What a wonderful feeling to be off the ship and back to one of our favourite islands from last year! It was also very comforting not to leave and be unsure what to expect. I had hoped we could locate Dennis – our taxi driver from last year. He would be 71 now and possibly no longer working. The good news, he is still working, but the bad news was, we could not find him. When you leave the ship on most of these islands, you run the gamut of taxi drivers offering tours of the islands. It can be a very random choice who you pick but they all offer essentially the same thing. We wanted something a bit different. Looking back, we possibly could have tried to contact Dennis prior to leaving the UK. I think he has a website…..but it was not meant to be.
Alan and I tried to find a tour that did not include Nelson’s Dockyards. We did this last year and wanted a bit more exposure to the rain forest, and also to see a different beach. With 365 beaches to choose from, that was the easy part. On the information about Antigua, it really stresses Nelson’s Dockyards and I am afraid that is why everyone wanted to go there. What the literature does not tell you is once you agree on your taxi route, with the cost $25 per person, once you arrive, there is an additional fee of $8 just to get in! Last year, we had a vote with the 8 people in our taxi whether we wanted to pay the extra and go in, and it was a resounding no. So Dennis took us up to Shirley Heights, where you could look down and see the Dockyards anyway. Then he dropped us off at Darkwood Beach for a few hours before returning.
With no success for a rain forest trip, we found another couple who only wanted to go to the beach. We found Hercules and he offered to take us to Dickinson Beach for $3 each way. The first appearance of Dickinson Beach is beautiful. Long stretch of sand and various colors of blue and turquoise water. However, as I look back at the day, I realize I would not recommend this beach. The water is murky and very surprising. It gives the impression of being clear, but looking down, I could never see my feet til I brought them about one foot from the surface. By comparison, I could always see my feet at Darkwood Beach, even in shoulder deep water. And the man with us was actually stung by something! Thankfully, it was only uncomfortable for a short time, but never the less, I like to swim in clearer water…..
Then the jet skies began arriving, I have always hated the noise pollution they cause, not to mention how unsafe they are. Luckily, they only came out on hire one at a time and we were so early, this did not really become a problem. Next? How about a huge catamaran that landed right in front of our sun loungers? Not so bad? Well, Alan and I were in the water in front of what became their path. How did we know they were going to swerve in and land? It looked like any other party boat, certainly not a boat acting as a bus and coming to a stop! About 15 people, including a screaming little girl had to run out of the way as it plowed right where we had been swimming! It felt like a scene from a horror movie when the monster appears from the sea and has his eye on you!
On the way back to Azura for lunch, I stopped by a few jewelry stores, as you do when in the Carribbean! And discovered some lovely rings, at affordable prices. I was hot and sticky and uncomfortable so decided to come back after changing clothes. Certainly not the dramatic way I bought a ring in Curacao, running back to the ship, jumping a moving drawbridge and just about having heat stroke! No, this time, I calmly returned to the shop, asked for Olive, who showed me the rings. Of course, none were big enough, that was probably why they were on sale. But then she showed me the first ring that had caught my attention and one I thought I could not afford. I was wrong! And now I own it! This one is silver with an assortment of gem stones including amethyst, peridot, blue topaz and one other I just can’t think of right now.
Next, my return to Cheers Bar to check emails and Facebook and put some entries on my blog. Just like last year, the connection is very slow, later on I realized the bar up the street had cheaper beer and also free wii fii. Maybe next time….
I also met a DJ from the other cruise ship here today, the Norwegian Dawn. His name is Alex and this job is only for a month! How cool is that? He seems to also have a job in New York and is just doing this short term. But what a way to see the world? I am thinking of all the young people in Scotland who are unemployed and know, if it was me, I would be applying to a cruise company!
Although it sounds like I was not as enamoured with Antigua as I had hoped, this is not the case. It is all a learning curve and there are still 363 beaches to see!
After leaving Antigua, we were beside a tremendous thunderstorm! All we could see from our balcony was the skies lighting up, not good enough. So we went down to the Promenade deck, still not good enough. So we ended up on the top deck with about 30 other people and oohed and aahed at the beauty of nature. These lightning bolts were stunning and some travelled up and over the entire sky. Alan spend over an hour trying to get the perfect shot. Once it began to rain, we all had to come in though.
St Maarten is now just outside the balcony and I need to go feast my eyes!
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