Since Cohen had withdrawn from sailing class, the kids and I slept in a bit today. I think we rolled out of bed around 8:30. Hayley and I had french toast and bacon...Cohen had a bowl of cereal.
We were aiming for heading out about 11am to hit some beaches since the weather was clear and hot (91 degrees). While sunscreening (yes mom, we are putting on lots of sunscreen!) Hayley noticed that Cohen had two strange "rashes" on his arms. They were almost a perfect circle with a red dot in the middle, and about the size of a dime. Our fist thought was ring worm, but it didn't seem to match the pics we saw online. We figured, better safe than sorry with the weekend coming. Before we left, I had done some research on the medical facilities here. The main hospital in St. John's actually accepts our insurance! We didn't go to the hospital though, we went to a local pediatrician who was recommended by the British on a blog I was reading. She was awesome! Even turns out her specialty was dermatology. She said ring worm doesn't have a dot in the center. She did a thorough exam and concluded that he was probably bit by something. She gave us a prescription for a cortisone/anti-fungal cream to cover both bases just in case, but said she wouldn't even use it unless it seems to get worse. It seems to be fading.
After handling that, we went to the pharmacy to get the prescription filled so we'd have it on hand just in case. We were right by the Epicurean so we went back again to get a few more things we need for making dinner, etc. We also let Cohen buy a bunch of snacks. Liem is going to St, Maarten tomorrow to take aviation photos and originally we'd planned for the kids and I to go to an all inclusive resort and just get a day pass. After going to some of the resorts, Hayley and I really preferred to just stay here at the house and use our own pool. To compensate Cohen, we offered up snacks. Works everytime. ;) We may call a cab tomorrow and head down to Galleon Beach (nearby), but we haven't decided. We'll see if we get cabin fever.
Our next stop was back out on the Five Island Peninsula where we'd gone to Deep Bay. This time we headed to the other set of beaches out by Hawksbill Resort. Right before you enter the resort is Royal Palm Beach. It was stunning. Palms, a grassy area, sandy beach with some shells around, crystal clear water...so clear in fact, Hayley would point out fish she was seeing with her snorkel mask and I could just look down into the water and see the fish as well without submerging or wearing a mask. There were these white fish, about 6" long that kept trying to nibble our toes. I wasn't so fond of that. They seemed more interested in Hayley's pink painted toes though. I was glad I decided against polish this time! We sat and ate lunch on the grass and then hit the water. We played for several hours in the water, did a little snorkeling and just enjoyed the beach. It was practically deserted and those who were there were all locals.
After a while, we decided to walk down the beach into the resort and see if there was another beach around the corner. There was...Hawksbill Beach. It was nice as well, but was full of people (resorties). I've discovered that I really like a beach with no umbrellas, no chairs, no bars or restaurants. Just beach. We didn't even bother to swim there. We headed back to Royal Palm and swam there again.
So far, I think my top 5 are:
- Valley Church Beach (for the soft sand, sandy bottom and amazing water color)
- Ffreyes Beach (for the size and amazing water color)
- Half Moon Bay (for the sandy bottom and clear water)
- Royal Palm Beach (for the palm lined beach and clear water)
- Morris Bay (for the sandy bottom, clear water and water color)
Around 5pm, we headed back to the house so Liem could get back to work. Just had 1 stop at the bottom of our hill to buy some more mangos and bananas from our Arasta buddies. I need to get pineapples and genips. The kids chow through those Genips! We came home, had our usual "rinse" swim and then I made some dinner. Tonight we had chicken thighs wrapped in bacon and marinated in creamy italian dressing, grilled and basted with bbq sauce. We also had rice, pineapple and carrots.
My favorite things about Antigua, so far are:
- How friendly the people are
- All of the fresh fruit
- The beautiful beaches and stunning water
- The warm nights
What I miss (but not enough to come home for):
- Big Macs (been craving one!)
- Mochas
- My bed
- Not having sugar ants attack anything left out of the fridge
Now its TV time before bed!
