Antigua

It has been two weeks since I have returned home from Antigua. Coming back home to the freezing Chicago weather has made me long for the soft Antiguan sand between my toes and walking along the beautiful, crystal-blue water everyday. Our vacation was made all the sweeter after a hard time traveling to the island. Because of a passport snafu, we were stuck in Puerto Rico for the night. We made the best of it, and spent the day at a fun little hotel, swimming in the ocean and eating traditional Puerto Rican food such as puerco asado and arroz con frijoles. Many delays later, we finally landed in Antigua. Despite it being midnight, the hotel left us a light dinner in our beautiful little cottage. Having stayed in another Rosewood Resort at Little Dix Bay, I was pleasantly surprised at how luxurious each room was. Each of our rooms had a lovely four poster bed, large windows and doors with no locks because you "don't need locks in paradise". Beautifully tiled, each of the bathrooms had two separate sinks and counters, perfect for each of us to lay out all our sunscreen. Of the beautiful bedrooms, living room and bathrooms, the outdoor showers and outdoor patio were my favorite parts of our rooms. On our first real day there, we slept in after the long travel day and had a relaxing breakfast on the patio. Greeted by some lizards and doves, I was finally able to take in my surroundings. Under a bright hot sun and clear blue sky, we headed down towards the beach for the first time. Once there, I was taken aback by the natural beauty I saw in every single direction. From the exotic flowers to the breathtaking blue water, all the colors were so vibrant and welcoming. I spent all of my time in the calm water either swimming, paddle boarding or snorkeling with my brother. Both were so fun that I stayed in the sun a little too long each day- against my mom's wishes. Any sunburns I got were worth spending every possible moment in the amazingly clear and warm water! Midway through the trip, we went on a complimentary snorkeling trip to Bird Island. After seeing lots of cool anemones, and rainbow color parrot fish (my favorite) we headed to the island itself for a quick hike. Once at the top of the mountainous island we could see: the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans, the three birds that reside on the island, and the shape of the island that resembled a bird- the origin of its name. On our final day, my brother and I tried our luck at some various water sports. In the early afternoon I took out the paddle board and he took out a kayak. After going out too far, we had to embarrassingly be towed back in by Lorenz, the same guy who did our bird island trip. Later that afternoon, we redeemed ourselves by standing up while waterskiing. Since it was both of our first times, I was pleasantly surprised at how good we both were. To top off the end of a busy day, there was a delicious buffet on the beach with live music and a fireworks show. Speaking of food, it was all around delightful with an array of fruits, sweets and savories such as eggs at breakfast. For lunch there was a tasteful buffet with various salads, seafood (caught by Calvin) and homemade pizzas from a wood burning oven. In addition to this plethora of food, the dessert was also amazing each day! Dinner did not let down either, with two different restaurants to choose from my family and I always had a wonderful night. Adjusting back to Chicago has been hard, but the memories from this amazing vacation will last a lifetime!