Antigua--Welcome Aboard !!!!
Antigua was first sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493 on his second voyage to the Americas. The island is fairly small, covering only 108 total square miles and is part of the Lesser Antilles. From its shores you can see the islands of Guadeloupe, the volcanic island of Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis. There is a population of 70,000 people living on the island, all of them speak English with a distinctive Caribbean accent. Antigua has a history of sugar production and slavery. Slavery was abolished in 1834 and the island’s economy collapsed, but sugar has always remained an important industry. In 1981 Antigua achieved political sovereignty.
So, after a splendid night of sleeping like a baby…again… on the Caribbean Princess we awoke early to catch yet another absolutely spectacular sunrise from our balcony. Getting up early gives you the opportunity to see the coastal areas of an island up close as the ship glides quietly by, sometimes revealing a photographic treasure like an old wrecked ship or a deserted beautiful beach. We caught the harbor of St. John’s in the early morning sunlight as the ship pulled in…a beautiful scene.
The port of St. Johns, which is the islands capital, is very colorful and welcoming with lots of shops and restaurants built all around the harbor. We hired our own taxi again, which is our custom, and set off to see the sights. Our first stop was a very old stone church, where services are still held every Sunday. The most popular denomination on the islands is Anglican due to the British influence. Next our driver took us up to Shirley Heights which was the colonial observation post high above Falmouth Harbor, English Harbour and the completely restored Nelson’s Dockyard which had been abandoned in 1889. From this vantage point you see the turquoise waters for miles and many boats moored in the harbors. It is easy to see why this was such a perfect position from which to defend the British Navy’s fleet in the 18th century. Walking thru the historic dockyards, there are many wonderful colonial buildings and structures to photograph.
Antigua does not lack for beautiful beaches…there are 365 of them...one for each day of the year if you were lucky enough to be there that long! We stopped at several of them to try to capture the beauty with our cameras.
All too soon of course, it is time to return to the ship. We caught a few more pictures of the port of St. John’s where our ship is docked now in the late afternoon light. Light makes all the difference in a picture! I often tell people that you can take the same exact picture over and over and never get the same results twice!
We will be leaving port about 5:30 and setting course for our next stop, which is Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. I am really looking forward to this because it is an island we have never visited before. See you in Tortola!
Antigua was first sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493 on his second voyage to the Americas. The island is fairly small, covering only 108 total square miles and is part of the Lesser Antilles. From its shores you can see the islands of Guadeloupe, the volcanic island of Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis. There is a population of 70,000 people living on the island, all of them speak English with a distinctive Caribbean accent. Antigua has a history of sugar production and slavery. Slavery was abolished in 1834 and the island’s economy collapsed, but sugar has always remained an important industry. In 1981 Antigua achieved political sovereignty.
So, after a splendid night of sleeping like a baby…again… on the Caribbean Princess we awoke early to catch yet another absolutely spectacular sunrise from our balcony. Getting up early gives you the opportunity to see the coastal areas of an island up close as the ship glides quietly by, sometimes revealing a photographic treasure like an old wrecked ship or a deserted beautiful beach. We caught the harbor of St. John’s in the early morning sunlight as the ship pulled in…a beautiful scene.
The port of St. Johns, which is the islands capital, is very colorful and welcoming with lots of shops and restaurants built all around the harbor. We hired our own taxi again, which is our custom, and set off to see the sights. Our first stop was a very old stone church, where services are still held every Sunday. The most popular denomination on the islands is Anglican due to the British influence. Next our driver took us up to Shirley Heights which was the colonial observation post high above Falmouth Harbor, English Harbour and the completely restored Nelson’s Dockyard which had been abandoned in 1889. From this vantage point you see the turquoise waters for miles and many boats moored in the harbors. It is easy to see why this was such a perfect position from which to defend the British Navy’s fleet in the 18th century. Walking thru the historic dockyards, there are many wonderful colonial buildings and structures to photograph.
Antigua does not lack for beautiful beaches…there are 365 of them...one for each day of the year if you were lucky enough to be there that long! We stopped at several of them to try to capture the beauty with our cameras.
All too soon of course, it is time to return to the ship. We caught a few more pictures of the port of St. John’s where our ship is docked now in the late afternoon light. Light makes all the difference in a picture! I often tell people that you can take the same exact picture over and over and never get the same results twice!
We will be leaving port about 5:30 and setting course for our next stop, which is Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. I am really looking forward to this because it is an island we have never visited before. See you in Tortola!
Dave Berry shares his Photography Tips at Computer School for Seniors (www.cs4seniors.com).
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