We slept in on Wednesday (still not long enough, though) and relaxed a bit before heading out to explore Jolly Beach. We decided to stay in the quieter North Finger of Jolly Harbour. The north part of the beach is within a few minutes walking distance from our villa. It is laden with seashells, lined with palm trees and offers spectacular views of moored yachts, catamarans and sailboats. The island of Nevis is also visible in the distance.

We love walking to this beach to catch the sunset each evening. It also makes for a great outlet to release a toddler’s pent up energy, especially before bedtime. Warning: Just watch out for the golf cart and vehicle traffic on the very narrow road.

From there we drove through the marina to the South Finger, nearer to the shops, restaurants and pool area where there is a lot more activity. We continued on to the south portion of the beach, which is also busier than the north beach. There’s a beach bar (want to try!), lounge chairs, water sports, and more.

We continued to drive to a few of the beaches down from Jolly Harbour. Every few feet there is a turn off for another beach. It’s amazing! And, they are all pristine and stunning with white powdery sands and sparkling turquoise waters. We stopped at Valley Church Beach, Darkwood Beach and Fryes Beach. While at Fryes Beach, we saw another set of vacation rentals we had considered for our trip. We would have been pretty happy there, as it was more secluded and just a few steps from the beach.

(Note to self, that might be a good option next time we visit.)

Our little man was getting sleepy and we still had grocery shopping to do at the local grocery store within Jolly Harbour, the Epicurean. So, we reluctantly left the beaches. I told my husband that it was a mild form of torture to be on these beaches but not swimming in their waters. We just didn’t have time that day to linger too long, so we headed back to Jolly Harbour to get the shopping done and out of the way.

We paid $25 for almond milk, $15 for butter and spent a grand total of over $300 just for a few staple food items and some bottled water. The conversion rate for currency here is approximately 2.75 Antigua dollars for every US dollar. Ka-Ching! I’ll let you do the math.

Sadly, I ended the day with a pounding migraine. I don’t even get headaches often, but this one was a doozy. I was miserable the rest of that evening. I was still behind on sleep, partially dehydrated from not paying enough attention to my water intake, and probably somewhat still affected by the pressurization changes during the flight.

I also had a passed out toddler on my lap who was still getting adjusted to a new place and trying to get back into a sleep and nap routine. The bed was calling my name, actually screaming my name. And when I finally answered its call, it was just what I needed. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.