I wasn't going to post until I got home... but I had such an amazing day I wanted to get some of it down before I forgot it...
Its official! I'm in Barbados. I arrived yesterday afternoon at 2:30. Was checked in my hotel room by 3:30. If only flying into anywhere else internationally was so efficient!
By the time I got to my hotel I hadn't slept in three days. Two days= insomnia at home. The third= overnight flight complete with screaming babies. I've always gotten insane insomnia before exciting things; Before every ship contract, before life-changing events (moving, etc.) Christmas. Seriously. Every Christmas of my entire life (okay, we won't count up to the age of 4) I haven't been able to sleep Christmas Eve, because, lets face it, Santa's coming to town that night and the next morning is going to be pretty danged exciting! Anyhoo, this trip warranted two nights of insomnia prior to the trip (and we won't even talk about the two weeks before the trip in which I only got 1 solid night's sleep - probably due to 1) excitement for the trip & 2) extreme stress from work.)
When I walked into my amazing suite of rooms (larger than my house!) with its beautiful view of the Caribbean/Atlantic ocean and tradewinds blowing ever-so-gently through the coral-stone room, I could have thought: "Wow!, it was all worth it" or "I never want to leave here" or "I have to find a job on this Island!" but what I actually thought was "... ... ... ... ... (deep breath) ahhhhhhh... ... ..."
About ten seconds later I was rocked back to real-time by my porter, Brian, asking "Will that be all, miss?" I fumbled for his tip, ushered him out the door and then toured the rest of the suite: Balcony with wrought iron lounger, table and chairs located beneath a massive flowering tree swaying in the scented air, check!
Kitchenette complete with fridge, range & blender (Blender! I don't even have one at home!) Check.
Large living room with TV and DVD player that probably get about as cared-for as a Christmas fruitcake here)
Check.
1 bedroom with King-sized, four poster bed made of antique Barbadian mahogany.
Check.
1-massive granite and marble-covered bathroom with a rainfall shower and separate clawfoot tub.
Check.
Me in heaven.
Check, Check.
Slept well, very, very well last night. Woke up this morning around 7 and was out the door by 7:30. Gone are the days, it seems, when I was able to sleep until noon. At home, its probably a good thing - so I can get to work at a reasonable hour. But, here it is not necessarily a good thing. I wandered the property a bit more (did some exploring last night and even went for an evening swim at my favorite beach) and reached the restaurant for Breakfast a smidge before 8. They seated me and I had to wait as they weren't ready to start serving yet! Can you imagine?? A hotel not prepared to serve breakfast before 8am. Welcome to the Caribbean, mate! (said with arms flung out, Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean-style)
I had one thing to do today: Go to the store at noon. I plan to utilize my kitchen while I'm here, so I wanted to pick up some groceries. The grocery-store shuttle doesn't leave the hotel until noon. (Said shuttle is actually a caribbean-style mini-van, which looks smaller than an American mini van [because it is] and is capable of seating about twice as many people (14). Not that there are seatbelts for all of those people... but Island style is all about cramming everyone in!)
I hate having one thing to do smack dab in the middle of the day! Its like having one massive zit on prom night. While waiting for the noon shuttle, I sat around, not really being able to enjoy anything else. For instance - I wanted to go to the beach, but I didn't want to get all "Beachy" and have to leave the beach just around the time I was getting comfy... which actually means I'll end up missing the shuttle because I won't leave the beach. So I ended up sitting in my lovely living room in the chaise louge, pulled over to the window, propped my feet up on the balcony bar and started reading the book I've been hanging on to for this trip since March, when I booked it. "Eat, Pray, Love" (Which is fan-bloody-tastic!) I really enjoyed the book, the relaxing breeze and comfy furniture... Noon finally rolled around and I went to the store, got the supplies and was back by 1pm.
I loaded up my beach-stuff and proceeded to hike down Crane beach, past all of the tourists (I, of course, can't be classified with them, lol. Lets face it, no one ever thinks of him or herself as a tourist! Besides, this is my fifth time in Barbados... In Hawaii, you're considered a local on your third time... Five's got to count for something!) over the rock outcropping to the second part of Crane beach, past the more adventuresome tourists, into the ocean and around a small rock-bluff to the hidden and deserted (except for one other small group of people who cheated and drove to that beach on the mainland above) "Beachy Head" beach. Perfect! Waves, boogie-boarding, swimming, sun-tanning, reading the great book (Eat, Pray, Love).
("Beachy Head" beach)
Three hours later, I feel the need to leave "soon" (island time) so I won't burn up on my first day of vacation and ruin the rest, but just as I'm contemplating standing up (contemplating really, really hard and doing surprisingly little about it), the amazingly cute duo of gorgeous, tan Brits (I know, that entire description defies all normalcy for Brits - they even had nice teeth!) from the group down the beach came up and said Hello and asked to borrow my boogie board for a while. How could I say no? I stopped contemplating getting up and flashed them a smile "of course!" They offered me a beverage, which I took them up on (water!) and I got to enjoy another lovely hour pretending to read my book, all the while enjoying the eye-candy in the water in front of me. (pictured not very well in photo above, far left) Heath and Devon. Mmm, mmm, mmmm... Surprisingly I'm not that burnt! (I credit it to that new spray-on sunblock! Its freaking miraculous!) (End commercial)
5 pm rolls around and I head back to the hotel. Rather exhaustedly, I have to admit. Went to the kitchen to see what to cook for dinner but decided instead to sit down for a while... saw the room-service menu... grilled mahi-mahi with mango salsa, coconut rice and veggies... looks like I'm going to have to start cooking tomorrow. And hide that blasted menu after dinner tonight. Yum.
Tonight I wandered the property and took twilight pictures of the place.
Crane Beach at dusk
This place inspires me. I love it. I love everything about it. I've wanted to stay in this hotel since I first saw the place three years ago on a day-trip from my Ship, the Golden Princess. ...sigh...
Its 9pm. I'm now sitting in the same chaise-lounge in front of my living-room balcony, sipping a mango smoothie (I made it with my blender!) I'm Listening to the frogs chirp, the wind rustle and the waves crash on the cliffs below. The stars twinkle brightly over head, in the special way they only do here in the Caribbean. Its as if they have secrets they want you to find out. And they look so velvety soft and close that you feel you could scoop them right out of the thick-perfumed air and put them in your pocket.
Its official! I'm in Barbados. I arrived yesterday afternoon at 2:30. Was checked in my hotel room by 3:30. If only flying into anywhere else internationally was so efficient!
By the time I got to my hotel I hadn't slept in three days. Two days= insomnia at home. The third= overnight flight complete with screaming babies. I've always gotten insane insomnia before exciting things; Before every ship contract, before life-changing events (moving, etc.) Christmas. Seriously. Every Christmas of my entire life (okay, we won't count up to the age of 4) I haven't been able to sleep Christmas Eve, because, lets face it, Santa's coming to town that night and the next morning is going to be pretty danged exciting! Anyhoo, this trip warranted two nights of insomnia prior to the trip (and we won't even talk about the two weeks before the trip in which I only got 1 solid night's sleep - probably due to 1) excitement for the trip & 2) extreme stress from work.)
When I walked into my amazing suite of rooms (larger than my house!) with its beautiful view of the Caribbean/Atlantic ocean and tradewinds blowing ever-so-gently through the coral-stone room, I could have thought: "Wow!, it was all worth it" or "I never want to leave here" or "I have to find a job on this Island!" but what I actually thought was "... ... ... ... ... (deep breath) ahhhhhhh... ... ..."
About ten seconds later I was rocked back to real-time by my porter, Brian, asking "Will that be all, miss?" I fumbled for his tip, ushered him out the door and then toured the rest of the suite: Balcony with wrought iron lounger, table and chairs located beneath a massive flowering tree swaying in the scented air, check!
Kitchenette complete with fridge, range & blender (Blender! I don't even have one at home!) Check.
Large living room with TV and DVD player that probably get about as cared-for as a Christmas fruitcake here)
Check.
1 bedroom with King-sized, four poster bed made of antique Barbadian mahogany.
Check.
1-massive granite and marble-covered bathroom with a rainfall shower and separate clawfoot tub.
Check.
Me in heaven.
Check, Check.
Slept well, very, very well last night. Woke up this morning around 7 and was out the door by 7:30. Gone are the days, it seems, when I was able to sleep until noon. At home, its probably a good thing - so I can get to work at a reasonable hour. But, here it is not necessarily a good thing. I wandered the property a bit more (did some exploring last night and even went for an evening swim at my favorite beach) and reached the restaurant for Breakfast a smidge before 8. They seated me and I had to wait as they weren't ready to start serving yet! Can you imagine?? A hotel not prepared to serve breakfast before 8am. Welcome to the Caribbean, mate! (said with arms flung out, Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean-style)
I had one thing to do today: Go to the store at noon. I plan to utilize my kitchen while I'm here, so I wanted to pick up some groceries. The grocery-store shuttle doesn't leave the hotel until noon. (Said shuttle is actually a caribbean-style mini-van, which looks smaller than an American mini van [because it is] and is capable of seating about twice as many people (14). Not that there are seatbelts for all of those people... but Island style is all about cramming everyone in!)
I hate having one thing to do smack dab in the middle of the day! Its like having one massive zit on prom night. While waiting for the noon shuttle, I sat around, not really being able to enjoy anything else. For instance - I wanted to go to the beach, but I didn't want to get all "Beachy" and have to leave the beach just around the time I was getting comfy... which actually means I'll end up missing the shuttle because I won't leave the beach. So I ended up sitting in my lovely living room in the chaise louge, pulled over to the window, propped my feet up on the balcony bar and started reading the book I've been hanging on to for this trip since March, when I booked it. "Eat, Pray, Love" (Which is fan-bloody-tastic!) I really enjoyed the book, the relaxing breeze and comfy furniture... Noon finally rolled around and I went to the store, got the supplies and was back by 1pm.
I loaded up my beach-stuff and proceeded to hike down Crane beach, past all of the tourists (I, of course, can't be classified with them, lol. Lets face it, no one ever thinks of him or herself as a tourist! Besides, this is my fifth time in Barbados... In Hawaii, you're considered a local on your third time... Five's got to count for something!) over the rock outcropping to the second part of Crane beach, past the more adventuresome tourists, into the ocean and around a small rock-bluff to the hidden and deserted (except for one other small group of people who cheated and drove to that beach on the mainland above) "Beachy Head" beach. Perfect! Waves, boogie-boarding, swimming, sun-tanning, reading the great book (Eat, Pray, Love).
("Beachy Head" beach)
Three hours later, I feel the need to leave "soon" (island time) so I won't burn up on my first day of vacation and ruin the rest, but just as I'm contemplating standing up (contemplating really, really hard and doing surprisingly little about it), the amazingly cute duo of gorgeous, tan Brits (I know, that entire description defies all normalcy for Brits - they even had nice teeth!) from the group down the beach came up and said Hello and asked to borrow my boogie board for a while. How could I say no? I stopped contemplating getting up and flashed them a smile "of course!" They offered me a beverage, which I took them up on (water!) and I got to enjoy another lovely hour pretending to read my book, all the while enjoying the eye-candy in the water in front of me. (pictured not very well in photo above, far left) Heath and Devon. Mmm, mmm, mmmm... Surprisingly I'm not that burnt! (I credit it to that new spray-on sunblock! Its freaking miraculous!) (End commercial)
5 pm rolls around and I head back to the hotel. Rather exhaustedly, I have to admit. Went to the kitchen to see what to cook for dinner but decided instead to sit down for a while... saw the room-service menu... grilled mahi-mahi with mango salsa, coconut rice and veggies... looks like I'm going to have to start cooking tomorrow. And hide that blasted menu after dinner tonight. Yum.
Tonight I wandered the property and took twilight pictures of the place.
Crane Beach at dusk
Various spots around the hotel
This place inspires me. I love it. I love everything about it. I've wanted to stay in this hotel since I first saw the place three years ago on a day-trip from my Ship, the Golden Princess. ...sigh...
Its 9pm. I'm now sitting in the same chaise-lounge in front of my living-room balcony, sipping a mango smoothie (I made it with my blender!) I'm Listening to the frogs chirp, the wind rustle and the waves crash on the cliffs below. The stars twinkle brightly over head, in the special way they only do here in the Caribbean. Its as if they have secrets they want you to find out. And they look so velvety soft and close that you feel you could scoop them right out of the thick-perfumed air and put them in your pocket.
Relaxation, contentment. Perfect day.
Cheers.
Cheers.
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