Have a piece of Antigua
Antigua is one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean.
The full name of the country is Antigua and Barbuda but Antigua
happens to be the main island. The Arawaks were the first
people to inhabit Antigua; later on the Caribs were to take
control of the island.
Christopher Columbus also discovered Antigua in his travels and
both the Spanish and French spent a short period of time on the
island. An English settlement later came to settle on the
island after having left the neighbouring island of St. Kitts
sometime in 1632. These people were predominantly farmers and
grew varied crops.
When sugar became Antigua's main crop sometime in 1674, a
larger number of labourers were needed to maintain the sugar
plantations. It was for this reason that a large number of
Africans were brought into the country as was the case in other
Caribbean nations at the time.
St. Johns is the capital of Antigua and Barbuda as well as its
largest city, hosting a residential population of about 24,000
people according to estimates from the year 2000 which in
current circumstances may be rather outdated. It hosts the
biggest port in Antigua and is the economic nerve centre of the
Caribbean island.
The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium can also be found in St. Johns
and it is equally popular as it hosted the 2007 Cricket World
Cup. English Harbour is a town in the southern part of Antigua
and it is host to a number of naval relics including the
Nelson's Dockyard of the Georgian era.
Falmouth is another town in Antigua and it is famous as the
location of the first British settlement on the island. All
these towns are quite near the capital and you can count on
getting to these locations with a cab fare of less than $50
from the airport. The VC Bird Airport serves both Antigua and
Barbuda and is located about eight kilometres to the northeast
of St. Johns.
Antigua is more or less one of the major luxury resorts of the
Caribbean. To prove the point, a large number of wealthy people
the world over are known to have homes on the island. Richard
Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Silvio Berlusconi and Giorgio Armani
are just a few of the celebrities known to have homes there. If
such celebrities can find lots to do in Antigua, surely
excitement shouldn't be a scarce commodity for most people. You
can enjoy great meals in Antigua by patronizing a number of the
major spots such as Calabash or Mama Lolly all in Redcliffe's
Quay in St. Johns, or The Roti King or Harmony Hall as well. If
you want some regular American fast food, you could easily opt
for KFC; as they have two outlets in Antigua.
In terms of sightseeing, if you're the sort interested in Naval
history, you might want to start off at Nelson's Dockyard in
English Harbour in the southern part of Antigua. It was
commissioned by Lord Horatio Nelson as a base for British ships
patrolling the West Indies and it is one of the finest examples
of its kind still preserved till date.
There is also an annual carnival in St. Johns from the later
part of July to early August. If you love Cricket you could
always visit the stadium for a match.
Of course we won't forget to include the excellent shopping
opportunities available in the country. For example, 1000
Flowers is St. Johns is an excellent clothing store. A lot of
exciting clubs are there that you can visit as well.
The climate of Antigua is tropical marine and there is little
variation in season and in the temperatures. Hurricanes and
tropical storms are liable to occur from July to
October.
Trevor Fordyce is a serial traveler to the Caribbean. For
more fantastic articles www.caribbeanbug.com
by Trevor Fordyce -
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