Living the life of an Antiguan

I was completely covered in sand. Every single crack and fold of skin on my body was packed with sand including my ears, nose, and other parts. I had just attempted to come out of the water after a snorkeling in Darkwood beach in Antigua. I had been at this same beach three days earlier and the snorkeling was excellent. The waters were calm and there was a beautiful reef about 100 feet off the shore. I spent a few hours in the warm Caribbean water admiring the beautiful schools of fish, barracuda, and coral formation. I was therefore somewhat surprised by how rough the conditions had become today. The beach was usually somewhat protected from the wind being on the West Coast of Antigua. The trade winds are predominantly from the East or North East and this was a great beach to snorkel because it was protected from these winds. However, there had been a massive weather disturbance in the North Atlantic and the swells were pelting the shores of Antigua. In retrospect, I should have been more attentive before getting into the water. Today, when I attempted to get out of the water and take my fins off I got hammered by a huge wave which dragged me up the beach and then attempted to suck me back into the ocean. By digging my heels in the sandy bottom, I was able to prevent getting sucked back out to sea but the turbulent sandy water forced sand everywhere. When I return to the sailboat, Ileana took one look at me and said “There is no way you’re coming on the boat looking like that”. I hosed off as much of the sand as possible, but was forced to strip down and scrub all the sand before I was allowed to come on the boat……

I have been at Jolly Harbour Marina for the past two weeks. The original plan was for Ileana and me to head towards Saint Martin last weekend. Our plans changed when she broke 4 bones in her foot making her somewhat immobilized because of pain. I have spent the last two weeks living like an Antiguan enjoying the warm weather and getting to know the island. Typically, I would go for a 10 kilometre run in the morning before it got too hot. When I returned to the boat, I would have hearty breakfast before deciding what to do with the rest of my time. There are things to clean on the boat and other small chores, and I would usually go off to the local supermarket for supplies. I have an electric bike and typically, in the afternoon, I would pack a small backpack with my sorkeling gear and head off to a local beach for a snokeling adventure. There are 365 beaches in Antigua, one for every day of the year, so I am just getting started……

Ileana has been working remotely from the sailboat. I installed Starlink a few weeks ago onto the stern of my boat. Starlink is Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet system which works exceptionally well. She is able to do zoom calls and make internet telephone calls all from the comfort of the sailboat. Even though she was somewhat immobilized by her painful broken foot, she was able to continue to work using this Internet system. She had not been able to step foot off the boat for the first two weeks following her injury. This past Saturday, we decided to go on a tour of the island using one of the local knowledgeable taxi drivers as a guide. Keanu our driver and guide is amazing. He would stop at the side of the road and say “you guys have to try this”. He would pull off some tiny green fruits from a tree growing alongside the road and say “these little fruits are the best!” Other times, he would pull in beside a woman cooking corn over charcoal and say “This is typical for Antigua. You have to try this!”

We made our way to the other side of the island, a place called Devil’s Bridge. The history of Devil’s Bridge is based on tragedy. It’s felt to be a place where slaves would go to commit suicide to escape the painful life of slavery. The arch got the name “Devil’s Bridge” because people at the time believed that the devil must live there. Anyone falling off of the bridge would not survive because the Atlantic waters are so rough they would be crushed by the rocks. Another reason this area had so many suicides is because there is no land mass between Devil’s Bridge and the West Coast of Africa. Many who committed suicide believed that the ocean would take their bodies back to Africa.

We continued our circumnavigation of the island with Keanu, our local expert. We went by old sugar cane plantations long since abandoned, through the rain forest and along tiny winding roads. We declined the offer to go zip lining not wanting to test Ileana’s pain tolerance and opted to stop at a few of the beaches for beer instead.

We had such a good outing that after 2 weeks of being confined to the boat, Ileana and I went to the Shirley Heights Sunday night party the next evening. Shirley Heights has got to be one of the most spectacular views in the Caribbean. It is 490 feet above sea level and the perfect place to see a sunset. On Sunday night, there is a steel band and a huge BBQ. This is an amazing spot to end the week. There are people dancing and the atmosphere is electric. There is a great view of English harbor and Falmouth harbor and there is really no better place on earth to watch the sunset.

Shirley Heights getting ready to celebrate the sunset

Antigua continues to offer beauty and delights. It rains almost every day but usually just for a few minutes. This makes the land lush and beautiful. It also makes the most wonderful rainbows anywhere on earth.

Our plans are to return to Toronto this Saturday. We will get some more xrays of ileana’s foot to make sure it is healing properly. I will return to Antigua at the end of February with two sailors, Robert and Roger. They are going to help me sail the boat to Dominican Republic. It should take about 2 1/2 days with downwind sailing all the way. The trade winds are predominantly from the east so it should be a great sail. Ileana will meet me in the Dominican Republic. The trip will take us past St. Barts, Sint Maarten, British Virgin Island, north of Puerto Rico and on to Samana in the Dominican Republic. The whales migrate to Samana Bay at this time of year so we are hoping to go whale watching.