Our next stop was the port and town of St. John’s on Antigua. Along with its neighboring island, Barbuda, this was a British headquarters for the region during the colonial era, but Antigua and Barbuda are now an independent country. None of the West Indies islands we visited asked to see our passports, much less stamp them upon entry or departure. Much more convenient, but I guess the days of stamped passports have disappeared into the digital age, along with the idea of passport stamps as cherished tokens of travel. Nostalgia aside, here are some photos from Antigua:
Nelson’s dockyard was part of our tour of Antigua. The British navy needed a harbor where they could repair, resupply, and maintain their warships during the colonial era, and this was the place. Many of the stone building have survived the years and are open to the public. And they have an interesting selection of cannons on the premises.We are no experts when it comes to naval or land-based artillery, but here was a small cannon on display. Not a mortar, but certainly small and short compared to the other naval guns.Looking out over the harbor at Nelson’s Dockyard. No warships to be seen, but plenty of yachts and sailboats. The topography for this and the rest of the island is relatively flat, suggesting a non-volcanic origin. And although Antigua is covered with vegetation, it is not as lush as most of the other islands, so this one probably gets less rainfall. I think that our earlier ports of call were on the Windward Islands of the West Indies, and this is one of the Leeward Islands, which would go with the idea of the climate being a bit drier.View from a high hill behind the dockyard, showing the relatively flat terrain compared with the greater relief seen on the volcanic islands. Antigua claims to have 365 separate beaches (each little sandy alcove counts as a beach), and the shoreline is gorgeous.Nelson’s Dockyard seen from the overlooking hill, with a view towards the larger harbor near St. Johns. Makes you wonder if everyone on the island either has a sailboat or wishes that they had one. Even though we were coming to the end of the cruise season, two other cruise ships were in the harbor with us, which was a burden and a blessing to the Antigua economy. This photo looks back towards the harbor as we set sail for our next ports of call: the US Virgin Islands.
