“Antigua is a small place. Antigua is a very small place. In Antigua, not only is the event turned into everyday, but the everyday is turned into an event.”
Jamaica Kincaid
Antigua
is an island located in the Lesser Antilles and is a part of the
Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. Antigua is one of the smallest
countries in the world rating 182 in the size of the land with only
108 squares miles. It is only 14 miles long and 11 miles wide and is
an amazing island that boast of 365 beaches, one for each day of the
year. The native people of this country call it Waladli or Wadadli
which means “Our own,” while Antigua means “Old.” It is
believed the island was named by Christopher Columbus who may have
named it after a famous mural in Santa Maria de la Antigua Cathedral
in Seville, Spain.
This
beautiful island is known for the beautiful clear water and white and
pink sandy beaches. The people on this island are super friendly and
love meeting new people and welcome you with open hearts. It is an
English speaking country and because of the British influence, they
drive on the left side.
We
arrived on this island on Good Friday and found that everything was
closed for the religious holiday. A bar called Cheers was open but
could not sell alcohol, only soda and coffee. There were some
vendors in the area that wanted to sell me their goods or braid my
hair. We booked with Shore Excursioneer and we met up with our tour
group right next to Cheers. We had a large group of fourteen people
so they kept us all together and just added one extra couple.
Fortunately the nice couple was very friendly and both came from
large families and were fine with all of the children and us. This
is where we were fortunate enough to meet our guide, Jackie who was
unforgettable. She was amazing.
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Jackie
amused us throughout the trip with jokes, information about the
island, and singing. She even taught us how to say things the
Antigua way. Our first stop was at the MacMillon House which was a
typical Antiguan farm house. Our bus turned off the main road and
headed up a dirt road up a large hill. There were pastures on both
sides of the bus as we headed up and we saw some donkeys grazing.
Jackie asked us if we knew what donkeys were called here. She said
BMW (black mans wheels). When we got off the bus, we met Mrs.
MacMillon who led us down a garden path towards the back of the
house. We got introduced to all her tropical birds and got to see
some very unique plants. She told us to just walk around the house
and enjoy and when we were done to meet on the patio for some tea.
The home was full of items she had collected over the years like the
small English heads of nobles and fisherman, wooden items, shells,
beautiful trinkets, scrap books, and beautiful plants. In one room
she had picture albums of her family and the farm over the years.
She and her husband were lovely people. It was a small but lovely
home that they open up so tourist like us so we could see how they
live. They own 350 acres of beautiful land. The views from their
property were stunning.
From
there we drove through the countryside listening to more stories from
Jackie. We heard there are 10 women for every man on the island. We
stopped at a small pineapple farm and once again got off the bus to
see how they grow pineapples. Next to the field, there were many
heads of cattle calling out to us. Many had bells on and made
themselves known that they were there. Jackie explained that the
type of pineapple that is grown on Antigua is called Black Pineapple
and is very special. They say it is the sweetest pineapple in the
world and is Antigua’s national fruit. One of the elderly ladies
who owns the farm brought out some cut up pineapple for us to taste.
What a special treat. It was so full of flavor. We walked over to
the field and saw some pineapples growing. Each plant only grows one
pineapple and we were told it takes about 24 months to harvest this
plant. Then most of the plants are exported. We were very
fortunate that this farm opened up just for us today since it was a
national holiday.
Out
in the distance was a mountain. Jackie told us the nickname for
this mountain is the Devils peak as many men had fallen to their
death from the top. The real name for this mountain is Boogy Peak
named after the Boogie Man. Slave owners told their slaves that the
Boogie Man would take their spirits to discourage slaves from trying
to escape in the mountains. When President Obama was in office in
2009, they decided to name the mountain Mount Obama but after his
term it did revert back to Boogie Peak in 2016. This is the highest
point of the Shekerley Mountains at 1,319 feet, and is used as the
communication center for the island.
We
also saw a Sandbox tree that Jackie said was referred to as a hang
mans tree. The trunk of the tree has razor sharp thorns all over it
and the leaves are heart shaped. She said they used this tree to
strap slaves to it as torture. How awful. She also pointed out an
Ackee Tree which she states is very poisonous unless you know how to
properly prepare and cook it.
Our
next stop was to go to Ffryes Beach. Ffryes is one of the more
popular beaches especially on holidays where families go for picnics
and beach fun. It is located on the west side of the island and is
a gorgeous beach with the clear turquoise water, amazing white sands,
and with the back drop of lush green hills. We loved this beach.
It was picture perfect. They also had a tiki bar there that was open
for us and they prepared us a lovely barbecue meal. They made a
great rum punch. What a great way to spend the day. We had a
relaxing day at the beach. Jackie took the young couple to a table
on the side where she did a painting class. What fun. Their
paintings turned out wonderful. So on top of everything else, Jackie
was a great artist. We bought a small painting from Jackie as a
reminder of this wonderful day.
What
a day. We loaded back up on the bus and headed back to the cruise
port. Jackie made this trip. She told us she went to college for
two years in Michigan and she said they all thought she was crazy.
She said, “Can you imagine a lady from Antigua going to of all
places Michigan? I nearly froze to death.” She told us of
Hurricane Irma, Cat 5, that destroyed 90 percent of the buildings on
Barbuda and that the entire population had to be evacuated to
Antigua. Many people never went back. She sang to us on the way
back. She was a joy with her big beautiful smile and great stories.
We pulled into the cruise port and had to say our farewells.
This
was a fantastic day and one that will be in our hearts and minds for
years to come. Antigua is a beautiful island, full of beautiful
people. We hope to get back hear some day to explore more of the
island.
Till
next time. Bye for now.
