Antigua

2/20/2011

Up with the alarm again today. On the dock early again for a tour, but unlike yesterday, this was very good. Our bus, with driver Sammy and guide Giselle, took us all over the island. Antigua claims to have 365 beaches, one for each day of the year. The scenery from the lookouts down to the beaches was great. Driving is done on the wrong side of the road, the roads are narrow, with no center lines or fog lines and dead policemen every mile or so. A dead policeman (or 24 hour policeman) here is what we call a speed bump at home.

Rasta adherents are quite evident here. Ras Tafari is a religious and political movement, begun in Jamaica in the 1930s and adopted by many groups around the globe, that combines Protestant Christianity, mysticism, and a pan-African political consciousness. These folks believe that the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassi is/was the second coming of Christ. Somehow, pot smoking became part of the religion and possibly is the real reason it hangs on!

The British used this island for a secure place to repair ships and had 40 forts scattered about the island, often on the high points. These were the lookout points where the bus stopped. Each stop had Antiguans selling local crafts, often made in China!

Our last stop was at Nelson’s Boatyard, named after Admiral Horatio Nelson, hero of Trafalgar, who served here for a year. We learned a new term, careening, at the boatyard. Careening, as sailors might know but we didn’t, involves roping the masts of sailing ships to large winches and pulling them onto their sides so that barnacles could be scraped and wood replaced on one side then the other. There were no drydocks back then!

We think that the ship left two passengers behind on Princess Cays a few days ago. The ships, at least in Seattle, are fined by the minute if they stay past their scheduled departure time. They always wait for those on tours organized by Princess, but don’t wait for those exploring on their own.

Late last night, the bridge called a Code Alpha for cabin A320, just a few doors from us. We think, from stories told by our friends who witnessed the event that we may have lost a passenger to a heart issue. Today, there is not a name tag beside the door. We will pray for this passenger and his family at Mass this afternoon.

Tomorrow’s excursion is not until noon, so no more alarms in cabin A230.

John & Colleen