Monday, August 15, 2011

Sea of Love - The Beaches

Midway through our B.V.I. honeymoon, we still hadn't made it to one of the top attractions on Virgin Gorda - The Baths. So we hired a taxi and bumped our way along the island's main road to the edge of the national park where a trail strewn with giant boulders hinted at what was to come.

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With a little effort, we reached our reward!

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The Baths! After hearing Mr. PaC's stories of this beautiful place, I fretted (needlessly) the real thing wouldn't live up to expectations.

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Surreal sea and sky. Daytrippers at anchor.

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It was so ungodly hot that our only escape was exploring "the caves" connecting the two beaches. Which is merely a denser concentration of granite boulders haphazardly stacked in such a way that it formed a maze-like passage over, under and between said boulders.

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Off we go! This first passageway required a crouch-waddle movement during which I may have shot Mr. PaC an incredulous look as I expected the caves to progressively become more difficult. Thankfully, this was it for tight squeezes.

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One of the serenely beautiful tidal pools with powdery soft sand. This would be a good spot to hide pirate treasure!

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Emerging out of the caves for a moment between the beaches, this was our view. See that the tidal pool in the foreground? It's home to a rather territorial little fish that enjoyed nipping our toes.

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Devil's Bay - the other side of the caves. We stood on the edge of the cave for a good minute surveying the view, stunned at how gorgeous a natural place could be. Nothing we've ever seen exceeds the B.V.I. in natural beauty.

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The salinity of the water made it ridiculously easy to float.

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Photographic proof I went into the water! I like to tell Mr. PaC I have a healthy respect for the ocean and all its creatures, especially sharks. (Thank goodness Shark Week had not aired before our honeymoon!)

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The following morning, we departed LDB via powerboat. Our destination? Mountain Trunk Bay, north of the resort on the west coast, for a private beach drop and picnic lunch.

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Approaching Mountain Trunk.

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Pinch me. Seriously. We're looking out onto The Dogs from here, specifically Great Dog and George Dog. Scrub Island, Great Camanoe and Tortola loom in the distance.

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More craggy rocks and beaches strewn with rock. In crevices, we found sea urchin, snail and crab. I had plenty of beach to explore and returned with a good shell haul.

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This spot was purported to have some great snorkeling so Mr. PaC brought his gear. But the water depth jumped from 2' to 15' almost immediately, so he couldn't help but wonder what size fish were in those depths if we had good sized fish and large sea turtles in our 3' deep protected bay. That and I wasn't going out there - as bait or lifeguard. No way. No how.

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So he built more rock sculptures.

Because you made it this far... here's your video reward, a panoramic view of Mountain Trunk Beach:


Our waterproof video camera rocks! It took all of the above shots and many HD movies. And not once did I ever worry about getting it wet, sandy or being rough with it. My (malfunctioning) dSLR stayed in the room safe for the entire trip.

Catch up on the PaC honeymoon: We arrive. We explore. We dine. We spa.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Sea of Love - Spas & Seclusion

Not many men have set foot in a spa. Willingly. Or would readily admit it. But now we can count my husband in the small number of guys who've set a manicured toe inside. In all fairness, I don't think he would have tagged along had it not been a couples massage.

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After discovering there was an infinity pool just for spa guests, we decided to show up early. Like 2 hours early! What? You would have done the same thing.

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Seriously dreamy. Not one but TWO pools overlooking the ocean. All to ourselves. Mr. PaC hovered at the pool's edge like a child waiting to jump in after eating while I snapped photos of the undisturbed pool.

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We soaked and swam 'til our fingers turned prune-y, then attempted the hot tub until the mosquitoes chased us (me) away.

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(One of my absolute favorite pics from our honeymoon.)

Hopping back into the pool to escape aforementioned mosquitoes, we spied rock and what could be a beach just below the cliff. I wonder if we can get down there?

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Yes we can! (via a steep, slippery man-made series of rock stairs)

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This secluded beach is Casey Bay on the northwestern edge of the resort. (It's the only place we didn't run into our celebrity!)

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Unable to resist his inner child, Mr. PaC scrambled over the rocks and began work on the first of many PaC stacked rock sculptures.

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For the curious and amused, I passed on the mani-pedi since mine were still in great shape. They would have gone to waste... so Mr. PaC had his very first manicure AND pedicure sans polish. I have NEVER seen his hands look better. Why I didn't ask him to do this for the wedding, I don't know!

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Post spa-treatment bliss.

We enjoyed Casey Bay's privacy and close proximity so much that we traversed its steep trail several more times. The resort beach was never crowded, but a gorgeous Caribbean beach to yourself is a real treat!

Catch up on the PaC honeymoon: We arrive. We explore. We dine.

Sea of Love - Dining in the Dark

As part of our trip package, Mr. PaC and I were treated to a sunset dinner on the beach. We had so many awesome things on the itinerary that I really never gave it a second thought. Until we walked out onto the beach and saw this...

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Our private table overlooked the half mile of beach, bay, reef and beyond at Little Dix Bay. We were in for three courses of bliss.

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*clink* *clink* with some Sauvignon Blanc

Food

Seafood appetizers & entrees: mahi mahi, lobster, shrimp & swordfish

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How to pass time between courses? Take photos of each other. (Oooo, you can see my new bling!)

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I can still hear the palm leaves rustling in the tropical breeze. Oh wait, that's the neighbor sweeping the sidewalk. (Honeymoon's over...)

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Catch up on the PaC honeymoon! We arrive. We explore.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Sea of Love - Getting Our Feet Wet

After settling in, we began exploring our little bit of paradise.

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Stunning powder soft beaches and insanely gorgeous water - check!

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Incredible vistas from the restaurants - check!

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A place to imbibe a Dark & Stormy or two - check!

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Comfy and stylish place to lounge - check! (Love those fabrics!)

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Secluded pool (for celebrity sightings) - check!

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The best seat in the house - check!

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A place to browse Weddingbee and Facebook - check!!!

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Somewhere to crash after too much sun and rum - check!

Catch up on the PaC honeymoon! We arrive.