Antigua Visit

Antigua and Barbuda Flag


On Christmas day 2004 I flew from Portland to Antigua West Indies for a little break from the cold and rain. I flew on American Airlines due to the availability of frequent flier miles. This however is probably the worst airline to get from the Pacific Northwest to the Caribbean. It took something like 18 hours to get there and an overnight in Chicago on the way back. I flew from Portland, OR to Dallas, TX to San Juan, PR then to Antigua. Lots of time in the airports. Worth it in the end after I met my sweetheart who flew out to meet me from the UK. We had a grand time, relaxed, and fun.


Antigua is a British Commonwealth in the Leeward islands of the West Indies. It is actually two islands of Antigua and nearby Barbuda. Population is about 68,000 people. Below are a couple of maps to help. Look carefully as Antigua is a small island maybe 10 miles across.


Caribbean Map (look far right above Guadalupe)


West Indies (click on to enlarge)


Antigua Island (click on to enlarge)

Antigua was inhabited by the Siboney people as early as 2400 BC and was later occupied by the Arrawok then later the invading aggressive Caribe Indians. The West became of aware of Antigua in 1493 when Christopher Columbus on his second voyage passed the island and named it for Santa Maria la Antigua. (She is referred to as the famous virgin of Seville but I couldn't find anything more of her! Perhaps virgins were rather common at that time which is why there seems to be so little written about her.) Here is a map of Columbus' 1493 journey in the area.


Columbus 1493 Journey

Later the English arrived in 1632 and later colonised it in 1667. The primary export was sugar made from sugar cane grown using African slave labor. The island is doted with the ruins of windmills used to crush the cane into juice. One Englishman at the time remarked he couldn't wait to take the fortune he earned in sugar from Antigua back to England to enjoy. Today the English take their fortunes from the UK to enjoy on Antigua. The difference between attitudes seems to stem from the eradication of Yellow Fever and the invention of rum and refrigeration.

The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. V.C. Bird was the first Prime Minister.


Beloved Prime Minister V. C. Bird

Until last year his son was Prime Minister like so many third world nations dominated by family dynasties. (Hmmmm?)

For my own journey I flew to the Caribbean over the Bermuda Islands which gave me my first taste of the blue water there.


Bahamas from Flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico


Bahamas from Flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico

In Antigua we stayed in a spacious apartment right on the water at Runaway Bay near St Johns. The apartments are called Jacaranda owned by Paul a local Antiguan. His family goes back several generations on the island. What is remarkable is that he is Caucasian. Most of the population are descended from retired African slaves.


View from Apartment Balcony

I found the locals to be friendly and I felt safe at all times there. The country is poor but seems to have a strong social fabric of families and church. The pace of life is relaxed but also people seemed industrious and the local craftspeople did high quality work in the construction trade.

Lots of stray dogs about as well as goats, sheep, and horses. One surprise was the mongoose that were to be seen all over the countryside.

There are supposed to be 365 beaches in Antigua. Having driven all around the island I have to say I doubt it. There are a good number and beautiful too. A favorite for us was Turner beach. Relatively uncrowded with a bar for cold drinks. Turner's Beach is near Crab Hill on the Southwest corner of the island. We spent many hours baking there in the sun and drinking a nice refreshing Caribe beer (5.7% alcohol).


Turner Beach Restaurant


Turner Beach

In the southeast corner of the island is Half Moon Beach where we got in some fantastic body surfing as well as sunning and reading. We went back for a late night swim in the moonlight that was unworldly.

To the south of the island is English bay so named as the English had a large presence here. Very picturesque and someone managed to arrange for a couple of masted wooden ships to round out the picture.


English Harbor

Nelson's dockyards was named for the man who cut is sea teeth in this region enforcing trade laws to the aggravation of the US and French merchantships; Horatio Nelson later Admiral and Lord Nelson.


Nelson's Dockyard

Obviously things are more lax now that Nelson is gone as we discovered an Australian ship moored at the quayside.


Wooden Ship at Neslon's Dockyard

One Brit remarked to me on the way back to the parking lot. "Reminds one when we were on top of the world!" I chuckled. He said "Wait that was an American laugh." It was his turn to give an embarrassed laugh. I have no idea what he was talking about. ;)

One other place we visited was a limestone headland where devil's bridge was located. Great area with spectacular waves. One hole in the rock regularly geysered forth sea spray 20 feet in the air and had a cetacean-like breath between the 'blows'. It seemed almost alive.


Devil's Bridge