Honeymoon - St.Lucia

August 15-21, 2010 : For our honeymoon we went to St.Lucia and stayed at the Sandals Regency La Tac Golf Resort and Spa.  We left Sunday morning (Aug.15) and were supposed to arrive in St.Lucia around 9:30pm that night.  This did not happen.  Our flight from Jacksonville to Miami went as planned, but our flight in Miami to San Juan (Puerto Rico) got delayed because we were waiting for flight attendants from an international flight to get through customs.  Our layover in San Juan was only 45 minutes, so you can see where this is going.  We arrived in San Juan and even before the flight to St.Lucia was supposed to leave they told us to head to customer service.  Our flight to St.Lucia had left early and our plane from Miami had a good portion of the plane to St.Lucia!  Seriously, if they hadn't left earlier or waited 5 minutes we could have gotten on that plane.  All hopes of Sandals turned into a stay in Puerto Rico since the next flight out wasn't until the same time the next day!

We decided to use our travel insurance and stay in a nice hotel in Puerto Rico on the beach.  I ended up being sick until like Tuesday, so our time in Puerto Rico was not very enjoyable.  We payed a pretty penny for our hotel, but for some reason it creeped me out really bad (Eric thought it was nice).  Everything in the room was white and the floors were tile, so you could hear every little sound.  A genius must have designed the shower because there was only half a door and it didn't close, so the water flooded out onto the floor.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep the whole night.  The only saving grace Puerto Rico offered us was a nice local restaurant (lots of good food!) for dinner and a beautiful sunrise in the morning.

Eric at Mi Casita with his portion of food

San Juan, Puerto Rico- Sunrise

We ended up going back to the airport early in the morning and staying at the hotel there until our flight.  I was very excited to arrive in St.Lucia Monday night.  To our surprise when we arrived at the resort we found out they had upgraded our room to a honeymoon suite, complete with our own little pool.

Tuesday, we explored the resort and ate food.  lol.  Sandals tip - We tried making a reservation to eat at one of the "reservation only" restaurants, but they were booked for the whole week.  I would suggest trying to make a reservation before you leave for your vacation if they will allow you.  If not, I would make them immediately upon arriving.  If they tell you it is booked ask if they can call you if there is a cancellation.  Call and bug the heck out of them until they let you in.  We didn't get to eat at those restaurants, but we have learned from our experience.

Wednesday we went on the Land and Sea tour (favorite day in St. Lucia!).  It was really nice because we got to get out and actually see St. Lucia (such a beautiful island!).  We rode in a van all over the island that day.  Here's some pictures from our adventure.

First, we traveled to a lookout over Marigot Bay.  There we got to sample the local spiced rum and banana ketchup.

 We stopped in a fishing village to shop and enjoy the sights.  Then, we got a great view of the Pitons.

 Next was the botanical gardens where we got to see Diamond Waterfall.

 Drive-In Volcano at Sulpher Springs (it smelled like rotten eggs!)

After seeing the volcano, we headed to the sulpher springs.  We put on some of the mud (which is supposed to be really good for your body) and hopped in the VERY hot water to wash off.  We were the only ones in our group to go all the way in.  There was no rain, so the sun was having it's toll on the water.  I don't think I've ever been in water that hot.  My heart was beating so hard when I got out and I felt faint.  Our guide thought we were pretty cool.  lol.  This is also where Jake and Vienna went on there date on the Bachelor. haha.

     

After the springs we had lunch at a hotel (I think) that had another great view of the Pitons.

We ended the day with a cruise on a catamaran around the island with a quick stop to swim and snorkel.  Eric and I chilled on the top deck.

Here's some more pictures from our stay:

Pool in our room

Eric's friend at dinner.  These cats were all over the resort and they definitely knew the right places to hang out!

 Thursday morning we had breakfast in bed.  This is what our tray looked like when they delivered it to us.

Thursday we went zip-lining in the rainforest.  If I had a bucket list, zipling would definitely be on it and now I can check it off.  We strapped in to our harness, put on our helmet and gloves, and headed up some stairs for our first gliding adventure.  I felt nervous waiting my turn because I didn't know what to expect.  I was mostly concerned I wouldn't be able to stop myself at the end.  I ended up being really good at it.  All you have to do is hold on with your weak arm and place your dominant hand behind you on the wire (to slow down you just push down on the wire).  I really enjoyed it!  On some of the lines we were high in the trees and got to go over streams of water.  Here are some pictures from our first zip-line experience.

Our final night, Eric bought us a package to have a candle light dinner on the beach.  We had a five course meal served to us, while we talked and enjoyed the view.  A perfect end to our week (though it was way to short!).  

Now we are back to real life.  Eric has started his last semester as an undergrad at UF and I'm back to work.  I am learning that I have married the most patient, sweetest man ever.  Thank you Eric for being a wonderful husband!  I'm so glad I married you!  :)