CRUISE 2014 - DAY 5 - ANTIGUA, WEST INDIES

 

We woke to a bit of rain this morning but it cleared up quite quickly and the sun came out.  The ship was docked in St. John’s, Antigua and we were up early because we knew there were going to be four cruise ships in port that day….along with approximately 9,600 passengers and things would be very busy.  We had breakfast and were off the ship by 10am.

We walked through the boardwalks and colorful shops on Heritage Quay and made our way out of the cruise terminal area to Market Street and made a right.  About a 10 minute walk down the street (bearing right at the fork in the road), we came to the West Bus Station, across from the Farmer’s Market.  Having made this trip before, we knew we were looking for Bus #22 and asked around until we found it.  Do NOT expect speed here…the name of the game is CHEAP!!  When you get on the bus, depending on your timing, you can expect to sit and wait anywhere from a few minutes to a half an hour.  The driver waits until the bus is completely full before he leaves.  That means even the jump seats are occupied.  The locals wait patiently but there is often some tourist who thinks that it makes a difference to mouth off at the driver and tell him to get the bus moving.  It doesn't!

We waited about a half hour but occupied ourselves chatting with a German couple from Toronto who were looking at it as an adventure as well.  Bus fare was $1.50US per person each way.  Have the correct change on hand. 

Walking through the streets of St. John's

 

On the bus

Antigua has some of the most gorgeous beaches and you really can’t go wrong with whichever beach you choose.  We tend to go to Darkwood Beach, which never disappoints.  We arrived around 11am and rented two chairs ($5 each) that were pulled up under a long shaded covering.  We did our normal beach things: relax, read, and swim. 

 

As time went on, the breeze picked up quite a bit and started pelting us with sand so we decided to head back into town around 1:30pm.  We walked outside of the restaurant area and waited for a bus to come along.  Cabs will sometimes stop and tell you that it will be a long while for a bus but they tend to come along every 15 minutes or so.  They drive on the opposite side of the road from North Americans so make sure you are waiting on the correct side and wave down the bus when it comes along.  If the buses are full, they will not stop so it is best to head back into town before 3pm or so as then the buses start filling up with locals heading home after work.  We only waited a couple of minutes for a bus and the trip back into town was much faster than the trip out as there wasn’t near as much traffic to deal with.

Back in town, we walked back up to the cruise terminal and asked around to find an internet café.  We were directed to The Best of Books which was a relatively short walk from Heritage Quay.  We paid $4 for a half hour of internet access and checked in with the outside world and then headed back to the ship around 3pm to shower and nap before supper.  One of the lovely little treats offered by Royal Caribbean on your return back to the ship is an ice-cold facecloth to cool you down and make you feel a bit less sweaty and sticky as you get back on the ship.

The cruise was already half over and time goes by so quickly, even when you try to slow things down!  For your info, here is a link to a local description of using the bus to have a budget friendly outing on Antigua:  http://antiguaislandguide.com/one-day-in-antigua-on-a-shoestring/