Ah, no! It’s Friday the 13th!  We are truly hoping for a good day without any bad mojo! The day starts out right with beautiful views as we sail into port.

Oceania has graciously canceled the walking tour we booked through the ship (no way we can do it with Ed in his current torn muscle condition), thus we have the whole day to ourselves to slowly wander about the town.  We really don’t have any plans, except to hit the supermarket for beer and wine, but in Sandy’s lecture she mentions the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda as a decent place to spend some time.  The walking tour was going there, but we figure we can cover it ourselves and then head back to the ship after shopping.

Striking out mid-morning, we wander through the busy little streets and find the museum, located in the original St. John’s courthouse which is believed to be the oldest building in town, without any issues.  Once inside we pay our small fee (it used to be free, but no more) and wander around very detailed displays of the origins of the island, indigenous crafts and incredibly well done perspectives on the slave and sugar trade here.  Truly intriguing.

What also captures our attention is the large (2 display cases) exhibition on beer!  Depicting all the beer from different islands, it’s a great explanation of the naming process for each brew.  The interesting thing about Antigua’s beer is that it is named for the island (in indigenous language) and  called Wadadli.  However the the “more accurate pronunciation” is Waladli.  The museum doesn’t explain the mistake further, but we have the scoop (via Sandy’s lecture).  A famous local Rap artist was named Wadadli – the mispronunciation of the island’s name.  He became so famous, that when it came time to name the beer, the company used the Wadadli name, not the traditional Waladli.  Hey, what’s in a letter anyway?

There’s also a great explanation about the differences between a Pirate, a Buccaneer and a Privateer – about which we had absolutely no idea!  A Pirate operated outside the law and robbed anyone and everyone, a Buccaneer was basically a pirate as well, but they only attacked Spanish vessels and were typically based in Jamaica and the Bahamas, and a Privateer was essentially a “legal” pirate, hired by investors, companies and some governments to attack, oh, sorry, I mean “plunder” the property of rival nations.  Pretty educational!

We actually spent a fair amount of time in the museum getting caught up on Caribbean history.  So much of this region’s history gets lost upon the tourists who just think of these islands as beach and water resorts.  This trip has been very eye opening with the onboard lectures and then our little forays into the history and culture of each island.  Quite different than how we normally view the Caribbean.

Finished with the museum, we venture out into the town in search of this supermarket we scoped out online, passing by typical Caribbean storefront (or maybe bar-front) buildings (so picturesque in that run-down sort of shanty way).  We walk to its exact location, but cannot find it.  So frustrating. There are all sorts of little store front shops, teeny mini-markets, but not the grocery we were set on.  We finally realize it has changed names and we’ve been basically standing outside it while we were searching our Google maps!  Yep, another reason we will NEVER be on the Amazing Race!

Mission accomplished, we manage to grab some Wadadli (unfortunately in little bottles which are a huge pain in the you know what to carry around) and then skedaddle through the hot, crowded streets heading back to the ship with our bounty.  As we wander, we spot a great little divey local bar called Xcape.  It looks totally cozy with sofas lining one wall and little tables around the side, so we bop in and grab some beers while chatting up the locals hanging out there.  They’re sweet, chatting about traveling, life, you name it, and we spend a pretty nice hour or so just hanging out and avoiding the torrential rains that have descended upon us.

The rain finally subsides, and we make our exit heading for our next stop: the duty free shop (ugh) for wine.  Unfortunately it is the only game in town, but surprisingly they have French Sauvignon Blanc for only $10 US.  Hey, that’s not bad at all!  Called Fat Bastard (so of course, how could I resist?), I grab 2 bottles which should be sufficient to carry me through the rest of the cruise.

It’s back to the ship we go, just in time for some light lunch, relaxing on the balcony and sail away to Puerto Rico.