There are beaches, and there are beaches. And then there’s Antigua, which has a beach for every day of the year. My husband Francis and I spent 11 days in Antigua at the end of December, so while we didn’t have enough time to see all 365 bits of coastline, we managed to make it to a few. Of course, that meant we had to first leave “our” beach, the one that was just steps away from our apartment at Runaway Bay. It practically took an act of God just to get us to put shoes on, so heavenly was our home base. Let’s start there.

We stayed at the Barrymore Apartments, seven nights in Unit 7A – upstairs, with a full Caribbean Sea view – and then the last three nights downstairs with a side view of the water. Many hours were intentionally frittered away just staring off into the horizon as the skies changed color and the water lapped against the shore. These deck-view shots will explain why.

When we weren’t staring off into the distance, our short-range view was on the birds and lizards that came to visit and eat the bread crumbs and Cheerios that we set out for them. Although a common species, I really like the boat-tailed grackles, because they’re shamelessly entertaining. Here’s a place to find a sampling of their many calls, if you’re interested. And here’s what they look like prancing around our deck and shaking their tail feathers.

Some of our other guests…

And wherever we go, there is ALWAYS a visiting kitty.

For food, a trip to the First Choice grocery store a couple of miles up the road kept us well stocked for the duration of our trip. I became a quick fan of Wadadli, the local beer and also the name given to Antigua by its original Indian inhabitants.

Then, just steps away from our apartment, one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve ever had the pleasure of dining at, La Bussola, served as our destination on our first and last evenings. These guys had both the food and the service dialed like nobody’s business. (Just a note on the dress I’m wearing in the photo below: my next-door neighbor bought the same one! Isn’t that funny/weird? I guess that’s what happens when you find your fashion at Fred Meyer.) And finally, the picture of our apartment’s microwave is for all of you industrial design fans out there. Observe their clever use of Comic Sans font.

 

Finally, I’ll wrap this week’s post with a shot of our apartment building, taken from the water. No tropical trip is complete without a waterproof camera, and Francis swears by this one: Nikon Coolpix AW100. It’s not expensive, either. Notice that there’s only one person on the beach (me) — it was like that quite a lot of the time we were there. Quiet spots can still be found! The beaches of the world are not all overrun.

Join me for my next post on Antigua, when we actually LEAVE THE APARTMENT.

Have you spent any time in the Caribbean? Tell us your favorite Caribbean scene. Or queen. Either works. Just remember, no more love on the run.