| Scroll down |
 |
One of the most memorable things in Antigua was holding and walking among stingrays. The company assured us that "we've never lost anyone yet". The important thing to remember is not to step on their tail. Otherwise, they glide past you, even touching your leg. Handlers offer you fish to feed them, stressing that the mouth is on the under side, not between or below the eyes as in most species. Pictured here with me, son Kim and granddaughter Pippa. |
|
Cruise boats passed in front of the balcony of our rented house, usually in the morning. By chance, we had lunch with a a young Moroccan woman who worked on one of them. She said capacity is 5,000 but usually 4,000 passengers with a crew of 1,500. That would not be my idea of a vacation – just living at different address, not out exploring among the people. |
 |
It was our annual family reunion.
|
 |
Actually, Cory and I had a few more days to explore the island before Kim and Pippa arrived. Christmas day we found a festive occasion at Nelson's Dockyard heritage site – with barbecue, bars, live music, colorfully clad characters ... |  |
||
 |
...and serious yachts, not to mention bikini-clad Santas. |
 |
 |
Besides the swim with stingrays, another significant outing was to Antigua's sister island, Barbuda. This included a bird sanctuary where we saw the islands' symbol, the frigate bird's habitat. Here is a mama bird caring for a hatchling. The male has the red pouch with the express purpose of attracting females. After this there was a a climb to a cave that was less than impressive. Then it was lunch and beach time, which the granddaughter by now assumes is normal. The only down side was that Cory suffers from motion sickness and barfed the hour and a half going and coming from Barbuda. We have to rethink boat trips. |
|
You could see Fort Barrington from our house. Naturally, we trotted over to check it out.
|
 |
|
 |
|
Antigua viewed from high up. It's amazing I was in a receptive mood, considering that a 20-minute flight from Pointe-a-Pitre entailed a three-hour delay. Evidently it's commonplace with Liat Airlines – otherwise known as Late Air in Caribbean-speak.
|
| Miscellany – click on picture to enlarge | ||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |