Welcome to Antigua! I am sure when Islanders come to visit the States they find a lot of our culture humorous. Such as “Why are there 17 pharmacies on every corner?” or “Why do their gas stations need 100 fuel pumps?” or “Why do they have 250 kinds of cereal in every store?” This week, we have been getting to know the culture of Antigua and as usual, humor abounds. So, if you need to go to the bathroom, now is the time because I am not responsible for your wet pants!
When we arrived in Antigua, we pulled Galt up to the Customs and Immigration office dock. It was 3pm on a Sunday so we did not expect the office to be opened but we thought the dock would be a calm place to spend the night. As we pulled in, a fellow American came out to assist us with securing Galt to the dock which is always greatly appreciated and it was wonderful to be greeted in English once again. He told us that several groups had been waiting for the Immigration officer to return to the office. They had been waiting an hour. We decided to wait on the boat rather than stand in the heat. A few minutes later, I saw the office door open so I made my way over to the office. I had to put on a mask even though masks are no longer required by the Antiguan government. The officer stated that Bill also needed to come over to check in which was unusual but I walked back to the boat and got Bill. The officer then took both our temperatures and that was Bill’s role for the day, completed. My role had just begun. I had already completed the required customs and immigration forms online. The officer handed me the same forms and asked me to complete them. I informed her I had completed the forms online and she said, “I still need these forms” and handed me a pen. I have learned not to argue with Immigration folks so I patiently completed the forms again. She stamped them and then told me to knock on the other door. I knocked. A lady came out and asked if I had completed the forms online. I told her I had and tried to hand her the stamped forms I held in my hand. She responded, “I don’t need those” as she disappeared into her office. She then returned with the printed forms from online. “I need you to sign these forms”…..which were the same forms as the signed forms I held in my hand. Keeping my sigh to myself, I signed her forms. She then directed me back to the original officer. That officer took my newly printed online forms and stamped them. So, now I have one copy of online printed stamped forms in one hand and one copy of handwritten stamped forms in my other hand. Next stop is the Port Authority office. I am allowed to go into his office for some reason and sit in the air conditioning. Perhaps the thirty minutes of paperwork was like quarantine and I was no longer a contagion threat. I tried to hand him my two sets of papers but he shook his head and said he did not need them. He reached into his desk and….finally, what I had been waiting for…..the carbon paper emerged! I knew it had to be hiding somewhere because we have yet to be in an immigration office that did not use carbon paper. He wrote on his forms, stamped them several times and asked for $32.00 for the port fees. No credit cards accepted. No Euros accepted. I went out to find Bill to inform him that his duties were not complete and he needed to find $32.00 in either US currency or Eastern Caribbean dollars. He pointed out that there were US dollars in the billfold that was in my hand….so much for his uncompleted duties. In spite of the massive killing of trees for paper, it was one of our easier check ins! By now it was about 5pm so we voted to spend the night on the Customs dock. In the morning, we moved Galt into Jolly Harbor Marina and settled in nicely. Docking in English rather than French was so much easier! I will never take it for granted again! We began our explorations of Antigua on Jolly Harbor Beach. Antigua boasts having 365 beaches on the island and we decided Jolly Harbor Beach had to be one of the best beaches we have encountered. The water was gorgeous, the sand was snow white and it was quiet and peaceful. After our day at the beach, we were ready to get on the road to see what the island had to offer. Unfortunately, the rental car company did not have a Cactus so we had to settled for a Yaris with 150,000 km on it….but the rental guy was sure to point out the new tires! Whenever we arrive on a new island, I go online to research things to do. I usually check Tripadvisor which always has the top things to do for a given destination. Tripadvisor usually starts with the Top 15 Things To Do and then has a lot more than just fifteen. For Antigua, there were just 15….and that was pushing it! We began with one of the four forts that were on the island. First stop, Fort Barrington. As we approached the fort that was high on a hill, Bill asked, “This wasn’t the fort that we needed the good hiking shoes was it?” After doing the climb, I can most assuredly tell you that Fort Barrington was indeed that fort….and we indeed did not have on our good hiking shoes. Regardless of the footwear faux pas, we made it to the top and the views were amazing. Second stop, St. John’s Cathedral in the downtown capital of St. John’s. A nice cathedral but hardly Top 15 material on any list. Next stop, the waterfront boardwalk. Nope. Definitely built just for the cruise ship passengers so if we were in need of a Prada handbag, we would have been covered. End of Day 1. For Day 2, we made our way to Fort James which was on the opposite side of St. John from Fort Barrington. The good news was there was no climbing. The bad news was the fort was in ruins so not much to explore. We then proceeded to some of the beaches that were listed on the Top 15 list but in all honesty, after Jolly Harbor Beach, the bar was set so high I do not think the other beaches had a chance. We did find a really good shawarma place for lunch so that was a highlight. End of Day 2. Day 3 began with a quick stop by the grocery store to get some beer. We had been to the same grocery store every day since arriving and every day, the security guard would direct us to wash our hands before entering the store. We would wash our hands, enter the store with no masks and complete our shopping. Bill never wants his receipt when checking out so the cashier would just throw it away. Not on Day 3. On Day 3, which was a Sunday, we were directed to wash our hands as usual. Then, we had to do a temperature check. Then, the cashier told Bill he had to keep his receipt. Then, as we left the store, the security officer asked for the receipt so she could check it. As we walked away, I decided that Sunday must be the only day of the week that fevered, beer stealing people shop. After the store trauma, we began a long and bumpy ride to Devil’s Bridge. The Antiguan roads are by far the most challenging ones we have encountered for potholes. You would think the paved roads would be better than the gravel roads but they all have essentially the same amount of potholes. Bill would ask, “Are we on the right road? Check Google maps, please.” I would check the map, hold up the phone and say, “It’s the only road.” “Well then, I guess it must be the right road,” was his response as he continued jarring through the potholes. When we arrived at Devil’s Bridge National Park (which was listed as the number one thing to see on Tripadvisor), we wandered aimlessly along the rough shoreline cliffs looking for a bridge. The cliffs were covered in loose rock that would slide off the cliff when you stepped. Not one safety rail in sight. Not one “Stay off the cliffs” sign. We finally gave up and asked a local where the bridge was located. She laughed and said, “I’ve been watching you walk around up there. I’m glad you were smart enough to come ask me because the bridge is right here. Walk straight, take two steps down and you’ll see it”. Good grief….would a sign with an arrow be too much to ask? While the Devil’s Bridge was cool, hardly number one of Top 15 things to do. Next stop was Betty’s Hope. Odd name for an old sugar plantation but we were just going with it at this point. As you can see from the picture below, Betty might have had hope but we were not hopeful as we pulled up to find the gates locked. As we made our way back to the boat, we located a couple of quaint churches. One church was the oldest one in Antigua and reportedly the ceiling had been built out of an old slave ship. One of the reviewers on Tripadvisor said it was made out of an old “spaceship” so a slave ship was a little disappointing to say the least. Our final pondering for the week has been the memorial billboards that cover the island. They are billboards that are put up in memory of a loved one that has died. I am not sure what the protocol is but we saw some signs that had been remembering since 2017….I took a picture of our favorite (see below). The billboard, for “Bambi” Alexander Belle, was put up by his son Tion and Hurricane Lypstick. What more can I say? This week, we will finish off the remaining of our Top 15 sites in Antigua….not sure if that is good or bad but it should be interesting! Until next week, have a wonderful Mother’s Day! ***More pics on Pictures tab this week
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
|