We wake at 6:30 am on the third day of our honeymoon for a lingering breakfast of coffee and pastries on the beach.  The SCUBA intro class is at 10:00 this morning, so we mosey over to the dive shop to check out our snorkel gear.  Since it is, ahem, the CRACK of dawn and we have a few hours to wait, we strap on flippers and mask and dip our toes into the warm morning water of Caneel Bay.   We enjoy a lazy morning snorkel (and, may I interject, what a ridiculous word that is: snorkel).  A large lumbering turtle snaps his sharp beak on a sprig of seaweed . . . a small sting ray…

I added the pictures.  They’re all mixed up.  I started to order and caption them, and decided it was taking up too much of my life, so fuggedaboudid. Day 2 We are both up and down all night, really struggling with sleep.  It’s the second sleepless night in a row, but nevertheless we are both up and out of bed at 6:15am to go and fetch a complimentary continental breakfast at the beach bar.  We sit on cushy chairs facing the ocean and snarf down bagels, cream cheese, and sweet strong coffee while checking out the jaunty red boat and stately sailboat that are moored out there in the bay.  After…

Where was I?  Oh yes, that’s right.  With my wind-whipped hair a mass of tangles, I step from the ferry to a sea of white-linen-wearing young men who are reaching steadying hands, offering me cool towels from trays of flowers, hefting mine and my husband’s bags and directing us to our orientation director.  She’s a young girl with a crisp uniform and neon green headband, and she shepherds a handful of us guests through the open air resort (not a single public space is enclosed except the small internet cafe).  She points out various restaurants, paths to the 7 beaches, the tennis areas and croquet lawn (woefully crispy on this particular day,…

There was sun, sand, surf, and copious amounts of seafood. Snorkeling, so much snorkeling that my teeth hurt from the snorkel and the tops of my feet were rubbed raw from the flippers. Pina coladas, oh yes, delivered right to our hammock on the beach. Excellent meals, excellent wine, desserts galore. Moonlit walks, stunning views, boat rides, 4WD track excursions, and lots of sunblock (therefore no burns. Well maybe one teeny one on my lower legs. But that’s it). In fact, the only problem with our honeymoon was that it began and ended in the St. Thomas airport. Aka hell on earth. Well maybe not hell. But definitely not a…