ANTIGUA ADVENTURE 5/14/2012

Day one: We left Bradenton by late  morning on our way to Patrick AFB by car.  The base is located just south of CoCo BeachFlorida.  We stayed at th base hotel that is located right on the Atlantic Ocean.  The outside looks a little rough but the inside were remodeled and are very nice.  We had a suite, two bed room one bath, living room, dinning room, full kitchen, and a small office area. 

Day two: Monday morning we awoke to an over cast sky.  We packed up and headed over to the AFB for sign in.  After we checked in we headed to Denny’s for breakfast.  We still had some time to kill before returning to the base.  We drove over to the Dinosaur meausume and looked around.  Then we returned to the base by noon to wait for the plane to load.  We boarded the plane, thirty five seats.  It was nice with plenty of room.  We  watched a movie, had sandwiches, chips, cookies, and a coke.  By the end of the movie we were ready to land in Antigua.  We didn’t have any problem clearing customs and we rented a car.  Boy, then things got interesting. We had to drive on the left hand side, I almost hit a jogger.  The road was very rough with pot holes and speed bumbs.  The directions to the hotel room was not very good and the Nuvi GPS was not any help.  We finally found it.  We checked in and then headed to the grocery store to get some food.  Boy is it expensive.  The food cost about 2 – 3 times what you would pay at home.  We returned and made a small dinner before turning in.  Wow what a long day.

Day three: Tuesday morning we slept late until 7 Am  We were moving kind of slow.  We visited with the owner Ilse and she showed us her five ridgeback dogs.  Their property is beautiful as the picture show.  They are right across the street from SANDLES resort.  They are walking distance to the beach.  We tool a stroll to the beach and on the way we stopped into SANDLES to check it out..  It is beautiful, but for $1500 US a night is should be.  All the booze and food, snorkeling, boat rentals, scuba diving are included in the price.  The rooms are very small for  that price. 

We continued on down to the beach, we walked past a few little bars and a  big Casino.

The beaches are beautiful.  We walked along the beach and came upon a naked girl sun bathing.  We talked to her awhile and then continued on.  Next we came to a beach bar and grill. We stopped and had a drink.. We walked on along the beach past the SANDLES and onto a beaches we had visited 15 years ago.  After that we walked up to the road and back to the room.  We had a small lunch and took a nap.  In the afternoon we went for a ride just to see what we could discover.  We had no agenda and no destination.  I just followed the road.  The road led us to a wonderful beach called Hawk’s head.  Wow what a gorgeous beach.  On the horizon I could see the next island, Masseratt.  I wasn’t prepared to go snorkeling, but I do want to return here again.  The sun was now getting low in the sky and we wanted to get back before dark.  It was a nice day.  We pulled in and closed the gate behind us.  Latter that night Rebecca and I went hunting for frogs and lizards.  It was fun watching her catch them.

Day four: Wednesday morning we were slow in getting started; we had sporadic rain showers.  We headed out driving on the narrow left hand side of the road through town and barley missing pedestrians and cyclists’.  We head straight across the island.  I did my best to miss most of the huge pot holes and Laura had the map to keep me headed in the right direction.  The GPS nuvi was very confused and was not of any use to us.  We found a little dirt road that led us to “BETTY’S HOPE” ; an old sugar, rum factory.  All that was left were some ruins and a museum.  It was very educational.  Next we were back on the road, avoiding a donkey walking in the middle of the road and goats crossing the road and a lot of big speed bumps.  My maximum speed was 25 MPH.  On we went up hills and around curves; negotiating very narrow village streets.  Finally we saw the ocean and we knew we were getting close.  Then we turned down the worst possible road you can imagine.  I think it is a river bed when it rains.  I could not get too close to the roads edge because there were over grown bushes with huge thorns on them that would scratch the car.  Slowly we made our way up to a place called “DEVIL’S BRIDGE”, but just before we got there we had to drive through “PARADISE”.  The edge of the island met the sea in a very violent way.  The waves were huge crashing onto the cliffs and shooting spray high into the air.  The wind was very strong and it covered us is salt spray.

Then on we went to the next place.  It actually got a whole lot nicer.  We found the best place yet.  Just imagine a white sandy beach on a tropical island with a calm bay, crystal clear water, children playing in the lapping waves.  There was a nice open air restaurant and we had a wonderful lunch.  Smooth jazz was playing and I was now what I would consider paradise!  After lunch Laura and Rebecca walked down the beach to find some shops and I went snorkeling.  It was very nice with many tropical fish to photograph.  After awhile it was time to head back to the SUGAR SHACK.  I got cleaned up and we made it back home in less than an hour.  Great day!