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In March I learned that dreams come true. After living so many months locked up, spending birthdays isolated, away from family, kisses, hugs, and our friends, we learned to discover many important things. Among them, who does and who should not belong in our lives from now on. We lost a lot of people we loved. Not everyone left this world. They just don’t belong in our space anymore. It was time to open an astral door of wisdom and gratitude with the universe for fulfilling our whims and dreams.
Amid global uncertainty due to a pandemic that took us all by surprise, it took many loved ones and a host of unpleasant things. We learned great life lessons!
Today, I share these lines because I feel supremely blessed and much more grateful, to have had the fortune to be invited by an exceptional woman and friend, to a vacation that has undoubtedly been unique. Boy, I have had the opportunity to travel and experience in many countries throughout my life. But this was not only vacation on a great ship, and what do I say ship…. A true “ocean liner”, with fantastic, unique, and unforgettable friends. Half of us knew each other, the other half did not. This has been so far, the best experience of living life as we deserve to live it and dream it. This trip taught me many things. Among them, that if we dream it, we create it … Believing is creating! And I beg of you, please, NEVER STOP DREAMING!
The appointment was in St. Maarten. For this, I had to fly to Miami to catch a flight, which would take me from there to this starting point. Sure, after covering all the sanitary measures, PCR tests, etc … The logistics ran on the part of the Captain. and WOW! Not the smallest detail escaped them.
In St. Maarten, we were received by a part of the “TE MANU” Crew, aboard a tender. Fortunately, several friends shared the same flight from Miami to our destination.
A 1998 CODECASA model boat, 162 feet equivalent to 49.38 meters in length, designed in its last remodeling by Franco & Betsy Godfrey, served as home and accomplice in our adventure. This boat is a dream come true. I think that unlike current ships with ultra-modern designs, this ship transports you to the idea of being on a royal ship. Its lines are impeccable like all the art, the woods, the details, and the wheelhouse.
TE MANU has 6 very comfortable cabins. Each one with all the amenities. Heavenly beds, good-sized closets, and elegant marble and wood bathrooms. An elevator transports you from your cabin on floor 1 to all levels. On the 2nd floor are the library, a living room, an extraordinary dining room, the main kitchen, and the fabulous main cabin. It is a dream. Sheltered in the bow of the same boat.
Floor 3 served as the base for our journey. It’s the jewel in the crown!
Most of the time is spent here to take advantage of the movie theater, bar, piano, impressive sculptures, and terrace dining room. The most used area of Te Manu.
Floor 4 was the most fun point for me. Between backgammon games, laughter with one of my favorite Mexicans, a toast with Moet Rosé, and unforgettable sunsets, I captured from your lounge chairs and the incomparable time-lapse Jacuzzi that I share with you. The coolest thing is that you can go down from there to your cabin in the elevator.
Every day, the fantastic CREW led by Marina Bakic and all her extraordinary team, delighted us with surprises, impeccable tables of different designs for each occasion, different activities such as picnics on the beach, and spectacular dinners by stellar chefs. Each night the feast was inspired by themes such as Romans, Mexicans, and Japanese, which, accompanied by costumes according to each theme, helped create incredible photographs and memories. Our favorites were the Toga Party and my dear friend’s birthday. Who like every day and at all hours, like the CREW, stand out. At no time did any of the guests have a single complaint, not ONE!
It should be noted that it is not easy to be on a boat for so many days, with some friends and others that we met while embarking. But when such positive energy is carried, everything flows as it should. We didn’t have a single moment of bad vibes! Everything was happiness and pure harmony.
Due to COVID issues, our fantastic hostess decided to spend these 11 days in St. Barths, -not badly by the way-, we changed the location of the beaches to anchor and everything was spectacular and different. A dream, an experience like no other.
To take advantage of the day, on the boat we had a Beach Club, paddleboards, bobs, jet skis, and 2 tenders. We skied, swam, rode motorcycles, or on the large inflatable mattresses. The Te Manu Crew gave us the training to use these toys, and unlike other places, they have a government order sign a response where they educate you to use these toys correctly. Something that I never saw on this side of the continent and suggests that perhaps it would be good to educate the port authorities to take similar measures.
Our visit to St. Barths for dinners walks, and shopping took us to La Petite Plage and other very nice restaurants. The port is divine, impeccable. Great shopping. You find, Hermès, Cartier, Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, MC2, and incredible swimsuits and beach bags. I confess that I had a lot of fun in this store and bought a lot. And while the food was a delight, the one they prepared at Te Manu was infinitely better than anywhere else.
Our neighbors were:
Roman Abramovich, a Russian businessman, with his ship “Eclipse”. An imposing boat of no more and no less than 170 m long. Not counting the tremendous plane he has in the hangar of St. Maarten.
Among others.
In our group were: artists, bankers, gallery owners, poets, hotel and restaurant businesswomen, filmmakers, yogis, real estate advisors, and more. Even though we were on vacation, everyone, absolutely everyone, was working at the time. Not everything is vacation. There we understand that when you know how to manage your business, with the technology and connectivity we have now, we can enjoy and be anywhere in the world without neglecting your priorities. That the world changed radically. And that if we are intelligent and dreamers we can be where we want. Dedicating time to work and another to joy.
Between all of us, we form a great friendly bond and a love that will always be in my heart!
This trip was the birthday of several of us, that while locked up could not celebrate as we would have liked. But, without a doubt, at least for me, one of the best gifts that life has given me!
Infinite Thanks!
Enjoy the photos!
TE MANU YACHT EXPERIENCE ST. BARTHS
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Gabriela Sánchez