First week in Antigua

We’ve been anchored in Jolly Harbor on the west coast since our arrival on April 10^th. It’s a convenient location for several reasons. It’s a very well protected harbor, so quite calm. A short dinghy ride brings us to an excellent dinghy dock at the marina where there are a variety of services available- car & bike rentals, SIM cards and data plans for two carriers, a variety of yacht services, restaurants, etc. There is a well-stocked marine supplies store (Budget Marine), and an excellent supermarket (the Epicurean). There is also a bus stop, which allows us to get to other parts of the island without costly taxis. Car rentals are pretty cheap and make it even easier to see the whole island (the buses don’t go everywhere), but we’ll save that for when our friend Ian arrives. 

We spent some time with our new friends on Pulpo before they left on the 15^th. They rented a car on Sunday and invited us to drive around the island with them before heading over to Shirley Heights (ruins of a British fort) for a weekly night of music. We found lunch at a great little roadside Lebanese place, then walked the sargassum-covered beach nearby. The music at Shirley Heights started just after 4pm with a steel drum band that played for a couple of hours. They were followed by a cover band that did a bunch of reggae and pop music. There is also a BBQ on Sundays, but the line was long the whole time. Also, Lobo (Pulpo’s owner) owned a restaurant in the past and he was not impressed with the pre-cooked food all sitting out at ambient temperature for hours. We decided to pass on dinner. Fortunately, our lunch had been late and substantial, so we weren’t hungry anyway. There had to have been about 500 people at this outdoor venue! The music was good, and so was the people-watching. We had Lobo and Dan over for a final dinner together Monday night. 

Tuesday after breakfast, we took the bus up to St. Johns, the capital of Antigua. All the bus routes go through St. Johns, where one can transfer to other buses at the main bus depot. It’s about 20-30 minutes, with stops, from Jolly Harbor to St. Johns. We walked through the Market, a bunch of shops selling a variety of kitsch and local art, as well as produce and other food. Then we went to the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda where we learned about the history of the island, a little about its geology, and a bit about its culture. It has a lot of information packed into a small space, the bottom floor of the former courthouse built in the 1800’s. It was a bit challenging, however, because the information was in print I found too small to read without leaning forward over the glass display cases set in front, upon which we were not supposed to lean. I actually ended up using the magnifier on my phone to read everything, which worked nicely. After the museum, we found good local food nearby, checked out some other souvenir shops, and purchased a painting mounted on burlap to add to our art collection of places we’ve visited. The bus got us back to Jolly Harbor early enough to relax before dinner.

On Thursday we took two buses to get to English Harbor on the south shore of Antigua so we could visit Nelson’s Dockyard. By car the drive would have been 45-60 minutes. Between waiting for buses and all the stops they make, the trip took us almost two hours. It was a good way to see other parts of the island, though, and far less expensive than a car rental or taxi. Our round trip cost the two of us together all of $10 US. We got a later start than originally planned, so it was already time for lunch when we arrived. Once our bellies fed, it was time to tour the Dockyard. 

A little history, first. There was a light British naval presence in English Harbor from 1725-1740. When the French started to ramp up their efforts to thwart British trade in the Caribbean, the British started to rely more heavily on the location and started construction on the dockyard, which back then was known as the Antigua Naval Dockyard. The peak of construction ran from 1780-1820. With Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815, the Caribbean was quieter and the British military relied on it less. Still, they operated it until 1889 when it was closed and abandoned, then fell into disrepair. In the 1920s, the then Antiguan Governor’s efforts to raise funds to restore the yard fell short. Efforts were made again in the 1930s, including rebranding it Nelson’s Dockyard, and by 1961 it had been reopened as an historic site. In 1984, the Dockyard and 16 square miles of historical and natural sites around it was classified as a National Park. In 2016, Nelson’s Dockyard and Related Archaeological Sites was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you want more detail, you can visit the National Parks Antigua page or its Wikipedia entry. 

Both English and Falmouth Harbors, plus a good chunk of land around them, are part of the Nelson’s Dockyard National Park. Nelson’t Dockyard is a working marina, and there are several other marina’s in Falmouth Harbor. Anchoring in either harbor requires paying a daily anchoring fee, a daily environmental fee, and a one-time entrance fee for the park which allows one to enter the land parts for the duration of their stay. When Ian is with us, we’ll likely take Indigo Lady down there for a few days, because there is some easily accessible snorkeling nearby. We checked with the Port Authority while we were visiting the Dockyard and three days will cost us all of about $100 US. I wouldn’t want to stay any longer though; it would add up quickly.

They’ve done a lovely job restoring the old buildings, which are now all inhabited by modern businesses that cater to yachties. There are shops and restaurants, of course, but other buildings are inhabited by the marina office, Customs & Immigration, the Port Authority, a Sail loft for sail repair, an art studio, a bakery (interestingly in the building that originally served as the dockyard’s bakery), the museum, and others. Each building has a placard outside describing its original function in the dockyard. The museum is housed in the Naval Officers & Clerk’s House. It provides good information about the history of the dockyard, life in the British Navy, information about Nelson’s career, and it also has a room dedicated to the ecology of the island. I found it to be an interesting mix of historical and modern, and it really is lovely. This week is the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, so there were some gorgeous (VERY expensive) classic sailing vessels in the marina when we were there. They had a race that morning, but it was over by the time we arrived. It was worth the bus trip down, and we were lucky that the return trip was shorter.

There are a couple of other places we’d like to visit by bus from our base here in Jolly Harbor. However, it is now Easter Weekend, and Friday and Monday are public holidays, so most things are closed those two days, as well as on Sunday. The sugar factory ruins we want to visit by bus reopen on Tuesday. This leaves us with little to do over the long weekend. The snorkeling in this anchorage is pathetic. Visibility is poor and there’s little to see anyway. The Donkey Sanctuary is open on Saturdays and public holidays, so we may try to go there, assuming the buses are running. These “buses” are privately owned 12-15 passenger vans, so it’s up to each owner whether they run on any given day. We assume someone will be driving Saturday. There’s a wreck to snorkel about 2 miles north of here, so that’s another option. I’m sure we’ll find a way to keep ourselves busy.

That’s all for now. Until next time, stay safe and take care of each other!