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About Antigua & Barbuda
Antigua is a Caribbean island of unique beauty, with its white-sand beaches, lush tropical vegetation, and rich cultural heritage. It is geographically located within the windward islands in the Lesser Antilles. An ex-British Colony, Antigua and Barbuda (its sister island) became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations on 1 November 1981.
Antigua was originally named Wadadli (now the name of our local beer). When Christopher Colombus discovered it in 1492 he renamed it Antigua, after the Seville Cathedral of Santa Maria La Antigua. The word Antigua is originally Spanish, which translates to mean ‘old’, and would be pronounced Anti-gwa in Spanish. However, it is pronounced by locals Anti-ga, many of whom speak broken English. This dialect often can sound harsh and argumentative but in fact, many a time it is not.
Antigua is 108 square miles, 14 miles long and 11 miles wide. It’s sister island, Barbuda is 62 square miles and only a short boat ride away. Antigua has 365 white sandy beaches which are all open to the general public. The tiny island of Barbuda is a coral island. From Spanish point to Palmetto point, you can walk 8 uninterrupted miles of deserted oceanfront where the champagne color of the sand is mixed with crushed corals, which is what gives the sand its roseyhue. Barbuda is home to the largest Frigate Bird Colony in the western hemisphere. Located at the Codrington Lagoon, in Barbuda, this amazing birdwatchers paradise, is only accessible by a short boat trip with a knowledgeable tour guide. Tours to Barbuda are organized from Antigua and usually include a visit to the Frigate Bird Colony.
The highest point in Antigua is 1,319 feet, and is a remnant of an old volcanic crater. It used to be known as Boggy Peak, and was renamed Mount Obama soon after President Obama won the USA election.
The national sport of Antigua is cricket!!! Cricket is worshipped like a religion and some of the world’s best cricketers are Antiguan. Sir Viv Richards is not only known as one of the greatest batsmen of our time but also one of our country’s National Heroes. Sir Richie Richardson, another talented cricketer, is well known for his wide brimmed maroon hat. Both of these amazing athletes were knighted, captained the West Indies cricket team, won a number of test matches and are partially responsible for leading our small island to cricket fame.
Carnival is celebrated in Antigua during the end of July to early August on the dates of its emancipation from slavery (1834). It used to be roughly a week of celebrations filled with colorful costumes, live music, and parades, but in more recent years has become a full two months of weekend fetes, day and night. Due to COVID Antigua’s 2020 Carnival was cancelled for the first time in history.
Renting a car in Antigua is not a must, but it can be very useful if you’d like to explore the island at your own pace. Driving here can be challenging – there are potholes, animals crossing at any given moment, quite a few roundabouts (always give way to traffic coming from the right) and no actual numbered addresses. The roads can be narrow and there are a number of drivers who follow their own ‘set of rules’, but take your time and if possible, switch on your google maps (not always completely accurate as it’s very new to Antigua) and have an adventure. If nothing else you’ll go round in a circle and eventually end up where you started.
The national dish of Antigua is fungee (pronounced foon-jee) and pepperpot. Fungee is very similar to polenta, sometimes made with okra but never with cheese. Pepperpot is a very healthy and hearty stew, which may be either vegetarian or not. There are many delicious restaurants to choose from in Antigua offering cuisine styles from all over the world.
Although USD is commonly accepted anywhere, the local currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (1 USD = 2.70 ECD). Most business places accept credit/debit cards and banks are open Monday to Friday generally until 2pm.
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Villa FantaSea, Antigua
