January 12
We left Octopus today on a small boat to Paradise Cove. This truly IS paradise! Although the coral is not as good for snorkeling, the water is much calmer, the waves are few, and there is more to do here. Everything is free except the diving – kayaks, paddle boards, guided hikes, snorkeling trips, and the food is wonderful.
Our bure is HUGE and gorgeous, and we are the only ones on the beach, so this has become the cocktail party place at 6:00. Unfortunately, it is also the most expensive one here, but Nancy and I waited too long to make our reservation, and this was the only place left. In the main room, it has a beautiful four poster bed covered with soft white curtains (just like you see in the movies), an L-shaped couch, and a large screen TV.
Our bathroom is also huge – open air with all kinds of plants, two showers, and double round sinks.
Nancy gets the big bed here, so I am sleeping in the back room which has twin beds, another couch, and a very small extra half bath. Every day the maid puts lovely fresh flowers on our beds and throughout the bathroom area as well as water and soda in the refrigerator. We decided that this is the perfect place for a Honeymoon! (And we truly are sharing Katie and Ashley’s honeymoon with them as they are traveling with us until the 17th when we leave for home.)
We arrived, had lunch (there are always several choices like rice paper wraps, sticky beef salad, chicken stir fry, and of course, hamburgers!) Then we all took out kayaks and paddled partway around the island, came back and snorkeled off the beach, and then swam before dinner. That evening was a movie under the stars around the pool with pop corn and ice cream. It is amazing how well we are all sleeping here. I guess no stress IS the recipe for happiness! 😉
January 13
Another quiet day—I got up about 9:00 (breakfast here is from 6:30 – 10:00, so we loved that!), had breakfast, worked on email and my journal, read on the porch, and then after lunch, we had our first big adventure here. They took us by boat to another area of the island where we snorkeled for over an hour. It was absolutely breathtaking to see all the brightly colored fish and coral! I saw an eel, “Nemo” fish, angel fish, jellyfish, and all kinds of different colored varieties from rainbow to neon blues, tiger stripes and polka dots. The coral ranged from fushia to lime green to all shades of purples, browns and tans.
Afterwards we came back and swam in the ocean in front of our bure. The view is so spectacular here that I want to cement it in my mind forever and ever! I feel so very close to God in this peaceful place. We showered, then read for awhile until the gang of 12 came over for our nightly cocktail gathering (mostly wine and beer…) Then, before dinner, we all hiked up to Sunset Point. Unfortunately, the sun was in another part of the sky so we couldn’t see it, but the view was lovely.
Dinner here has some choices unlike Octopus Resort, so I had risotto with muschrooms and prawns – delicious! We all laugh because whenever we cannot finish our meals, we just pass them to Ashley, the groom, and he polishes them off! 😉 After dinner we went back and read until our eyes began to droop. When I got up in the night to go to the bathroom, I just happened to look up (remember it is open air), and I saw more stars than I have seen for years – what a magnificent world God has created!
Stay connected for the continuation of the trip and added pictures. For more information on Barbara’s professional work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com
