Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua was on our `all family` Christmas Caribbean cruise and was a first visit for the two of us although Peter and family had holidayed there before and so were the official authorities on what to do, where to go and what to see. So from the deep harbour in the capital, St Johns in the northwest of the island we started out with a drive up inland to a good viewing point at Shirley Heights which is a restored gun battery and lookout point to look down on the island. In particular onto English Harbour which is also known as Nelson`s Dockyard. This is on the opposite side of the island on the south east coast. This is very sheltered and along with nearby Falmouth is popular with sailing enthusiasts. Antigua`s history is largely based on the sugar trade brought in from Barbados and the west African slave trade. But in 1725 Nelson arrived and established the dockyard as a base for British ships. It was here that he married his wife. Nowadays the economy is largely based on the tourist industry and there are superb beaches and tourist hotels.
In terms of sport the predominant sport throughout the whole British former colonies of the West Indies is, of course cricket but a number of golf clubs have developed in recent years and of course offshore yacht racing brings in competitors (and money). There is now also a healthy carnival season - another move to encourage more tourists. From Shirley Heights we headed down to Nelson`s Dockyard itself where there are masses of historic artefacts, places to eat, a coffee shop and some tourist kiosks. Plenty to see, do and photograph. From there we headed to a wonderful pristine beach with a small food shack serving drinks and providing thatched shade for those who didn`t want to spend too much time in the sun. It was here that Gill decided to fall over in the very soft deep sand and rick her ankle - developing a swelling and bruise which lasted for several days.
We then headed back to St Johns which is a very pleasant, typical colourful Caribbean capital with many cafes, restaurants, shops, tourist tat kiosks. Being close to Christmas we had the somewhat incongruous experience of hearing a guy playing Christmas carols on a miniature set of steel drums and selling CDs. He was right outside the Hemingway`s Cafe which half the family had been to before and we found a nice upstairs room looking down on the street (and carols) which could accommodate all ten of us. Hemingways offered something for everyone including a range of soups, salads, sandwiches, island seafood and vegetarian dishes so it ticked everyone`s box! Things like Seafood Chowder, Spicy Crabcakes, Curry Shrimp & Okra Gumbo (a sort of fusion between two cultures) and Coconut Shrimp - fried jumbo shrimps in a coconut batter, with a tamarind sauce. Food to die for! If you ever visit Antigua we can recommend this place
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