I should just leave it at that, and end this post now, but I (shockingly) still have a little energy left tonight, and so will go into a little more detail.
We enjoyed a quick breakfast in the Panorama Buffet today (sitting on the Terrace, as it was so nice out) and walked off the ship fairly early, just after 8:30am. We hooked up with a rogue taxi driver almost right away, who offered to drive us to Fort James Beach for $4 per person. We took him up on his offer, but G reserved the right to instead go to Runaway Beach if Fort James looked too rough. Well, Fort James Beach near Miller by the Sea wasn't too rough but there was a large party setting up to take place there. Instead, we asked to be driven down closer to the fort, where G remembered seeing a beach bar with chairs and umbrellas the last time we were on Antigua.
The bar/restaurant Beach Limerz was the ideal spot to spend the day. We shared an entire section of beach with just two other couples and a retired Catholic priest. It was quiet, it was secluded and the beach there was spectacular, with a pebble-free gently sloping entry. The color of the water in Antigua is the same all around the island, a nearly opaque turquoise blue green color. The sand is like powdered sugar and the waves are rough enough that the water doesn't have the same visibility as beaches on Barbados or St. John, simply because that light sand is so stirred up.
I had forgotten until I was tumbled by a large wave that Antigua is the island where, last year, we returned from our beach day with Suzan and Greg and I peeled off my swimsuit in our cabin...and dumped a bushel of sand on the floor. I had had to leave Awesome Ambrish a note of apology for the sandbox he had to vacuum up that night. That didn't stop me from spending a large part of the day playing in the waves, but I did make an attempt to de-sand before I came out of the water the final time.
We sat under an umbrella in the shade of a tree, in two loungers ($20 for everything) and that, in combination with copious amounts of sunscreen had us well protected from the sun. When I wasn't swimming, I was listening to an audiobook, and the day passed quickly. By 3pm we were getting pretty hungry and walked back down to the road to Miller by the Sea, where there are always waiting taxis. A driver tried to charge us $6 per person to share a cab with another couple but I would have none of that. In the end, we paid just $12 for all of us.
We were back in our cabin by shortly after 3:30pm, hungry, tired and very sandy. I learned from last year's mistake and peeled off my swimsuit while standing in the shower, which certainly limited the mess but, darn, that Antigua sand is sticky stuff! When we spent our entire season in the Caribbean, I always packed baby powder to help in sand removal, but we don't have such luxuries this year. Instead I used an especially long shower to achieve the same result. About 4:45pm, Captain D made an announcement that a late ship's excursion not yet returned, and because of having to wait for it, we had missed our sailaway position. Instead the Celebrity Equinox got our spot, and we were sitting in the Club Restaurant for dinner when the Pacific Princess finally sailed. Fortunately, our table is next to a window on the most scenic side, and it stayed light late enough to see us out of the harbor.
Tonight was the Italian night menu, the best one after a lunch-less beach day. I had minestrone, spinach salad and spaghetti and meatballs and the meatballs were superb. Accompanied by merlot and followed by lemoncello sorbet for dessert, it was a spectacular meal. The Pacific Princess showband started playing in the Cabaret Lounge at 7:15pm, and so we went to the lounge early and listened to them while awaiting the start of Mark Preston's 7:45pm show. He was great (as usual) and received a standing O (as usual), and told us after the show that he'll be doing a second' different show in two night's time. I especially like that one; he sings Lady which is a favorite of ours. We next went up to the Pacific Lounge to listen to Jere Ring's Name That Tune trivia. We didn't actually play, but enjoyed testing ourselves and his music and sense of humor.
At 10pm we are back in the cabin to get some much needed sleep before another beach tomorrow and then New Year's Eve celebrations on the ship. Just one more day, and we can sleep in on our final two sea days back to Fort Lauderdale. Something tells me we'll have no trouble at all doing that.