Thursday,
January 11, 2018
Antigua,
Leeward Islands.
75
F, Sunny
Antigua is one of
the 2 major islands that make up the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
Ringed with coral reefs, the island is known for its many sandy beaches Admiral
Horatio Nelson made his base in Antigua in the 1780s.
None
of us had done any research about Antigua, an island we have not been on very
often, so we all opted to trust the locals and head by van ($16/pp-round trip)
to Valley Church Beach. Luckily, this beach, located on the West coast of Antigua just
south of Jolly Harbor, was beautiful, with powder white sands and calm blue
aqua waters in Lignum Vitae Bay. After a
half hour ride on flat land (a few hills in the distance), we had beach lounges
and an umbrella near water’s edge. Clean facilities were nearby and we settled
in to enjoy the fabulous sun and sea. It did rain lightly twice, but that felt
quite pleasant. I walked along the beach and found a couple pieces of green
beach glass, a very interesting sand smoothed piece of white pottery, some
coral, and black rock--perhaps volcanic (for Brother Bill). Donna collected some sand and sea
shells.
Our driver summoned us about 1 p.m. for our return to the
port town and we were ready to go. Upon reflection, we could have stayed
longer, but there is no missing a ship in our future!
After a short walk in the small downtown area, we boarded the
ship for a little lunch, delicious fresh fruit and beef tapenades.
After a short walk in the small downtown area, we boarded the
ship for a little lunch, delicious fresh fruit and beef tapenades.
Tonight after dinner we are going to see the movie, Dunkirk,
under the stars! After dinner Donna, TK, and I hurried to Deck 9 to see the
movie--even though it was windy and there were a few sprinkles of rain, the
warm air mitigated any of that. Dunkirk is an intense movie and I am glad that I saw it. Since
we were at sea, the rolling of the Sunshine
in the ocean waves, seemed to amplify the intensity of the movie.
The Dunkirk evacuation, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk,
was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches
and harbor of Dunkirk, in the north of France
between May 26 and June 4, 1940. The operation started after large numbers of
Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German
Troops around the mid-point of the six week long Battle of France. By the end
of the 8th day, 338,226 troops had been rescued by a hastily
assembled fleet of over 800 boats, including
British Royal Navy destroyers, Royal Canadian Navy destroyers, and a variety
of civilian merchant ships, while others had to wade out from the beaches,
waiting for hours in shoulder deep water. Some were ferried to the larger ships
by what came to be known as the little ships of Dunkirk, a flotilla of hundreds of fishing boats, pleasure craft, yachts, and lifeboats called into service from Britain.
TK’s Takes: This is the bumpiest
sail he can remember. We do seem to rock and roll a lot.
I was trying to upload photos, but at this time the Internet is very very slow.
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