Antigua Christmas 2024 - Day 4: Tea house, Turner Beach

It was a beautiful morning to sit around the pool without actually going in, made easier by the underwater ledge that goes halfway around.

The housekeeping staff was coming by at 10 AM today, so we wanted to be out of the house before that. I think we made it with four minutes to spare.

We loaded in the van and drove about half an hour south, diverting around the busy streets of St. John's, to the scenic Fig Tree Drive (which doesn't involve figs).

About halfway through the rainforest drive, we stopped for refreshments at the Vintage Tea House. It was a bit tricky to find, although there was a sign on the main road that was visible because we were already looking for it.

There's a restored sugar (wind)mill tower adjacent to the tea house, which we toured while waiting for our orders of coffee/tea/snacks.

The view from the top of the tour was quite nice, although there was an incoming raincloud that soon drenched the area.

They were very much still in the Christmas mood, with decorations hanging everywhere, snow globes on every table, and a playlist of Christmas music playing the entire time we were there.

After leaving the tea house, we finished the remainder of Fig Tree Drive down to the coast, then followed the coastal road west toward the west-coast beaches.

Coming around the corner at the southernmost point of our ride today, I stopped at a scenic point that looked over the (unnamed?) beach by the Curtain Bluff resort. I guess it's sort of connected to Morris Bay Beach.

We continued along the coast, over to the northern end of Turner's Beach, which might also be Crabbe Hill Beach. Boundaries are all somewhat negotiable, here.

We rented a few chairs and an umbrella from a local guy named Trevor, who turned out to be the Trevor that Captain George suggested we find if we were in the area. He also offered kayaks, paddle boards, a sail boat (sunfish), snorkel gear, and probably more that I can't remember.

I walked over to OJ's Beach Bar for an adult mango smoothie. I couldn't decide how concerned to be about the bird perched on the blender rim; sometimes it's best not to get too involved.

Scattered cloud provided some respite from the blistering sun, although not everyone else would characterize that as a good thing.

In the distance, Montserrat is clearly visible. Much of the island, including the capital, was wiped out by volcanic eruptions in the last 30 years.

Less obvious but definitely visible to the unaided eye (faintly on  the far right in these photos), we could see the island of Nevis and some of Saint Kitts.

It was quite windy when we got to the beach around 12:30, but it calmed down by 3 o'clock, so we rented a paddle board for an hour and people took turns going up and down the shore on it.

Around 4:30, everyone was getting hungry, so we packed up the van and continued along the coast. Our dinner reservation wasn't until 6 PM, so we tried to stop at beach bars at two other beaches (Darkwood and Ffryes) for a snack and a sunet, but the beach bars were very crowded and closed, respectively.

It was already 5 o'clock by the time we struck out the second time, so we decided to just continue along to Sheer Rocks a tad early, and watch the sunset from there.

Being early allowed us the luxury of time to change before dinner, either in the van or in the bathroom of the building in the background. Who chose which option might surprise you.

Having finished the production of six wardrobe changes, it was 5:30 by the time we walked up to the restaurant, just in time for the last 10 or 15 minutes of sun.

Sheer Rocks is the restaurant of a five-star, all-inclusive, adults-only resort. so naturally they have several infinity pools, one of which overlooks the beach.

The resort juts out on a point, with Jolly Harbour and Reeds Point to the north.

Just off the shore, we could see the stationary party boat (with multiple waterslides) that we saw yesterday on our saltwater tour. A small boat was ferrying partiers back and forth from the resort, as we ate.

Thankfully, our table was ready about 20 minutes early, so we were able to watch the beautiful sunset as we settled in for a few hours of decadence.

After a lovely dinner, it was about a half-hour drive back to the Airbnb; along the way, we passed through downtown St. John's, which was alive with parties and loud music.

Back at the house, as we unloaded the van, we discovered a new bit of wildlife we hadn't yet encountered. Initial searching suggests it might be some sort of tarantula, which might be locally known as a "horse spider".

Size 12 flip flop, for scale.

Tomorrow, we intend to stay closer to the house and visit a new beach (or two, if necessary). The exact outcome will depend on when and where the cruise passengers show up.