Barbuda & Antigua – and our sober beach dreams

In this post, we report on our impressions of Barbuda, its natural beauty and the small capital, Codrington. We also look back on what else we experienced in Antigua, such as the small museum in the UNESCO World Heritage site Nelson's Dockyard, the repair of the solar power system, and much more.

Barbuda photo wallpaper designs

Fragata birds in the mangrove area in Cordington Lagoon

Barbuda is home to one of the largest frigatebird colonies in the Western Hemisphere. Thousands of these birds live year-round in the Frigate Bird Sanctuary in Cordington Lagoon. Their wingspan ranges from 1.80 to 2.50 metres, depending on the species! Frigatebird parental care is among the longest and most intensive in the entire avian kingdom. Since raising a single chick takes almost a year, females can usually only lay an egg every two years. Both parents incubate the egg for up to 55 days. After the naked chick hatches, it is constantly guarded for 6 weeks. It then remains in the nest for about 5 to 6 months until it is fledged. After about three months, the male often withdraws from feeding, while the female continues to feed for another 5 to 14 months! So not everything we say in the podcast is exactly accurate...

Capital Cordington

Historical Museum in Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua, UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016

Nelson's Dockyard is a restored 18th-century British naval dockyard. The complex showcases the colonial maritime history of the Caribbean. In the Dockyard Museum, you can see ship models, historical artefacts, and learn about the life of Admiral Nelson, who was only briefly on Antigua, the Royal Navy, and recently, also about the lives of slaves and the „King's Negroes“. These were enslaved Africans who belonged directly to the British Crown or the Royal Navy. They worked as highly skilled craftsmen, shipwrights, labourers, and dockmasters; nothing would have run smoothly in the marina without them. They lived in their own settlement outside the dockyards (see text above).

Further impressions of our journey