Greetings! We recently returned from a trip to Antigua and Barbuda (country #76). Below, you will find information and photos from our trip.
ANTIGUA
Antigua (ann-tee-guh) is the larger of two sister islands (108 square miles/280 square km) that are found in the Leeward Islands within the Lesser Antilles, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Despite being surrounded by water, there are no sources of fresh water on the island. Antigua natives are primarily of African descent, with most of the 100,000 population living within the capital of St. John’s.
Antigua was colonized by the British in the 1600s, and eventually became part of the Leeward Islands Colony and the West Indies Federation, before eventually initiating an independence movement in the 1970s, and becoming independent in 1981. Vere “V.C.” Bird was established as the first Prime Minister of the newly-independent nation.
Unfortunately, Antigua’s history is marred by scandals and allegations of government corruption. The main scandal we were told about involved a U.S. financier who was charged with fraud as part of a very large Ponzi scheme involving his bank in Antigua.
Antigua receives all of its fuel from Venezuela, and charges a fixed rate of $5/gallon. There are plenty of opportunities and resources to use solar energy on the island, and the main place where this is observed is the airport, which runs solely on solar energy.
Antigua’s main exports are black pineapple (which is only grown in Antigua) and Susie’s hot sauce (it is reportedly sold all over the world, and Susie apparently buys up all of the peppers on the island to produce her sauce.)
BARBUDA
Barbuda (bar-byoo-duh) is the smaller of the two islands (62 square miles/161 square km), and lies 25miles (40km) north of Antigua (a 90 minute ferry ride). It has a population of about 1500, though many of the inhabitants have not yet returned from Antigua after Hurricane Irma in 2017, during which all inhabitants were evacuated to the sister island.
Barbuda was also colonized in the 1600s, was granted to the Codrington family, and was planned as a colony on which to breed slaves, though this did not happen, and the slaves (which had been imported) eventually became self-reliant within their own community. The slaves were subsequently emancipated in 1834, and eventually became “a dependent of” Antigua, and became an independent nation with Antigua in 1981.
Barbuda has one inhabited area – Codrington Village – and there are 7 churches on the island. The primary employers are construction and tourism, the latter of which was significantly impacted by the hurricane, and has not yet completely rebounded due to the lack of stable infrastructure caused by inconsistency of the former.
Frigate Birds are the only type of bird in Barbuda, and there are over 20,000 of them in this sanctuary. The males migrate at the end of every season, but the females never leave. The males have a red chest and do what they can to attract the attention of the females (which are all black with white in the breast area), who choose their mate. Only one chick per season is born to each of these couples, and it takes two years before the gender is known (birds under two years of age have white heads). This species of bird is unable to dive, so, must feed on fish that come to the surface. This is one of the largest colonies in the world, and just passed the Galapagos in size because the Frigate birds have no natural predators. As a result, their lifespan is 45-50 years.
Before the colonization of the island, Arawak Indians lived on the island. There is network of caves from which they watched out for ships (primarily on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island).
Once again, another enjoyable visit, this time to a beautiful island nation in the Caribbean. We look forward to exploring more islands within this region in the future. Until next time, take care and be well…