wednesday wishes #8

It's been a while since I've wished on a Wednesday. But with dreary January here, I can't help but dream about places beyond my city. Opportunities to explore, for spontaneity, and to just be. I'm getting sad because two of my favourite people are celebrating their birthdays this month, and I can't be there with them (my sister and my niece). I'm happy that snow is finally coming with the cold weather, but I'm sad because I can't enjoy it much due to school. I feel like I'm on some bizarre rollercoaster, going through a tunnel with all my dreams in sight -- if only the rollercoaster could go faster.

At the end of this tunnel? Antigua. Me and The Boy were daydreaming while on the phone, and started looking up deals for all-inclusive vacations as a little trip -- either instead of Europe, or before Europe. Now, I've never really gone anywhere tropical. My extent of traveling has been bits of Canada, Detroit (yes, that's the only city I've gone to in the U.S.), and then Poland. I can feel the palm trees swaying. The hot sand is waiting to burn my feet. And I want to go to Antigua. Although in recent years there's been some news in rising crimes, in my wishes we would have a safe vacation :)

Found in the eastern Caribbean, Antigua Barbuda boasts a number of beaches, plenty of sights to see, and several all inclusive resorts (which are calling my name). As of 2006, it has a population of 69,000 people -- not exactly a deserted island by any means. But I'm sure I'd feel at peace with my feet in the sand and The Boy by my side, looking out on the horizon as if we're the only two people there.

I'd love to explore and take a look at numerous bays and beaches, rather than just the one I happen to be on. With everything about 30mins or less from each other, I'd love to just explore the island in its entirety. Apparently, though, there's 365 beaches - one for every day of the year? Hah, I wish. The picture above shows off Mamora Bay, located in the south-west corner of Antigua.I'd love to relax on one of those blue chairs, getting a tan (after applying tons of SPF, of course) and miraculously trim after the holiday weight, bwahahaa.

Given that there's so many hotels, it could be hard to choose the perfect resort (although in reality, I'd probably just choose whichever one is cheap but still has a 4 star+ rating). One such resort could be the Hermitage Bay, which has only twenty-five suites (in other words, pricy). Still, lounging in this pool while looking out at the ocean would be heavenly. And it wouldn't hurt to get a full-body massage after that!

But I wouldn't want to go to just to relax, even if that is the primary objective. My secondary objective would be adventure with my camera. With a great history and so many sights to see, you can guarantee that I'd spend half of my days out of the hotel resort.

One such place would be Shirley Heights. This high ground has remains of old gun emplacements and military structures can be seen around the area. So, in other words, it'd be one hell of a climb with good exercise, but you could see some amazing sights and history all around you. And once you reach the peak, your legs trembling from the walk, you can look off and be rewarded by beautiful views of the English harbour and Nelson's Dockyard, seen in the picture above.

And if we really want to be risky, we could take a gander to a park which holds the Devil's Bridge. It's a large, natural limestone arch on the shoreline, which holds a dark past of slaves throwing themselves off of there. At high tide, the waves crash through, making for a spectacular sight.

I'd also love to visit Dickenson Bay, St. John's Cathedral, and so much more ... if there's time after all the relaxing, the climbing, and the picture-taking! Ah, what a wish ... although I seem to have just made a travel guide for anyone who wants to go there, haha.

Who wants to come along?

And what do you wish for this Wednesday?

(or Thursday if you're in a different time zone)

{all pictures found via Flickr, information found via here and here}