After 20 years together, we have a pretty good routine when we travel & that's one of the things I love best - our routine & our schedule doing everything together because we definitely don't have that at home with work/life/kids/school! I love going to bed & waking up at the same time. We love being active together & exercising together. We did go to the gym together a few times, otherwise we went for a run, or I would take a class from our bungalow overlooking the water:
Most mornings we had the gym to ourselves!
We always go for a late brunch, after we work out:
I mean a buffet breakfast where I can get anything I want with this view - never disappoints!
Then we spent the rest of the day at the beach or the pool. On this trip, mostly the beach because it was so calm & relaxing. And not too terribly hot!
I mean how could we not spend the day here - look at this view!
It was calm, so clear & you could walk out forever & touch. We enjoyed lots of great drinks:
We talked a lot - caught up on life, booked a few more trips & read a lot:
Don't worry - we sprinkled in a few excursions also! We have been on jet skis before, but usually you just rent them & go play on your own. They had a guided tour that took you around the entire island & it was the best way to see it:
We went with 2 other couples, and they shared a jet ski, but we got our own - we had too much fun taking it out & pushing the limits:
I wish I could have taken more pictures, but I was afraid I would lose my phone in the ocean.
Another day, we left early on a dive boat for Bryan to get 2 dives in before lunch. I was nervous because it was cloudy & sprinkling but they said with the current, visibility was super clear beneath the water, so we went anyway. Our first stop wasn't far from the resort:
He dove with one other couple while I snorkeled:
I free snorkeled for at least 45 minutes out in the middle of the ocean, with no life jacket so I was pretty tired after a while, but it was amazing! It was some of the best snorkeling I have ever done. The coral was so beautiful! So bright & colorful, especially this bright blue. They said it was protected really well here from the ocean, the current & waves on this side of the mountain. I know this picture doesn't do it justice, but I took a picture from the lagoons on the property so you can try to see what some of the coral looked like:
Zoom in & you can see the colors from the coral closer to land! I believe Bryan saw an eel, an octopus, lots of fish, but I saw a barracuda & we both saw our first manta ray & it was amazing! It was at least 12 feet long. Bryan was pretty far down with it, while I swam above it. Probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen in the ocean before! It basically looked like a big sting ray, but so much bigger!
Our next dive stop was on the other side of the ocean by the reef - it started raining heavier & it was super choppy with big waves, so I didn't jump in this time. This location was known for their black tip sharks, which are smaller & not dangerous so I saw them, a whole group of them from the water but you can't really see them from my pictures. But before the crew dove in, we were surprised with a pod of dolphins:
I know these pictures don't do them justice, but we saw at least 10 of them & they swam & showed off with us for a while! I got some awesome video I shared with the girls:
The crew we were with said you never see them like this. Guess it was our luck on a rainy day! Since I didn't snorkel at this spot, I just sat on the boat & enjoyed the view until the divers re-surfaced:
I really have no desire to dive but I am quite content snorkeling or just sailing around the ocean & taking in the view:
This day was mid trip & just happened to be the one day it never really cleared up. We went to the beach for a while & every time it would start to rain, I would just hunker down under my umbrella:
I got chilly so we ended up going to the spa & relaxing in the jacuzzi for a while:
then we headed in early, but we stopped by the putting green on our way. They did not have a golf course, otherwise Bryan would have brought his clubs. They just had this putting green by one of the lagoons for fun:
We took advantage of all of the free water activities, including kayaking:
and every day they had free classes around the resort. I really wanted to make a flower crown, but that was the day we were diving. Instead, Bryan & I went to ukelele lessons & quickly learned we were not very good!
Can you see one of the lagoons behind us?! We never swam in them, but we did kayak through one of them:
The pool was a big infinity pool overlooking the beach & again, the view was unbelievable:
The day before we left, we spent the morning at the spa & enjoyed a couple's massage overlooking the ocean:
The fitness center & spa were on the other side of the property, which was on the other side of the lagoons overlooking the ocean, opposite the mountain. It was big, loud crashing waves & it was soothing hearing the waves while we were relaxing.
Last note before I wrap up our daytime fun, I thought we would be able to jump off our balcony on our bungalow & swim/snorkel all around, however, it was much shallower than I expected. We had a ladder & when we climbed down, the water only went to our waist:
It was still pretty to get in & walk around or look at, but we didn't get the fun videos I imagined sending the girls of us jumping in. Side note for next time or anyone else who wants to plan a trip - bring a float! Several couples had them because the water was so calm you could just float around. Unfortunately, we literally never left the resort because there really wasn't anywhere to go. And they didn't really have a store to buy anything near us. Also, you forget it is a volcanic island so there are rocks & coral everywhere. I would suggest bringing water shoes of some kind!
We would usually end our days back at the bungalow but instead of getting back in the water, we would call the girls or read until it was time to get ready for dinner:
Truly not a bad spot to start or end our day!
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