Still Wednesday, April 29

Went out on Promenade Deck to watch us sail. There were still passengers straggling in from a tour bus. It looked like one of the “day at the beach” kind of tours...everyone looked pretty tired and sandy, although I didn’t notice any glowing red. After they boarded, and it was now definitely sailing time, there began to be announcements of the “Would Mr. So-and-so of Dolphin 564 please call the front desk immediately.” This means that person hasn’t turned back up after leaving the ship earlier in the day. Or if he has come back, something slipped up on checking him in on the security system. Well, this time there were 4 names, then the next announcement had 3 names. Then eventually two older women came puffing along the dock toward the gangway. They had a certain amount of trouble locating their IDs in their huge purses while the crowd along the ship’s rail jeered and applauded...evidently these two already had a reputation from yesterday for spending too much time in local bars. They got on, but there were no more announcements, and after waiting another 5 minutes or so, the gangway and lines were pulled and we sailed away. If the fourth person wasn’t already on board, he or she got left on St. Lucia! If so, I can only hope he or she had passport and credit card on them so they can get to Antigua!

Thursday, April 30

Antigua. The first time I visited Antigua was in 1981. Our ship arrived two days after Antigua and Barbuda became an independent country. The new flags and bunting and other decorations were still up, and they were still celebrating...big time! I think I still have the t-shirt at home...should have brought it!

I’ve got a tour booked this afternoon to Lord Nelson’s Dockyard...an incredibly historic and scenic area, so I’ll evidently get off the ship today... Yup, I got off, and am now thankful to be back on! The tour was fine, but quite warm and completely exhausting.

I love the Caribbean concept of personal responsibility. In this photo of Shirley’s Height overlooking Lord Nelson’s Dockyard, you can see a low stone wall, maybe 16 to 18 inches high with a sign that says, “Do not go beyond this point.” At another spot about a mile away, a sign says, “Cliff Edge.” At that place, there is no barrier at all to keep you away from the crumbly edge of a very steep cliff other than a few decorative stone pillars about 4 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet apart with a paved walkway outside the pillars. They figure you’ve been warned by the single signs and the fact that most people are able to see the cliff itself, and that you have enough brains not to muck about on it. In the U.S. there would be a 7 foot tall, fine mesh fence between you and the spectacular view.