Caribbean Cruise...Day 5

Day 5– April 8, 2008
Location: St John’s, Antigua
Weather: partly cloudy, 78 degrees, rough seas
Excursion: Catamaran Sail
Distance sailed from Miami: 1300 nautical miles

Oh my. Where do I even begin to describe today? You know those postcards that show the pictures of the ocean with various shades of blue and green with the white beaches and palm trees? That’s where we went today and what we saw. Simply amazing!!! Our excursion today was a catamaran sail with a stop for snorkeling, an hour on the beach and lunch on the boat. Holy blue waters, batman!!! First off, it started out meeting with the group of people that were going on the trip. I was a bit skeptical since there were about 50 people and when we saw the boat, I thought there was no way we were all going to fit. Well, we did, just barely. The boat was manned by a 3 man crew and a captain. The group was Wadadli Cats. We headed off out of the port to start the journey. As soon as we headed out of the port, the water turned the most amazing shade of blue-green. And it just kept getting better the farther we went out.

We sailed for about 30 minutes out in the middle of the ocean where there was a huge coral reef that we were going to snorkel at. Those of us that were going to snorkel got all geared up and we jumped in the water. It was a bit chilly at first, but once you were in, it was so nice. And there were tons a fish. Now I’ve never snorkeled before. And due to a little near drowning incident when I was younger, I’m kind of wuss when it comes to swimming in large bodies of water with no real ground underneath. And the whole mask and snorkel thing was foreign to me. But once I figured out that I didn’t have to freak out and hyperventilate and I really could breathe underwater with the snorkel, I had quite a good time. There were big schools offish and they would come right up to you. The reef was pretty cool to look at too. Of course I totally forgot to bring the disposable waterproof camera we got. Oh well. Maybe we will be able to snorkel another day.

After about 40 minutes, we all got back on board and headed off on a 45 minute ride to the island we were going to swim at. The scenery was simply amazing. I can’t do it justice to describe it. Like the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and we took about a hundred of them. We finally got to the island after passing a good portion of the island of Antigua. The little cove and beach the captain had chosen for us to stop at was amazing. Unfortunately the tides were to low so we weren’t able to go up to the beach. So we dropped anchor in the middle of the cove. He did have a little motored raft that he took people in to the beach if they wanted. I was fine just jumping in off the boat and swimming.

After lunch on the boat, which was Caribbean chicken, rice with black beans, some sort of roasted pumpkin, and mac & cheese, I tried my hand at snorkeling a second time. This time it went much smoother. The water was calmer and now I had a better idea of what I needed to do. The water was crystal clear. You could see all the way to the bottom, about 14 feet, and it reflected light as if it were a swimming pool. And it was the most amazing shade of blue. The bottom of the cove was made up of sand and coral reefs. I saw a bunch of fish, of course I don’t know what kind they were, but they were very pretty. Stripped ones and these really pretty electric blue and yellow fish. They looked like the kind you would find in a huge salt water aquarium. I also saw a ton of sand dollars, but apparently it’s against the law to remove anything from a reef. So I didn’t touch anything.

After an hour of swimming and snorkeling, it was time to head back to the ship. It was a 45 minute ride back, but the last part of the way, the captain cut the engines and put up the sails and we sailed the rest of the way. Truly amazing. It was such a cool experience. The crew was very nice and had a continuous supply of beverages for all of us. I wonder how many cases of beer they went through today!! That was the nice thing, too. It was 5.2% alcohol, none of that crap 3.2 Utah beer!! After two of them, I was feeling quite nice!!! It was called Carib Lager and it was mighty tasty. Of course it was ice cold and so refreshing in the sun and heat. I’m surprised I was able to swim after a few more!!

Once we got back on the ship, we did the standard shower and clean up and took a nap. A day in the sun wears you out. Then we went to the Lotus Garden for some Asian Fusion (whatever that means!) for dinner. It was really good. Pot stickers and tempura shrimp for the appetizer, teriyaki steak and asparagus for dinner. Delish!

We missed yet another show, since we have been planning dinner at the wrong time, so we headed to the casino again after dinner. I took about $60 and lost it all in about 10 minutes. Had to be a new record for me. I found Kerry (at the poker table of course!) and told him I was headed back to the room. He gave me $20 to play on the way out. Well, 3 spins later and I won $120. So I took him back his $20 and put one more twenty in another machine. Ching, ching, ching! $107 again! Woo hoo!! I cashed out and spent about $40 more and went back to the room with my winnings. That casino isn’t too bad!! I’ve left with more than I started with 3 out of 4 nights. Not to shabby!!

Tomorrow we are going to be in Bridgetown, Barbados. I think we may just do a little walking around and shopping. No excursions planned as of now. I might need a day to recover after today!!