We've recently returned from a cruise from San Juan Puerto Rico aboard Adventure of the Seas. Click here for ship tour of Adventure of the Seas.
Adventure of the Seas in St Criox
Antigua: It's All About That Boat (with apologies to Meghan Trainor) Aboard Adventure of the Seas
Nelsons Dockyard
Antigua and I'm just a yachty girl in a yachty world...ok, enough silly bubblegum pop references! But Anigua is clearly all about the boats!
The Arawaks arrived by one, most likely paddling piragua canoes from Venuzuela. Christopher Columbus arrived from Spain by one 1493, and gave it it's name "Sancta Maria de la Antigua". Sir Christopher Codrington arrived by one, as did, unfortunately, the West African slaves who worked his sugar plantations. The British Navy arrived by boat during the 18th century and established the English Dockyard, where British vessels arrived for repair and maintenance. Today, that area is renamed Nelsons Dockyard (for the Admiral Horatio Nelson) and it still serves as a dockyard for yachts from all over the world, as well as an anchorage and race location for those same yachts. Boats are everywhere in Antigua. We arrived on this one!
Adventure of the Seas in St John
As soon as we arrived we noticed a contrast between the work boats and the "play" boats
A tug and a motor yacht
Dock workers headed to tie up the lines of Adventure of the Seas.
The dock workers arrive
Dock workers
Even the birds are names after boats- here a Frigate bird swoops along the aft of the ship as we sail in.
Frigate bird
We proceeded to Heritage Quay, the welcome area in St John for visiting big boats! (Known as cruise ships!)
Just outside the shopping area we met Keisha, of Sean's Antigua VIP Tours (Keisha is Sean's little sister- be sure to ask her about riding out a hurricane together after she and her brother convinced their mother to leave two adventure seeking teens behind, a great example of natural consequential parenting that I'm not sure I could have pulled off!) Our tour was all inclusive, with admissions and lunch as well as an on board bar, with local beers if you like.
Heritage Quay cruise ship dock and shopping area in St John
Our first stop is a sugar plantation ruin called Betty's Hope. It had a well curated little museum and descriptive plaques at each of the ruined buildings to explain the sugar making process.
The cane press at Bettys Hope
Did I say all about that goat, that goat!? No, I guess not, but at Bettys Hope the grass was kept short by a large herd of free range goats, but Keisha explained they were well cared for and if one went missing, the owner would know!
"Lawn mowers" at Bettys Hope
We made a stop to the West End of the island, where a dramatic natural feature called "Devils Bridge" lies on a lands end, and the surf dramatically crashes up against this natural limestone bridge.
Devils Bridge
Our next stop was to the more recently renovated Nelsons Dockyard. This area is now a National Park, but it had been developed in such a way that the "dockyard" mission still exists, although for a much more well heeled crowd! There are sailing charter companies, and marine and sail repair companies located in the yard, along with a museum of history, slips for yachts from all over the world; Oslo, Bahamas, and we even saw one from the tiny town in Maine where we spend our summers (population 824, but in the summer, there may be an equal number of boats!) We had a chance to say hello to the Captain who was preparing to return the yacht for it's owner to Maine and we plan to look for the vessel in the harbor this summer!)
The Antigan glad flies above a docked yacht
The buildings in the dockyard have all been beautifully restored. The day we visited was in advance of Antigua Sail Week, and worker bees were busy putting the finishing touches on the party site, while the yacht's crews were varnishing, varnishing, varnishing!
Beautifully restored Colonial era buildings in Nelsons Dockyard.
There are several marine related business still in the dockyard.
An active sail repair shop located in the dockyard
There are also a few local artists and shops, as well as restaurants and bars.
A local gallery at Nelsons Dockyard
The National Park is intermingled with these businesses, including a nice museum with a time line of the Dockyard, a selection of silver racing trophies and lots of photos.
Artifacts and displays at the museum at the Nelsons Dockyard
Our next stop was within walking distance of the Dockyard, but a business that is a world away, a local restaurant run out of a little home, called Caribbean Taste. Local specialties (and burgers for the less adventurous) are cooked in the kitchen and served out on the porch.
Caribbean Taste
You order from the chalk board...
The menu at Caribbean Taste
We chose a variety of local specialties including curried conch, a cornmeal side called funge and a dense sweet potato and plantain side dish called ducana.
Curried conk and ducana
Curried conk and funge
After a tasty local lunch, (there is an option on this tour for a "tourist lunch" in a lookout spot with a view if you prefer) we made our way to Shirley Heights for a look at Eglish Harbor from above.
English Harbor and Neslons Dockyard from Shirely Heights
This amazing plant (the yellow flower bunches on top of the stalk in the center) is called the century plant, it blooms like this once every 25 years and then dies (so really, it's a quarter century plant, but we won't get hung up on semantics, it's still really dramatic looking!)
The dramatic century plant on the coast of Antigua
After Shirely Heights, we drove along the "Fig Tree Road", which is the rainiest part of the island and more lush and green. Keisha took us to one of her favorite beaches on the East Coast of the island for a dip, before we had to head back to the ship, because if it's "all about that boat" - you certainly don't want to miss it!
Back to St John
Flora and People of St Lucia (aboard Adventure of the Seas)
Our trip around St Lucia introduced us to the people and the flora and agriculture of the island. It's hard to tell which was more beautiful!
Our tour was led by the ambitious and knowledgable Shane with Real St Lucia Tours. As his car attests, he works hard for his guests and he shared many facets of St Lucia with us during our day on the island.
Of course the big "story" of St Lucia are the beautiful geological formations on the coast known as Petite and Grande Piton.
We visited several scenic overlooks and went south towards Soufrierre, where we visited the Botanical Gardens and Diamond Falls, and took a hike along the Tet Paul Nature trail
We saw many tropical plants, that ordinarily only grow inside homes of offices in our own area, but here they were growing everywhere in this rainforest environment.
The rainforest flowers above and below support life within their blooms by holding onto water which allows the hummingbirds to sip, small insects and frogs to live and also for epiphytes (air plants) to grow in the tiny "bowls" created by the blossoms.
We saw this flower (normally I write down the names of these things, but can't find the name this one!) But it was quite waxy looking and has "wax" in its name. I think that it is a metaphor for the delicate natural environment on all of these islands we've visited. It has a beautiful and dramatic blossom...
...but as soon as the blossom is touched by human hands, it withers and dies without producing any seeds to reproduce. At the Botanical Gardens they all had a sign that said, "do not touch", but at the Tet Paul Nature trail, they did not and several had been to irresistible to guests and looked like the one below. Our guide explained it had rotted and would not produce seeds.
This tree was not at all like St Lucia- which we found very welcoming. This tree with its sharp spikes was not hospitable to man, bird, or lizard! Ouch!
We also had a chance to see some of the agriculture of the island...in addition to the banana plantation, which is the biggest export from St Lucia (mostly to Great Britain) in the first photo, we also saw a mango tree in blossom with tiny mango fruit just starting, smaller than a pea!
And nearly ripe mangoes below.
Pineapples do not grow on trees but on plants with spiky leaves near the ground. Each one can grow 4-5 pineapples on the plant. Then the plant dies and pineapples need to be replanted. Of course a new plant will grow from the top of another pineapple, so they are easy to grow!
Even more beautiful than the flora, were the welcoming and friendly people of St Lucia. Even the folks trying to sell something were very positive, reminding us they needed to "make bread, mon". Below are some folks in a shop along our route.
These school girls were caught in the rain after school, but it didn't stop them from smiling and waving to us as we went by!
We had decided before we left to try not to be the kind of tourists who "touch the flower and ruin it". We had heard of an organization called Pack For A Purpose. (http://www.packforapurpose.org) This organization offers communities around the world an opportunity to share a wish list with travelers who might be going there. You simply collect the wish list items and "pack for a purpose", bringing along items easily sourced in the US and delivering them to people in need. The very last thing we did in St Lucia before we left was to drop off a whole bag of school supplies (flash cards, crayons and pencils etc.) we had collected from our own community. We were able to deliver these to the Sandals LeToc, where the Sandals Foundation helps supply and fund 2 preschools in the area. We were met by a Sandals executive who thanked us for participating and we know that the suplies will be well used, because the following day in Antigua our guide explained that her daughter goes to a preschool that is supported by the Sandals Foundation and they do many worthwhile projects and help supply the school! It was great hearing first hand that our small contribution makes a difference in the lives of ordinary people where we visit!
