St John's, Antigua


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Published: February 11th 2015
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Saturday 7th February, 2015. St John's, Antigua

St John's is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the Caribbean sea. With a population of 81,799. St John's is the commercial centre of the nation and the chief port on the island of Antigua. The settlement of St John's has been the administrative centre since the islands were first colonised in 1632.

We arrived much earlier than our scheduled 2 pm. We went and had a posh breakfast and then went up on deck to call Sprout, our Antiguan friend, to let him know we were early. He was taking their new puppy to the vet for its final jabs so said he would pick us up on the way back. We disembarked the ship and M went to get a FM and then we sat and waited for Sprout. After he arrived we went to his car where Anita and the new puppy , Riley, were waiting. We went back to "The Land" where he has built 2 houses and is in the process of building a third. We spent a pleasant hour our so watching the cat Oscar fight with the new puppy Riley.

We went for lunch at Cloggy's our normal haunt. We had a great lunch and watched 4 sailing boats compete in a competition. After the race the drawbridge went up and the boats came in to their moorings. After lunch Sprout and Anita took us up to Dow's Hill Interpretation Centre. which they called the "Interrogation" centre. From here you could clearly see the 3 houses on the hill that Sprout had built. The middle house is occupied by Anita's aunt and uncle. We continued on along Shirley Heights Road until we came to The Block House. This was the officer's quarters dating from 1787. Much of the site was destroyed by Hurrican Louis. The powder magazine was still standing. This had offset window slits to prevent anything combustable being thrown inside. From up here we had terrific views over Mamora Bay. We could also see Eric Clapton's House which is very well camoflaged on a peninsular below us.

Next we went to Fort Shirley. Here there is the Old Guard House which is now a restaurant. The occupants of the Royal Artillery Guard House were responsible for maintiaining the 4 guns on the platform and the signal post above the building. The Guard House is flanked by a magazine and a kitchen. The signal station above at 490 ft (150 m) is the highest point on Shirley Heights and is the southernmost point on Antigua. The lookout at this point which is part of the Shirley Heights military complex commands a breathtaking view over the whole of English Harbour. Behind the catchment on the highest ground above sea level is the signal station from which a system of flags was used day and guns by night to convey messages to St John's by way of Great Fort George on Monkk's Hill. The Shirley Heights military complex includes the Guard House, Magazine, Officer Quarters, Kitchen, Adjoining Parade Grounds, a 30 bed Hospital, a Canteeen and a Cemetary. An obelisk in the cemetary commemorates the officers and men of the 54th Regiment (2nd Battalion Dorsets) who died in service in the West Indies between 1840 and 1851.

After Shirley Heights we went to take a look at Clarence House. This is in the process of being restored. Sprout wanted to show us the fantastic craftmanshiip that was being used to put this building back to its original state. This house was the residence of the British Royal Family when they were in Antigua. We returned to Sprout and Anita's and watched the sunset.

Then we all went to a 60th birthday party. This was a friend of theirs called Keven. It was really nice to be invited. There was a live band and we got to meet some really nice people. We had a fantastic time. At 10.30 our trusty cab driver JB came to collect us and delivered us back to the ship. What a great day!


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