Aloha! As I was cleaning up my files today and found some good ones from our first couples-only post baby trip to Turks and Caicos, circa 2014. See here for my complete series on the trip, including an unforgetable dining experience at Amanyara, our underwater snorkeling date, and the chronicles of our stay at the unforgettable Tuscany Resort.
The trip was meant to be a birthday hurrah (my first one since becoming a mom!), and indeed I had flip-flopped back and forth so hard with regards to taking our 8 months that hubs eventually just gave up and ignored me everytime I made my last "exectuive decision." It was almost comical when we at last turned up at the ticket counter (with no baby in tow) and the flight attendant looked us square in the face and exclaimed, “I believe you’re missing a passenger!”
Ha... now THERE'S an understatement if I ever heard one.
All that aside, it was actually quite a momentous and happy trip -- one which I would highly recommend to *all new parents.* Not only did we get to reconnect in more ways that you can possibly imagine, but we also got to do things that simply weren’t feasible had munchkin been around, like paddle boarding!
Incidentally, today's post can also be filed along with my other "couples only" reflection series, right up there with cheetah petting in South Africa and horseback riding in New Zealand. I'll admit, this is a series that need more of my time and devotion (telling, no?).
The thing with paddle boarding, I’ve come to realize, is that it’s all about upper body strength, which I didn’t have a lot of at the time (still don't, but that's a whole separate story!). We were certainly lucky with the aquamarine water being so calm, and now as I look back at the pics, I can’t help but feel a new sense of hope, inspiration, and rejuvenation. Eight months post-partum, and I didn't look half bad!!! Granted, this was also at the height of my nursing phase, and you burn a loooooot of calories breastfeeding (see feature here on nursing and pumping).
So here is hope to returning to a bigger and badder version of my old-body, as I craddle my enormously expanding belly, which more or less prohibits me from doing anything at the moment, let alone paddle boarding.
Note to self: perhaps I’ll look into paddle boarding lessons when I head down to Naples during my maternity leave… it’s right up there with other fun things I’ve done on trips over the years, like abseiling in Costa Rica, swimming with turtles in Barbados, and ziplining in Mexico. Perhaps not quite as intense as shark diving in South Africa, but then again... few things can parallel that particuarl experience, wouldn't you say?
Related:
A date underwater -- Turks and Caicos
Fitness adventures in Costa Rica
A Bajan Birthday Swim with Turtles in Barbados