Antigua, a beautifully hilly little island. It is only about 100 square miles in size and through my research I discovered, like most other island countries, they like to boast about their beaches. It has been stated that they have a beach for every day of the year, 365 in all. The little island is also well know for having excellent snorkeling and scuba diving.
After a while we pulled up to a local store. I would relate it to something similar to that of a small deli. He explained that he was going to pick up a few local favorites to munch on. What he came back with was very simple, yet exquisite. It was in essence, cheese and bread. What made it so special was the sweetness in the freshly baked loaf. The closest thing I can relate it to is a type of "Hawaiian bread". Anyway what they do is take the sweet loaf of bread and cut it in half and fill it with slices of cheese, a local cheese similar to a mild cheddar, and that's it. Simple, yet, delicious! Oh , I almost forgot, he also brought back a few cases of Wadidly, a local beer similar in taste to Heineken. Of course we needed something to have with the cheese bread!
After our snack, we made our way to a few local, historic sights. One of which was a fort, Fort James, located on a peninsula that engulfed St. John's harbor. The Fort itself was nothing spectacular. Most of it has been destroyed over the years by battles and just time. However, it was neat exploring and trying to figure out what had happened there throughout history. I remember at one point I found a whole cannonball stuck in a part of the fort!
Next, we made our way for a little lunch. We found a local hot spot that was known for having great chicken wings. I must say, our guide was well prepared. He came back with at least 50 wings, passion fruit juice, water, and rum. We were like savages. The wings were excellent. Instead of being slathered in a sauce like what you might expect in the United States, these were more of a dry buttery rub. The wings disappeared in no time as we made our way to one of the many beautiful beaches.
There we spent some time snorkeling and just enjoying the day. Our guide made us a mix of passion fruit and rum, delicious and refreshing.
As the day drew its end, we loaded back up and made our way to our last stop, "Devils Bridge". Devils bridge is a rock formation where over time the waves eroded the rock and created an actual bridge. Here our guide told us that slaves would come to the bridge and jump in, effectively committing suicide. The waves are just to intense for anyone to survive no matter how good a swimmer. Anyway the slaves believed that the water would free them from their slavery. Below are a few pictures I took of devils bridge and a view looking at the coast line on the other side of the bridge.
Above, a picture of a beach in Antigua
(I couldn't find a decent picture of the beach that I visited,
so I grabbed this from the official Antigua website)
Antigua, for me, began on the walk back from the sandals resort in St. Lucia. At one point my buddy turned to me and suggested that I join him for the day in Antigua. They had reserved a tour with a local guide. Considering that I hadn't planned anything, I graciously accepted.
We all met up the next morning in the lobby of the boat. Once everyone arrived, we made our way off the boat and out into the beautiful Antigua sun. Our guide arrived shortly after we reached the port gate. He drove up in a large van, big enough to carry about 10 people, comfortably. As we took off down the street, we took some time to get to know him and his island. He was quite the character.
After our snack, we made our way to a few local, historic sights. One of which was a fort, Fort James, located on a peninsula that engulfed St. John's harbor. The Fort itself was nothing spectacular. Most of it has been destroyed over the years by battles and just time. However, it was neat exploring and trying to figure out what had happened there throughout history. I remember at one point I found a whole cannonball stuck in a part of the fort!
Next, we made our way for a little lunch. We found a local hot spot that was known for having great chicken wings. I must say, our guide was well prepared. He came back with at least 50 wings, passion fruit juice, water, and rum. We were like savages. The wings were excellent. Instead of being slathered in a sauce like what you might expect in the United States, these were more of a dry buttery rub. The wings disappeared in no time as we made our way to one of the many beautiful beaches.
There we spent some time snorkeling and just enjoying the day. Our guide made us a mix of passion fruit and rum, delicious and refreshing.
As the day drew its end, we loaded back up and made our way to our last stop, "Devils Bridge". Devils bridge is a rock formation where over time the waves eroded the rock and created an actual bridge. Here our guide told us that slaves would come to the bridge and jump in, effectively committing suicide. The waves are just to intense for anyone to survive no matter how good a swimmer. Anyway the slaves believed that the water would free them from their slavery. Below are a few pictures I took of devils bridge and a view looking at the coast line on the other side of the bridge.
Looking Back:
Antigua was excellent. I had, yet again, another perfect day. Our guide was a blast. He knew his stuff and he was simply put, a cool dude. As for things I would change, I don't know if I have any.
Well that is all for Antigua, next will be St. Kitts.
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