Our Honeymoon, Part II

We've been a little busy settling in and catching up with work since we returned. We apologize for the delay in posting this - it's our one month anniversary today!

Day Three
This was by far our favorite day. We had booked a tour with Big Blue Unlimited, an eco-friendly tour company, for a full day. We started off at Nikki Beach and met the other couple on the tour. We were really pleased that the small tour size was true! The other couple was from French Canada and didn't speak a lot of English.

We took our powerboat through the south flats to North Caicos because of the rough weather. The south flats are amazingly shallow and beautiful. We stopped at a shell sanctuary on one of the Cays and searched for shells. It wasn't difficult. Our new friends found a giant sea biscuit - bigger than our hands. Robert found colorful coral and a conch shell. After that we jumped back in our boat and headed out to sea. We found a reef to snorkel at on the barrier reef. The water was extremely rough for snorkeling but we decided to give it a try. I think because it was so cold, most of the wildlife was more in shore but we did see some amazing fish and coral.

After that we took the boat to North Caicos and jumped in a cab with our tour guide Cardi and our cab driver Arthur Robinson. Both are locals so they had a million great stories and tons of knowledge on the islands. First we went to Wade's Green Plantation and did a walking tour. Cardi told us about every tree and plant and their medicinal properties. No need for doctors in these islands. He also told us about how a UCLA professor came in one year and mislabeled every building on the property. Case in point: he said what was a church was really slave quarters. I don't see how this professor would've missed this church...the architecture is obvious and there is no way it could have fit 400 slaves. That's what the hundreds of small huts further out on the property were for. I digress...

After the great tour we drove to Kew, a tiny town where Cardi is from. We stopped and had lunch at a locals house. It was delicious. Robert was given a can of watermelon soda with a very offensive picture on it. You'll have to check out our pictures on Facebook to see that one.

After lunch we were all tired...battling waves + walking + a huge lunch = exhaustion. We stopped at the flamingo ponds and checked out flamingos in their native habitats. Amazingly beautiful. After that it was time for a "long" drive to Middle Caicos to check out the caves and Mujudin Harbor. Everyone fell asleep except for me. I asked so many questions about the islands. We crossed a bridge between the islands that was only 2 years old. It was nearly destroyed in Hurricane Ike and has not been repaired. It was definitely an interesting little ride. Not to worry though, the water around us was so shallow, you could walk from island to island. That's what the used to do before the bridge.

The limestone caves were amazing. They stretch 3 miles across the island and cave divers are just now starting to explore them. The Arawak Indians used them as shelter long ago. Our cab driver was once the caretaker of the caves and actually named some of the cave rooms. I very hesitantly asked what the "Butcher Room" was and if we were going there. We weren't and it's where the bats feast. Yikes. Robert found the caves to be the most boring thing we did all day. I think he was just tired.

After that we drove to Arthur's home town and stopped at his house. He had to pick up some cracked conch and sopadilla fruit. The great thing about these islands is that you can find fruit growing everywhere...bananas, pineapple, etc. He shared the sopadillas with us and they were delicious. They look like a kiwi...you eat the skin...but taste like a carmalized pear. Amazingly sweet.

After that we went to Mudjin Harbor, a very secluded beach that is one of the most beautiful in the world. I totally agree with that statement. You can look at our pictures but they do not capture the true beauty of this beach.

That night we were totally exhausted but we decided to go to dinner at Parallel 23, the restaurant at our hotel. This restaurant is fancy (think $300/couple) and outside. We picked the perfect night because they had live entertainment by an awesome couple who played our first dance song. We also got a table right up front. I think we both agree that hands down this was the best meal and atmosphere the entire trip.

Day Four
Robert's wedding gift from me was photos. Not just any photos...I hired a photographer from TCI who has shot footage for Shark Week and is known all over the world for his work. He picked us up with a videographer, Preston, and we went all over the island having a blast and shooting photos. One hilarious moment was when we had to change clothes and had to find a bush. We were definitely seen by some unsuspecting beach goers. Ooops. We should be getting all of the photos in the next week or so and we're excited to post them for everyone.

We spent the afternoon checking out the shopping scene, which was lame. This island is so untouristy that there aren't any tourist shops around. Our hotel had two shops...one moderately priced with polos and kids wear. The other had the cutest men and women's beach wear. Until I looked at a price tag. $500 for a cover up. No thanks. Needless to say, we didn't come back with many souvenirs.

That night we went to restaurant (the name escapes me) that looked really casual. The food, however, was not. We were given complimentary champagne and had yet another amazing meal. I ordered chicken pad thai...the french version...and it was probably the best pad thai I've ever had. I also ordered the creme brulee. My favorite dessert. Not just any creme brulee though - chocolate creme brulee. Heavenly.

Day Five
Our final day in TCI. The weather finally turned around and we had some sun. We went straight for the beach and took over a pod. We ordered lunch from our waiter and it was served in bento boxes. Robert almost had a heart attack when he got the bill but it was so worth it. What beach lunch comes with an entree, salad, fruit and dessert?! The sun felt so good and I'm glad we got to enjoy it...who knew we'd have rain almost every day when we returned?

We ordered room service that night so we could pack and watch movies. We had a 7 a.m. flight so it was going to be an early morning.

Day Six
This was the day from hell. We woke up at 4 a.m....were the first at the airport. Yes, we beat the employees. Watched random people walk into the secure area when no one was watching. Disturbing. Got called to a back room with two-way glass and had my things searched. Was sent back through the luggage handling area unescorted and unscreened. Again, disturbing.

Took a near empty flight to Miami and spent the rest of the morning trying to haggle for an earlier, direct flight back to DFW. Our agent finally found us something at 5 p.m. Hallelujah! Spent the rest of the day sitting in the stench of the Miami airport wishing we were home. Finally, at 8 p.m., we arrived back at DFW, only to find that our bags had been sent to a whole other terminal and were in storage. Nice.

The honeymoon was over but it was so great to be back and to see our puppies and families.

Our Honeymoon, Part I

Yep, there is a part one. For our honeymoon we decided to go to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Everyone always asks how we decided on Turks and Caicos. Easy. I've been to a lot of Caribbean islands and we wanted this to be something new for both of us. We also liked that only 300,000 people visit it each year...that means it's pretty uncharted as far as tourism goes. I'll be posting pictures once we get the professional ones. Photos are always slow!


Day One
We had a super early flight to Miami and woke up around 4 a.m. Luckily we only had an hour layover in MIA before we headed to TCI. We flew through a lot of rain and experienced a lot of turbulence...not the best for me because it is a control freaks nightmare. The rain was from the cold front that had come through Texas a day or two earlier and that had given us the 13 degree weather. The nice thing about the flight was that is was nearly empty...it was an off week for tourism down there and we were glad for that!


The airport in TCI is the tiniest I've ever been to. It took forever to get through customs and the luggage claim was a large open room where they threw the luggage haphazardly all over the floor. Adventure? Yes, please.


There are no stoplights on the island. It's that small! We arrived at our hotel at Grace Bay and it was beautiful. Everything was manicured and every plant and flower I've ever dreamed of growing in my garden was growing there.


When we walked into the open air lobby, they immediately handed us a cold towel that smelled like lavender and a fruit punch. Then, one of the front desk girls took us on a tour of the property and of our suite. It's a large property with a small number of guest rooms. Very intimate.

Or suite was 100 sq. ft. smaller than our house. It doesn't look it in the pictures but it really was! There was an amazing full size kitchen with viking appliances - and we definitely weren't cooking. One of my favorite things was the daybed on the porch. I could spend hours on that thing reading.


We were exhausted by the time we finished our tour and decided to take a quick walk on the beach, order room service and go to bed early. Plus, it was chilly (70 degrees) and overcast...not really beach weather.


Day Two
Since the weather still wasn't ideal we decided to have a relaxing day. We had breakfast al fresco and went to the spa for an amazing massage. This spa was the best I've ever been to. Just the way it was designed, with treatment rooms outside, was so peaceful.


After totally relaxing, we went to Lemon for lunch. TCI might be small and not very touristy but they do have great food. No fast food...gourmet food that would make mouths from NYC water. Robert had a lamb burger and I had chickpea fritters with raita. We both had hummus and you could tell it was homemade.


After that we took a taxi over to the conch farm. It's the only one in the world and Robert is obsessed with finding conch shells on vacation so it was a must. It had been damaged by hurricane Ike in 2008 and a lot of it was not repaired but it was worth it. It was a pretty quick tour but we learned how they grow and how to tell a male from a female. We also got to meet Sally and Jerry, their resident celebrity conch.


Our taxi driver waited for us and took us on a tour of Nikki Beach, which used to be a celebrity hot spot before they stopped paying taxes. TCI is so secluded, we were pretty sure Jay Z could walk on any beach and not be noticed.


After that we went back to the hotel and grabbed a pod on the beach and just relaxed until dinner.


For dinner we had to try another recommended restaurant - Grace's Cottage. It's interesting to note that none of the restaurants we ate at were on the beach. Those restaurants are for tourists who like all-inclusive fare. This is where we learned that people eat around 8 or 9 p.m. We arrived at 7 and were the first there...but we got the best table. We played table topics, tried a bunch of wines and had a great time.


When we got back to our hotel we found a letter under our door telling us about the earthquake in Haiti and informing us that we were under a tsunami warning. The TCI is completely flat so if there ever were a tsunami, there wouldn't be much chance for anyone. It was also weird because TCI is only 200 miles from Haiti and we didn't feel a thing. Luckily we had satellite so we were able to tune into CNN to see what was going on. That's when we turned on our phones and listened to voicemails of panicked family. This is a part of our honeymoon we will always remember - we saved the letter. A day later big military aircraft were being diverted to TCI and rescue workers were flooding the empty rooms in our hotel. We had no problem sharing our hotel with there heroes and we felt bad that we couldn't do more. Our hotel was very generous to accommodate them.



Stay tuned for more...

wedded bliss...

Happily married and off to Turks and Caicos for a week!

A full blog about the wedding coming soon...