"Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover."
~Mark Twain
  Trip to Antigua - August 19-23, 2003

During our Summer Break between third and fourth semesters, Kelly's sister Jackie came to visit us in the Caribbean, so we decided to make a trip to Antigua. It was a way to show Jackie some of the other islands, a way for us to experience yet another island, and a nice way for Ian to spend his birthday. Antigua is the island that claims to have 365 beaches - almost all of them beautiful white sand with turquoise waters. It is a very beautiful island - looks similar to Barbados, but with slightly higher elevation and greener rolling hills.

Antigua is the largest of the British Leeward Islands and was home to Lord Nelson's Fleet during British occupation. There is an abundance of old forts, beach & water activities, and shopping on Antigua. We stayed at the Jolly Harbour Villas on the southwest coast, just south of the capitol city of St. John. These two-bedroom townhomes are all on the waterfront and each come with a boat dock, which is why the area is called "The Venice of the Caribbean." With several restaurants, a commercial center, grocery store, golf course, casino, boat dock, and beaches, there is plenty to do at Jolly Harbour. Below is a panoramic of the Jolly Harbour Beach, a view of the South chain of villas, Kelly and Jackie walking through the villas, part of the boat docks, a left-side view from our villa, and another panoramic of the beach.

~Jolly Harbour~

      

On our first full day in Antigua, we went on an all-day Eco-Tour with Eli from Adventure Antigua. Eli was born and raised in Antigua, and he takes you along on his tour as if you were a family friend. It was a small boat tour with about a dozen passengers, and included snorkeling, light hiking, a "cave" adventure, lunch on the beach, and several stories on the history and ecology of the island. Eli picked us up at Jolly Harbour in the morning, and once we had collected all the passengers, we went north along the coast, spotting old forts, hotels, rock formations, birds, and a shipwreck. Our first stop took us to a small island for beachcombing and shell collecting, where Kelly found a conk shell. From there, we toured around the North Sound islands off of Antigua, including Long Island and Jumpy Bay - home of one of the most exclusive resort hotels (they once turned away Princess Diana) and the largest breeding area in the world for the endangered Hawksbill turtle.

We went on to Guiana Island to see the mangrove forests and wildlife, and then stopped at Bird Island for lunch, a hike, and of course, bird watching. Home to frigate birds and the rarest snake in the world, Bird Island had spectacular views. After lunch, we went on to Hell's Gate, where we were able to go through a small cave and actually walk across the Hell's Gate bridge. We saw a very large spotted devil ray, but because you had to swim to get to this part of the Tour, most of these pictures our on our Kodak underwater cameras instead of the digital. After the cave adventure, we found some relatively calm waters for some snorkeling. There were a few reefs, and Kelly saw a sting ray. After snorkeling, it was time to go home. This is a highly recommended tour for nature enthusiasts, and visitors who want to see the hidden areas of Antigua. Pictures below: Jumpy Island Resort, a starfish, a couple pictures from the island we went beachcombing on, a panoramic from Bird Island, Ian and Kelly on Bird Island, Hell's Gate, and our tour crew, Eli and Tony.

~Adventure Antigua North Sound Eco-Tour~

     

   

Our second full day in Antigua, we rented a car and went to the capitol of St. John for some shopping, and then Nelson's Dockyard for some sightseeing. Nelson's Dockyard is a fully restored Georgian Naval Dockyard named for Lord Nelson, who was made temporary Commander of the Leeward Island Station from 1784-1787. It was interesting to see what the buildings would have looked like back then, but there wasn't a lot to do here and there was a lot of construction going on (probably because it isn't peak tourist season). Ian did get some pretty pictures, tho. After the Dockyard, we drove back to Jolly Harbour by way of scenic Fig Tree Drive, which goes through what seems to be the only green part of the island. We relaxed that night at our villa, and Ian captured some really pretty sunset pictures. Pictured below: (top row) Nelson's Dockyard, (second row): Fig Tree Drive, the rolling hills of Antigua, and the sunset at Jolly Harbour beach.

~Nelson's Dockyard, Fig Tree Drive, and Antigua Sunsets~

     

On Ian's birthday, we relaxed on the beach and took advantage of some of our resort amenities. Ian went snorkeling and ended up exploring for jellyfish. There were several small jellyfish along the coast - the small box jellyfish with no tentacles that don't really sting that bad. Kelly and Jackie took a dip in the water and then collected seashells before the three of us went out for lunch. We were able to give Ian a birthday ice cream snickers bar complete with trick candles. All in all, it was a relaxing way to complete our trip. Pictured below: Kelly and Jackie walking along the beach, Jolly Harbour beach, one of the jellyfish, Ian's footprints in the sand, Ian in snorkel gear looking for jellyfish, Kelly and Ian in the water, the Princess Casino and Sports Bar where we had a very delicious lunch, and a sunset.

~Jolly Harbour~

     

     

Antigua was an amazing vacation destination, and we highly recommend the Jolly Harbour Villas. Below are a few links and resources that we found helpful in planning our vacation:

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