Once again we were swamped by taxi drivers & tour guides all offering to take us around the island. We decided to go with "Ninja" as he seemed less pushy than the others. So with 6 of us on the tour, off we went to explore the island. Ninja was a very happy person - he honked, waved & shouted hello to lots of passing cars & people walking down the street, he stopped at a local fruit stall so we could taste the locally grown mini bananas - the flavour was delicious.
The town of Antigua was authentic - although the casino didn't look like it would entice many gamblers from the ship.
It is a poor island with the main industry being tourism - they also make their own rum. The town itself & the houses in the suburbs are run down & garbage in the streets doesn't seem to be a problem for them. This cruise has been an eye opener - it truly makes us appreciate our way of life in Australia.
The views changed dramatically with the lifestyles of the rich (& maybe the famous) with yachts, launches, resorts & beautiful beaches.
A local police station with sheep wandering up to the front door.
We passed some beautiful resorts.
A great view from the bar
Cliff enjoying a local rum with Mike from our tour group (when you purchase a drink they do not measure the alcohol, they stop when it reaches the top.
the beautiful warm blue water of the Caribbean sea.
When we got back to town we had lunch at Hemmingways cafe - food & drinks were expensive.
It was a half day holiday as it was the first day of the cricket test match, West Indies -v- England.
Most of the shops had closed but the markets & bars were still open. Cliff bought himself a very handsome hat!
We made it back to the ship with only 15 minutes before cut off time - we had a great afternoon sampling the local rum & meeting lots of friendly people.
5 days at sea with next port of call "Ponta Delgada" then Southampton - where has the time gone
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