Honeymoon Part 2: Wasting Away in Margaritaville

Jeff and I had a lot of trouble figuring out where to honeymoon.  He and I are not normally "resort" people.  We generally prefer to be out hiking, exploring, boarding and biking rather than lounging in a spa.  When we first started kicking around ideas for our honeymoon, Jeff was thinking somewhere like New Zealand, or camping in Zion in Utah (we've been hiking there once before and absolutely loved the place: I highly recommend it).  He definitely wanted adventure.  However, I--who was under a lot of wedding-planning-stress--could think of nothing better than a week on a beach for once in my life.  Additionally, we both agreed that if we were travelling out of the country we wanted to really experience a new culture rather than just stay in a hotel somewhere for weeks at a time.  So we decided to compromise, and go somewhere we could do everything or nothing, depending on our moods.  After reading this post from my favorite wedding blog, I was absolutely sold on Panama.  Jeff talked me into asking for two weeks off from work, my boss was generous enough to agree, and we happily split up our honeymoon into three parts: all-inclusive-resort laziness, mountain terrain adventure, and city sightseeing.  This post is about that first part.

The first leg of our trip was five days at Breezes Resort in Panama.  After the roller coaster of wedding planning, the big day, and our incredibly long day of travel, an all-inclusive resort was EXACTLY what the doctor ordered.  The night we arrived, we went for a short walk on the beach, pina coladas in hand, had a casual dinner at the buffet, and turned in early, exhausted.  We woke up late the next morning, fresh and rested, ready to make the most use of the resort's jet skis, canoes, and bicycles.  Only...that never happened.  Jeff and I fell into a routine of relaxing, drinking, and swimming that we never bothered to break with strenuous activities like snorkeling.  Instead, this is what our days looked like, every day that we were there:

We'd wake up around 10, throw on some beach clothes, and have breakfast at the resort's buffet.  This was always fruit, coffee, and some sort of bread (toast, pastry, etc.).

(btw this ↑ is why I did not get a strapless wedding dress.  Freakishly.Long.Torso.)

 

After breakfast we'd go for a walk on the beach:

We would work out in the hotel gym (we had to work off all those pina coladas, you know!).  Then we'd go back to the room, shower, hang out for awhile, and head to lunch (usually meats and cheeses, a bit of bread, salad, and more fruit):

Our afternoons were spent between the beachside cabanas:

And the swim-up bar, where we drank copious amounts of pina coladas and banana daiquiries:

(Can you see our massive amounts of sunscreen?  Our ghostly selves got sunburned the first day and learned our lesson!)

We'd lounge in the pool for awhile:

Then go back to the room, take a nap, and get cleaned up for dinner.  Jeff liked to wait in the bar downstairs while I got ready, and I'd come up behind him and tap him on the shoulder when I got there.  He told me it reminded him of the "first look" at our wedding each time....then again, maybe he just wanted to enjoy a cocktail instead of hang around and watch me blow-dry my hair.

One night we ate in the Italian restaurant, which was incredibly fancy...so much so that I was too embarassed to take pictures there.  But the food was truly delicious!  Another night was a "typical Panamanian" buffet (Plantains, salad, arroz con pollo, some noodles I don't remember the name of):

The last night we ate in the open-air grill restaurant.  As soon as we took our first bite of grilled fresh fish it began pouring, but there was zero wind and the grass-thatched roof kept us dry while we ate.  We watched it rain buckets into the pool next to our feet.  As soon as we took our last bite of strawberry cheesecake, the rain let up as suddenly as it had begun.

Each night after dinner we headed up to the piano bar for a nightcap.  Sometimes we'd have a cocktail or a glass of wine, but we ALWAYS finished with a Spanish Coffee made by our favorite bartender, Archimedes.  This stuff was amazing: layered espresso, Baileys, Kahlua, and foamed milk, served hot in a champagne glass and topped with cinnamon:

What I wouldn't give for one of those right now!

We listened to the pianist play everything from Chopin to Journey on the grand piano before turning in for the night:

I don't know if I'm a true resort convert, but our days there right after the wedding were just what we needed, and by the end of the week we were so relaxed and ready for the next leg of our journey!