Sunday, February 3, 2013

Beautiful Antigua - Part One

We arrived at the Grand Pineapple Resort yesterday in time to unpack, shower and eat dinner.  Craig and I met a couple of English ladies, Liz and Janet, at the bar  while we waited for the other half to arrive.  They were quite interested in our lives in the Arctic and the conversations were brilliant! We also explored the resort and waited for Sandy and Keith to arrive at 9:30pm.  They showered and we all met at the main bar to have a night cap.  While there we met some more great English people, and by the end of the evening we were laughing and sharing stories with each other, needless to say we closed the bar down a few hours later. 
This morning we woke to the crashing sounds of the waves hitting the beach and when we went outside our balcony much to our surprise there were some mongooses making love to each other.  This is the first time we have seen mongooses and Antigua has plenty roaming freely on the island.  Another free animal is the cat, which we have come to love and of course feed whenever we head for a bite to eat.
We met Sandy and Keith for breakfast and we had a few visitors, it seems like all of the island's birds show up the same time for breakfast.  You learn very quickly to cover and guard any food or drink that is on the table as these creatures are not scared to sneak a bite off your plate.  We read that some people didn't like the begging cats or the birds but all of us don't mind at all - actually I think we all kinda enjoy having them around.
After breakie we headed up the trail, past our rooms to Mary's Outhouse, a very rustic restaurant which serves a mean BBQ daily from noon to 4:30pm.  The views from the top are amazing and we could of stayed there all day but the beach was calling our names.  We visited the beach vendors and Sandy and I bought a beautiful ankle each, which the local ladies make.  We decided that today was going to be a day of rest and relaxation but it ended up with Sandy and Craig playing 3 games of beach volleyball...so much for relaxing. 
Tonight we feasted on a fine dinner of Jerk Cornish Hens and Pork Tenderloin - both with all of the fixings.  (and yes we fed the regular cats that joined us for dinner). Tomorrow is the Manager's Cocktail Party being held at the Garden Gazebo at 5:00 - 6:00pm local time, so if you go to the resort's website you just might see us waving back at you.
Talk soon!
The entrance of the Reception
 The Reception area
 Our room
 Next three pic are of the view from our 2nd floor balcony


 All of the pathways are surrounded by lush greenery and well lit at night
 Our view this morning, the beach is just on the right
 An example of what happens if you do not cover your food - thankfully our neighbours were finished
 Walkway to Mary's Outhouse where I tripped - surprised?
 The Gazebo on top of the hill, that's the resort to the right
 Mary's Outhouse
 You can leave anything and everything there with your name on it
 Another example of the collections at Mary's
 The view looking towards the resort
 Keith, Sandy and Craig enjoying the views and a taste of the local beer.
 Craig and I
 One of the many cats that hang out on the island
 Felt sorry for the guy as he had an eye infection. wished I could of helped him, other than feeding him
 A mongoose
 The side of Mary's Outhouse with real outhouses in the background
 An old telephone booth at Mary's
 Heading back down
 The view of the beach area
 Beautiful flowers on the island
 And yet another one
 The colourful beach vendors
 Sandy and Craig playing beach volleyball - yeah they will be sore tomorrow
 Many palms on the beach


No comments:

Post a Comment