Miami to St. Barts and Back
We thought we would spend a month cruising the Caribbean and Eastern Coast of the U.S. The voyage was composed of three legs leaving from and returning to Miami. The First went to St John’s, Antigua; St.George’s, Grenada; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; and Gustavia, St. Barts. The second leg went to Cozumel, Mexico; Harvest Caye, Belize; and Roatan. The third went to Bermuda; Charleston, South Carolina; Port Canaveral, Florida; Nassau, Bahamas; and Miami. We missed Norfolk, VA because of the weather.
Antigua and Barbuda
We boarded the ship in Miami and sailed in the late afternoon. We were amazed at the number of police boats circling the harbor and ship. We lived in Miami from 1985-94, and this was not the Miami we knew. It was amazing to get a little reacquainted with the city.
Antigua and Barbuda are two islands in the Lesser Antilles. They became independent in 1981,but are a commonwealth nation. The Capital is St. John’s where we docked and visited. Antigua was visited by Columbus in 1493 and named it after the church of Santa Maria de la Antigua in Spain. The Creole name is Wadadli which means “our own”.
As we entered the harbor, we were greeted with the Fort James Fortress on a headland overlooking the harbor. The British built it in the 18th century to protect the harbor and city from attack, especially from the French.
As you exit the port, you find yourself in the Heritage Quay Complex, a pedestrian only street lined with colorful buildings and shops. From there we walked up to St. Johns’ Anglican Cathedral.
St John’s Anglican Cathedral, built in the Gothic style, was completed in 1845. It is on a hilltop site that can be seen from the harbor. It is a key landmark in the city and a community center. The iron gates on the south side of the church are flanked by pillars with statues of St John the Divine and St. John the Baptist. Legend says that they were taken from a French ship in 1756.
In front of the cathedral is the Zemi Art Gallery which sells local crafts and art. It was interesting to browse through it after we had seen the cathedral.
A frigate bird sanctuary is located on Codrington Lagoon in Barbuda. It has about 100,000 birds. The frigates fly between here and the Galapagos Islands. We saw one from our ship balcony.
Also, on the south-eastern coast in English Harbor is the UNESCO World Heritage Site Nelson’s Dockyard, named after Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson. In the early 18th century it was used to protect ships from storms and watch for French invaders. Later, it was the only harbor in the Caribbean that was large enough to repair naval ships. As we prepared to leave, we got some great views of the town and island.
Our next port is St. George’s on Grenada.