It’s been two weeks since we got back from our honeymoon. It feels like it’s been two months. Or two years, who knows?
Naima
If you read the last post (or generally have spoken to me in the past 3 months), you know I got married recently. And a honeymoon usually follows a wedding, no? So we decided to go to Curaçao for 10 days. A tropical island with beautiful sandy beaches and crystal blue water. The perfect honeymoon spot. However, Curaçao is also home to one of my absolute FAVOURITE people on the planet: Naima (quick explanation: Naima is the daughter of one of my dad’s closest friends, and she is as much of a sister to me as Jahlisa is). So instead of cocooning in a little love nest, we created a group chat and told Naima: “please third wheel as much as you can, thank you.” We jokingly referred to our trip as a “Naimamoon”, because we ended up spending 9 days out of 10 with her.
I wanted to include a cute picture of the three of us, but I only have one where we look… rough.
Curaçao the way I know it
I’ve been to Curaçao many times before, and we pretty much always did the same things. Hang out on the beach at the hotel, while my dad prepared for shows, to be performed in the evenings at the same hotel. During the day we’d sometimes go to the city centre, and there’d always be a day or two spent at the pool at Naima’s parents’ house. It was always a blast, and I was always sad to leave the island.
So when Naima asked what we wanted to do during our trip, I told her I wanted Giorgia (that’s my wife’s name, in case you didn’t know) to experience Curaçao the way I know it. I had a small list of must-do’s:
- See the beaches on the west side of the island
- Spend one afternoon at the pool at her parents’ house
- Eat chicken & waffles at Kome
- Arrange a surfing lesson for Giorgia
And that’s exactly what we did. Giorgia got to experience Curaçao exactly how I know it, right down to the hotel. We stayed at Avila Beach Hotel, which is where I spent so many summers reading on the beach and living my best mermaid life. And this time was no different. I read two books (both in the span of a day), and lived my absolute best mermaid life, making friends with little crabs and fish along the way. There’s even picture proof, I kid you not.
Curaçao, but different
Of course, this time on the island, I wasn’t with my parents and sister. I was with my wife. So while a lot was the same, things were different, too. Like when we climbed Mt Christoffel, the highest point on the island. I told Naima we’d absolutely have to do that, because Giorgia is super outdoorsy, and she would totally want to do a hike like that. In the end, I think I enjoyed the climb more than either of them combined (while definitely being the least outdoorsy). There’s just something special about getting to do things with the love of your life that you’ve never done before, but you know will make them happy. And of course, any time spent with Naima is time well spent.
Gifts for days
Our time on the island was made extra special, because so many people went out of their way to give us the most thoughtful gifts. One of my mom’s closest friends gifted us two nights in her luxury penthouse, right in the city centre. The perfect place to start our city explorations from. We even had a little pizza night with Naima and her kids on the rooftop terrace, playing board games. Which we lost. To a 7- and 9-year-old.
Naima and her family decided the best gifts would be the ones that would be experiences, so they gave us gift cards to great restaurants. And my goodness, we had such excellent food. Like chicken & waffles. Seriously, I’ve never had better chicken & waffles than at Kome. They’ve ruined me for life.
So while our trip wasn’t your traditional honeymoon, we wouldn’t have had it any other way. And besides, our ceremonial wedding (including rings, vows, and our real wedding dresses) is next year. We’ll go on a proper honeymoon then.
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