Caribbean Cruise: Antigua (2.12.25)

In Dominica, we learned about the native Caribs and Kalinagos.  In Antigua, we learned about the British colonists. Antigua, which we visited on February 12, 2025, once had 40 British forts, surrounded by stone walls.  Antigua was squeezed between the French islands of Dominica and Montserrat, so the British always feared French attack, as well as attack from pirates and the Dutch and Spanish.  We toured the ruins of two British forts, as well as the Nelson Dockyard, where British ships were repaired.

Our guide was this imperious, no-nonsense woman.  That was OK, since she also knew her Antigua history so well.

The first fort we visited had just a few stone walls remaining, but looked down on this beautiful peninsula and bay.  Soldiers on these heights could see the pirates coming!

The second fort we visited still had a blockhouse remaining, where soldiers stored their arms.

The fort was on the heights above Nelson's Dockyard, one of the deepest harbors in the Caribbean, where the British repaired their ships.  The harbor is now used for yachts and sailboats.

We finished our tour at Nelson's Dockyard, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The dockyard is named after Horatio Nelson, the great British admiral who fought for the British in the American Revolutionary War, and against Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar.  Having a deep water harbor with a dockyard gave the British an edge over the French, Spanish, and Dutch, who had no such convenient place in the Caribbean to repair their ships.  

As we entered the complex, with our unlovely hordes of tourists, I noticed the contemplative black man sitting quietly in the background.  I wondered what he thought, if anything, about the overrun of his country by tourists, even though that overrun paid the bills.

The British barracks, officers quarters, and other historic buildings from the 1700s and 1800s had been preserved and turned into museums.

Cannons lay among the cacti.

At the pier, where British ships were once repaired, yachts now dock for repairs.

The dockyard had some very British touches, such as this red phone booth.

On the mountainside was a Caribbean mansion where British royalty used to vacation.  Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth's sister, spent her honeymoon here.  Antigua is now an independent country, although still a member of the British Commonwealth.

In the museum, we learned one reason why British ships needed repairs.  A worm, native to the Caribbean, ate into their wooden hulls.

Before leaving the dockyard, we bought pineapple turnovers at the bakery.

On the way back to the ship, we passed many bright-colored, Caribbean homes.

We also passed a pink church.  Our guide told us that tourists labeled the church, "Pepto-Bismol."

Caribbean Cruise: Dominica (2.11.25)

I immediately loved the island of Dominica.  It is one of the "Windward Islands" in the Caribbean, on the southern tail of the Caribbean archipelago, near South America.  The island is lush and green, and the people are more African and indigenous than on northern islands like Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic.  Not as many cruise ships dock in Dominica as on the northern islands, and it seemed more "real."
 

We first drove to the top of Morne Bruce, where we looked down on the capital city of Roseau and our ship, docked in the harbor.

I bought two bags of local candies.  One was peanut brittle, with a strong molasses flavor.  The other was roasted coconut, flavored with ginger.  Dominica is one the many Caribbean islands that hosted sugar plantations, in the days of French colonization and slavery.  I wonder if the molasses flavor became popular when molasses was a byproduct of sugar refining?

Our guide showed us around the Dominica Botanical Garden, with more than 50 species of indigenous plants.  She told us that she came from the Kalinago tribe, indigenous people who were once known as the Caribs, from which "Caribbean" took its name.  The Caribs and other indigenous people from the islands were mostly extinguished following colonization in the 1500s and 1600s, when they proved not strong enough for the harsh work of slavery.  Africans were imported to work in the sugar plantations.

The mahogany tree is native to the Caribbean.  It is a high quality hardwood, and was used for the beautiful, dark wood furniture in colonial plantation homes.

As we left Roseau, we passed this sign, advertising aid from China.  Our guide said that China has funded many projects in Dominica, such as the airport and the main hospital.  Each time China finishes a project, it either names the project after itself or posts prominent signs advertising Chinese aid.  We didn't see any evidences of United States aid.  With the abolishment of federal USAID, those evidences will be even scarcer.

Next stop was Jacko Falls, one of the many waterfalls in Dominica.  We hiked down moss-covered steps to reach the falls.  Ferns sprouted next to the walkway, and a little crab peeked out from the foliage.

We then drove to the Kalinago Territory, a reserve for indigenous people.  We ate lunch (taro, sweet potatoes, lentils over rice) and enjoyed a program of indigenous dancing and music.

We drove higher into the mountains, where the indigenous people live, among lush palms and bright flowers, and with the ocean just over the cliffs.  

I bought a handmade basket, and I wished I had bought half a dozen more.  Our guide, who came from this area, said she knew how to make those baskets, as well.

Back in Roseau, we browsed the Dominica Historical Museum, trying to understand the history and culture of charming Dominica.  I noted the shaded veranda and bright yellow and brick red colors of the museum's typical Caribbean building.

We passed this Rastafarian man on the street.  He looked as if he was straight from Jamaica.

And, finally, it was time to leave.

Caribbean Cruise: St. Maarten (2.10.25)

On St. Maarten, on February 10, 2025, we ditched our highbrow tastes for culture, history, and art, and just had fun!  I signed up for kayaking and snorkeling, with run punch at a seaside bar afterwards.  Dave was ready, with his new turquoise swim trunks.

St. Maarten\St. Martin is an island divided between two countries.  One side, Sint Maarten, is a protectorate of the Netherlands, and the other side, St. Martin, is a protectorate of France.  Both sides have the pastel buildings typical of the Caribbean.

Most of the islands we visited were touristy, but St. Maarten more than most.  In order to leave the port, we had to walk through a mall filled with t-shirt shops and diamond stores.

Our van took us to a beach where an ex-pat was ready to ease us into kayaks.

Our guides suited us with life jackets and oars, and then teased us that, if we got into trouble, they would just look on and laugh, "I can't believe those tourists!"

We kayaked for twenty minutes, each way, to and from a snorkeling area.  The waves were two or three feet high, as we rounded a point beyond the breakers.  Dave and I arrived last of twelve couples.  At first I was embarrassed.  I then decided that, with Dave being 78 and me not much younger, we were lucky to finish at all!

We then retired to a nearby bar, where Dave had a Sprite and I had a (rumless) rum punch.

Some of the best views of the island were right off the pier!