Day 93: Antigua

We had a full and fun day on Antigua; in fact, it was so full that we had to set an alarm and get up before 7am to squeeze it all in. We were on a schedule, so I skipped getting my brewed decaf coffee from the International Cafe, instead going directly to the DaVinci Dining Room for breakfast. Junior winter Erika was so concerned about it that she went down to the IC to get me my coffee herself. Here's the thing: Erika was working on the other side of the dining room. She came over just to check on us and say hi.  And get me my coffee. 

Just call us spoiled (and we love it). 

Coincidentally, cruise friends Kitty and Jim, with whom we were spending the day, were sitting at the table next to ours. We've cruised with Kitty and Jim twice before, and Kitty had lent her support and some consoling words when Dad was failing. It was great to see them both again, and even better to be able to join them for the Segway tour they'd scheduled for today. 

We packed for some time on a beach to follow our Segway adventure, and met up at the IC at 8:30am. Lance from Segway Antigua met us just outside the secured area of the port, and we took a taxi for the seven minute ride to the Segway office on Fort James Beach. Though it had rained briefly as the Emerald Princess had docked, the day looked sunny and promising as we started out. 

We started our Segway orientation by watching the Segway training video. Finally, after five viewings of this video (once for each time G and I have done the tour), the stick figure falling over the Segway handlebar or falling backward off one before getting run over by it fails to scare me anymore. Only one thing still scares me...riding my Segway back across the arched Fort James bridge. But that was still a couple of hours in the future, so all was good. 

Kitty and Jim took to Segway-ing as if they'd been doing it for years (it really isn't that difficult, but they seemed unusually skilled), and we were soon heading off with guides Lance and Elizabeth, through a local neighborhood and north to Runaway Beach. Riding on the beach is a bit trickier, especially when my right wheel got into the water. But, oh, that beach, like all of Antigua's beaches, is sublime. The water is a color of blue seen only on Antigua and Bonaire on these itineraries.

Runaway Beach

Segway-ers extraordinaire Kitty and Jim. 

We had a quick water and photo break, and then headed back south to Fort James. No matter how often I do it, riding a 21st century vehicle though the huge doors of an early 18th century fort is always a thrill.  I even managed to get myself (and my Segway) up and over that evil arched bridge and into the center area of Fort James. Whew!

After a water, fruit kebob and suger cane break, we continued on, with some time for free styling (our favorite) as we made our way back to the Segway office on Fort James Beach. We enjoyed wonderful rum punches and the warm hospitality of manager Juliette (and some free high speed wifi that allowed me to call Mom to hear about her run in with the garage door) before we walked over to Fort James Beach. 

If I needed any more evidence that the Caribbean has been experiencing unusually strong tradewinds for a sustained period of time, Fort James Beach offered it. Huge amounts of sand near the water had been deposited under the wooden "palapas", causing us to bend over to walk under them and making for a high sand ledge running halfway across the beach. 

Even with shifted sands, the beach was still beautiful, and we enjoyed several hours there. Kitty had brought the same Swimways float we have with her on the cruise, and she and I spent- well, I don't know how long we were there, but I'm definitely cooked tonight- sitting in the water and discussing life. I have the BEST conversations with women sitting in the water on those floats!  Kitty, I enjoyed it so much, and, as always, appreciate your wise words. Meanwhile, Jim and G talked "man" talk on the beach, which I bet wasn't even remotely the same conversation we were having. And we stayed clear of Super Bowl talk; how could we have known when we scheduled this tour well over a month ago that their Seahawks would be playing the Broncos?

Finally, it was time to head back, and we took a small bus back to the cruise pier. There we met up with some of Kitty and Jim's friends and talked some more...until a dark cloud forming overhead started spitting rain. We made it back on the ship just as the rain grew more serious. Perfect timing!  We had had a beautiful day sandwiched between two rain showers. 

After we cleaned up (us and our gear), we dressed for the evening and made our way up to Skywalkers for the always beautiful sailaway from St. John's, Antigua. We were in port today with the P&O Azura, which, despite the fact that Captain Nick said "Azura" means "not as nice as Princess" ;-), was almost an identical twin of the Emerald Princess. It was fun to look down the length of the pier at the two bridge wings so close together. I could almost imagine our captain opening a window and leaning out to ask the other ship's captain, "Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?"

Sunset is obviously occurring later and later, and I miss our Antigua sailaways in December were the sun was setting just as we sailed at 5pm. Today it was considerably higher as we left the south head of St. John's harbor behind us. 

After we left the harbor, we went down to the Michelangelo Dining Room for Dinner with Darko. We ate lightly tonight, because, once again this cruise, we made the cutoff for the Most Traveled Passengers (MTP) cocktail party. In fact, our 547 Princess days WERE the cutoff for the MTP party. We were couple number 20 this time after missing it entirely last cruise. These numbers are at least 100 days higher than they were on the same cruises last year, which implies to me that Princess's most traveled passengers are still going strong, with many cruising over 100 days a year. What G and I are doing seems unusual, but, honestly, it really isn't. 

No surprise: we closed the party, after being deep in conversation with Chief Engineer Roddy. We missed comedian AJ. Jamal's second night's performance, but didn't have the energy to stay up until his last show started at 10:15pm. There was no second featured performer tonight in the Explorers Lounge; it was Country Western theme night in there.

A day spent on Segways and a beach have worn us out. G was asleep before I finished my evening ablutions, and I'll soon be following. Following recitation of tonIght's "Go Broncos" slogans, of course. 

Antigua beach video

I hope you agree with me that this one deserves a post of its own.  I also hope that you Escape Completely, wherever you may be.

:-)

Day 114: Antigua

Today must have been the funnest day of our entire winter, in a "laugh out loud good time" sense. I can't say it was necessarily the best day of the winter, because we've had so many truly excellent ones. But in terms of pure play pleasure, today has to top the list.

We enjoyed breakfast in the dining room (with blueberry pancakes!) before packing for a beach day and taking a taxi over to....the Segway Antigua office! That's right- for the third visit in a row, we had reserved a Segway tour. Hmmmm...do ya think we might enjoy it?!?

We like to go to the Segway office early. They have the BIG five of Caribbean Internet there: free, fast, cool, quiet and shaded, and are kind enough to let us use it. In fact, while we were in the taxi going there, we passed Juliette from the Segway Antigua office riding a Segway over to the pier to meet up with the others taking the tour with us. We stopped-she stopped, and she said she had left us a note at the office. When we got there, the other two members of the Segway Antigua team, Yandeen and Elizabeth, were out with the 9:00am tour, and with Juliette away collecting the other passengers, they would normally have locked up the office. But Juliette, knowing G and I as she does, left the door unlocked and the sweetest note, advising us to come in and make ourselves comfortable and giving us the wifi password.

We love these people!

We wifi-ed fast and furiously until the 9:00am tour returned. Jenny and Bill had taken that tour and we were anxious to hear how they liked it. Jenny had told us the cutest story about her 86-year old, 4' 11" mother riding a Segway in Florida, totally successfully. But the visual of this little lady looking over the handlebar just cracked us up. Well now, Jenny knows she can keep up with her mom!

The rest of our group turned out to be a family of six from England. We all watched the training video again (those stick figures showing what NOT to do still quicken my pulse), geared up and then went outside to train with the Segways. G and I were allowed to just get started and run them around, but we listened carefully to the dismount instructions. That's still the trickiest part ("Jenny's 86-year old mom, Jenny's 86-year old mom, Jenny's 86-year old mom" became my dismount mantra. If she can do it, I can do it!). Soon we were off, on a longer tour today, through some residential areas (dogs! Barking dogs! Another fear of mine!) while Yandeen took action photos and Juliette used a blow horn to talk about Antigua's history and culture. I actually heard a lot more today, probably because my brain wasn't stuck on "stay upright".

We stopped for a stretch and water break at beautiful Runaway (or it's also called Runway) Beach, just south of Dickenson Bay Beach, and noticed that the surf today was bigger than it had been on our previous, recent visit. Ooohhh, this looked like fun!

We headed back down towards Fort James. Instead of hyperventilating at the potholes, I was slaloming around them, having the time of my life. For the fourth time this winter, we visited Fort James (we went once on our own, plus the three Segway tours). G had made that a goal for this winter- to get to Fort James. Guess we accomplished that one! After a water-sugar cane-fruit kabob break at the fort, it was time to cross that damn arched bridge again to leave. That is a trick, and convinced I was going to fall backwards, and become the living representation of one of the stick figures in training video, I cried "help me!" and Juliette was there to keep me upright and save my life. With my legs like jello, we headed back to the Segway office where we were offered a local beer (Wadadli) or a local fruit drink, or both (they're good mixed together!).

Then it was beach time, and if scooting around Antigua on Segways hadn't been enough fun, I played in those glorious waves for over an hour (Sheila, it was Ilhabela, Brazil all over again), jumping and diving while G watched nervously from shore. Sorry, hon...I wasn't going to sit that one out! When it comes to bigger waves, I'm still a kid at heart, squealing and laughing and having a grand old time. What I didn't realize- then- is that every wave was filling my swimsuit with another bunch of sand. I was padded all over on the ride back to the ship, and it all dumped on the floor when I peeled off my swimsuit. THAT wasn't going to make for a happy Steward Nazi!

We just had time for quick showers before we dressed for dinner and went up to Skywalkers to watch sailaway from Antigua (one of our favorites because of the beautiful harbor at St. John's). Once again, I was struck by how much later the sun is setting. Instead of setting while we were still in the harbor, we had already gone to dinner when it finally set, beautiful with the island of Montserrat in the distance. Montserrat is the island with the still-active volcano, and we've set as a goal for next year to get over there somehow, even if it's just by helicopter from Antigua.

Following dinner, we went to this cruise's Most Traveled Passengers (MTP) party. (Cutoff was 368 days- one of the lowest of the winter). We're now 11 for 11 for this year in qualifying for that; although one time I think we were passenger numbers 39 and 40 on the list. Professional cruisers love these 10-night itineraries, and sometimes the top three couples all have over 1000 nights on Princess. Wow.

We met Captain Nick Nash, who now becomes the "resident" captain of the Emerald Princess, as Captain Pomata is moving to the Caribbean Princess. If our plans for next year don't change, we'll be seeing a lot of him next year. The three Breeza Marinas I consumed there marked the end of my evening, and entertainment was out of the question, although production show What a Swell Party was being performed in the Princess Theater and pianoman Kory Simon was in the Explorers Lounge. Segways, waves, beach and Breeza Marinas- I was done for the day, but what a fun way to get there!

Photo 1: Runaway Beach

Photos 2-4: Fort James

Photo 5: this is how close the Segway Antigua office is too Fort James Beach...it's right there!

Day 94: Antigua

How much fun did we have doing the Segway tour on Antigua last cruise? Well, so much fun that we did it again today. It was basically the same tour, but by doing the 11:00am tour, we had some extra time for Segway free styling. When it comes to Segways, I've decided free-styling is my very favorite thing to do.

With a little time before we needed to meet up with the other passengers doing the tour, after breakfast we walked over to Big Banana in Redcliffe Quay to use the wifi. It was initially good enough to get a quick Vonage call out to Mom, but the speed deteriorated quickly as more people came to use it. Finally, instead of waiting around to meet the group, we decided to take a taxi over to the Segway office behind Millers by the Sea and use our extra time to access their wifi. It meets the big five of Caribbean wifi:  fast, free, cool, quiet and shaded, and we relished the few minutes we had to surf the net. I downloaded another audiobook to listen to, and G checked the webcams back home to make sure all was well.

At 11:00am, the four other participants in our tour arrived at the Segway office, and we again watched that training video with the stick figure getting flattened by a Segway because he did it WRONG!  But I'm braver now, and Mr. Stick Figure's misfortune didn't scare me. I was ready to helmet-up and GO!  Soon enough we were once again on the Segways, zipping around on the concrete patio after we practiced getting on, getting off (still the trickiest part!), stopping and turning. We next moved to the grass and dirt area nearby, and it's amazing how different surfaces change the feeling of the ride.

Soon we were on our way, heading north to Runaway Beach along pot holed and bumpy roads. Instead of fearing each terrain change, I attacked them. G had added one more bit of advice this time that made perfect sense:  it's a lot like downhill skiing. Well, that knowledge, like his suggestion last time to simply point my butt in the direction I wanted to go, made all the difference. I can slalom, and so that's what I did, slaloming my way to Runaway Beach.

We dismounted at Runaway Beach for our first water break of the morning, and spent some time walking on the beach and taking photos. Soon we were off again, making our way south to Fort James, for our third visit there this winter. You know G and forts...

The views from Fort James never disappoint, regardless of how many times we go there, and although I was far more comfortable on a Segway this time, I'll admit that crossing that stone bridge into the fort and then back out still had me crazy-scared. We were served fruit kabobs and sugar cane (damn, that stuff's good!) and more water before we continued on, leaving Fort James.

It was then that I heard my favorite words of the day, free styling. In the park-like area next to the remains of the fort, we were let loose to do what we wanted on the Segways, as long as we stayed off the grass. Wow, was that fun!!!! I zipped back and forth, back and forth, making tight turns and skirting around potholes. I wished it would never end!

Too soon it did, of course, and we made our way back to the Segway office. The first thing we did was make a reservation to do it again during our next visit on February 28th. So, if anyone reading this will be on the February 25th cruise and would like to join us, please contact Segway Antigua at http://www.segwayantigua.com. Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can!

One of the best parts of doing this tour is that you end at Fort James Beach, and we next spent a very enjoyable two hours on the beach and in the water. Aaaaahhhhhh...Antigua has such beautiful beaches!

We didn't get back to the ship until after 4:00pm, and we had just a bit of time to rest and get cleaned up before going to Skywalkers for pre-dinner drinks, but only the lightest of light hors doerves, because we were going to the Chefs Table at 7:00pm (but, honestly, with no lunch, we were STARVING!). Sailaway from Antigua is so pretty, and we are really enjoying the longer days in February.

Next up:  our evening at the Chef's Table

Photo 1:  I started the day with the breakfast of champions:  mixed berries pancakes

Photo 2:  walking along Redcliffe Quay on the way to Big

 Banana

Photo 3:  Runaway Beach

Photo 4:  the arched door entrance to Fort James (it's so cool to ride a modern invention like a Seqway through those 300-year old walls)

Photo 5:  that bridge to Fort James

Day 84: Antigua

I won't keep you waiting. I'm typing this with no broken body parts or teeth, no bruises, not even a scratch after our day's activities, and no one is more surprised about that than me.

As I alluded to last night, we had something new in store for our day in Antigua.  Just yesterday, we emailed Segway Antigua about taking a tour with them.  When we had been at Fort James on Antigua in November, we had seen a Segway tour going along the beach there (which I found out today is named Fort James Beach, not Runaway Beach, as I had thought. Runaway is the next beach to the north). G was instantly intrigued, but I was a little reluctant. Last winter, we had encountered a lady with her arm in a cast on the ship, who told us the damage had been done in the first port, doing a Segway Tour on Antigua.

I remembered that too well.

G, though, is not easily deterred, and remembered with fondness the few minutes he'd spent on a Segway last winter on St. Lucia.  When he mentioned the Segways on Antigua again yesterday, I was more inclined to go along, and so we emailed them from the ship.  I didn't get their reply email until last night, but they said they had four openings for their 9:00am tour. Without a firm reservation, we met their representative (she was on a Segway!) right outside the secured area of the port. There was still space available on the tour, so we joined a family of four from England (with two young adult sons who looked exactly like Prince Harry!) and took a short taxi ride to the Segway office, just behind Millers by the Sea on Fort James Beach.

We had to first watch a training video about what to do and what not to do (points driven home by showing a stick figure either getting rolled over by or flying over the handle of a  Segway). The video was quite effective...in scaring the beejeesus out of me. Too soon I was signing the release form and "gearing up" with a helmet and elbow pads.

Honestly, Segway Antigua was as good as it gets when it comes to showing us how to operate the Segways. We first learned how to get on one, with the Segway being held by an instructor, and then how to get off (which was much tougher). Once we could do that on our own, we practiced going straight ahead and then turning right and left.  On a Segway, it's all about being in control of your center of gravity. Where your center of gravity goes, so goes the Segway.

So far so good. But I ride a Harley. I know that the most important thing is to be able to do is to stop. Without falling over, if possible. Absent that ability, everything else is useless knowledge.  That was our next lesson, and once stopping was semi-mastered, we moved off the smooth training course and onto the nearby terrain, which was not only pot-holed but sloped.

Immediately, I ran into trouble. Yes, I knew to push the handle forward to climb a hill, but I would intuitively lean back when I did that, and start rolling down the hill backwards. Yikes! But G was wiser...after 30 years, he knows exactly where my center of gravity is. "Your butt, J.  Push your butt forward to go forward and back to stop", he yelled, so that everyone plus the pelicans heard.  Gees, thanks, coach.

But it worked. That exactly did the trick, and from then on I was climbing up and down and maneuvering around ruts and onto the grass on the side of the road when a car passed. I just pushed my center of gravity in the direction I wanted to go and the rest of me, plus the Segway, followed.

While we toured, first going north to Runaway Beach, one of our guides was educating us on the history of Antigua through a megaphone while the other was taking our photos. I missed most of the history part...my brain was so busy keeping my center of gravity pointed in the right direction that my ears shut down. The photos, however, will be online in about two weeks. That's nice, because we weren't allowed to take photos while operating the Segways. Not that I could have anyway; they showed us how to use hand signals for right and left turns, but I couldn't bring myself to take my hands off the handle to use them. Besides, I figured I was in a line of 8 Segways. Those riders in front of me couldn't see me, those behind me knew exactly where I was going because everyone in front of me had already gone there, and the taxi drivers had been around long enough to know to stay the hell out of our way.

We turned back to the south and rode down to and into Fort James, where we drove the Segways across that arched, cobblestone stone bridge with no sides (fear!  big fear!), then parked them for awhile and explored. Do you remember when that taxi driver warned us we might get robbed there?  Well, if there were any bad guys there today, they hid when they saw this group of tourists driving these Segways willy-nilly into the walled fort. We were served water and fruit kebabs and even pieces of sugar cane, which I have always wanted to try, but mostly we stretched our legs and feet. Foot fatigue, it seems, is the most painful part of Segway riding (assuming you don't crash). And you can't lift your feet...that changes your center of gravity. So you do what is called the "Segway dance", kind of raising up a bit on the balls of your feet to flex your feet. That helps, but the feet still take the worst of it.

While we were in Fort James, a large sailboat sailed by and someone on it was yelling G's and my names. Sorry, we couldn't see exactly who it was, but whoever it was, hi back!! And I hope you had a fun sail!

Eventually, we made our way back to the Segway office at Millers by the Sea. We took a few minutes to use the wifi there, and I was able to upload the Bonaire snorkeling videos, but then, along with the family from England, we walked over to the beach and spent a couple of hours floating and sunning and generally enjoying the beautiful scenery. We've come to love that beach so much (no, it's not quite as pretty as Valley Church or Jolly Harbor Beaches, but it's the closest beach to the cruise ship pier and it's far less crowded than Dickenson Beach) that it's become our default beach on Antigua.

While I was in the water, I saw G on the beach having an extended conversation with a beach vendor selling pareos.  By the time I got there, G excitedly showed me a yellow pareo with underwater sea life, two scuba divers and a map of the Caribbean on it. Well, it certainly has all my favorite things on it, and G knew that. It's essentially a giant

map of the Caribbean, and since we're always trying to remember the placement of the islands in those arches of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, it's actually educational too. It's a multipurpose pareo! I'm not sure how nice it looks wrapped around my center of gravity, but I now own it and proudly wore it back to the ship.

Hey, I don't know these people anyway!

Near the pier, we looked for and found the lady handing out the coupons for the wheel spin at King's Casino (again...death and taxes). We each took one and went into the casino, spun the wheel and won $1 worth of nickels which we then traded for a $4 rum punch (whatever you win...deck of cards, tiny bottle of rum, etc., you can trade it in for a rum punch worth more. It's Antigua accounting!). We sat there in the air conditioned darkness and sipped our rum punches and used the casino's ssssslllloooowwww wifi. (That's when I uploaded the jet pack video). G eventually returned to the ship but I stayed behind until the video was done uploading, then joined him in the ship's buffet to get something to tide us over until Skywalkers and pre-dinner hors doerves an hour later.

Photo 1:  Runaway Beach, Antigua

Photo 2:  in honor of those living with snow tonight...

Photo 3:  I like photos with a juxtaposition of old and new

Photos 4-6:  Fort James, Antigua