Green Island and the whole area of Non Such Bay remain as our favorite destinations on the island of Antigua for its natural atmosphere and the remoteness to (almost) all things commercial, as well as some of the smaller local villages inside of the island.

The differences and changes of one nights sky to another never cease to impress me. This moment was almost surreal in its marvelous beauty and quietness. You know that moment when you begin to question those incredibly naive and childish things like how we human beings are able to fight, stress our way through life or occupy us with anything destructive when there is such magnificent beauty around us that could heal our poor souls if we just opened up our eyes and got closer to the real things in life. No matter how cliché, I truly believe that a closeness to nature makes us more humble and somehow manages to soften us as human beings if we only are open to that kind of change.

And, of course, the proximity to the quiet nature could also drive you completely crazy when you're fed up with soul searching, finding your inner peace and all that crap. Living on a boat and sailing around the world gives you a lot of time to go through both those contradictory emotions and many nuances in between. One day you marvel at all that beauty and tranquility that gives you so much fulfillment and you ask yourself why you haven't always lived this close to the nature, next day you wanna pull your hair out because everything is so.very.fucking.peaceful and you swear to god that on next island you'll jump off at you'll locate the busiest bar in the neighborhood and get yourself as drunk as humanly possible to forget how much you miss your friends and something crazy happening around you. But that's just to get used to. We can't always have everything we want at the same time, can we. Until I find the magic formula I'll continue to enjoy the sunsets best I can - sometimes while drunk and pathetic, but most of the times happy with the greatest sense of thankfulness for all what we get to experience on this journey of a lifetime. The sail across the South Pacific will for sure be an even greater mental challenge for us both.

This is how a regular morning looks from Alex's perspective. A well made espresso, reading a book about boats, mechanics or travel destinations while the sun slowly rises behind the mountains.

I am on the laptop already in this moment, writing or editing away while we together plan the day or discuss how to to do this, how to solve that. Most of our time is dedicated to work and missions at the moment. You know all those things we need to have done before our Christmas/New Years holiday in St Barts, and other stuff that needs to get sorted out before we move on towards the South Pacific in next year. God, I know I've been repeating myself a lot lately but man are we anxious to get moving towards new horizons. Asia and the Pacific Ocean are parts of the world which we've dreamed of to conquer for a very long time now. Not as nervous for the ocean crossing part as we've now done ocean number one already, but we are much more excited for the arrival on the other side, than what we were when we were about to arrive to the Caribbean. The South Pacific seems to be much more remote, less commercialized, more secluded and ... interesting, in another way. Currently reading up on what islands and what societies in Polynesia, Melanesia and perhaps also Micronesia that we must put on our to-go-list. And then we got all the beauty of South East Asia after that... I suspect if we get to the other side safe and sound, we will probably be staying there for many years to discover those intriguing parts of the world.

Have any of you been sailing or traveling in the South Pacific and if so, which ones are your preferred areas/islands? 

So this is the photo that Alex likes to call the sailing giraffe.. Anyways, great that my hair is almost back to my normal original shade don't you think? Feels very good not having to dye my poor scalp any longer. Can you imagine what a damage you do to your hair, dyeing it every month for say, ten-fifteen years? 

Was just checking through the different stages of my decolorization process that I've been hustlin' with this past year. From the black I had lived with for a few years to an unidentifiable orange/yellow shade to some sort of blond and then I threw in a chocolate brown toner to finally after a few weeks be back with (almost) the shade that I was born with. Not quite at the end of this story yet but thinking that the sun and salt water will be able to deal with the rest and even it out a bit more. I know it is sad that we're almost at the end of this entertaining hair documentary but life goes on, doesn't it.

Which color was your favorite?

This time he got us some yellow lime fruit, one large avocado, lemon grass (making my own amazing lemon grass tea) and fresh basil with flower. Boat smells wonderful with all this beauty around.

Moon is shining bright tonight. Always a mission to try to capture it through the lens.

It is very seldom that we see our boat from this perspective nowadays, we price conscious sailors wish to keep our precious dimes for other things in life than expensive marinas and when there are as many good anchorages around here in the Caribbean as there are, we rather spend our time with the hook firmly dug into the ground. But sometimes, like this week when there has been absolutely zero wind for the past five, six days, we take the opportunity to get to the dock to top up our batteries. For you non sailors reading, it is the sunshine/solar panel and wind/wind-generator that keeps our refrigerator, lamps, laptop batteries, water heaters, water pressure and other electric things going and without either sun or wind or sometimes both, it becomes quite hard to live a "normal" life. Since we almost never use our engine to charge our batteries and we hate the sound of the generator, we try to limit our electricity use as much as possible to not have to dock the boat too often. In the Mediterranean while we still had regular incomes, we used to spend maybe 80% of our cruising nights in marinas, nowadays I would say that we spend not more than one night per month, sometimes only once per two months. Lots to learn from this liveaboard life, to save money wherever we can is definitely one of the most important things to get used to. 

We have just found a new (well for us at least) mega market which stocks everything one could be in need of. Good, fresh meat is not an easy thing to get a hold on here on these smaller islands usually as most of it is frozen but this Epicurean market N of St Johns had it all. Besides of different types of onions and cheeses that I've been on the search for, special bread, European chocolate and lots of other things - we also got home with some good pieces of tender and juicy angus beef. What better lunch on a Sunday than a medium rare angus beef, mashed potatoes mixed with philadelphia cheese and pan fried shallots, a gravy sauce with thyme, tons of butter and cream and a flavorful feta cheese and tomato salad on the side? Freakin' delicious.

Time moves slowly this weekend. Beach, ice cream, planning for the great escape (to the Pacific next year), reading books and just taking it easy easy easy.... sometimes it is almost hard to deal with the vast amount of time we got on our hands but this weekend it has only been a pleasure to do nothing.

Listening to this one tonight. Getting much influenced by the surroundings. Dancehall is what is on day and night everywhere you go, on these islands. And here's another wicked Jamaican tune if you're in to that kind of stuff.

Montpelier plantation that we spent a couple of days at is one of seven Relais & Chateaux properties in the Caribbean. Nestled in lush hills on the secluded island of Nevis and built inside and around a 17th century sugar plantation. Many historical features have been restored giving the property a unique sense of timelessness, charm and elegance. The great fig tree is the first thing that greets you when you enter the grounds of this hotel. Impressive and characteristic just like the inn itself. This plantation is also the place where Admiral Lord Nelson married his wife Fanny Nisbet in 1787.
Everywhere around the property you will find beautiful details and ornaments from the past.

The garden is lush, light and refreshing and everywhere you will encounter the sound of birds singing from the trees.

A very well maintained tennis court area with a beautiful setting surrounded by colorful bloom.

We loved strolling around exploring the gardens. Colorful flowers and an abundance of lush green plants and trees.

What instantly struck me on the first few hours of our stay was that certain kind of energy that urged you to slow down, disconnect from the outside, breath in the surroundings and enjoy the quietness. Not many places has that natural power to automatically slow your body and mind.

We spent lots of time enjoying the tranquility by the pool.

The elegant interior was a fresh melange of new and old, classic and modern.

Colorful flowers all around.

A cup of tea while reading one of the many books from the library.

We got so well looked after by the genuine and hospitable staff. Here's bartender Kaddy, and food and beverage manager Nico.

Details by the pool bar.

Modern design and loads of light and airy spaces in rooms and suites. 

Very simple, elegant design throughout.

Beautiful details in the bathrooms.

Relaxing by the private pool.

Sea view from every room and suite.

We loved the afternoon tea by the pool bar with freshly baked scones, cakes and homemade marmalade.

Got served the most amazing apple martini in the evenings before dinner.

Read through the yearly book printed by Relais &Chateaux.

More lounging by the pool.

We enjoyed a healthy breakfast on the terrace. 

With an amazing homemade bagel with Norwegian salmon and creme cheese.
They had two beautiful labradors who every morning came to greet you in the garden.

We rode the bikes down to the hotels beach for a better view of St Kitts in the background.

Drinks in the bar by night.

And lots of fine wines on the menu.

Drank quite some champagne on the night of our anniversary.

And got served the most fantastic gourmet dinner inside of the old sugarmill, just the two of us, in very romantic settings. The seven course meal was too delicious to be mentioned in only a few words so I will write a post separately in honor of it.

We had the greatest stay and we will recommend this place to everyone we know who are looking for a tranquil and classy holiday in the Caribbean. Perfectly suitable for couples or anyone who'd like to enjoy a few days of utter relaxation in beautiful surroundings. Thank you owners Timothy and Muffin Hoffman for being so welcoming and making sure that we had one of the best weekends in a long time. Unforgettable.

This is how our anniversary meal looked like a bit later on.

This photo says it all. It was such a refreshing "holiday" spent over on Nevis. Energizing, vibrant, colorful, peaceful. A life on a boat is fantastic in many ways but to be able to sometimes combine it with the beauty of getting a day off from it all every once in a while is a perfect match and the greatest way of living. At least in our eyes. The sail back to Antigua was quite rough with a beat against the waves, wind, tides and currents (took 19 hours back instead of the 12 it took to get there..) but now we're finally back anchored up and safe. Cooking is not an option tonight as of the very little energy left from last night at sea so we'll get out for a light Italian dinner here in Falmouth/English Harbor this evening. Italian yes, what else? Italians are what runs this place. Should probably be called "Italian harbor" instead of English harbor. I don't mind though, I would never say no to a well made ossobuco, a delightful pasta or a flavorful glass of Brunello di Montalcino. 

We've been so spoilt and well looked after here by the amazing staff at Montpelier Plantation Hotel these past few days and we are very sorry to leave so soon. Hope to be back again one day. Last nights dinner here at the hotel was absolutely brilliant, fine dining at its very best, will tell you more about that and everything else that we've had the chance to experience in the last three days as soon as we're back with wifi again. Now time to check out..