Well we have spent the last week on the Island of Barbuda which is thirty miles north of Antigua. Apart from the most magnificent beaches you could every hope to see, other points of interest are a couple of expensive resorts, a frigate bird colony and the small town of Codrington.
Frigate Bird Rookery
A PERFECT PARADISE
We spent hours each day walking along the broad pristine beaches and swimming in the shallows. The eleven mile beach is a pretty creamy-pink colour due to the red coral reef off shore. Fortunately the weather was perfect and so we enjoyed sunny days with big blue skies, white fluffy clouds, dazzling aqua water and flat calm conditions.
The Cruising Guide we are using is 2000-2001edition and so some of the information within is outdated. It did outline however that dinner at the nearby resort was an expensive undertaking. On a few occasions in the evenings we watched fellow cruisers dressed for dinner dinghy across to the resort only to return to their boat almost immediately. On one of our walks we checked out the resort and found that to dine there a 'day pass' was needed for the price of $1,000. I agree that the location is stunningly beautiful but I have to say that I thought the resort was very ordinary. Not only could we hear their generator running we could also smell the diesel fumes.
On another occasion we walked to the Cocoa Point Lodge which has a number of private units on the water. Once again a stunning location and although we don't know the price, suffice to say we saw guests arriving in a helicopter. No bashing across the sea for these guys.
THE BIRDS AGREE
The interior of Barbuda has a salt water lagoon and is home to a large Frigate bird rookery (as large as those in the Galapagos). As you can see by the photos we visited the rookery along with another cruising couple we had meet on the beach the previous day. The rookery was a spectacle especially the nesting male frigate bird with his bright red gular pouch. However no one prepared us for the smell which unfortunately or fortunately we couldn't capture for you on the photos.
On the way back from the rookery we called into the little township of Codrington (to visit the human rookery). We had to pay a small fee to Codrington Council for our trip to the rookery. There wasn't much in town but it was lovely to watch the kids playing in the school ground. There wasn't any need for a teacher to be on playground duty as the local mothers do the supervision from the street. At one point a bit of a playground scuffle broke out and instantly a couple of mothers came up to the school fence and shouted at the offender; one of the benefits of living in a small community.
Main street Codrington and the Primary School
BANG
We reluctantly left Barbuda yesterday and sailed to Nonsuch Bay on the east side of Antigua. We were close hauled with ten knots of breeze and enjoying a pleasant sail when there was a bang and our jib dropped to the deck and fell overboard. That got our attention, we scrambled up to the bow and pulled the sail back onboard and tied it to the deck. The shackle on the head had broken after nine years of use. Once we anchored in Nonsuch Bay Andrew went up the mast and retrieved the halyard so we could set things right again.
SO WHAT'S NEXT
We will stay in Antigua for a few more days. Our visa's run out on the 11th at which time we will bid farewell to this wonderful island and continue on our adventure.
Love Candy xx
At 12:06 PM28/02/2014 (utc) our position was 17°37.51'N 061°51.11'W
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