with a group of women. Let me tell you about the trip to Antigua with hubby, we had a blast!
We chose the excursion from a menu provided by the ship which rates excursions by time, activity level, and in this case swimming skill involved. Carnival uses the "little walking man" to rate their excursions, the more little men, the more difficult and the more fit you have to be. The stingray adventure was rated a 2, which was perfect for me. We both swim well, but according to the rating, little swimming would be required. The price of $50 per person was great as well. Snorkle gear and refreshments were provided. We booked from our stateroom through the tv and the cost of the trip was added to our sail card. Voila!
Having never snorkeled before much less touched a stingray, I was pretty excited the next morning as we got ready to board the bus. We had slathered on sunscreen, wore our bathing suites, and of course sunglasses and hats. Our bus was almost full with a mix of young and old, couples, and families with kids. Our ride to our boat took us through "town" and highlights were pointed out by our very funny and very pregnant tour guide. When I asked her when she was due to have her baby, she said 3 days ago. That's a pretty strong work ethic in any country, but I digress from the story!
We arrived at our destination which from the front appeared to be a private home. We were escorted to the back where four open motor boats stood ready. We boarded the boats and were off! Approximately 20-30 minutes later (who wears a watch, it's island time) we arrived at a sandbar with a floating dock which we tied up to. After scrambling out of the boats we were given a few directions by the handlers who would be in the water with us. My husband practically raced in, and I eased in and in no time the water seemed full of black shadows under the water. (See them in the picture above) With a closer look, I could make out the rays--eerie and beautiful at the same time. The water was about 4 feet deep with some areas less--parents with older children seeming to have no problems. The rays would bump you and then wait as if they wanted to be petted. One of the handlers told us this was a retirement home for old rays, but them seemed pretty lively to me. We were given the opportunity to feed the rays and then look through them with a snorkel mask. Since I can be a scaredy cat about new things, my husband held my hand while I tried my first snorkeling. Even though it was in shallow water and in a controlled situation--I felt pretty proud of myself! If you haven't seen the blue of the waters of the Caribbean, you haven't seen blue--the color was amazing!
After an hour or so, we loaded the boats and headed back to shore. Refreshments had been set out with cold "koolaide" punch being handed to all the adults. Honestly it was punch pink, but it carried quite a "punch" of a different sort. I switched to water to be sure I didn't miss the nice dinner awaiting me on board by having a hangover headache.
The trip took about 2-3 hours from start to finish and did not require a lot of heavy activity. The adventure was not appropriate for small children and would not be advisable for persons having problems climbing into or out of the boat or going up or down the small ladder going into the water. For us it was a wonderful trip, an adventure with nature that I can recommend wholeheartedly.
Until we cruise again,
Sandy, the diva cruiser
Sandy, thedivacruiser, is in reality Sandy Wheeler, an independent travel consultant for Connie George Travel Associates. Follow Sandy on her adventures on Twitter @thedivacruiser or on her website www.SandyWheelerTravel.com. Email Sandy for more information on this or any of her other blog posts.
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