Antigua

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

It’s great to look out your window in the morning to see an island coming into view. We usually have inside cabins, but there are no inside cabins on Viking, so we can look out. Beautiful.

We were in Antigua (An – tee – guh by the locals) today. Our guide was Shirley. She definitely knew things, but figuring out what she was talking about was a bit of a trick. We had a wonderful air-conditioned minibus – which was a very pleasant surprise, because we were warned that most coaches on the island would not be air conditioned.

The Antigua flag features red for the bloodshed to create the country, black for the people, white for the sandy beaches, blue for the water surrounding, yellow for the sun 365 days/year, each point on the star for the different parishes.

We visited Nelson’s Dock Yard, where Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson hung out from 1795-98. It is now the base for one of the top regattas in the world. We drank rum punch at 9:30am. I used a bathroom with 5 stalls – 3 with no toilet paper, 2 that didn’t really flush, and one without a door. It was a very communal event with the other ladies present.

The steps up behind this cut-out lady were very rickety. I was trying very hard to not fall off. I had to get up three steps in order to get my face into the circle. Keith pointed out that my shoulders were not hidden at all and I just started laughing.

The sailboats in the marina were really tall – not like anything I have seen before.

Clarence House is in the background on the hill, behind the boats. Princess Margaret spent her honeymoon there. I feel like I saw it on The Crown. (Before I stopped watching because they seem like they are being mean to the Queen.)

We went up on the mountain to look down on it. It was very pretty.

We went up to an old demolished fort and looked down on where Eric Clapton built a drug rehab place. He lives here most of the year. So does Timothy Dalton. Quite a few famous people have homes here. Yet as we drove along, it looked like a very poor Caribbean Island. With an amazing marina. Huh.

We found the pool grill for lunch and had a wonderful meal. I had a cheese steak – which was rather amusingly an actual steak cut into chunks on a delicious baguette. It was so, so, so hard to eat, even with a knife and fork, but it was delicious. Keith had a Mexican pulled pork sandwich, then a hamburger. Both were small, so it was easy to have two things. After lunch, because we are on VACATION, and we were so tired we were stupid, we slept for three hours. WIN!

We got up in time for sail-away. It was fun to watch as the boat spun 180 degrees just after leaving its berth.

Then it was time for a SHOW! Apparently, there IS a band – a 4 piece group – and there are 4 singers. They put on a half hour ABBA tribute show that was very enjoyable. Fewer than 100 people were in the theater, so I guess doing something is really not the thing for most of the people on this cruise.

We had dinner in the Restaurant. That is the name of the main dining room. Chicken Kiev was on the menu and I was on a mission. I had a little salad (which contained no lettuce), chicken kiev on a bed of mixed broccoli, carrots, cabbage, and ham (an odd pairing in my opinion. Both were delicious, but they really didn’t complement each other). I had crème brulee and Keith had Waldorf flan. It had raisins. He haaaaates raisins. It was so good, he not only ordered a second one after finishing the first, he ATE the raisins.

We were seated 4 inches from another couple, who were 4 inches from another couple. We all spent the meal pretending we were not sitting 4 inches apart, and then when dessert was happening, conversation broke out. We lingered and chatted for almost an hour after we finished eating.

As we got up to leave, the couple next to us introduced themselves. Barbara and Brian (from England). I said I was Barbara as well, and Barbara was delighted. I told her she is the first Barbara I have ever met that didn’t go by Barb. She said if someone tries to call you Barb, just scratch their eyes out. She and I are bonded forever!!

I’m afraid you won’t recognize me if I don’t complain a little more. Complaint of today: I do not like that water is served room temperature here. I like cold water.