Cruise Day 6- Antigua, November 6th

If you are just joining, catch up here to see what I am sharing about in the coming days & weeks!
-Day 1
-Day 2
-Day 3
-Day 4
-Day 5

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Cruise Day 6, Antigua, Thursday November 6^th

 We had a laid back morning today. Knowing we were only going to do a beach day, we didn’t rush off the ship when all was clear at 8am. We went down to the MDR for breakfast. While the buffet is nice for choices, I love being served in the MDR. Nothing like being poured a cup of coffee right after sitting down and having someone waiting on you! For the record, I had Asian inspired scrambled eggs that had shrimp & stir fried veggies in it (with a side of bacon I asked for).

After breakfast, we came up to the room to finish getting stuff together. I have a small cooler backpack that we put in yogurt & cheese to take on shore for a small snack around lunch time. We also take with us a few single serving boxes of cereal for the littles for a quick snack (all things we get from the Windjammer). Each of us fills up a bottle of water as well to carry with us.

Millers by the Sea Beach

We weren't sure which beach we wanted to visit. This was our 3^rd trip to Antigua and we have gone to 2 different beaches so far. Antigua is known for its 365 beaches. We debated about which one to check out this time and after talking to a local, we decided just to go to the beach we were at last in 2010 (when I was about 8 weeks pregnant with Olivia, so I guess “technically” she was here before, HA!)

The water in the Caribbean is simply breath taking!

Millers by the Sea is only about a 5 minute drive from the port. Around 9:30, we caught a cab, better known as an old jalopy van that looked like it was held together by duct tape, to head to the beach.

You can't make this stuff up people!

 I had forgotten that the islanders drive on the other side of the road here. If the road has a bend where you can’t see around it, they honk to warn oncoming vehicles they were coming around the corner. Needless to say a few times I could've reached out the window to hi five the passing vehicle! Yeah we were that close!

A family vacation just isn't the same without our precious Noah

Once we got to the beach, I was surprised to see the amount of people here. When we were here 4 years ago, there were barely 20 people besides us there as it was a little known beach. Now it appears the ship brings tours here. It still wasn't crowded but had more people than we expected.

The beach didn't disappoint though! The sand was perfectly soft, no rocks or shells as you went out in the water. There were a few waves but if you go just past the break, you could easily stand and be lifted with the roll of the water and not get tossed by waves. And the color, oh goodness the aqua colors that radiated especially when the sun hit it! This by far is one of our favorite beaches because of the beautiful water! You can go super deep and still see your feet, clear as day! And the temp of the water felt like bath water! You know how typically you have to get used to pool water or the ocean? Nope, you could just walk right into the water here up to your neck and it felt amazing!!! We were blessed with a beautiful day. The sun was in and out (probably good it wasn't always out to help prevent us from getting burnt).

My 7 children!

A guy taking some horses for a swim

Despite this island having such beautiful beaches, you can’t help but be sobered by the obvious poverty that you can see everywhere. Just in the short jaunt to & from the beach, there is so many run down & broken houses, trash piles, stray dogs running around and people who look desolate. I've heard from others that if it wasn't for cruise ships coming to their island, they would be even worse off than they are. This goes for many of the Caribbean islands we have visited. Their beaches are amazing but outside of that, your heart just aches for so many that you see.

The kids and I in front of our ship

We got back to the port about 2:30 and ran into some friends who have basically adopted the kids as their grandkids. They took the girls into a shop and bought them some hair clips that turn color in the sun (the shop is called Del Sol, apparently found on most islands). Once back to the ship, it was time to get everyone showered and a snack for the little ones. 

A view of Antigua from the ship at sail away

My 2 littles dressed for dinner watching sail away

Sun setting as we leave Antigua

A rare photo of me dressed for dinner at sail away!

We dressed for dinner and took the littles up to deck 12 to watch sail away under the setting sun then headed to dinner where we found our loaf of challah bread awaiting. It tastes especially good dipped in honey!

My ceviche

Tonight they had ceviche as one of the appetizers (the options change every night) so I ordered 2 as I love ceviche! I was introduced to it when I lived in Peru. Our friends sent us over 2 appetizers of garlic scallops as well. We didn't stay for dessert tonight and typically we don’t. Yes we are the crazy family who doesn't eat a ton of sweets.

The towel animal our room attendant left us

Tomorrow we have the only tour we have planned this cruise. We are taking a land & sea tour of St Lucia, our 1^st time to this island. Pray for our safety as we travel all over this island in an almost 7 hr tour and like the title states, we will be on both land by van and on a boat by sea.

Port time keeps me hopping so that is why emails are a little delayed. Hope everyone is having a great week!

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All photos can be clicked on to enlarge. The photos I am sharing are a combination of ones I took as well as my kids and husband on a variety of cameras and iPhones, hence the varying quality.