BLUE WATERS ANTIGUA | PART II

Back to the infinite blues of the Caribbean for a much-needed dose of sunshine. Especially after a week that hasn't seem to have got light here in London (hallelujah for today's sunshine). Following on from the last post on our stay at Blue Waters, here's the second instalment from the turquoise-sea-white-sand haven, which exudes calm and charm by the bucketload.

We'd actually missed the slot for setting sail in catamarans when the idea came to us, but boatman Robert obligingly took us out to nearby Boons Reef. With shadowy outlines of neighbouring islands Montserrat and Nevis (where I've visited twice in the past and is a true, unspoilt haven) on the horizon – plus Prickly Pear and Sisters Islands just off Antigua's coast – Robert shared tales of whales, dolphins and turtles.

The majority of time was spent lolling around in the sun on deckchairs and watching brown pelicans dive bombing into the sea virtually in unison with one another – [inner David Attenborough talking here] it was mesmerising cohabiting the beach with such incredible creatures.

We lunched poolside at newly opened Carolyn's, which serves up a relaxed menu of just-caught seafood and top-notch pizza – we plumped for mahi mahi and pine nuts salad, quinoa and chicken salad and prawns and fennel – before settling in for another golden afternoon consisting mostly of reading, wallowing in the bath-warm, skin-loving salt water and swimming out to the hotel's pontoon to sunbathe. Oh and we squeezed in a quick game of tennis inspired by the Nadal-Federer US Open final showdown. Ours had a more jungly vibe to it with bats swooping overhead as night fell on our final night in Antigua, before heading to the airport.

When you're too excited to get yourself dressed

We were treated so so well during our stay at Blue Waters. The staff here are so professional but there's still a glimmer of character shining through. I have one more post to come from Antigua covering the beautiful places we visited in the south of the island. Get ready for pinch-yourself-you're-not-dreaming beaches and stay tuned...