(See honeymoon photos.)
Congratulations! You are taking the plunge and getting married. Not only do you have to plan the wedding, but there is also the honeymoon to consider. The best thing about this particular tradition is that you only have to please yourself and your husband. A honeymoon should be the ultimate vacation; a moment in time to celebrate your love and come to terms with the commitment you have made, and most importantly a time to recover from the months of planning the wedding.
My husband Andrew and myself are travelers; we travel for work, adventure and pleasure. We had already been to Egypt, sailed on a acht through the British Virgin Islands, hiked Glacier National Park in Montana and rendezvoused in Italy and England. for this most important of vacations, we had to consider the fact that family and friends would be attending our wedding in Sarasota, Florida. We didn't want to leave them immediately after the big event, choosing instead to extend the celebration by planning a beach party the day after the ceremony. When we left our wedding reception, our guests were holding hundreds of sparklers paving the way to a boat dock on the Sarasota bay. It was all very dreamy in a magical fairytale way.
To extend the fantasy, we wanted to travel somewhere we'd never explored before, which left out exotic places such as Thailand and South Africa. We wanted to discover a place where we could totally relax and eat delicious food -- somewhere far away from what we knew. Andrew works in Italy a great deal and had heard of an Island between Sicily and Aafrica called Pantelleria. We found a exclusive resort there with twelve bungalows overlooking the sea on the side of a mountain, called "Calla Leventa," or Sun Rise."
Arriving on Pantelleria is like going to the moon, a far away place unlike any other we'd seen. Pantelleria is a volcanic island, and as you drive on the small roads above the cliff tops overlooking the blue sea, the waves crash on dramatic rock formations, announcing that you are in a wild place. as they say in Italian, Pantelleria is "L'Isola Salvaggio" -- the Wild Island. The Moors from Africa left the greatest visual impact on the island with their white-topped houses that dot the countryside. There are rows and rows of wine vines carpeting the hillside, and we later delighted in trying a special desert wine unique to Pantelleria.
We spend our days lounging in the brilliant sun by the pool, or hiking down a hillside finding the perfect Lava Rock beach leading to a turquoise swimming hold. In the center of the island there is a lake that is a natural heated thermal mud bath. No slippers and robes handed out here -- just climb in the bubbling brew, cover yourself in mud and bake in the sun. After 30 minutes, not only do you have silky smooth skin, but you also gain new appreciation for the treasures of nature.
The best of all days were spent on "La Barca," a boat the hotel provided. We journeyed along the shoreline catching rays on the roof deck, dipping in the cool blue waters when it got too hot.
It was here on this boat in the Mediterranean on my honeymoon that I truly experienced what it feels like to be in acceptance of my body, to be fully free of mind control judgment of oneself -- saying "Here I am, as is."
You see, from as far back as I can remember I felt shameful of my body. I grew up as a chubby kid, and as I progressed into puberty being in a bathing suit was a momentous occasion of mental preparation. I had to be aware of how I stood or sat, and I looked to see the most flattering shape my body would take; crossing my leg at an angle that created the most slimming effect for others around me. If I lay out in the sun, I did so only on my back, holding in my stomach and making sure others would not see my backside where the lumps and bumps resided.
As the years went by, I began to appreciate my body as my own brand of sexiness. My need to please myself overrode the need to please others, and I achieved a level of comfort in being half naked. In Europe there is a palpable freedom from judgment of the body as the women lie topless, without thought of who is looking. The joy of feeling the sun and the desire for no tan lines override any self-consciousness of one's exposed body.
As I lay on the roof deck of the boat with other women, it occurred to me how free I felt from the judgment of my body. This was acceptance -- no thought of how I looked to others around me, just feeling the joy and freedom of no clothes.
The time spend soaking up the sun left us salivating for the culinary delights ahead. The food on the island is all divine, simple, country Italian cooking. Everything is fresh -- grown on the island or caught from the sea that day. Capers are a specialty, and I was delighted to learn that each one comes from a single beautiful white flower. I had a new appreciation for all those hundreds of capers packed in jars.
We delighted in these small discoveries as we delighted in each other and this magical wild place with it's forbidding coastline and warm blue skies that left us with the promise of a world anew, one we would step in to together.
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Source: Grace, April 2003