S/V Nada: ANTIGUA

Approaching Antigua

Once British colony Antigua is now an independent nation. It has more bays and beaches then any other Caribbean island.
Our first stop after an overnight sail from St.Bartholomy was Port of Entry Jolly Harbour. We anchored in a shallow turquoise water at the entrance of the large lagoon.

Laundry day on the boat

Marina is safely tucked in the lagoon, well protected from high seas

As always we went on the shore to stretch our legs and we found the marina grounds very beautiful

Lagoon front is lined with private vacation villas, most of them having a dock into the lagoon

Here we found a tree we haven't seen before

Kigali tree

Kigali tree fruit
Locals call it wild squash. It is not edible. They let the heavy
fruit dry, then paint Caribbean scenery on it

Besides the marina, Jolly Harbour has a few restaurants, souvenir and sports shops, and an art galley.Across from the Casino is a large grocery store. Stop there first!

Jolly Harbour Casino

Hotel 'Castle'

We took a bus to Antigua's Capitol, St.John. You get off the bus in the middle of the large market, fruits and vegetables, fish and meat are sold in three separate buildings. The rest of the town is as most in the Caribbean, colorful, untidy, and yes, trashy. But people were very friendly.
The area where cruise ships dock, is upscale, of course.

Cruise ship area

After staying four days in Jolly Harbour, we sailed a short distance to Deep Bay. It is beautiful.

In the afternoon stillness the surf was gently brushing onto the beach, shaded by palm trees. The beach was deserted but by the local young couple, getting to know each other in the shallow water.

Fort Barrington is on the north side above the beach and condominiums on the south side overlooking the bay.

Grand Royal Antiguan Beach Resort is almost hidden in tall trees

Hotel, lagoon and Deep Bay beach

May is here and the tourists season is over. The hotel grounds are still manicured, but the dining room with the elegantly set tables is empty. The office manager let us play tennis on the hotel's court, the only out of eleven that was maintained. The poor economy is effecting Caribbean resorts on all the islands.

Walking the resort grounds, we found another tree, new to us, tamarind. Local lady Andrea called it tamberine. She told us, how it is being prepared: shelled when not yet ripen is used for salsa. When honey-brown inside, it is used for jams. Stew or tamberine juice has a lot of vitamin C and locals use it to cure colds.