Finally terra firma – Hello Antigua! We began our day with 2 other couples and a
negotiated taxi tour of the island. It
was wonderful. The language of the island
is English and our drive spoke it well.
It was interesting at times when he would roll down the window and talk
to a local and the patois between the two of them was impossible to understand. Our tour was $20 each and was money well
spent. Even adding a tip still made it
cheaper than any ship excursion, and I believe that we were able to see more this way.
Our tour began at 10:00 and
finished around 1:30. We visited the
Interpretive Centre for a short presentation on the beginnings of Antigua. It was very well done. We drove to some wonderful view spots and
took a few pictures of the stunning scenery.
I don’t think that any pictures do justice to the beautiful azure blue
of the Caribbean Sea. To look out over
the water and see the colours first hand as the waves come up and wash onto the
beige sandy beaches – well it is definitely the stuff that inspires novels,
paintings and romance….well novels and paintings anyway…
After our taxi tour was over, we
ventured into the town. We had lunch at
a little restaurant called Hemingway’s and sampled the local beer. The consensus was that it was a very good
beer, but this it was also a very hot day.
You know you are on a cruise when you spot a Diamonds International or a
Del Sol store and the various other jewelry, sunglass, perfume, watch aAnd
t-shirt stores that line the main street.
It is always fun to poke in and out of each one to see just what they
are selling. If it is t-shirts and the
like, there is bargaining that can be done.
If it is jewelry you are looking for, sometimes you can work a deal but
it is definitely harder to negotiate with those people. They must have worked their way up from
t-shirts and beads by being somewhat ruthless.
They instantly pull out a scale and a calculator – tools to show you what
the weight is and the price and believe me nothing seems like a bargain when
you are talking gold, diamonds, tanzanite (yes it’s here also) and
emeralds. Yah – t-shirts and handicrafts
seem to be my comfort zone.
We are in another port tomorrow,
Tortola – so we will see what that day brings.
2 comments:
from cousin Sandra - well things certainly seem to have taken a turn for the better!! Antigua looks breathtaking!!!
Ah the brilliant blues and the soft sand of a tropical beach. Seems removed from the rain today. You did very well with your taxi tour - more comfort, more sights and real dialogue with a local. Yes, you did the right thing with that.
Looking forward to tomorrow!
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