It was an extremely cloudy day & ended up being a day full of rainstorms. We still had one last excursion to fit in before we left the St. Regis. I did Kettle Worx pre-excursion & was all set for whatever the day had in store for us. We hopped aboard a boat for a morning of reef snorkeling. Luckily our excursion was in the water, since it rained for most of the morning.
Our guide Christof brought us to three locations on our snorkel adventure. We've been lucky that all of our excursions were with only a few other groups. This excursion was no exception - there was another couple & a family of 4 (the first Americans to be on the same tour as us - I complained to Curt later on that they were loud - I guess I've gotten used to the quiet and hushed tones that exist outside of the US).
Our first location was to try and spot some mana rays having their breakfast. Their mouth is much larger than sting rays & they feed off of plankton. I finally mastered snorkeling and could successfully snorkel my way around the lagoon without any water sneaking in to my mask. I stayed near our guide who pointed out all kinds of fish & explained about the sea life. Curt swam off in a quest to follow the mana rays.
Before heading off to our second location, our guide found a few octopus at the bottom. He managed to pull one out of his hiding spot. We all got to feel how he holds on to you with his tentacles. Poor octopus kept releasing his ink & was very stressed. After our guide released him, he quickly swam to an new hiding spot & probably prayed no other tour guide would disturb him.
Our guide pulling up the octopus - the video clip was too large to upload
Our last location was snorkeling on the reef. It was pretty shallow here, so we needed to be careful not to get cut by the coral. We saw some pretty amazing fish, while fighting the current coming in from the ocean. Even though we were slathered in sun tan lotion & it was raining/completely cloudy, Curt & I managed to get a bit sunburnt on our backs (up until today we managed to be burn free).
When we arrived back at the St Regis it was pouring, so we settled in for a cocktail at the bar & enjoyed each others company. We hitched a ride back to our room on a golf cart and hung out for a few hours before being picked up for our 4PM couples massage.
The Miri Miri Spa wasn't able to do an in-villa massage (even though we had been trying to have them confirm one for us since the first day we arrived). In hindsight, it was much better that we didn't have the in-villa massage because of the rain. We wouldn't have been able to appreciate the in-villa if were actually inside the villa (not on our deck like I had originally wanted).
I arrived to our spa room first & was face down when Curt came in the room. I chuckled instantly, as he was in what he claims was a child's robe. It was so incredibly snug on him I couldn't help but laugh. He had never had a massage before and wasn't sure what to expect. He looked at me and whispered, "was I supposed to keep my boxers on?" He had tucked the spa undies into the belt of his robe & thought it was an eye shade. My stomach hurt I was laughing so hard.
He settled in on the table & we both had a fabulous 50 minute Balinese massage. Just what I needed to completely release all tension & stress. I don't think Curt really appreciated the massage & claimed he didn't have any stress or tension that needed releasing. In any case, I loved the spa afternoon - complete with laughter at how ridiculous Curt looked in his robe.
After our massage, we relaxed until dinner. The rain was off and on all afternoon. We got all dressed up for our last dinner at the St. Regis. We went to the Lagoon restaurant (which was the main restaurant featured in Couples Retreat). The food here was incredible. We both opted for the local fish entrees, which were to die for. Finished our meal off with chocolate meringue, lemon sorbet & thai basil sauce - fabulous!
We headed back to our room, had some more wine & decided since we needed to be on the St. Regis yacht at 10AM that we'd get up early to pack, go for our last swim in the lagoon & eat a leisurely breakfast.
When we woke up on Day 7, it was still very cloudy. We hopped in the lagoon for a dip, Curt did all our packing (which stunned me because I am usually the one who packs everything for us) & we said goodbye to the fabulous St. Regis.
Stay tuned as our next adventure will soon begin. Captain Ron will take the wheel of our 40 foot catamaran. Our plan is to sail from Raitea, Tahaa, Hauhine, Bora Bora & possibly 1 other very tiny island for the next 5 days. Not sure how often we'll have WIFI available, but I will update you on our adventure as often as possible.
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