Sweet Escape

Just before the start of my third trimester, J and I escaped to the beach for our "babymoon." Since we had only been to the Caribbean one time before for our honeymoon in Jamaica, we thought we'd try it again. The flights aren't too long, we knew what to expect as far as my comfort level was concerned, etc.  So, off to Antigua and Barbuda we went!

After a relatively uneventful plane ride with one connection, we arrived on the island of Antigua and made our way to the resort, Sandals Grande Antigua. We were greeted with beverages (champagne for J and water for the mama-to-be) and taken to our room.   We didn't wait long before heading to the beach to see the white sands and blue waters.

Our view of the Dickenson Bay beach

This resort felt twice as big as the Sandals where we stayed at our honeymoon. Lush gardens, more restaurants, bigger pools, etc. 

Open air restaurants and beach side bar

Beautiful courtyards

Local critters- they were EVERYWHERE!

J on the porch of our little cottage

Since we only had about five days to enjoy the island, we booked a "Best of Antigua" tour. Even though the resorts are beautiful, we are the kind of travelers that want to really get a feel for the island and spend some time off resort too. The tour was great for this. Antigua is a very tiny island- only about 10-12 miles across. It ended up being just the two of us with our tour guide. He drove us around the perimeter of the island starting at the resort up north, and we headed down south stopping along the way to check out a lot of beaches, pineapple farms, and cricket stadiums.

The ride down there was BUMPY and I started to get a little nervous for the wee bean bouncing around in my belly. Since the island is only about 10 miles by 12 miles wide, it didn't take us long to get to the historic Nelson's Dockyard near the English Harbour area. The dockyard was used by the Royal Navy during the 18th/19th centuries, and is home to some quaint old buildings- officer's quarters, tiny cottages, etc. 

Check out my hair- it was HUMID!

Ruins from a lookout fortress

We took a ride up the hill to Shirley Heights for some AMAZING views. It was national sailing week the week we were there, and we saw tons of boaters out on the water. This is a little inlet area not far from where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. 

Beautiful beach and island topography

Look closely under the yellow blooms on the left for the little hummingbird

J found some funky looking cactus-type plant. It was kinda gross looking.

Other than our tour of the island, we spent most of our time here:

I couldn't get just one photo of the pool because it was HUGE. Since the beach got HOT by lunchtime and was a little too uncomfortable for me, we were better suited at the main pool. Every day we camped out on some lounge chairs in the shade, and enjoyed some fruity drinks - virgin for me of course but still delicious! 

On our last full day, we took a 10 minute ride into the capital, St. John's. If you've ever gone on a cruise to Antigua, this is where you would've stopped. We walked around town for a bit and checked out the town. St. John's Cathedral was gorgeous, but is in the process of a $12 million restoration project that will take YEARS. We walked around the grounds, but no visitors could get inside. 

St. John's Cathedral

Colorful buildings on narrow little streets

Other than laying by the pool and sightseeing a bit, we just relaxed in our cottage, enjoyed some island sun and sand, watched some cricket on tv, ate some yummy meals and I got to try out all of my summer maternity clothes for the first time.

Getting ready for the beach party at sunset

Belly doesn't look too big from this angle

Here is the belly! Almost 27 weeks here

Don't mind the sunburn and chub that is taking up residence on my upper arms. I think it's boob spillage from these pregnancy hormones- oy...

We got up early on the last morning and spent some time on the beach while it was still cool. I took one last swim in the blue waters and packed up to head home. It was a quick trip, and more low key in general when compared to the vibe in Jamaica on our honeymoon, but but just what we needed. I am thankful for my husband taking us on a getaway and to have added one more to the list of "countries visited" this year before baby makes his/her entrance into the world. Goodbye, Antigua! Babymoon complete.