I awoke to yet another fabulous morning yesterday, more blue skies, but out at sea as I walked along the beach there were a few white clouds with a beautiful rainbow. And yes, the rain came in, again and again and again.... The beach was completely empty, and no, not from the rain, but from the absence of a cruise ship, a rare happening... It felt a completely different place to yesterday's bedlam.
In between the showers I walked as far as I could and the extent of the beach erosion at the Southern end is really clear. A ruin of a restaurant stands yellow-taped off, like a crime scene, as it is in danger of falling into the sea. You can see where Sandals are trying futiley to rebuild their beach near their collapsed fence. At the other end of the beach, the sand is piling up against the cliff, where it has been shifted from one end to the other, all this a combination of bad building, sea pollution damaging the coral reefs and hurricane damage.
But it stil is a beautiful beach to walk along and to sit awhile with a rum punch, looking out to the blue sea....
I leave here on Friday, and none to soon I think! It is a lovely place but I feel I am in danger of becoming institutionalised.... There are rules everywhere at the hotel, a dress code, you have to have your beach card towel, the food never varies and to top it all yesterday, even my freedom to choose the time I eat the terrible buffet was taken away.... They have introduced three sittings for dinner and you have to book one..... It is starting to feel a bit like a care home for the elderly, especially when I spotted mashed potato and gravy on the menu..... And I also found that I was beginning to look forward to the Karaoke, not to join in, you understand, but to watch from the safety of my patio just a few metres away from the Carib Bar where it is held.... Luckily rain stopped play after about an hour as the heavens opened and the electical equipment was hastily put away... Much to the disappointment of "Black Cherry", an American girl who hogged the mike most of the time as if she were auditioning for American Idol - so the rainbow foretelling of rain perhaps did after all have gold at the end....
But I am braver tonight and head for the Manager's cocktail party, the lure of a free rum punch or two, too much to resist! Donning my cleanest (that being a relative term.....) outfit, I wander over and immediately spot a nice couple I had chatted to a couple of times, so hone in on them. They are a great couple, Jennifer, a tall elegant lady from near Wakefield and her taller, charming, retired policeman husband, Alan, they will be celebrating their Golden Wedding (50 years) on Friday. We are joined by another couple from Sussex, a prison librarian Christine and her husband, another ex copper, Bob. He has retired from the police force but is now working for security on the Olympics. I join them for dinner, and given there were two ex cops at the table, felt very gulity about sneaking a few free glasses of wine with them, they are on the all inclusive tariff, I felt like I was receiving stolen goods.......
So I get ready to move on on Friday to pastures new. I have enjoyed Antigua, and wouldn't hesitate to come back if I was looking for a nice place to loll about, (as you can see from the picture of me below, this was the view I looked at most whilst I was here, so lolling about is quite a skill....) and Dickenson Bay is as good a place to do that as anywhere in the Caribbean, with a beach that is in my top three. But the hotels are away from anywhere and a bit isolated and the sky high prices also are a bit of an issue. But a lovely place, so it is au revoir and not goodbye......
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
