Suzanne Carillo

It was the first time I've ever been to this little piece of paradise and already I'm yearning to go back. Not only was the weather almost perfect ( we only had one half day of rain otherwise it was 28 C every day ) but the people were warm, relaxed and friendly.

This is the first time in my life that I have actually spent my holiday on the beach. (Not counting my brief 6 week "finding myself" fling with Hawaii when I was prone to partying and drinking non-stop from 11 am onward and then laying in the sun "recovering" all day so I would be ready to party all night again.) You will not be seeing photos of that since I look like a burnt puffer fish.

I used to manage a tanning salon in my 20's and would literally bake in the beds for 45 min/day. As a person that burns rather than tans I have since then avoided all tanning and the beach like the plague. This trip however we simply slathered on the sunscreen and laid on the beach in the shade and read. It was delightful. No rushing for tours or shopping for stuff we don't need, just the slow calming rhythm of the tides.

Everyone else on the beach would follow the sun, we would follow the shade of the thatch beach umbrella.

For a brief and painful couple of days I had Angelina Jolie lips when I forgot to put sunscreen on them. That is why I am obsesssive about covering up or putting on sunscreen. I was the only one swimming with a cap and long sleeved rash guard.