Today, Mike and I decided that we’d spend the day at our hotel enjoying the amenities and relaxing. Mike woke up pretty early and went outside to check out the weather. A few minutes later he came back in an woke me up and told me to put on my sweatshirt and come outside. It was very calm and quiet, except for the chickens (wild ones that roam the island—like squirrels do in the U.S). There was just a sliver of a moon and lots of stars. We were able to watch the sun rise even though it was cloudy, but the sky still was all sorts of colors.
^^ The sunrise was gorgeous albeit a little cloudy.
^^ And one more of the sunrise.
We made a simple breakfast of hard boiled eggs, toast, peanut butter and bananas. I was worried about getting burnt, so we sprayed lots of sunscreen on and put our bathing suits on and headed out to the pool/beach. In the beginning we sat on the pool deck and read for a while. There was no one else outside and we were happy about that fact until we realized that it was not even 8 a.m.! I got too warm so I went into the pool. The water felt like bath water, although perfectly refreshing.
^^ A few photos of the view from the doors of our hotel. These photos don't do the colors justice.
^^ See the chairs on the right in the shade? Mike and I sat in those chairs most of the time. The shade was perfect and the breeze was incredible. They are "our" chairs.
^^ A panoramic photo of the hotel.
^^ Mike posing on the pool deck.
The beach started calling my name so it was time to sit in the shade on bright blue Adirondack chairs under a palm tree! I felt like I was sitting in a photo on a postcard. I was wearing a giant floppy hat, sunglasses and a bathing suit, and was reading my book on the beach under a palm tree. What could be better? A pina colada.
^^ My morning view. I didn't want to ever leave.
Our hotel has a bar that you can order drinks from and they deliver it to you on the beach, by the pool, wherever. Mike got up to get something from the apartment, and ordered two pina coladas for us. It was 9:30 in the morning but we were on vacation so I was happy to have a drink. My long awaited and anticipated frozen pina colada on the beach. It was a moment of bliss.
I took a short snooze on the beach which in my mind is synonymous with vacation. The breeze was perfect and the air smelled like the beach, and I was able to fully relax. Since our day had started so early, we were ready for lunch early. We had planned to make something in our kitchen or have leftovers, but decided to go to The Grape Tree Cafe. It is a teeny, tiny hut located right on the water, behind a gas station and is a 2 minute walk from our hotel. The Cafe came recommended by the hotel, so we decided to give it a try. The menu is small, four items. I decided to try the roasted snapper that came with okra and plantains. Mike got the fried snapper. Both of our meals were whole fish—eyeballs included! The fish was super flavorful and tender, and was as fresh as they come. Mike noticed that fishermen kept delivering fish to the Cafe, so that was pretty cool.
After lunch, we reapplied sunscreen, and headed back down to resume our chairs on the beach. I dragged a chaise lounge down onto the beach and promptly fell asleep in the shade while listening to the waves splash and the breeze blow the trees. It was much needed and so refreshing. I woke up to Mike playing with a pretty big yellow crab, and it eventually burrowed into the sand. A little while later we came up for some snacks, and to get out of the sun for a while. We spent some time reading by the pool before taking a dip, and then read some more while we dried off and headed back to the apartment for showers and some leftover pizza.
Let me tell you, a shower after being covered in several layers of sunscreen is so refreshing, and leftover pizza reheated in the oven tastes so great after spending the day in the sun and salt air. Ahh, vacation life, I love you!
Well, Mike is watching The Walking Dead on TV, and it’s almost over, so I’m signing off for the night. Cannot wait to get into bed. Tomorrow is Stingray City, snorkeling and replenishing our cheese and cracker stock. We both live for snacks, let just say that we’ve polished off an entire block of cheese in less than one day. Stay tuned for the stories of tomorrow’s adventures!
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