It's Monday and we are in Antigua - part 1

Monday, September 22^nd – Antigua
Docking Time: 7:00-4:45 pm
Evening Attire: Cruise Casual (Animator's Palate - Pacific Rim - but we went to Palo's)
Drink of the Day: Key Lime Margarita
Evening Entertainment: Walt Disney - The Dream goes on

Woke up this morning to blue skies and being docked at our first port.  We hadn’t decided on booking anything so I knew it would be a late morning if we ended up crashing Coconut Beach resort.  They didn’t allow day guests to arrive until 10 am.

We had a leisurely morning at Cabanas buffet.  The ship was fairly quiet except for the buffet breakfast, still pretty busy.  Had some time to kill so we strolled around deck 10 and checked out the town from above.  The port area had a lot of garbage around and dilapidated houses.

We then disembarked around 9:45 am, still unsure but we thought we would risk showing up at the resort unannounced.  Walking out of the gate was pretty low-key.  The taxi people then pounced on us as soon as we set foot off the deck.  I asked the price of going to Coconut Beach Club in Yepton Estate and the driver said $16, which is what it should be.

So we agreed to go there and the driver walked us to his van.  We drove through town and the streets were so crowded and small.  Everyone drives however they want and people walk all over the streets.  They drive on the left-hand side of the road.

Our driver was friendly and told us a bit about St. John’s and how it is the only city on the island.  The rest is rural houses.  It took about 10 minutes to get to the resort, just around the bay and we paid him and he promised to come back at 2:30 pm.

The resort check in desk said we could stay for the day and it was $50 per person.  They provided us with towels, since we forgot to take some when leaving the ship.  This day pass allowed use of the resort amenities and all the drinks you can handle plus their buffet lunch at 12:30 pm

We headed over to the bar and pool and beach area.  The resort is located on a private stretch of beach, there are no vendors except for a massage lady who didn’t bother us.  It was nice to be on such a quiet beach.  There were plenty of lounge chairs up at the bar/pool area and also on the beach.  The girls first played in the beach and water.  I have to warn you that there is a 2 foot drop off just in the water.  It didn’t bother us but one older lady fell over trying to get back out of the water.

The clientele was mostly older couples with a few younger ones.  Kids under 12 are not allowed at this resort but they allowed (I checked beforehand) my 9 year old.  They said they probably would deny toddlers and babies though.

H and I had a Piton beer on tap to start.  The bar gives you plastic cups if you go to the pool or beach, otherwise it is glass.  I don’t think I like Piton beer.

I then tried a rum punch and I don’t believe there was ANYTHING that wasn’t alcohol in it.  I felt a buzz coming on and could barely finish it.

But I had to be a good soldier and ordered a Pina Colada next.

And then the bartender made a Starburst (her own creation) and that was it for me.  The rest of my drinks were Starbursts, they were so good!  Some sort of frozen strawberry drink.  If you go there, ask the bartender if she makes them, I loved it!

By the time lunch came around, I was pretty hammered but I did sober up by using the infinity pool (gorgeous by the way!).  The girls loved it too.

On the way to the restrooms, I noticed a lounge area with a TV and a bunch of BOOKS!  I had to stop and look at them and maybe I took one.  They were swap books, but I didn’t have any to swap but I still found one I just had to read.

Lunch was a buffet style with rice, salad, beans, some sort of jerked beef, fish, fried tomatoes and a few weird desserts.  And more starburst drinks.

H did meet a lovely couple from Kent, England and he spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with them.  I think the man said he worked for Arm & Hammer but my memory is hazy of much of the afternoon.

We walked the ¼ mile along the beach to the rocky outcroppings where we couldn’t go any further and found hermit crabs and interesting shells.

Then it was time to go.  Our cab driver was waiting for us and I found it hard to let go of my last Starburst. . .  We paid another $16 to get back to the ship.  And drove through the market, which was sort of dirty.

If you are looking for a quiet day, away from crowds and vendors, I would highly recommend this place.  My kids are fairly quiet also so they don’t need jet skis and kayaks and loud music and lots of crowds.  They enjoyed the grounds and playing with the coconuts and rocks/shells.

To be continued in another post.