The port was busy and also moored up were Carnival’s Valour, RCI’s Serenade of the Seas, our very first cruise ship, plus Celebrity’s ‘Summit’. As usual we had a spell by the pool in the morning and in the afternoon, Elizabeth and Sarah had a spell in the shops at the dockside and then relaxed on the balcony.
At the shops they looked for free wifi - without success - while Chris and Graeme went on a tour of the central and southern parts of Antigua. They passed by the new cricket stadium – the ‘Viv Richards Stadium’, then drove on to the Blockhouse where troops were stationed high up to watch out for the pesky French who were always wanting to nick our islands. From there you could see Eric Clapton’s villa complex and also the detox/rehab facility he has donated to the island. Then we moved across to ‘Shirley’s Heights’ – named after one of the English generals on Antigua - and then to Dow Hill where we had a 15-minute presentation on the history of the islands. Every time the history of the islands is spoken of – whether it’s Tortola, Antigua, Dominica or Barbados – I feel about as guilty regarding the slave trade as the Germans do about the holocaust.
The highlight of the day was our final stop – at Nelson’s Dockyard where Horatio was in charge of the Caribbean fleet for a number of years (sounds like another nice number!) and where the ships were stationed. The history was fascinating and the restored buildings were beautifully presented. As always it was very hot, but also as always the trip included a free drink. Chris and I preferred the easy option of rum punch rather than choose any of the more boring and predictable offerings and it did pack some punch. The stop was rounded off by our being able to watch part of the Chelsea v Benfica Euro match on ESPN – 3.20pm on Antigua was 8.20pm at home, so the timing was perfect.
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