Antigua Fun

Following our arrival in Antigua the days have slid past at surprising speed, nothing like the pace we have been approaching life with. No one would wish to rush the Antiguan experience. It is as glossy as any magazine cover, richer than double cream, more to do here than, well, than there is in the middle of the Atlantic so its coming over very nicely.

English harbour is a deep, steep sided, crooked incision into the Antiguan south coast and lies immediately adjacent to the much more open Falmouth harbour. In fact English harbour is so well hidden and protected that it hid the British West Indies fleet for almost two centuries from the destructive forces of hurricanes and privateers. Now, the harbour and the more recently restored Nelsons Dockyard area is the undisputed centre of Caribbean yachting. It has so much charm, history and fascinating natural wonders that you could fall in love with the place and never leave.

We did leave for 5 nights though, to Barbuda, just 30 miles north of here stopping in one of the many attractive bays at Green island along the way. Dense green foliage converges on the white sand beaches, the trees wheezing with little nectivorous birds that are frantic in their search for unsucked blossoms. The fragrance of spring wafts out over the inshore maze of coral reefs that surround the islands.

Spearfishing is prohibited here. Nick and I wholeheartedly agree that this is an excellent dictor because there is noticeably more reef fish in shore than the Cape Verdes (where we witnessed locals stringing small benthic species along behind them as they blazed the reef). The frustration at not being able to shoot the large pelagic species that would more than likely visit the deeper channels and pinnacles regardless of spearguns is easy to come to terms with when one brandishes an underwater camera instead.