If you follow us on Facebook than you know we arrived safely on Antigua almost two weeks ago, and had some family visiting. Apologies for not getting updates out more quickly, but we’ve been busy…
A visit from Kathy’s father and his companion was planned when we arrived in Antigua. We decided that getting out of Falmouth Harbor (I will talk more about life here in Antigua in a later post) and having a look at the island might be a better way to spend the week or so we’d have company on board. Making a counter clockwise circumnavigation of the island was the eventual result; of course we didn’t plan anything so methodical.
Initially we spent the first night in Falmouth and enjoyed a nice dinner out. The following day we headed out to Nonsuch Bay, sailing upwind around to the East side of the island. The entrance to Nonsuch Bay from the South threads through a narrow gap between reefs and islands, with a wrecked sailboat helpfully propped up on the reef to help and inspire your navigation. We decided to take this approach under power…
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Evenstar in the center, from Harmony Hall |
Nonsuch Bay
Nonsuch Bay is a beautiful, quiet spot. Atop one bluff near our anchorage in the Southwest corner is Harmony Hall, a tastefully done art gallery, boutique and restaurant. The courtyard is swarmed by glittering, singing birds as you walk among the trees and flowers; a very charming spot. I’m not one for art galleries personally, but I liked this one. The eclectic mix of art styles and the local crafts were fascinating. Reputed to be an excellent spot for a meal, we didn’t catch it at meal time but stopped for a drink and enjoyed the view and rode out a short sprinkling of rain under the canopy. Later we explored the bay by dinghy, it does have a lot of little nooks and crannies with a number of different spots to stay, each with a slightly different feel.
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| From the beach on Green Island |
The following day we moved across Nonsuch bay to Green Island and picked up one of the free moorings there. The water was riled up and snorkeling was a disappointment but we went ashore to check out the beach was was quite nice. Free moorings are provided there, a nice convenience that encourages visitors. Overall it’s a great spot just to sit and look around!
North Sound
Continuing to head around the island we headed for the North Sound and the town of Parham. We’d read there was a restaurant or two there and figured that after a couple of nights of cooking on board it would be nice to get off the boat and not do dishes. Reading Evans Starzinger’s comments on this area, I think his assessment that these areas sounded like “reef infested death traps” if you take the popular cruising guides at face value but they were in fact navigable we thought to give it a try. The upside was it was sunny and bright – good for reef watching. The downside was that the water was really roiled up and churning, and so cloudy you couldn’t see anything anyway. But the charts for the area are decent, and we picked our way through the reefs and a long, barely marked channel to Parham.
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| Breadfruit in the trees in Parham |
Parham used to be in important town. Now it’s quiet, a bit run down, and a fishing port. A Japanese project over a decade ago built a fishing facility to support a revitalized fishing industry. There are a couple of tiny groceries there, and two restaurants. We had dinner at Sugar Apple Alley which seems about as local as you can get. A few choices for dinner only and a limited bar, we had a tasty and inexpensive dinner surrounded by trees, birds, cats, chickens and local residents. We were clearly the only people around not from Parham. Though it’s not haute cuisine I think it may be the closest to an authentic local experience we’ve had yet.
West Side
With winds from the North and West, and some North swell to join it, we headed out from Parham into a stiff breeze and riled up, cloudy waters. Our original target was Deep Bay, just outside the cruise ship port (and capitol) of St. Johns. There is an exposed wreck in the bay which is supposed to be excellent for snorkeling, and some restaurants and places to go on the beautiful beach. However, the breeze and swell mad that harbor look pretty uncomfortable. So we headed to Five Islands Harbour.
In hindsight we should have headed straight for Jolly Harbour instead, as Five Islands Harbour is pretty desolate. Protected from the wind and swell and pretty – true, but with milky, cloudy water and no real place to land the dinghy to get off the boat there just wasn’t much happening there.
Jolly Harbour on the other hand is a pretty nice stop. We didn’t realize it was only forty-five minutes past Five Islands Harbour, quite literally “just around the corner”. The outside of Jolly Harbour is a bit shallow, but there is a channel inside and there are reasonably priced moorings inside the harbor which we picked up. The Jolly Harbour area is an ambitious development, full of waterfront homes and condos with a full service marina and a number of marine facilities and services available including a good sized grocery store; always a treat when it’s a short walk from the boat. It’s not at all remote seeming but with restaurants, bars and other amenities its still a nice break.
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| Montserrat in the distance with her smoking volcano |
Eventually though we had to return our family to Falmouth Harbour so they could get their bags together and get ready to fly home. Our last day was clear and sunny, though the sky and water had an unusual cast to it. Maybe it was caused by the still turbulent waters, but it was an interesting and beautiful site for our last day coming around the island.
