Caribbean Vacation Pics

So you probably remember that when I was packing for our Caribbean vacation I tried to keep my stuff at a minimum and not overpack but I actually ended up underpacking. I am a last-minute person and an eternal undecided as an aggravating condition so I can't push myself to close a suitcase until the very last minute before I leave, when I generally throw in a lot of clothes from the pile of the "discards" that didn't initially make it to the suitcase but that under the pressure of the imminent departure I suddenly feel I would regret not taking with me. Well, that didn't happen this time because for the first time EVER we didn't hear the alarm clock. We found out later that the alarm went off but the volume was on mute (my husband always uses his Blackberry alarm clock and he is an experienced traveller) and at 3.30 am in the morning what are the chances that one wakes up by oneself (my daughter, who wakes up very often in the middle of the night, was sound asleep and didn't cooperate)? By some miracle my husband woke up an hour later and then we sort of went in panic mode. We managed to get out of the door in 10 minutes (that included waking up our daughter and get her dressed) but no need to say that I had no time for last-minute decisions on my vacation wardrobe. I have to thank my husband who forced me to put all the little extras in the suitcase before going to bed, so that I didn't forget anything that could have ruined my vacation (like sunglasses, sunscreen, camera etc). However, I could have used one or two more sweaters, especially because instead of packing my black pashmina for the evenings (nights tend to be fresh in the Caribbean because of the wind) I packed my black cashmere scarf (of course I found out only when I arrived at the hotel and unpacked) which is not the same thing (not only a cashmere scarf is surprisingly itchy worn on bare skin but it looks ridiculous in the Caribbean). And I wouldn't have minded taking with me that colorful Custo tee-shirt that I had bought at Lohemann's especially for this trip and I considered wearing during the flight until the last minute, when, maybe in wishful thinking, I picked up the "Bon Voyage" tee instead (that I also wore on our way back to NY, see pic above).

In the end we weren't that late for our flight and after this rough start (that gloriously ended with my daughter throwing up in the taxi to the airport just when the taxi was approaching the platform at the departures to let us out) and the fact that I lost my coat during the trip (not sure if I left it on the plane when we disembarked in Turks or on the minivan that took us to the resort or in the first room where we posed our baggage because I completely forgot about it until the captain on our flight back last Saturday let us know that the temperature in NY was 18 degrees. It was an old coat but I was quite fond of it) everything else went well. We had 80 degrees average and a sunny sky for all the week, which is quite a record in my Caribbean experience (there had always been a day or two when it gets cloudy or stormy).

The flight was smooth (a direct flight on AA) and the resort was a mere 15 minutes ride from the airport (the advantage of a flight at 6.50 in the morning is that by noon we were around the pool). We had booked a basic room (even if their basic rooms are already named "Deluxe") and we were upgraded to a suite because apparently they only had twin bed rooms available in that category (it wasn't easy but my husband is a good negotiator). The advantage of being in a suite (besides the obvious advantage of having a bigger room with some fun amenities) was that they were located much closer to the beach in a complex of smaller bungalow-style buildings surrounded by beautiful tropical plants.
The resort was bigger than the one where we stayed in Jamaica last year, and it was composed of three "villages" that had each a distinct flair (we stayed in the older part of the resort, which in my opinion was the more authentic). It had 16 restaurants (if we include two cafes) to choose from and we tried almost all of them, besides the two adults-only (we could have taken a sitter but we thought that it wasn't really worth it). I found that besides the main buffet-style restaurant the food was much better than in other all-inclusives, especially the meat that is generally not very well cooked in this kind of resort.
Each "village" had its own swimming pool, but again, I think that the one that was just a few steps from our room was the best (more natural, if not the biggest):



You can't really see it in the pic but the just behind the waterfall (where it's dark) there were a couple of tables of the tex-mex-themed restaurant (one of the best for atmosphere and food). We never had dinner in that particular spot because it was too close to the pool (and noisy from the falling water!) and I was afraid that my daughter would fall in the water (it takes a second), but I think that it was pretty cool.

The beach was beautiful but not "spectacular" in my opinion (I don't want to sound snotty but I have seen even better). I think that it suffered from the erosion caused by the last hurricane that hit the island as it wasn't as wide as it appears in many magazine and brochure pics (although this pic doesn't make it entirely justice):



However, the color of the water was a dream (that's me with one of the infamous Jcrew bikinis from last year. My new Tibi bikini didn't get much photographed unfortunately):



The Boden tunic was a hit. I wore it almost every day to breakfast. The color really blended beautifully in the landscape:


The highlights of the week in terms of evening entertainment were the Sesame Street Parade (where we got to follow the characters preceded by a local marching band all along the resort, quite funny) and the Friday night beach party. I ended up wearing mostly the two Lohemann's maxidresses, alternatively. Sadly I didn't have the occasion to wear the rope dress as the resort was more casual than I thought and we only had "family dinners". I would have probably worn it if my husband and I had a evening out without my daughter in one of the adults-only restaurant (the only ones with a more dressed-up dress code) but as I said that didn't happen.
For the Friday night beach party, I wore the other Calypso dress. I have tons of pics from that night but the one that I prefer is probably this one (the expression on my daughter's face just cracks me up):



Another pic that makes me smile is this one:


If you click on it you will see that my husband and I are reading the same book, precisely the latest Grisham, "The Associate". In the frenzy of the late wake-up the day of our departure, I did forget something of a vital importance for a vacation: my books!
The only book that I had packed was the Grisham that I had bought for my husband (he rarely reads fiction - in fact only when we are on vacation - and he reads almost exclusively Grisham books, long life to him!) but because I can't possibly conceive a vacation without reading and Grisham is better than nothing I asked him if I could start it. After a few pages I was hooked and he wouldn't probably had a chance to read it if I hadn't find another copy to borrow at the resort "entertainment center" (a cabana with a few books and board games). What makes me smile is not only the pic in itself but also the fact that when I asked a lady who was walking by to take a pic of us, she didn't get it at all and she waited for us to look at the camera and smile or something until I told her that we were reading the same book and we thought that it was funny (she still didn't get it I think but she took the pic anyway).

I will end this post with a few pics from the Sesame Street parade (if you are a fan or you have kids you will recognize the characters):




Cookie Monster had clearly forgotten about our little romance last year (that hairy monster!) but this year I had a weakness for Bart and I even tried to follow him home one night but he could get away (hehehe):



I hope that you enjoyed the post. Bon Voyage!