G set for a day at the beach

The open pavilion behind us made a good shelter during the occasional short rain showers.
We left this spot about 2:30pm and took some time to walk to the other end of the beach and around the Jolly Harbour resort area. By then, rain clouds were again threatening, and although we intended to take a bus back to the town of St. Johns, where the ship was docked, when a taxi driver offered us a ride back to the ship for only $3.50 per person more than the bus, one of us (the one with a sandbox under her swimsuit), jumped in his taxi before he finished the offer. Granted, this hampered G a bit in his attempt to negotiate a lower fare (he did get $2 knocked off), but by then I was ready for a hot shower and dry clothes.

Our view for the day

The water color was gorgeous, as it frequently is around Antigua, but the water was not clear. The waves were strong enough to keep the sand churning, depositing much of it between me and my swimsuit.
I was thoroughly enjoying playing in the waves while sitting on my float until, BAM, a huge wave came in, knocking me off my float and my sunglasses off my face. Of course the float...well, floated. But my sunglasses immediately sank, and I was furtively running my hands over the sandy bottom, hoping that I would feel the glasses. No such luck. As on every other cruise I've ever taken, I've lost a pair of sunglasses. Luckily, knowing my history, I brought three pairs with me. And now there are two.

Day 68: Antigua

This cruising life is catching up with us; once again we slept until 8am. Of course, it stays perfectly dark in our inside cabin. Only the noise of cabin steward Cristian refilling ice buckets in the corridor or running what G calls his "alarm vacuum" lets us know that it's another day. In some ports, the noise of the thrusters indicates that the ship is being turned and positioned against a dock, but Antigua is a "pull straight in" port, and so not a particularly noisy one at which to dock.

We ate a quick breakfast in the dining room, then packed our beach bags and headed out. There was one more beach we wanted to explore on Antigua- Jolly Beach- so we walked to the bus station and boarded a #20 bus.

And sat.

And waited.

If you recall my description of riding a bus in Antigua from November, it was that experience all over again. Except it was Market Day, and the streets were even more crowded with people and canopies under which everything from foot massagers to root vegetables were being sold.

Luckily, the bus filled a bit more quickly, and thank God for that. The lady in front of me was holding a 5 gallon bucket filled with fish from the fish market across the street, and I was a little bit concerned that things were going to get stinky. We were packed in so tightly with jump seats filling the narrow aisle that when one person wanted to exit the bus, four others had to get out to accommodate that, then re-board again.

Another day in paradise, I guess.

Within 30 minutes, we got off the bus in the Jolly Harbour development, an area of condos and expensive homes on the beach and surrounding a harbor full of sailboats. As we started to walk to the beach, the sky, which had been spitting rain during our drive, opened in earnest and we were quickly drenched. By the time we reached the beach, it slowed, but it set the tone for the day...intermittent sun and rain showers.

Although it wasn't a perfect beach day, it WAS a perfect beach, and is now our favorite beach on Antigua.