Hi there.
I have an Antigua question for you. I'm considering it for our 1st Caribbean trip of the 2007 year. It would be for a week with a day trip to Barbuda and another one to Montserrat. This would not leave more than 4 days on Antigua: 3 days to enjoy the beaches and maybe one day to seriously drive around to see the island. So, do you think one day of serious sightseeing in Antigua will be enough? I've been looking at my Caribbean travel book but I can't quite grasp how big the island is and how easy or hard it is to drive around.
Thanks for your thoughts!

Hi, caribtraveler! back so soon and already planning another trip? You're just like me!

Antigua is definitely small enough to drive around in a day and see the highlights IF you're not planning to stop and linger at any beaches on that day. The main roads are really quite good, if not as well marked as I'd like them to be. Some of the secondary roads are in just horrible condition, though. You'd probably want to take in Fig Tree Drive, Nelson's Dockyard (but only if no cruise ships in town), a little of St. John's, a nice casual lunch, perhaps Devil's Bridge and/or Betsy's Hope (I think I may have the name wrong there, but it's a sugar mill). Maybe Harmony Hall.

For beaches, you should definitely consider Half Moon Bay, Darkwood Bay, and Green Island/Harmony Hall among others--all depending on whether you are with or without the little one.

Please let me know if you have additional questions. Neither the beaches nor the snorkeling will hold a candle to what you found in GC, and parts of the island are really quite developed. But there is still a good bit of rugged beauty about the island, and I found the people there to be super!

Will you have your son with you? Or is this more of a romantic getaway?

One day for exploring non-beach stuff and 3 others to be beach bums would be a good intro to the island, I should think. I've not yet been to either Barbuda or Montserrat, but I would love to do both of them, especially after reading SAnParis' report.

Hi and thanks for your reply. Very helpful! I know I know! We're trip-obsessed! I'm glad you understand me because my husband is just giving me that look when I bring up this trip! LOL.

We'd be with Patrick. This would be our April trip during his school break.
To be honest, my first choice is Martinique but the flight would have a stopover in Miami and the prices of our hotel choice is a bit high. I hate paying close to double just because it's high season! And I can't do Priceline there! So we'll see.
Antigua is the 2nd choice and Barbados is the 3rd. So many islands to choose from...

Regarding Antigua, we would no doubt do Barbuda and Montserrat. Patrick did so well with our day trip to Little Cayman (he LOVED being on a small plane). He also LOVES helicopters so we're thinking about choppering over to one of the 2 islands.
Anyway, it's all in my head right now. If we do decide on Antigua, I will definitely have more questions for you.

I know that for you Puerto Rico is just, what, a week away? Have a GREAT time!

Nadine

p.s.: I still haven't tried any of the recipes of that book you recommended. Just too busy! But I will soon and will let you know how it all tasted!

Yup, we leave in 13 days for Vieques, but I like to say the trip starts in 12 days because we head down to the airport and overnight there for the early morning flight.

If you do decide on the Antigua based trip, I should think that Barbuda would be most comparable to your day at Little Cayman, though perhaps not as lush. But the beaches there get nothing but raves, as does the Frigate Bird sanctuary. I think a helicopter trip over to Montserrat that also includes a volcano tour would be marvelous. Though I have to say that Martinique sounds so exotic--I think it and Guadeloupe get fewer US tourists than any other island in the region, so maybe that's why it seems to exotic to me, but it does have that certain siren call, doesn't it?

My husband continues to use the cookbook weekly and in fact has invited his seniors from the seminar he teaches over to our house for dinner next week. We're either going to do an all-Caribbean meal or a good old fashioned Southern meal--most of his students have never had real BBQ, okra, good cornbread, etc. So we'll see...

emily

All right, forget about trips! How can I get invited to your husband's dinner party??!!
I've been to both Martinique and Guadeloupe but it was YEARS AGO. Both are BEAUTIFUL islands. And for me, Martinique and Guadeloupe are as close to home (i.e. culture) as I can get to. I'm of Haitian descent, though not born and raised there. We can't go to Haiti since it's such a disaster on so many levels. So I'm hoping Martinique would soothe the cravings I've had to speak Creole/French on a daily basis, eat the best food in the world (plantains, rice & beans, etc..) and listen to the best music in the world (zouk, etc...). All IMHO of course.

caribtraveler, no need to fish for an invite--just hop on over to Massachusetts any ol' time. My husband loves to cook and would much rather cook for a crowd than for just me. Me, i'm just the one-woman clean up crew. It's really no wonder that I gained 30 pounds after moving in with him--they're a struggle to take off, let me tell you!

As I recall from your previous posts, you grew up some place in Africa (was it Senegal?), but I didn't know you are of Haitian descent. Were your born there, or just one or both of your parents? Have you ever had the chance to visit Haiti? I don't know much about the situation there, other than what I"ve gleaned in books like Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains or from talking with friends like Russell Banks and Jay Sanders who are trying to use their names to raise international awareness.

I wish my husband could cook! Funny thing is that his dad is an incredible cook. He's retired and was in finance but cooking has always been a serious hobby of his. He constantly takes classes at a culinary institute in NY. That's how serious and great he is. Unfortunately for his daughter-in-laws, none of his 2 sons have the gift.

I used to live in Zaire, now called the Democratic of Congo. My parents were exiled from Haiti (another long political story) and went to work in Zaire, which is where I was born. I've been to Haiti twice. Once when I was about 10 (I think). My mom wanted me to meet my grandparents before they passed away. The 2nd time was in '92 (if I remember the year correctly) for work believe it or not. I work in TV news and it was during the time Pres. Clinton was threatening to go into Haiti to get rid of the military leader Raoul Cedras. Both times I remember eating lots of fantastic tasting mangos and going to some beautiful beaches (with that crystal-clear-blue-water-where-I-can-see-my-feet-in that everyone wants to swim in). On a more serious note, the poverty is staggering and in the last few years, the dangers have reached a frightening level. Kidnappings for money have become a constant occurrence. Very sad.