A week of pure bliss has come to an end.

I can’t believe we’re back already. Our week of winter sun truly didn’t disappoint.
Antigua was my 50th and best country. I can honestly say I’ve not had a holiday like it before. Huge thanks to Antigua and Peter for making it so special.
The cocktails were free flowing from about 11:00am (unless you class the breakfast mimosa as a cocktail?). We did start taking pictures each ‘cheers’ but we soon stopped as we realised if anyone looks at our photos we may look alcohol dependent.

We spent a lot of time on beautiful Long Bay beach. There are 365 beaches in Antigua - one for every day of the year. We loved the fact the beaches are open to the public so often we’d see the locals going for a swim and the kiddies running and giggling along the beach.
Pineapple Beach Club has as much or as little as you’d like to do. I’ll do a separate post purely on the resort but we definitely took advantage of all they had to offer (and not just the cocktails).
Peter was made up with the gym and we went pretty much every day (except for the one afternoon I napped and Peter went). The tennis courts were well maintained and I took part in a few classes.
My favourite class was the yoga on the beach at 7:30am. It was so relaxing and even when it rained (the five minutes of rain we had all week) it actually felt quite cleansing.
There were lots of water sports available too and Peter even did stand up paddle boarding (SUP) with me. He was adamant he didn’t want to do it but he wasn’t allowed to swim next to me so being the gent he is, he came out with me.

We were also lucky to be taken out on a hobi cat by the lovely Denis and he was telling us about life in Antigua. It sounded just as idyllic as we thought it would be. It seems like they work hard but the normal 40 hour per week. I think sometimes they have other jobs to pick up extra cash. But their downtime is spent fishing for dinner and swimming in the sea.

Although we were doing lots of things, we still had amble time simply relaxing. This resort knows how to relax with so many different ‘relaxation stations’ dotted around. One of my favourite moments was after we finished at the gym one evening, we then laid in a hammock for about an hour simply chatting and chilling.

I have been lucky to visit the Caribbean before but everything was so much more special with Peter. He was chatting to absolutely everyone and it was wonderful seeing how much he makes people smile (although some of his jokes were not understood by the locals).
The people also made this holiday perfect. Every single member of staff was so friendly and accommodating but also all the guests were friendly and even the locals when we were out jogging people would all say hello.
After spending so much time with Peter (it’s the longest we’ve been together the two of us), I’m so sad to be apart again. I know you always get along better on holiday but it honestly was so perfect between us. I truly loved every moment. Even if he didn’t listen to me about staying up late the first night to ensure we don’t wake up early and he slept through but I woke up 4:30am.
We’re so lucky to be heading back to the Caribbean in February. We’re super excited to explore new places together and spend more time together.
This trip has reminded me of a lovely saying I discovered in Costa Rica - Pura Vita. It means ‘simple life’ and that’s exactly what I want from the future.

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.