Our day in Antigua - Trip Review

[SqueakyDust]

TRIP REVIEW

OCEAN VILLAGE – 29TH NOVEMBER TO 13TH DECEMBER 2005,

CARIBBEAN CRUISE

 

Thursday, 1st December 2005

ANTIGUA

Woke about 7am to see ourselves docking alongside the NCL Spirit. It’s a nice looking ship with most rooms having balconies. It has Freestyle emblazoned on the side, so their dining would be very similar to ours.

Breakfast today, in Plantations, was more or less the same as yesterday but with fried bread instead of waffles and cooked tomatoes instead of mushrooms. Very enjoyable.

I’d though about booking a trip locally prior to sailing but never got around to it. Hubby and I have been to Antigua before and did the Catamaran trip to the Volcano, but at a 7 hour trip we decided it would be too much for the children. So we simply walked off the ship, through the gates and waited to be approached. There were a few guys here, and they were all very polite and calmly enquiring who’d like trips. We asked about a tour to see Shirley Heights etc and said that we’d be happy to wait for a van to be filled. We were told it would be US$20 per person (same for the children). A lady came over to us and enquired what tour we were doing and asked if it was okay for her to join us. She was off the Spirit. Then a couple and their father came along and our van was full. I heard our man call ‘Lawrence’, perhaps to see if he was looking to fill a van, and did wonder if it were the infamous Lawrence of Antigua. He was a mature gent, on the shortish side and had left his smile at home ;)

We were introduced to our driver (not the original man we spoke with) and followed him to his van. We were accosted by ladies wanting to braid my, and my daughters’, hair. DD has thin, light brown hair and I wasn’t too keen on the idea of it being plaited, so we declined.

Our driver helped us into the van and introduced himself as Alwin, but said everyone called him Laro. He was a youngish gent and looked to be missing part of one of his ears. He was a really good driver and guide, and we’d highly recommend him. He confirmed where we’d go to; Shirley Heights, Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour & Dow’s Hill, and his price of $20 pp, then we were off. The town was quite busy and the roads do undulate so it was an interesting drive – especially when those coming towards you are nearly driving up the middle of the road. Our first stop was at the roadside where we climbed a few steps to a platform. Here we had beautiful views of what I think was English Harbour.

At the bottom there were a few stalls selling jewelry, t-shirts, trinkets etc and we let our daughter buy her first souvenir. It was a pretty shell and bead necklace for $10. Then we were off again, making our way to Shirley Heights. There is a booth where $5 per person is paid (kids went free) as it’s a national park area. At the top their was a hut which I think was a shop, possibly a little restaurant and again we were asked if we wanted our hair braided. It’s a large open area so you have to be careful at the edges – there are no barriers etc. There were various remnants from long ago, like walls and cannons but I was too busy keeping an eye on the children and the magnificent views. To the left we could see Eric Clapton’s house and down below us on the hillside our son spotted something. Laro went to investigate and it was a dead goat  We walked to the right and there in the distance we could see an island. We’d remembered the binoculars and soon were seeing the smoke of the volcano on Monserrat. We had a little walk around looking at the views from each part and spotted butterflies and lizards. Soon we were back in the van and on our way to our next destination. This was Dow’s Hill. There is a large building that inside was now a shop/restaurant and round the back you could see the beautiful views of English Harbour. Again there were a couple of stalls and the children bought pencil sharpeners. These were quite expensive at 2 for $9 – cheaper in the town. We didn’t have long here at all, but didn’t feel we’d missed out on anything either. Next we went to Nelsons’ Dockyard. It was really busy here, but Laro led us through the waiting throngs of people and got us through. There was an indoor market but as we’d been given a time limit (sorry, I can’t remember it) we decided to make our way straight through. Wow! This is a lovely area. We’d been given a leaflet with a map so set off looking for…. The wc! After this we decided we’d best put on sunscreen as it was really hot and we were open to the elements. We walked along looking at the yachts and found old relics that made great picture opportunities.

You could spend quite a long time here as there are many buildings to investigate and it appears to be a working harbour too. As time was tight we decided we’d only stop at one building so headed for Nelsons (of course). No time for shopping. Laro was waiting for us in an even busier car park (if that was possible) I think this is one place you’d be better getting to early as it is obviously very popular, which is understandable. I’d like to go back and spend more time.

In the van, on our way back to the ship, we decided we’d like to hit the beach. The rest of the group was happy to go back to town/the ship so Laro agreed to drop them off first and then take us on to one. When he mentioned Dickinson’s’ Bay I agreed as I’d heard it mentioned here, so knew it would be good. He said the cost would be an extra $5 each and he’d return at a set time to take us back to the ship. We decided to pay him half of the costs. He didn’t want it, saying he’d get it upon his return, but we trusted him to return (we still owed him more anyway).

As you walk onto the beach there are bars and you can hire sunbeds or… get your hair braided! We just walked along a bit and found space under an umbrella. The beach was very busy. I went to one of the wc to change. It was marked Tony’s on the side and oh boy! Was it nasty! The toilet was blocked (lucky I was just using it to change in) there was no water in the taps and I was continually hassled with others rattling the door trying to get in – eventhough I called out that it was busy. :rolleyes The couple who were already under the umbrella started to pack up just as we were finally getting ready to pop into the sea, and offered us their 2 sunbeds, which we gratefully took. Later DH was questioned about the sunbeds. He told the guy that we’d been given them by someone else, which another beach guest confirmed. The guy didn’t seem too happy so as we were only using them to store out stuff we moved our towels etc nearer to us in the water. Everyone seemed to leave bags unattended and we never saw/heard any problems. We left ours but always kept within sight and close proximity of them.

The surf was a bit rough, especially for the children, and the beach dipped quite quickly. Our son wouldn’t go in for quite a while as he couldn’t keep upright. Our daughter did, but very quickly was out of her depth. We stayed inside the area which had buoys, as outside this was where the jetski’s etc went. We’d hoped to see fish etc, but the water was quite murky and there were only the odd one or two. There were various things to rent on the beach and further up looked more a ‘party’ style. I noticed there were Hotels all along the beach – Sandals etc, and there was a fence separating the beach to their properties. At each gate there were security guards too. There were a lot of vendors and we were approached quite often, but a simple no thanks sufficed.

Laro had agreed to come back for us at about 3pm (after he’d collected his daughter ) and just before this, as we were packing up we spotted him at the entrance. He waited patiently for us to change the kids into dry clothes (we didn’t want to soak his van) and get shoes on.

Laro dropped us off in town so we could do a little shopping before returning to the ship. We paid him the rest of our fee and a little extra.

Our daughter bought 3 shell/stone bracelets for $5. I wish I’d bought more of these as gifts for friends but just presumed I’d get similar prices on other islands. This was by far the cheapest. The stallholder even shortened the bracelets so they fit. Our son bought a shell. The shells really are gorgeous and when you see the polished ones in the shops, they are hard to resist.

We had a walk around town and at the shops to the right of the port. These were more prominent the last time we visited. I’m not sure if all the areas were occupied as it was getting late and some shops could have been shut. It was near here that we saw Policemen, with HUGE guns! This is new to us as in the UK seeing an armed person is something usually confined to on the TV.

Back onto the ship to find signs everywhere about the Norovirus. Apparently it had arrived with the ‘plane guests from Manchester airport, which arrived the same day as us!

The only differences we found were that the Gel was manned (or womanned!) and we could no longer help ourselves at the buffet, it was served to us. I can’t remember what style dinner was tonight but it was very spicy and we did struggle a bit.

The much advertised Moon Show was on tonight up on deck. There is a huge metal structure above the pool and this is where the act is performed from. It looked like most of the ship had come to watch, but we found a space. It was quite good, but having seen it once I’d not bother again. Apparently there is a story line, but I never got any of that and the music seemed a bit frantic. It was a little amateurish in places, but daring in others.

Afterwards we played Chess with the children again and then it was back to our cabins. I actually fell asleep before everyone else tonight – perhaps it was the sea-air!!

[SqueakyDust]

oops, got my islands mixed up a little at the beginning of my review.

It was in St Lucia we did the catamaran tour to the volcano - sorry for any confusion! :0

Last time on this island we simply took a taxi to one of the Hotels (I think it was Royal Antiguan) and sat at the beach.