Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the Caribbean. It lies where the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea meet.

The country consists of two major islands, Antigua and Barbuda, which are approximately 40 km (25 mi) apart, and several smaller islands, including Great Bird, Green, Guiana, Long, Maiden, Prickly Pear, York, and Redonda. The permanent population is approximately 97,120 (2019 estimates), with 97% residing in Antigua.^[12] St. John’s, Antigua, is the country’s capital, major city, and largest port. Codrington is Barbuda’s largest town. (Wikipedia)

Tourists come here for its powder-sand beach and to party!

Our ship docked in St. John’s, Antigua at 12:00 noon. Our tour started at 1:15 PM which took us across the island. Same views with the other previously visited islands: verdant vegetations, pastel-colored homes, poor villages along the way, small chapels, etc.

The road is what you expected from a third world nation – not a very comfortable ride! Although poverty is noticeable outside the city, our tour guide informed us that education is free to include books and uniforms (same as Barbados) from first grade to secondary school.

The 15-seater van took us to about 450 feet elevation where the ruins of an old English fort is located. There we admired the sweeping panoramic view of the azure waters of both the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea as this is where they meet!

Next we stopped by Shirley Heights Lookout with similar fantastic views of English and Falmouth Harbors! It was a very clear day so the visibility extended miles and miles beyond.

With every stop are souvenir shops of course! We’ve been traveling for a long time and Trini and I learned that most souvenirs we buy end up in the garage or worse, the trash bin. So the only souvenir we buy are ball caps for me, magnets for a “special place in the garage”, local delicacies for friends, and maybe alcoholic drinks (in this case rum).

Our last stop was in Nelson’s Dockyard which is a cultural heritage site and marina in English Harbor. It’s after Admiral Horatio Nelson (best known for his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar) who lived in the Royal Navy Dockyard from 1784 to 1787. While here we tasted the local rum punch. Not the best time to drink when you’re hungry.

One thing I noticed is that every port we’ve visited here in the Caribbean there are always high-end stores selling expensive watches and bags and always, always several DIAMOND STORES! And of course, the DUTY FREE SHOPS! It’s nice to browse around these stores but I can’t afford to buy any of the items on display.

In St. John’s, the duty free shops are located next to where our ship was berthed. Classic rock songs from Credence Clearwater Revival, Journey, Foreigner and other popular songs are blaring from one of the establishments! The younger cruisers (from Princess) docked next to us seem to enjoy these music whereas my fellow passengers from the Viking looked irritated (just my personal observation). But I danced with the music anyway!

We arrived back from the tour around 4:15 PM and I was hungry since I skipped lunch. The only place to grab something to eat before dinner was at Wintergarden. We ate scones and tiny sandwiches downed with your choice of tea or coffee (I opted for my favorite black cafe) while we were entertained by the resident pianist, Lidia.