We lounged around the villa this morning and had a late breakfast outside on one of the decks. The sun rises behind the house, uphill, so it's not roasting in the sun in the morning, which is nice.
Eventually, we loaded up the car, descended the switchbacks down to the main road ("Route 1") and headed about a mile up the road to Smuggler's Cove. Almost immediately past the Long Bay Beach Resort, Route 1 runs up and over a hill, then turns into a gravel/dirt road.
There was some complaining from the back of the Pilot, but we made it to the beach eventually. The small parking area (I hesitate to call it a "lot") was full-ish, but we improvised, as appears to be the custom.
The beach is home to two separate beach bars: Nigel’s Boom Boom Beach Bar & Grill, and Patricias Beach Bar; they are beach bars in the truest interpretation of the term that I've ever seen.
The beach wasn't extremely crowded, but there were plenty of (rental) chairs and umbrellas spread out, taking up a good chunk of it. Also the surf was rough, forcing everyone up the beach toward the tree line. We set up the umbrella and chairs that we brought from the villa, and claimed a spot near some shade.
There was a solitary life guard in the middle of the beach, flying a yellow caution flag. (It later became a red flag, as the surf and current got spicier.) As I mention every time we're in the Caribbean, there are also wild chickens roaming around everywhere; this beach had a local gang of them.
After a relaxing swim, I set up between two trees for the afternoon. Pro tip: always travel with a hammock! You never know when you'll find the perfect spot for some reading, or perhaps a snooze.
The soothing white noise of the pounding waves eventually became too much to bear, and I succumbed. Someone was gracious enough to document it... using my own phone, even.
Even hidden in the trees, I had plenty of sunshine peeking through.
The chickens scratched around looking for food, but weren't aggressive or annoying about it. We had some snacks, but did not share with them.
It was around 2 PM by the time we need some hydration from Nigel's. He's providing a valuable public service, and isn't shy with the pours.
After a cocktail, I went back in the water. That's me, under the hat, in the middle.
Some people don't need a hammock to take a nap, but rather have the remarkable ability to sleep sitting up in a camp chair.
In a complete mockery of the other people on the beach having (what appeared to be) Instagram photoshoots, I took some over-the-shoulder shots of Sabrina and Lauren.
This guy randomly came by, trying to sell fresh coconuts. We didn't patronize him, but he stopped for a chat (and again on the return trip).
Apparently Lauren took my phone for a walk on the beach; I was distracted by a book.
Here I am, trying to enjoy that book.
As if an alarm had gone off, almost everyone around us packed up and left at the same time. It turns out they were cruise passengers, at the beach for the day, but had to get back to their ship. I think they were mostly from Germany.
For the next hour or so, we had the beach virtually to ourselves, until we started to get hungry and overheated. The surf had gotten quite lively, so nobody wanted to go back in the water. The lifeguard had gone out several times to bring people back to shore on his surfboard, because they were struggling with the current. None of us noticed when the flag changed to red, but we all had a sense that it had been several hours ago.
Just before 4 PM, we packed up the car and headed back toward Long Bay. Where we got back to pavement, I pulled over to admire the view and let a taxi pass us; the rough road didn't stop them from shuttling cruise passengers to and from the beach, in minivans nonetheless.
Just past the road that heads uphill to our house, we ducked into Sebastian's for an early dinner. Despite being officially called "Sebastian's On The Beach", there isn't a beach anymore. At least, there isn't a sandy beach, although it's still visible in Google Maps/Street View.
We felt bad for this poor woman, who was just trying to have a peaceful glass of wine with her book. The surf was rougher here than it had been at the beach, or maybe it just seemed that way because it was crashing on the rocks under the edge of the restaurant.
The service was a bit slow, because they weren't quite ready for dinner service yet. We mostly stuck to the bar menu, but eventually managed to satiate everyone's hunger by 6 PM or so.
We caught the last remaining light of the sunset, over the rock-and-coral beach.
It was starting to get dark as we walked back to the car and repeated the hill climb, 500+ feet up to the villa.
Tomorrow is supposed to be about the same weather. We're taking a boat trip to a few other islands, leaving the house by 9 AM.
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