by Edward Jacobsen

A year in the planning, my fiance, now wife, and I were taking a trip to Playa de Carmen for vacation. It was a long overdue respite for the both of us. We had a stressful year in our careers and our relationship was ripe for long-term commitment.

Asking her to marry me on the beaches of the Caribbean was as romantic as it could get. However I wanted to do it in a way that would be a forever memory. An amazing story she could tell her girlfriends.

I devised a ruse one evening of buying into a resort treasure hunt. Having planted clues throughout the resort before hand made for expectant fun and surprise. Each clue leading to the next wrapped in fichus leaves.

It took a while to get her into the game. She was worried about our dinner reservations and it was getting late. As we found each clue she finally began to get into the spirit as she thought we actually had a chance to win the game. She was practically running to the next clue after we found one.

I got really lucky at one point. We saw another group of people looking for something in our general area and my girlfriend made the connection that they must be looking for clues also. She was determined to beat them and picked up the pace even more.

I was careful that afternoon to plant, in a little clay heart shaped box, the engagement ring. I buried in the sand with a philodendron plant as a marker. I could only hope no one saw me bury it and would uncover the diamond ring.

As we headed towards the beach let by the final clue, I was getting excited about the proposal and still acting out the treasure hunt. We scoped out the area for a love plant as the clue indicated. It seemed hopeless since it was now dark and the beach was spacious. I directed the hunt near the philodendron plant and called her over to say it looked like a love plant. She was skeptical and wanted to look higher up.

I said, Come here, I think I see something. As I bent down on one knee and uncovered the clay heart shaped box from the sand, I took the ring and asked her to marry me. She was completely taken off guard and screamed with delight as I proposed. It was as romantic as it was adventurous.

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