BY SIMONE J. SMITH
The island was born out of the sea by a volcano about 30 million years ago, which makes it a young island when looking at it in geologic time. It is a place where on Sunday afternoon, you can take in a beautiful view of the island from Shirley Heights, drink a glass of rum punch, accompanied with barbecue and the sounds of steel band and reggae music.
This quaint, and alluring island has a smooth-coastline edged with long pink and white sand beaches protected by barrier reefs. Visitors to the island have access to 365 beaches, one for each day of the year; the challenge this poses to visitors is not how to gain access to the best of them, but to find the one that best suits their taste.
When I received an email inviting me to visit the island of Antigua, I knew that I was about to have an experience like no other. I had not heard a lot about Antigua & Barbuda, except the fact that the island had been mentioned in songs from my youth: most notably, “Kokomo,” by The Beach Boys (1988).
What I discovered when I got there was beyond my extensive imagination. The Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority had carefully curated an experience that offered the perfect combination of luxury and value. Over the next few editions, I will be sharing my exclusive experience with the Toronto Caribbean community, and advent travel bugs living in the diaspora. I guarantee that after sharing my adventures, Antigua and Barbuda will be on your short list of Caribbean islands to visit this year.
First, I want to provide a little bit of history about the island; this will help us as we discover it together. The tropical islands of Antigua and Barbuda are located in the heart of the Caribbean about a thousand miles to the east of Jamaica and half that distance from Trinidad on the coast of South America. They are at 17- N latitude, about the same as the Cape Verde Islands and Bombay and 61- W longitude.
The highest point of Antigua is 1,319 ft. in the southwest and is called Boggy Peak, but the limestone Highlands of Barbuda rise to only 125 ft. The area of Antigua is 108 square miles, while Barbuda is 62 square miles. The population of the former is approaching 80,000, but the latter is relatively unpopulated at 1,300. Days and nights are refreshingly cooled by the gentle trade winds. It is a nice parallel to the very hot, and steamy days.
How did Barbuda become a separate island from Antigua? It occurred when the sea levels of the world rose considerably at about 10,000 BC. It is because of this that parts of Barbuda are geologically flooded forming interesting lagoons. This is a bird watchers haven as visitors are exposed to the largest breeding and nesting colony of the Magnificent Frigate Bird in the world.
Barbuda supports a tremendous diversity of native habitats, unthreatened by development. Reef-fringed Barbuda may be one of the best-kept ecological secrets in the West Indies. Her rugged scenery, beautiful beaches, (one at least 12 miles long), lagoons and abundant wildlife are a resource as valuable as its fisheries.
The main reason for my trip was to be part of the Antigua Carnival, an over a week long festival brimming with colourful costumes, beauty pageants, talent shows, and the best in steel pan, reggae and soca. Like many of the other West Indian islands, Carnival celebrates the emancipation of the Antiguan people. It is an exhilarating display of activities ranging from the Party Monarch and Calypso Monarch competitions of Calypsonians, the Panorama steel band competition, the spectacular Parade of Bands, the Miss Antigua Pageant and the Caribbean Queen’s Competition. In addition, throughout the island there are smaller festivities, including local concerts, food fairs, parades, and cultural shows.
After a two-year hiatus, the Antiguan Carnival was celebrated from July 27th to August 2nd, 2022. Unlike other Caribbean Carnival celebrations, which take place around Lent, Antigua Carnival has long been a summer event, and it still includes all of the classic elements of Carnival, including road marches, music competitions, elaborate costumes, and the early rising party known as J’ourvert.
Another part of the experience that I will be able to speak about is what it is like travelling as an unvaccinated traveller to the island. I will go into more details as I go through “My Space in the Sun Experience,” but I will let you know the details that you can find on their website: https://visitantiguabarbuda.com/.
Fully vaccinated travellers don’t need to take a test to get into Antigua and Barbuda; in fact, you don’t even have to bring along proof of vaccination. If you’re unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, however, you will be required to produce a negative certified PCR result taken no more than three days before arrival, or a Rapid Antigen Test taken no more than 24 hours prior to arrival.
Are you ready for this? It has been a long time since I shared a travel experience with our readers. Put on your sunblock, sunglasses, and get your passport ready. It is time to take a trip!
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