Antigua 2004 – back now!

We had a great time in Antigua … lots of sun and warmth (the locals said it was unusually hot and dry; good for us!). Definitely got brown while we were there!

 

Here’s photos from our trip …

We flew out to Antigua for a late summer vacation, which will include Margarets birthday (tomorrow). We had a very early flight out of Boston, and watched the sun rise in the airport; after landing and changing planes in San Juan, we flew on to Antigua; it was very interesting looking down on the various Caribbean islands – each one had an island shaped cloud floating over it …

 

 

We finally landed at VC Bird International Airport in Antigua and transferred to our hotel (St James Club); we had a great room and enjoyed a spectacular sunset right outside:

 

The hotel had a nice beach – till it got too hot; a pool too:

 

We rented a car and drove to Nelsons Dockyard; once a great English dockyard, now a museum with some relics; we next headed to Shirley Heights, which offered a view back towards our resort, and an overview of Nelsons Dockyard. We were going to a steel band which plays every Sunday night at Shirley Heights as the sun sets; loads of people attend but unfortunately a major downpour ended the day early – we were glad to have a car to get home and not have to wait for taxis!

 

Another day, we toured the island of Antigua; first we drove along Fig Tree Bay which takes you up through the rain forest part of Antigua – very green and quite desolate! We also found more beaches, and had dinner in the city of St Johns:

 

And there was another spectacular sunset!

 

We also took a “Seafari” ride right round Antigua, and to some off-shore islands, riding what is basically a motor-powered inflatable tube! The boat reaches speeds of 40mph+ and is quite exhilarating once you get comfortable with the fact that no matter how much it bumps & tilts, you won’t be thrown out. You get some great views of the island, but the trip is over too quickly:

 

Old Sturbridge Village

On our way back from Connecticut and the US Open Tennis we pass right by Old Sturbridge Village so we decided to stop and tour; it’s a re-creation of old USA with transferred old buildings, town layouts … We saw pigs, sunflowers and cows; we saw the Tin Smiths, The Coopers, and the Saw Mill:

There is a lot to see and it is a very peaceful & relaxing place, so we decided to stay the night. Initially we booked an old fashioned room which looked nice but was FREEZING cold; the building had a single heating system for every room, and it was off. So we switched to a more modern room with heat – much more comfortable, if less characterful!

In the morning, we returned to Old Sturbridge Village again, and saw more of the “living museum” before eventually heading home.