I spent one day on the island of Antigua. It is in the Carribean, and this was one of our Cruise stops.
The currency is called the Eastern Caribbean dollar. It has a fixed rate, set to the United States dollar of $1.00 USD = $2.65 EC. They will accept travellers checks, only US dollars or any major credit cards.
They have two of their own banks, 3 Canadian banks, Barclays Bank and the Swiss American Bank.
It is in the Atlantic Standard time zone, -4 hours from GMT.
If you are not a citizen of the U.K., the U.S.A. or Canada you will need your passport and another card with a picture on it, (i.e. a drivers licence), but no vaccinations are need.
.:Some History:.
This Island had people living on it from before 2400 B. C. The Siboney, (an Arawak word meaning ’’stone people), people were the first to live here. No one know where they went.
The next people to live here were the Arawaks, who settled here around the time that Jesus Christ was born. They lived here for over 1000 years until the Caribs, defeated them and took over the island.
Christopher Columbus, discovered it, (on his second trip, to the new world, in 1493), and names the island Santa Maria la Antigua, (she is the parton saint of Seville, Spain).
Sir Christopher Codrington, was the first settler. He wanted to know if the island had enough rich soil to build a sugar cane farm.
Admiral Nelson, sailed into the cove of the island, in 1784. It was under British rule for more than 200 years.
.:The People:.
Most of the people who live here today are descendants of the white settlers and the African slaves, who were brought here to work on the plantations.
.:The Capital City:.
Our ship landed at the Capital of Antigua is St. Johns. It is a very old city, and was built in the 1800’s.
As we were approaching the island we could see the towers of St. John’s Church.
.:We Took A Tour:.
We had pre-booked a tour and the first stop was at the Farmers Market. We bought some pieces of sugar cane, (if you love candy, this tastes better than candy), some fresh fruit and some local crafts and one small water colour painting.
Our next stop was at the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, (another island that is close to Antigua. The building is built in a colonial house, that our guide told us was built in 1750. We saw artifacts from archaeological digs, life sized models of the sugar plantations with their windmills, the early homes and the 100 painted, Arawak stones.
We stopped for lunch at Joe Mike’s Restaurant and Casino. It serves food from the Caribbean. I had conch stew and my husband a mixed fish and seafood grille.
After lunch we tour the St. John’s Church. On the outside it is made of muddy looking stone and has a black wrought iron fence surrounding it. This is not the original Church, (the first one came crashing down, during an earthquake in the mid 1700’s). This one is was built in 1845, and has two towers. You can clime up either to get a great view on the harbour and the city.
The rest of the day we had free wandered the streets and browsed through the shops.
.:If You Are Here Longer:.
There are a lot of beaches to suntan on, or participate in water sports, there is a day cruise to Barbuda, fishing, hunting, hiking, golfing and going through a tropical forest.
.:My Conclusion:.
I would love to come back here for a week. If you are thinking of spending time on an island in the Caribbean, this one would be one that I would recommend you consider.
I found a web site that will show you some of the things we saw while we were in St. Johns. The url is:
https://geographia.com/antigua-barbuda/agjohn02.htm
Thank you for reading this review.
©LL2004