It's Wednesday and here we are docked at St. John, Antigua. This the larger of the islands that comprise the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Guess who first found this island and named it. If you guessed Christopher Columbus you're right. He named it in 1493 and the name was to pay tribute to the Virgin of the Old Cathedral in the Sevilla Cathedral in Spain. Antigua means old in Spanish.
British colonists from the island of St. Kitts arrived in 1632 and stayed to develop a major sugar colony. Antigua became Britain's gateway to the Caribbean. A pretty famous man in British history arrived in the late 18th century to protect Britain's shipping prowess. He was Lord Horatio Nelson, the hero of the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars.
In 2017 the sister island of Barbuda was devastated by Hurricane Irma. 90% of the buildings were destroyed and the entire population was evacuated to Antigua. All these islands have suffered terribly in the last several years between hurricanes and Covid. As you'll see in the photos below we are the only ship here today. One of the shopkeepers told me when I went ashore that today the Harmony of the Seas was supposed to dock here with her nearly 5500 passengers. She was sent to another island and they got us with roughly 280 passengers instead.
Well, I did go ashore, but only briefly. It is hotter than Hades here with not even a slight breeze. Before you can leave the pier the Antiguan health authority takes your temperature as do the shops you walk into. There is one street which has the typical Caribbean islands stores - Diamonds International, Colombian Emeralds and assorted camera and what my husband used to call "trash and trinket" shops. I browsed in a few but didn't buy anything,. Then because I felt as though I would soon melt into a big puddle on the pavement I headed back to the ship. The ship doesn't sail until 10:30 PM. We don't have far to go to our next stop and I think the late stay is giving many of the crew an opportunity to go ashore. For many it's the first opportunity they've had to go ashore since they boarded in the eastern Med. At breakfast this morning my waiter Oliver from South Africa told me he was going out this afternoon to a South African pub nearby to have a burger and a beer. He seemed excited about the prospect.
Ovation at the dock in St. John
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