SAND BETWEEN OUR TOES .....................

ANTIGUA is supposed to have 365 beautiful beaches .......... That's a beach a day, and given a year to do it in, we doubt that you could do that many beaches before you ran out of money ............ It just about costs you the price of an airline ticket to get a taxi ride from the airport to English Harbour ........

Someone came up with the 'philosophy' that "cruising" is really all about "fixing a yacht at an exhorbitant price in an exotic location" ....... Which means of course that if you are "meandering" like we do, you would be doing it at twice that price ........ Well, we don't subscribe to that philosophy ..... 'Exorbitant' is something like this ....... We are currently anchored in Five Islands Bay, ANTIGUA and there are about thirty bungalows on the hillside, overlooking the anchorage ........ And you should try one, for a one-bedroom bungelow overlooking the sea, will set you back $US 1910/night plus 20% in other charges and taxes, and if you have a child, and don't forget you are only allowed one, it will be an extra $US 330 per night ...... Then again, if you are on a honeymoon and you happen to conceive one, you are bound to be in big trouble, for they do not allow children under twelve .......... Best not to mention that little episode when checking out.......



So here we are, anchored and looking over the very same blue water and able to look up at the bungalows on the hillside and all for free........ And yes, we have come to terms with our good fortune ......... The rocks that separate each of the sandy beaches in the bay all look like recently cooled lava, with all the vibrant colours of those freshly-baked earthy minerals .......



Now getting back to this thing about "working in exotic places" ..... Well, there is some truth in that, for we decided to redo the deck by sanding off the old varnish and re-coating it with 'CETOL', a supposedly better sunlight-resistant product ...... Two back-breaking, knee rupturing days of heavy grinding in an exotic location ....... Well, whoopsie do ........ But look at the end result ...... 'Ain't that just grand' ......



And every once in a while a really nice yacht would just come sailing by .........



Met the dedicated owner of this traditional wooden ketch (below), which was built in the island of St. Kitts/Nevis and is now being repaired in the boatyard at Jolly Harbour ..... Tree branches were being shaped with a chainsaw, ready to be installed in the hull ..... You sure have to love your wooden boat ....... And he named it after that famous Nevisian, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, who became the first US Secretary of the Treasury ....... Bet the US Treasury is not funding this project ......



But it is these beautiful beaches in Five Islands Bay, that has drawn us here ....... For this is a place to really get that sand between your toes ...... And then jump in the water and wash it all away ............. Paradise found again ............



And in the middle of the bay there is a small island with lots of pelicans nesting, and a great many white-feathered juvenile pelicans still sitting on the nest, waiting for Ma and Pa to come home with the 'fish and chips' .......... And all round the edges of the bay we see the remnants of the former sugar estates, with old stone sugar mills visible above the tree-line ....... And then there's this dead tree .....



Twelve years ago, during some very memorable times, I took this photo of that same dead tree when it was still standing in the water ............ Oh, how time deals with everything ............



Silent remains of a brutal colonial era ............. Forgotten relics of a tempestuous past now shrouded in vines and cacti, even on the very top of this old windmill structure .............. Just do a double-click on the photos to enlarge them ...........



But the white sand beaches and the blue water really are 'to die for', and since we had them all to ourselves, we decided to do the proper colonial thing and claim them for AUSTRALIA ........ Just like Captain Arthur Phillip did, when he first planted the British flag in Botany Bay, Australia in 1788 ..... And just like him, we totally disregarded the rightful owners ............. And just like him, we too, will sail away ........... So if you don't want to walk the beaches, or swim in this beautiful blue water, or you don't want to explore the hills, well then, go ride a horse or something ..............