Dantigua - Day 4

The early night has had the obvious effect and I awake at 3:00. From then on it's patches of sleep, social media catch up and map studies before I eventually get up at 8:30 with a plan for the day. Of course it has every potential for change. The main effort will be Shirley Heights later in the day for the live event.

Before I can go anywhere I have to deal with slightly flat tyres at the front and rear driver side. The back one had looked a little deflated last night but today it is down a lot more. Zeus doesn't have a pump but tells me the way the nearest garage is and it is somewhere I know. I'm so local!!

The guy with the air pump has a small mechanics hut set to the side of the fuel pumps. I asked him if he has the facility put to pump tyres. He points at the compressed air tube coiled up on the floor and says "help yourself man". This I gratefully do, thank him for his trouble and then I'm on my way to stop number one.

I have spied Eden Beach on Google maps; it doesn't look overly populated and is not too far to drive. When I arrive however, I find it that the passage to Eden Beach is blocked by a resort with no trespassing signs all over the place. I park up before the entrance to the resort, where there is plenty of activity going on. I then make my way on foot along the beach behind the security lodge. I nod and bid good morning to residents and staff alike; no one pings me as a trespasser.

There is a gate and a fence guarding the entrance to Eden Beach. Turns out clothing is optional and no cameras are allowed. I work out quickly what that means and decide that I don't want to be in competition with Dexter St Jock. 

Clothing optional!!

So I turn around and head back to where I am parked and set myself up under a palm tree. I spend the next hour or so lying on my towel, enjoying the sound of the sea and the feel of the warmth of my body.

Alternative view

The peace is shattered by a large group who has set themselves up for the day with a huge speaker an even bigger cool box and an appetite to match. They are in full party swing so I decide to take my leave and head for Half Moon Bay, where I intend to have some lunch.

Again, Google has lied to me. This was another place that seemed fairly free of people. However, when I arrive it is heaving and both bars have no room. I have one beer and decide to head straight for Shirley Heights which is a good 45 minutes from here.

Less than 1 minute after setting off I see that Smiling Harry's has room now so I pull over. I order a seafood pasta which is absolutely gorgeous, so happy to have made that stop. So now it's Shirley Heights, this had better not be an anticlimax.

I don't know why I am surprised, but I arrive to the entrance of Shirley Heights and join a long queue of traffic. This is at the barrier where you normally pay EC$25 to enter the site. Because the event on site is US$10, there isn't the normal charge to enter so I'm a bit confused why the the queue is so slow moving.

Anyway, I eventually get through and follow the road up to the parking area which is straightforward. I then hand over $10 for a wristband which gets me into the event area. I quickly get my ubiquitous Nelson's Dockyard photo in and then sit back and watch the steel band for a while.

Standard pic from Shirley Heights lookout

As I am driving, I'm being good and not having any beer for the moment but I feel like I'm standing around like a spare part. So while is it still daylight, I decide to wander off and have a look at some of the historical sites. I visit the cemetery and memorial and then follow the blockhouse trail which covers most of it. There isn't any information on any of the site, so I'm presuming that, because of the location, it is simply a lookout to give warning of advancing pirates or the French to the dockyard.

Stag position!

I head back to the event area, where the steel band are still playing, which is now filling up with lots of people. I am more aware of my singleton status now than at any other time during the trip and I'm really not enjoying myself. So I hang around for sunset, grab a couple of pictures and make the decision  to head back. I just can't deal with that many tourists, haha.

Too cloudy for a perfect sunset

Tourists!! <shudder>

Antigua roads are a challenge during the day so it is quite hairy driving back to my apartment in the dark. But I manage it unscathed and I'm sooner in my pyjamas watching more cricket.

I manage to polish off the rest of the Malbec and three little Heinekens before turning in. Zeus has said I can keep hold of the car until the afternoon and then he will drive me to the airport, which will be a massive bonus with still having a couple of locations on my sleeve for tomorrow.

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