This afternoon rounded out our second day of diving here in beautiful Anguilla. I started out pretty afraid, as I have never been diving off a boat, let alone in the open waters. I think that the ride over to the first dive I was more nervous and scared than I was at any point during the whole wedding thing. Although the thought crossed my mind, I decided against staying on the boat and enjoying some brew. I got suited up, and back rolled off of the back of the boat where my lovely husband was waiting for me. Once I was in the water, all of my fears dissipated and I was ready for FUN!

Our first dive was amazing in many respects: it was my first to the clear blue Caribbean waters; there were no other divers to cramp our style; and we went exploring a wreck at almost 75 feet. For a girl that was too scared to join her family on the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls about 17 years ago, I would say this was quite a feat!

To this point, we’ve done four dives: a few on reefs, and the first to the wreck of a 150-foot ocean liner. We’ve seen lots of cool marine life, including some huge stingrays and turtles. I would have to say that I’ve developed quite a relationship with the local barracudas. For some reason those lovely silver fish with too many teeth like to invade my personal space and get “too close for comfort” by my standards. For those fearful instances I have developed quite a useful technique: I create a human shield by pinching Pat on the leg and throwing him between Billy the Barracuda and I. I mean come on, he vowed to take care of me in sickness and health, barracudas or sharks!

We are taking tomorrow off from diving and taking in some of the Aguillan nightlife. We are back in it on Monday, for our final dives. Thanks to everyone who contributed to our digital camera fund, as we also acquired an underwater housing for it and we have some pretty cool pics. They are posted here.

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After an amazing wedding, we cleared out of the Murray Hill Inn with the rest of the troupe around 11AM and made our way back to our apartment. A quick session of packing, last minute bill paying and closing down the house, and we were off to the St. Regis in Manhattan for an evening with the “finer folks.”

The alarm rang all too early at 3:45am for our trip to JFK, and a flight to Puerto Rico. This installment of the PR left us with enough time to sample lunch at Subway, and spend a joyous hour with the world’s slowest TSA gang. A short turboprop flight later, and we arrived in Anguilla, known by the native tourist organization as “Tranquility Wrapped in Blue.”

The airport here brings new meaning to the phrase “one horse town,” and it was the first international flight I’ve ever had where it was less than 100 feet from my seat to customs. The island has about 12,000 inhabitants, all of whom seem to know each other. A quick cab ride and we arrived at our new home, the CuisinArt Resort. The resort hypes up its on-location greenhouse, beach and gardens, and for once everything in the colorful brochure was accurate. We were greeted with a huge spread of cheeses, treats and champagne, and our room overlooks the blue waters and in the distance, the island of St. Marten.

Thus far, we’ve managed to eat, drink, and sleep, with not much else on the agenda. This afternoon’s mission is to find a local dive operator, and perhaps see if I can dust off my sailing skills and challenge the local waters in a Sunfish. We’ll try and post some updates, if we can fit it in between our busy schedule of umbrella drinks and naps on the beach!

Categories: Travel, Mobile Updates, Wedding
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