Antigua: My First Caribbean Island

By Braca Daubeny

Antigua was the first island that we visited in the Caribbean. We sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Gambia and arrived in early January, 2021. When we pulled in I saw some of the most beautiful super yachts that I have ever seen. In particular, there was a massive sailing yacht which had gold-inlay in the front and had been polish to make it gleam. Whenever we drove past we often looked at it and thought that we’d love to swap our boat for that one — but I would need a lot more pocket change to buy it.

My first thought when arriving in Antigua was that we wouldn’t be having as many coconuts as I expected; there we no coconut tress that I could see anywhere. I was expecting a low-laying atoll with sandy beaches and glass-clear water, but instead the landscape was mountainous and bushy. The beaches were far lovelier than I imaged and that’s were I spent most of my time.

Because of Covid, there was a curfew that meant that restaurants could only serve take-away and we had to be back on our boat by 8PM. That was fine because at least we could swim and explore the town during the day. And it didn’t stop us meeting people. 

A few days after we arrived we met a family that lived on a boat called Bright Star. It was a catamaran who had four kids that were very lovely and I wanted to spend all my time with them. We got to play on their boat, swim in the water and share meals together. I was especially close to the two twins, Phil and Name, who were around my age. They were great buddies and it was nice to have them as close friends. 

It was quite a mellow place which was always full of something to do. I am glad we visited because I made some of my best friends and I will remember Antigua as a happy time.