It's Tuesday, and we are nearing the halfway point of our week here at Moon Palace. We are still having an amazing time, and, in fact, we had quite a bit of excitement today. I'll start at the beginning.
We woke up around 9 and headed to Lucca for their breakfast buffet. There were lots of things to try - eggs, potatoes, yogurt, fruit, and chicken fingers. Oh yes, chicken fingers for breakfast...yum!
We spent the next hour or so just hanging out, and around noon, we started our "Moon Rocker" tour. This was really, really neat. We got into a vehicle that was similar in many ways to a four-wheeler. It differed in that Brandon and I sat side-by-side, rather than one behind the other, in it, it was covered, and it had a small bed behind the bench seat. But, like a four-wheeler, it was made for off-roading! And to simplify things, I'm just going to call it a four-wheeler from now on.
For about two hours, we followed a guide in a caravan of about 10 of these vehicles, traveling through a palm tree jungle. We were within a mile or two of the resort, but the world around us was wild and uncivilized. And it was beautiful. Brandon navigated bumps, ruts, muddy puddles, and fallen coconuts with ease. I hung on for dear life with one hand and snapped picture after picture with the other. Several times I thought our four-wheeler was going to flip over or that I was simply going to fall out of it. But we made it through the jungle in one piece.
Well, I guess we would be two pieces, as there are two of us...but you get it!
At one point along our course, the guide stopped and began collecting ripe coconuts. Then he whipped out a machete (from where?) and began hacking off the tops of them so we could all have a drink of coconut water. If you have never drunk directly from a coconut, please make it a point to do so sometime in your life. I learned in India that the water inside a coconut is the purest water on the planet. And it's delicious too; it's a little sweet, and it feels good on your tongue on a hot day, even if it isn't ice cold!
When we had all taken turns taking pictures of each other drinking from coconuts, we hopped back into our four-wheelers and took off. We ended up on the beach, where we rode around in circles for a while, putting on quite a show for the people who had previously been trying to relax.
When we finally got back inside, we were hot, dirty, and starving! I had barely remembered what hunger felt like, but I felt it then. We quickly cleaned up, put on our bathing suits, and found ourselves at the nearest pool, where we ordered a simple lunch of sandwiches and French fries from one of those cute waitresses. We hung out in the pool till the swim-up bar closed at 6, then headed to our room to continue our afternoon of relaxation.
A while later, we began to get ready for our romantic dinner on the beach. Now this is where things start to get REALLY exciting - and there's more to it than good food and lots of drinks this time. Keep reading...
With those credits that I talked about a few posts ago, we had booked this "romantic dinner." Now, this was different than the "romantic dinner" we'd gotten in our honeymoon package - this one was supposed to be steak, lobster, and real Champagne; and it was supposed to be out on the beach. However, when we got to our meeting place, which was one of the other restaurants, we were told that we'd have to eat inside, as there was some potential weather that was making our host nervous.
Well, so much for a romantic dinner on the beach. But we did still get the steak, lobster, and Champagne!
But it was hot in that restaurant. And it was way too much food. And I'd spent all day drinking (pretty much anything but water) out in the hot Dominican sun. So, it shouldn't have come as a surprise to me when, as dessert came out, I began to feel quite ill. In fact, I thought I was going to throw up. And I certainly didn't want to do that in the middle of this restaurant.
So I quietly but firmly told Brandon that I needed to leave right now. We were finished anyway, so he got up and began to walk me out. I remember feeling even worse after I stood up, but I just thought I was getting closer and closer to puking up all that delicious food I'd just eaten. I was practically running toward the restaurant's entrance, and as I approached it I saw one of the waiters standing near an employee entrance.
"Bathroom!" I screamed, more of a demand than a request, and when he pointed to the other side of the restaurant, I knew for a fact I wasn't going to make it. So I just kept heading for the door.
This is the part where I tell you that I did not make it to that door.
But I also didn't puke right there in the middle of the restaurant.
Oh no...
Instead, I fainted. Right there in the middle of the restaurant.
Now, please don't be too alarmed. Let me take this moment to say that this is not the first time this has happened to me, and I have discovered, over the past few years, that I am simply prone to this type of reaction when I am overheated or underhydrated. I was at an extreme of both tonight, and my body simply succumbed to it. Not that it's not a big deal, but it's not that big of a deal.
The bigger deal for me, once I came to, was that I had just fainted in the middle of this very nice restaurant at this very nice resort. Brandon told me later that I had gotten several steps ahead of him (because I was trying to rush out of the restaurant to puke) and that, when I first started to go down, he thought I was just bending over to do that! He realized there was more to it when I hit the first in a row of four chairs that had been set against a wall and sent the rest of them flying. But I was too far ahead of him, and he couldn't reach me in time to catch me. I ended up on my back on the floor, and about 20 seconds later, I opened my eyes and said, "What happened?" very calmly and curiously.
Before long I realized where I was and what, exactly, had happened; and I was very, very upset. Not only was I more embarrassed than I had ever been in my life, but I was also in a lot of pain and I was worried that I had just ruined our honeymoon! Of course, the latter was not true at all. But as for the pain, well, that was real. That is real.
I have a pretty nasty bruise on the bottom of my chin (which I believe I got from the arm or a chair that I fell onto), a huge red scrape across my right elbow (that I cannot see because I don't bend that way, but sure can feel), and a scuffed-up right knee (that may prevent me from wearing sundresses for the rest of the week).
The good news is that I am fine, that Brandon has been taking great care of me, and that our honeymoon isn't even close to ruined...even if I can't show my face in that particular restaurant again.
Fortunately, there are eight more!
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