was brewing and the temperature was plummeting as we raced the storm clouds to our wooden alcohol oasis. Thankfully, we made it to Floyd’s without getting wet and we watched as the ominous clouds slipped by. Now with the sun coming out we took a look around the place, got the pleasure of meeting Floyd, and then opted for some rum punches. The Pelican Bar has a cool laid back vibe. For a tip locals are happy to engrave your name into the bar, and there’s the ubiquitous Jamaican hand rolled smokes for purchase. Floyd’s doesn’t have running water and only recently got equipped with some solar panels, just enough to keep the drink cooler humming and the Jah Cure tunes wafting in the air.
The Pelican Bar isn’t a locals bar, it’s really there for the tourists. But it is so unique with its Caribbean sand bar location, funky architecture, and cool characters, that you have to go see it for yourself. For dive bar enthusiasts it will surely be at the top of your list of favorites. Just make sure you go to the bathroom before boarding the boat for the bar. Floyd’s bathroom naturally has no running water and it looks right out of a Dr. Seuss book. After a bunch of rum punches, Red Stripes and Dragon Stouts, it was time to head back to shore, so along with our traveling companions and Mario we boarded our boat to return to Fred’s place. Fred encouraged us to pick some mangoes and other fruits from his trees before heading off to our final destination in Negril, another 90 minutes of twisting harrowing roads along the south coast. Mario safely got us to Negril a little after 7 PM. We were all tired, but so thankful for having the opportunity to get the full Floyd’s experience.
