thePULSEHoneymoons Good for the Body, Mind and Soul
April 2004 – Ok, the special day is planned. Expensive gifts have been registered, the guest list is decided on, and the wedding dress, like a rare blooming flower ready for its one and only blossom, is pressed and waiting for its moment of glory. Now…where to go for the honeymoon?
No longer solely dedicated to wining, dining and lethargic sipping of margaritas in the baking hot sun, travel destinations of the 21st century offer many refreshing new choices. Several locations, designed for an active and spiritual lifestyle, provide unique, memorable, earth-conscious alternatives to the traditional honeymoon. After all, whoever said the first few weeks of marriage, dedicated to rest, relaxation, and the first step in a new, exhilarating life together, were synonymous with sloth and gluttony?
Ecotourism, a concept that picked up speed in the 1990’s earth-day boom, is a principle on which many modern aforementioned travel destinations are based. Defined by The International Ecotourism Society as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people,” ecotourism stresses the maxim of minimal impact on the environment, engendering cultural and environmental awareness and respect.
Maho Bay, featuring four resorts in the U.S. Virgin Islands, is perfect for those wishing to experience a tropical paradise, but desire to escape the monotony of traditional getaways involving cruise ships or crowded beaches. The quintessential “green resort,” Maho Bay, built in the 1970s long before ecotourism was coined, was established with an agenda focused on providing a luxurious, tropical utopia for its guests without disrupting the intricate surrounding environment.
All dwellings at the resort were constructed from nearly recycled materials, utilizing the power of the sun and wind. Tent and cottage platforms are also connected to elevated walkways, which helps to avoid soil erosion, an endangerment to the surrounding beach and coral.
The resort offers an interactive and spiritual stay with a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, including hiking on nearby trails, kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, snorkeling, scuba diving, massage and yoga. Guests wishing to try their hand at crafts can visit Maho Bay’s Trash to Treasure art center, “where the resort’s trash is turned into fine art.” Experts offer glass-blowing demonstrations, transforming crushed bottles from guest’s trash into vases, glasses and various other forms of fine art.
At Maho Bay, visitors stay in tents and cottages
The resort offers four lodgings, ranging from basic to luxurious. Maho Bay Camps and Concordia Eco-Tents, high-tech tent-cottages with screened windows and open air terraces, offer an intimacy with the environment and cool Virgin Islands trade winds.
Those couples wishing to altogether avoid a tropical paradise, seeking a more unique, health-oriented and spiritually enlightened honeymoon closer to home, might want to consider Canyon Ranch health resorts. With two locations, in Lenox, Massachusetts and Tucson, Arizona, Canyon Ranch specializes in promoting and teaching the habits of good health and well being, fostering wellness of mind, body and soul.
During their stay, guests to Canyon Ranch are instructed on proper eating, exercise and mental health habits, specially designed for their needs with the help of consultants. They have the ability to participate in a large number of activities dedicated to overall well being, including fitness classes, outdoor sports, medical and behavioral consultations and services, nutrition workshops, as well as facials and body treatments ranging from Reiki to mud therapy.
Guests can design their own personal health package, focused on making important, lasting life changes in a particular area of health or mental wellness. Packages can focus on stress, weight or pain management, smoking cessation, pregnancy health, or Ayurveda, an ancient East Indian health system dedicated to facilitating balance, inner radiance and outward beauty by inspecting all aspects of a person’s life. Specialized visits and instruction from board certified physicians, nurses, nutritionists and behavioral therapists help guests to design and foster desired lifestyle changes.
In addition to health packages, guests can participate in a wide variety of spiritual awareness classes, designed to promote relaxation, health and vitality, including various types of mediation, yoga, tai chi and Chi Gong. Strength training rooms, golf, and competitive sports are also offered. Packages start at $1480 per person, based on the season, and include all accommodations: meals, spa fee, gratuities and sports activities.
Honeymoons have come a long way from the traditional fun-in-the-sun getaway. While people themselves have become increasingly more unique, embracing the elements of earth-consciousness, mind, body and soul, so have their honeymoons. As the world offers more choices for everything from career paths to cars, so can the 21st century couple enjoy limitless possibilities in designing their own unique, romantic, personal honeymoon, beyond the barriers of a customary Caribbean paradise.
