The parish of St. John’s serves as the capital. The city sits on a deep harbor. You pronounce Antigua as An-TEE-guh. Six parishes exist in Antigua; the seventh is in Barbuda, bahr-BYOO-duh.
This country makes up part of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. Christopher Columbus arrived here in 1493 as the first European visitor.
Antigua and Barbuda and the small uninhabited island of Redonda became an independent state in 1981. The “Father of the Nation” is Sir Vere Cornwall Bird Sr. commonly known as “Papa Bird”. He was a pivotal leader who led the country to independence from Great Britain in 1981. Bird served as the nation’s first Prime Minister. They honor him with a national holiday on his birthday.
Being independent of Britain gives the island more opportunities to make deals that are good for the island.
British colonization due to sugar production has been called Britain’s Gateway to the Caribbean. Local slaves died by the thousands due to disease and malnutrition. Sugar cane is the most grueling and dangerous crop. At its peak, 300 whites controlled 37,500 slaves. Therefore, most inhabitants are of African descent.
Over 110 historic sugar mills remain on these islands. The last sugar production ceased in 1972.
Antigua is the largest in this island group by area and population. The island relies on tourism. An annual regatta occurs in April. In December, a yacht show draws 60 to 70 super yachts from around the world.
Our guide for today is named Elvis. English is the official language. Many nationalities have come here; some are more welcome than others.
Antigua has 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. One beach is named Boon Point. (I would have liked to spend time at my namesake beach.) Elvis told us that the island makes a 366th beach during leap year. The waves take it back eventually.
The main sport is cricket. Antiguan cricket player Ridley Detamore Jacobs, a legendary West Indian wicketkeeper-batsman from Swetes Village, received the nickname “Mr. Dependable.” He played for the West Indies from 1998 to 2004. Today, he leads school cricket development and serves as a commentator. I am sure that he is very involved with the T-20 World Cup that is currently underway in Sri Lanka and India. The West Indies team remains undefeated at this time.
Elvis told us that a free hotel exists on the island – the “prison”. It is easy to get in and hard to get out.
Elvis’s cousin serves as the Prime Minister of the island. Elvis feels that all politicians make life harder for all the people. The Prime Minister’s name is Gaston Browne, but Elvis sometimes refers to him as Gangster Brown. Brown is tough and takes a stand which is important for a good leader.
Elvis used to be a soccer coach. He told us if the coach is soft, that is bad for the coach and the organization. You are either a leader or follower.
Their Parliament follows the English system. Elvis called it “argument”.
We saw a big presence of Jehovah’s Witnesses on every Caribbean Island.
One must have someone pump gas here. There is no self serve. The oil comes from Venezuela.
Today a visa to the USA from Antigua requires a refundable bond ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, and one can only stay for 29 days. A visa used to cost less than $100, and one could stay for six months.
All Saints Road has a lot of bumpy potholes. It goes to a city named All Saints which is the second largest city. They couldn’t decide which saint to name the town after so they decided to name it All Saints.
Water is the biggest problem facing the island. They are using desalination.
We passed through a large village called Liberta. Half of the police there carry a gun. The police that do carry guns check them in and out during their shift. In this city there are natural green stones. Many of the buildings incorporate them.
Nobody cooks in their homes on Friday or Saturday. They go out to eat at local stands and restaurants.
The pineapple grown on the island has an edible core.
There are no wild animals on the island only domestic. However, mongooses (I had to look that up) were brought here to control snakes. The island of Barbuda has deer.
Mangroves are important for fish development and beach erosion.
Photography Lesson
Locals refer to St. Johns Cathedral as The Big Church. Anglican is the main religion.
Elvis said it’s a church within a church with wood on the inside and brick on the outside.
We walked around several blocks to get just the right angle. There were so many buildings and trees.
Back on the ship we played in a doubles ping pong tournament. We won!! Nobody else showed up.
We went to a glow party tonight. Everyone was to dress in white, get their faces painted, and then dance on the pool deck. It was a lot of fun.
I was surprised how many people were wearing white even down to their shoes. Did they have some type of packing list? When I inquired, a lady told me that they do this on every cruise. One lady indicated that she had been on 48 cruises since 2015.
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