Location: English Harbour, Antigua
After a long, deep, recharging first night of sleep abroad Ocean Star, we woke with a burst of excitement to start our first full day in Antigua!
We began the bluebird day by chowing down a bowl of cereal while looking out over all of the other extravagant yachts and sailboats afloat among the turquoise blue water. After breakfast, we all took a mini hike up through the green foliage to find ourselves peeping out above with an amazing view of the harbor.
Once returning, we broke into groups where we began to familiarize ourselves with the ins and outs of our new home (Ocean Star). There was a lot to learn, and there’s still so much more to learn! Suddenly the aroma of bacon wafted through the gopher hatch (through which the gopher fulfills their duties of passing food and dishes up from the galley up onto the deck). Lunch was a scrumptious BLT sandwich with fresh avocados! The amazing Stephanie put together lunch, which is a treat because soon enough, we will all be taking turns at being chef and assistant chef.
After lunch, some of us were off to start learning another new thing… Scuba Diving!! Although we had to start with watching a scuba instructional video, it still felt unique as we weren’t sitting in your typical classroom but rather at the bottom of a boat! Number one rule while scuba diving… Never hold your breath! I can’t wait for us to finish up the basics of scuba diving so we can hurry up and start practicing in the ocean.
After staring, wishing, and patiently waiting, we finally got to swim in the beautiful blue water! Over the edge of the boat, we climbed into the dingy and sped to the nearby beach right outside of the harbor. We got to relax a bit–playing frisbee, soccer, and swimming, but the main purpose we were there was to complete a swim and water-treading test. This wasn’t too difficult, though, because all the saltwater that keeps us afloat!
Since we were docked at a harbor, we had the luxury of taking freshwater showers at a nearby laundromat. We strolled on back to the boat, where dinner was nearly prepared, and we joined together to eat our second dinner. Stephanie and Lucy both brought valentine candies for everyone, which was really sweet (no pun intended).
As we cleaned up, we could hear a band playing in the nearby courtyard. Some of us followed up our first dive lesson with a second dive class this evening.
I can’t believe day two is already coming to an end!! So many more adventures await us!
WHOOO!
Kelsay