Occidental Grand Pineapple Beach Antigua

... cities. And though some say you spend $300 for dinner for two, in the capital port town of Gustavia there are options to drink cheaply (in fact, the most popular locale even for the mega yachties was this old, run down bar) and eat modestly.   Saint Martin/Sint Maarten - This island was our final destination in this chapter as this is where Adrian's boat broker resides. It is also a very well connected island for flights (it seems like every 10 minutes all day long), giving ...

... pointed out to us, apparently he's done an awful lot for the islanders and is held in high regard; one of the many things he's done is to build a rehab centre to help locals deal with their addictions. From there we went to the Betty's Hope Sugar Plantation for a Caribbean style buffet lunch, which was just amazing, Creole chicken, rice, salads, dressings, fruit bread, rum punch, fruit, after 2 large glasses of punch a couple of ...

... was absolutely breathtaking. Here I was, high above the cliff, overlooking below the blue crystal sea, the sun's rays illuminating the water, the deep blue sky with its candy ball clouds, it was unbelievable. It was another moment in time to be cherished forever. I kept running here and there with excitement in order to capture and memorize everything at once. Again, picture perfect.

Finally, we made our way to Nelson's Dockyard. The ...

Today we arrived in St. John's, Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda. We debarked the ship and walked a bit until we reached what seemed to be some sort of plaza, where a local was balancing a pineapple on her head while grooving to music, hoping to make a few dollars off of us tourists. Later in the day, we took a tour of the island and saw two gorgeous beaches: Dickinson and Runaway.

Land! We docked early and as usual by the time Vic and I were up and out Sallie and Ray had already gone ashore, The first area you enter as you leave the ship is very commercial and lots of diamond shops, the sun was very hot and once we had made our way past all the Americans and the taxis milling in the area we were able to see the place properly. The area is very ...

... Tower. The Dividing Wall is a wall built long ago to keep the African slaves from the Codrington family. The Martello Tower was built 32 feet high and was used as a lookout along the south coast and for sighting in-coming ships. Once sighted, the information was then signaled onward to the village of Codrington. In the northern part of the island, you will find Dark Cave where rare blind shrimp live in subterranean pools. I know what you are thinking--how do ...

... directions before you leave for your destination. There are no accurate or comprehensive maps of Antigua, and road signs are all but non-existent. Also, the roads are in a variable state of quality, with numerous pot-holes and areas where there is no pavement. Beware of the wandering livestock and the pedestrians who regard the roads as sidewalks. And, remember to always drive on the left side of the road. Other than that, it's a breeze! Ha! Ha! Antigua's hotels are generally ...

... Ian from Antigua Rigging who would not charge us for a brief rigging check and just told Al to buy him a drink when he met him in a bar. Al bought him a couple that evening. No one visiting Antigua should miss this party. On the morning of 20th Al and I lowered the genoa to take it to the sail maker for some stitching repairs. I thought I had clamped off the halyard but in my rush to help Al control the sail with the wind under the trampolines, I did not. We also had no knot in the ...

... his dinghy last week and his horror at having to buy a new one and new motor. Al asked how he had lost it. He sheepishly admitted that on his way back to the boat he was so drunk he fell out and the dinghy went on without him. He managed to swim to the nearest boat (apparently unoccupied), fell asleep/passed out? in the cockpit for a few hours, and then swam to his own boat. His dinghy was nowhere to be seen and though he announced it on the radio it had never appeared. Given ...

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Here we find local small colorful buses, waiting for us. We have a ride round this beautiful exotic island.....here looks like paradise!










We are supposed to have lunch here and then leave back for the ship, to be carried to the Island of Saint Tomas.







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The food ...