We spent our remaining time this week knocking off the rest of the Top 15 list in Antigua. I am sure if you look on Tripadvisor, you would be saying, “I see a lot more than 15 things to do” but in reality, there are fifteen. Why? Because listing every beach on the island is cheating since beaches are beaches and tour groups should not be listed as a “thing to do”. Also, at least 5 of the listings fall under Nelson’s Dockyard so to split them apart is cheating! We definitely enjoyed this week’s endeavors more than last weeks. We were once again driving ourselves through Pothole Paradise as we made our way over to English Harbor. Since there is only one main road, getting lost is not really an issue. It does become an issue, however, when the sign says, “Nelson’s Dockyard straight” but the road is a dead end! We had a 50/50 chance on whether “straight” was turning left or right. Luckily, we had just passed Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church so we prayed for some perpetual help and picked a direction. Just so you know, “straight” equals “turn right” in Antigua. As we meandered along the road, we passed through a small town that was about one mile of road. On that one mile of road, we counted 34 derelict cars sitting on the side of the road, in yards or on blocks. We aren’t sure what was going on in this particular town but if you need any car parts pre-1990, they’ve got you covered. Nelson’s Dockyard was established in the 1790s by Horatio Nelson. Horatio went to sea at 13 years of age and was a Captain at the age 25 when he arrived in Antigua. I guess his parents told him their basement was not an option for his life’s plan! Back in the day, Nelson’s Dockyard was the center of shipping commerce between England and the Islands and its’ fleet was commissioned to disrupt trade from America. The English did not like us very much in the 1700s! As we arrived at the park, we found the gate opened and no one in the ticket office so we continued our drive up to the fort area called Shirley Heights. The ruins were not much to comment on but the views were spectacular. We then made our way over to The Blockhouse which was the location of the officers’ quarters and the views were even more spectacular! Next stop in the park was the cultural center for a little history lesson. When we arrived, the employee asked for our tickets. We told her the ticket office had been closed so we needed to buy a ticket. She nodded and said, “Yes, the ticket person is running a little late today but you can pay on the way out of the park.”. The park opened at 9:00am and it was already 11:00am. I know my employees would have loved that definition of a “little late!” We settled into the theater for our cultural lesson on Antigua. The presentation was a combination of videos and dioramas lit up with a spotlight during the narration. The presentation was interesting but the narrator was the Sun. Imagine the opening sequence of the Teletubbies with the huge sun that had the creepy baby’s face on it and that summed up the narrator. It took me a few minutes to get over the Teletubbies’ traumatic flashbacks but I survived. By the time we headed out of the park, the ticket taker had shown up for work. We paid our park fee and drove over to the second half of the park which was the actual dockyard. Nelson’s Dockyard had been refurbished in the 1960s and was now a UNESCO world heritage site. The museum was very well done and they had many personal effects of the soldiers and workers that lived at the dockyard in the 1700s. One interesting find was in the early 2000s after a hurricane. The hurricane had washed away the beach in front of the resort area. Under the beach had been a mass grave so skeletons were stacked everywhere on the beach! Needless to say, the resort had to be closed so the site could be excavated. No updated information on the skeletons was reported and I could not find one ghost story online about dockyard hauntings but I am sure we were surrounded by ghosts! We finished our night with a stay at the Copper and Lumber Inn. The inn was one of the restored buildings and was beautiful! We were on the top floor where the soldiers had reportedly slept with their hammocks hanging from the rafters. Fortunately, we did not have to sleep in hammocks! At breakfast, Bill asked if they had decaffeinated coffee because that is what I drink. The waiter’s response was, “No, but you can mix in hot water with the regular coffee to make it decaffeinated.” I am sure those of you who drink regular coffee would probably agree! Our last day of exploring was spent snorkeling out to the Pillars of Hercules. The point was deceptively far away so our snorkel ended up being about a mile against the current so that was a little more exercise than planned. With a name like the Pillars of Hercules, one would expect quite the site. As most sites Antiguan, it was less than enthralling but at least we burned off enough calories to enjoy lunch on the beach. Our take on the Top 15 Things to Do…. Ffryes Beach, Dickenson Beach, Darkwood Beach, Galley Bay Beach, Long Bay Beach, Deep Bay Beach, Valley Church Beach, Runaway Beach, Jabberwock Beach, Pigeon Point Beach, Galleon Beach, Jolly Beach, Half Moon Bay: Beaches. Sand, water, people, restaurants, fish. Fort Barrington: Climb up high hill. Sandals not recommended. Look at view for 5 minutes. Slide back downhill. Shirley’s Heights: part of National Park so cheating to count it separately as a Thing to Do. Nice view. Arrive early and you can miss the ticket taker…. Betty’s Hope: Cannot fairly judge since we did not get to enter. Very nice looking locked gate, though. Nelson’s Dockyard: By far the number one thing to do on the island. Loads of history! Heritage Quay: cruise ship shopping. Not a destination. Museum of Antigua and Barbuda: A good way to spend 30 minutes but considering it takes an hour to find a parking spot takes it down a notch. Fort James: Pile of rocks. St John’s Cathedral: Eh, it’s a church. Devil’s Bridge: It was hell getting to Devil’s Bridge. Enough said. Figtree Drive: Same road, different potholes. Figtree Art Gallery: Literally someone’s house. Perhaps they would buy one of my paintings…. St. Peter’s Church: cool slave ship ceiling so worth the potholes Pillars of Hercules: hardly Herculean….I swam a mile for this? Fort Berkeley: Another pile of rocks….slightly more organized pile than Fort James. So, our final summation of Antigua is that the island is worth a short visit especially if you like resorts with beautiful beaches. If you are more of the exploring type, you’ll want to skip over to St. Lucia or Martinique. Before we leave, I am going to start an Adopt a Pothole program….I’ll even let you name your pothole. I have named mine Our Hole of Perpetual Hell….the 16th Top Thing to Do on Antigua! Jumping to St. Maarten this week so we’ll be back to $1.00 beer happy hours to get us through all the boat projects for 2022 hurricane season. I also have a special surprise for you this coming hurricane season but you’ll have to wait a bit longer for the reveal! ***More pics on Pictures tab
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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