Antigua

“We are sailing straight to Grenada” was Bill’s response when a friend asked us what our plans were a few days after arriving in Antigua. This shocked the friend, and me! We had just traveled so far to get here, and Bill is already ready to head 300 miles south?! With flights out of Antigua to Maine 4 weeks away, Bill was hoping to see as much down the island chain as possible, so he thought we should sail to the southern end, and leisurely sail back to Antigua, stopping at as many islands as possible for a day or two each. I struggled with the idea of leaving so soon. There’s always a fight going on in my head when we arrive somewhere new: stay put to get to know locals or keep moving to see as much as possible. We both love to sail, so moving is always a welcome idea.

We compromised by staying in Antigua a few more days, with a plan to sail south to visit Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Dominica before returning to Antigua for our flights home. This is about half the mileage we would have covered if we went to Grenada. Sara still had a few days aboard Alembic, so we made the most of our time, exploring by day and continuing with Salty Dawg festivities at night.

With a rental car, we explored the whole island.

Devil’s Bridge was not as exciting as I had hoped, and the city of St John needed more than our allotted one hour to wander through. But our hike in the rain forest

was fantastic, topped off with delicious fruit juice and black pineapple from Pineapple Elaine at the foot of the trail.

Snorkeling again at the mouth of the harbor proved to be a new experience each time. Tradewinds kept the surface rolly, but the life below was used to these conditions. Turtles seem unfazed by our presence and the octopus even came out of his den for a look at us.

Our last day in Antigua set Bill and I on the same page. Sara had flown home, and the mega yachts were coming in.

Time to leave.