St Johns, Antigua

St Johns is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies and part of the Leeward Islands. Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state in 1981, after gaining its sovereignty from The United Kingdom. St John's is the country's commercial center and principal seaport. It is located on the northwestern coast.

Vehicles right hand drive as in UK. Cricket is national game. All the parishes have saints names and
there are many churches. There are 365 beaches. Sugar used to be important.

I came to Antigua last year and did an island tour and loved it. But I didn't see much of St. Johns.
We docked at St Johns.

frigate bird

There were 3 other cruise ships, all moored in a row at the 2 berths.

I wanted to go for a swim as it was our last day in the Caribbean, also I didn't swim at all last year in the Caribbean. I walked through town to the bus station and got a No 20 minibus to Jolly Beach. The fare was 3 ECD (Eastern Caribbean dollar). Quite an interesting ride. People can stop the minibus anywhere, and when they got on, they said good morning.

It was a 5-10 min walk to the beach. There are lots of resorts and a marina but the beach is very long. I walked along the beach both ways and was surprised no one was swimming. Maybe cos it was early. I ventured in, the water was rather cold and it took me a while to get in.

As I was walking back to the bus I saw my first mongoose, but couldn't get a photo. The Mongoose or  Caribbean Squirrel is native to Africa or India but were brought to the Caribbean by early settlers (in 1884) to get rid of the rats that were eating the sugar cane.

Back in St Johns I had a walk around. Redcliffe Quay is right by the cruise terminal and is a former slave compound, now a shopping district with some of the finest stores and restaurants on the island.

Typical houses -

Modern rubbish bin and a Victorian post box -

The town was busy, not a great deal of interest. The cathedral outside is stone and the windows look old, but the inside is all wood and probably very new.

At the dock a man was preparing aloe vera

and a bananaquit was checking out the rubbish bin

I wanted to try the Wadadli beer but only had 3 ECD left and it was 3.50 in the shops, and they wouldn't give me a discount! So I missed out.

It was our last day in the Caribbean and we had a Caribbean sail away party -

And a frigate bird bids us farewell

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See the next blog on my Amazon & Caribbean cruise - The Azores, Faial & Sao Miguel

Antigua, Caribbean

After Saint Martin, our next stop on the cruise was Antigua. This was possibly the prettiest island, although it is hard to compare the islands, as they all have something special.

St Johns is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies and part of the Leeward Islands.

Antigua And Barbuda became an independent state in 1981, after gaining its sovereignty from The United Kingdom. Vehicles right hand drive as in UK. Cricket is national game. All the parishes have saints names and there are many churches. There are 365 beaches. Sugar used to be important.

We docked at St Johns. As we approached we were followed by another cruise ship, and a booby welcomed us -

Once again I did an island tour in a share taxi.

Went past the large Chinese funded international cricket stadium, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, built for the 2007 cricket world cup and since used for test matches. 

Onto Nelson Dockyards National Park, $8 entry which includes the dockyard. Stopped at a stunning views down over the yacht bays of English Harbour -

We went up to the top, the Blockhouse Hill, an old military area. We were told that Elton John owns the headland and has a house here -

The old Block House -

The view looking south

We went through Shirley Heights and down to the dockyards which is a World Heritage Site. It was inscribed in 2016.

"The site consists of a group of Georgian-style naval buildings and structures, set within a walled enclosure. The natural environment of this side of the island of Antigua, with its deep, narrow bays surrounded by highlands, offered shelter from hurricanes and was ideal for repairing ships. The construction of the Dockyard by the British navy would not have been possible without the labour of generations of enslaved Africans since the end of the 18th century. Its aim was to protect the interests of sugar cane planters at a time when European powers were competing for control of the Eastern Caribbean."

Most of the old buildings are now used as shops or for the marina

We then drove along the south of the island, through Falmouth and back through Liberta, then Swetes and down to the coast at Old Road. Saw Carlisle Bay and Grace Bay where Curtain Bluff Resort is located. It is Antigua's premier resort -

Along the coast through Urlings and Johnson Point and Crab Hill, stopped for black pineapples that weren’t at all sweet. The beach was nice though -

Further along is Dark Wood Beach

Then it was time to head back to St Johns.

Some birds flying alongside as we left -