Beautiful beaches, rum cocktails and swimming with the sting rays.

So far Antigua definitely hasn’t disappointed. After a quick nine hours flight and copious amounts of alcohol (2 wines, 5 Proseccos and 4 vodkas to be precise) we arrived at Pineapple Beach Club and we’re greeted by a cold towel and a rum punch (oh god not more alcohol!).
We were shown to our waterfront room and we’re so impressed with the huge super king size bed and the balcony overlooking the ocean. The moon was huge and it was perfect hearing the sea and the crickets singing away.
Our first night was rather tame as we were both exhausted (and drunk!) so it was dinner, cocktail (yuck!) and bed.
I knew I’d made a rookie error of going to bed too early when I was awake at 4:30am. We eventually both got up about 6:30am and decided to jog to Devils Bridge.
It was only 2.4km away and after jogging along a very dodgy dirt road, we then got back on track and found the sign to Devils Bridge. I was a little confused as the pictures I’d seen before showed this stone bridge that had been created by the ocean crashing into it. We couldn’t see it so we finally headed back to the hotel. I chatted to a member of staff later and she explained it’s actually tiny and lots of people zoom the pictures so it’s no wonder we missed it.

Sunday night was the prime night to head to Shirley Height. We were told it wasn’t to be missed. We arrived to a great steel band playing and were met by an amazing (yet hazy) view. After taking some pictures we had a walk around to see what else was around.

We decided not to eat there so we most hung around and listened to the band. We arrived about 4:45pm and wasn’t heading back till 8:00pm. To be honest, we got a little bored. After seeing the view, having a little dance and a beer, we were ready to head back.
One of the highlights of the evening was seeing Ainsley Harriett. An old colleague saw him in Barbados and it turns out he’s visiting eight Caribbean islands in four weeks.
Today was the day I was super excited for. We’d booked a trip to swim with the string rays. I’m always very conscious when I travel about the travel industry exploiting animals so I did plenty of research on Sting Ray City and discovered the sting rays are completely wild. They hear the boat engines and head over to be feed.
Of course they are wild animals so you have to be cautious. Simply things like when in the water, shuffle your feet along the sea bed instead of taking steps and if you don’t want them close to you, push them away.
The experience was even more incredible than I could’ve imagined. We were so lucky and we’re the first boat to arrive. It was just Peter and I and one other couple. We had about 50 sting rays excitedly swimming around us.
I must admit I did squeal like a little girl multiple times. They were huge! The females can grow up to 6ft wide (taller than Peter) and the males were much smaller (yet they have two penises).

Peter was overwhelmed with the experience too. He had the biggest grin on his face and he was even still smiling when one of the females could a little too excited and gave him a hickie on his leg (ok bloody thigh!).

After the incredible trip this morning we heads back to the resort to chill and play around on the beach. Peter is amazing and humours my requirements to mess around with acrobatic antics.

Antigua is incredible. I’m so blessed that I’ve got to experience my 50th country with the man I love. Peter has loved every moment so far. It’s been utter paradise. Here’s to plenty more rum punches and cocktails this holiday.

Bring on Country no. 50 for Peters 40th Birthday

So the cat is finally out of the bag, Peter knows where we’re going for his surprise birthday trip. 

I can’t believe I booked this trip nearly six months ago. Peter and I had only been together a few months but I guess I knew early on that Peter is pretty special. 

Over the last six months I’ve tried to keep it a secret where we’re going. I thought I would throw Peter off the scent with a few little bits of information. 

Because of all these little bits of info, Peter came to the conclusion that we must be going to The Canary Islands. He then worked out which islands I’ve visited and came up with either Gran Canaria or Fuerteventura for our trip. I simply said no comment. 

Then a while later he said maybe it was the smaller islands, I kind of went along with this as it was true, we’re visiting a small island. 

The most stressful part of all the planning was actually getting checked in and through security at the airport without Peter finding out. 

Even when I parked up, I had to keep Peter away just in case they asked for our flight details. 

At check in, I had to embarrass Peter a little by putting an eye mask on him (he had a choice of a bunny or leopard print - which one do you think he chose?) and I guided him over to check in. I spoke to them before bringing Peter over so they knew to keep quiet. They must see this thing all the time but they were really sweet. 

I confiscated Peters boarding pass and we made it through security ok. After a little shopping it was time to head to the airport lounge. 

I’ve got a Priority Pass account so we headed to the lovely No.1 Lounge. I love heading to a lounge before a long flight (there’s a clue..) and despite it being 8:00am, it’s always wine o’clock or Gueinessn o’clock at the airport. 

It was now time to tell Peter where we’re heading to. I said to him that my sister Tammey wanted me to video it and for him to ‘act surprised’ although he kind of knew where we’re going (or so he thought!) so I set my phone up to record and asked Peter to guess where we’re going to, of course he guessed *insert place* first but after a few guesses I gave him his boarding pass to read where we’re going to... St. John’s, Antigua. 

Peter was so shocked! I think he thought I was messing around. I know this is a big trip but Peter deserves this so much. 

Peter is the most incredible man I’ve ever met. He is kind, thoughtful, annoyingly funny (only at times, sometimes just annoying lol) and he is also an incredible father and the best boyfriend. He truly deserves this trip so much. 

I feel guilty that we’re not able to bring the kiddies with us but they’ll be plenty of time in the future for more family holidays together. 

For now this trip is all about Peter to celebrate his big 40. We actually return home on his birthday so that’s perfect as we can have a wonderful family meal together to celebrate. 

So we’re on our third drink of the morning and it’s still early. I can’t wait to share some of the beautiful sights of Antigua with you all. But for now see you later cold England. 

Thought on Tenerife

I've always had fun when I've visited the Canary islands. I've visited Lanzarote twice, both times have been out of season, so I've enjoyed some winter sun. I booked this four night trip with my sister as her lovely hubby paid for the trip for her birthday.

The lead up to the trip was a tad stressful to say the least. Poor Tammey being ill and me stressed about my workload meant I really wasn't looking forward to going away. Usually I love the excitement and planning of a trip but even when I booked it, I was a little preoccupied and didn't do my full due diligence. This was certainly evident from some of the 'issues'.

Trying to make the most of the trip, I booked the earliest flight out. This meant being up at 2:30am and we arrived at the airport well in time to hit Weatherspoons and have a glass of wine at 4:00am. That's certainly the earlist time I've drunk wine before (I guess with the exception of partying into the early hours which hasn't happened that often).

We flew with Ryanair. I always say you get what you pay for but I think Ryanair are getting worse. Since changing their baggage policy, you now have to pay for even a small holdall bag. Luckily we were caught between the changes so we were able to bring a small handbag onboard and our small holdall bag went in the hold free of charge. I didn't get to sit next to Tammey but we did both get window seats which helped us have a little nap on route.

We flew into Tenerife South however we were staying in Tenerife North (first rookie error identified). Luckily I'd pre-booked shared transfers and the bus full of people were all heading to the North (it shows it wasn't just me with my error).

The actual drive time to Puerto de la Cruz (some 90km from the airport) was only an hour however the multiple drop offs to hotels took an additional 45 minutes. I was tracking our location on Google maps and we were so near to our hotel at one point yet it took another 20 minutes to be dropped off.

We stayed at Gran Turquesa Playa hotel on an all inclusive basis. I had read the reviews a few times and they seemed to be fairly mixed. It was only a three star hotel so I never expected too much however I was still a bit disappointed with a few things.

The actual hotel was lovely and clean. A nice big swimming pool, good size roomed and although the food wasn't the best, we did always find something to eat. What let the hotel down were the incredibly rude guests, mainly the Spanish.

They seemed to not follow basic social etiquette. For example, waiting for a table to be cleaned then just blurt something in Spanish then sat down. Or even pushing in front on the lifts when they could see Tammey uses a walking aid. Anyway enough of the negatives.

I love getting up on the first morning to go for a jog and explore the local area. This is the perfect way of getting my bearings and seeing the area when it’s nice and quiet.


The area of Puerto de la Cruz is a more traditional resort. It didn’t have the usual rows and rows of tacky shops selling yelping puppies and glowing things you throw up in the air. There were some traditional Spanish high street shops, restaurants and not an English/Irish pub in sight.

The beach was beautiful. Raw volcanic sand which glistened in the sun and was so soft underfoot. The sea was pretty rough but I actually enjoyed jumping the waves.

After quite a few days simply sunning ourselves by the pool (and of course day time drinking on the all inclusive package), we decided to hire a car on our last day. It was an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, explore the island and not be stuck on a transfer bus for hours.

The roads were good conditions and with google maps it was easy to navigate our way up the mountain to the Teide National Park. Now the navigation was the only simple thing. Whilst the roads had no pot holes, it didn’t make driving on narrow roads with a very steep incline easy. At one point there was a stop sign however I had such fear of rolling all the way back down that I may have ignored the sign and hoped for the best (we made it!).

The views driving up the mountain were incredible. The scenery along the way went from lush smelling pine trees to exposed rock face and finally a sandy land. It was hard to remember to concentrate on driving and not keep pointing out the window.

After a pit stop at the top and a little walk to stretch our legs, it was time to drive down the other side. It was much easier driving down than up! We decided to stop in Playa de las Americas for the afternoon.

We’d heard this side of the island is where the Brits tend to stay and from the large beer bellies and ample swearing we were welcomed with, it was indeed chav city de la Americas.

We stopped for some lunch at a horrible place where I found a hair in my food. After this we decided to check out the beach. It was again pretty choppy here but they’d created a cove so you could swim safely. After catching some last minute rays it was time to head to the airport.

I decided to quickly get changed in the car so whilst changing I didn’t realise there was a man sitting over the other side who got a very clear view of my tan lines - opps.

The flight home with Ryanair was as horrible as ever. Late flight and people waiting on the tarmac to board the plane when they were still offloading the last passengers. This obviously left no time to clean the plane which was evident when I pulled the tray table down and it was full of food - yuck.

Overall Tenerife is a nice island but I have no desire to return. Your choice is chavvy Brits or rude Spanish.