So we had another dose of history, just a small one, drinks were associated with this visit. To the Fort of St James which is situated at the harbour entrance to St Johns, the capital.
We had another motive, its lovely and breezy here on the headland and a tad cooler too.
The island has many forts but most are in ruins. This fort is according to the guide, the best preserved.
It's overgrown and ruined but you can see the remains of the barracks which housed 75 men. The cannons were never used in anger.
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This house which is part of the Fort complex was restored in the 1980's, today its a fish restaurant and bar own by a beautiful young Canadian lady who's father had it before her. We plan to return later in the holiday. |
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The view of the harbour into St James, hidden from the passing ships. |
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Not completely sure what initials these are but King George 3rd on the throne in 1805. |
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Facing out to sea |
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Maybe it was the Commanders House/ |
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Very generous cannon emplacements. |
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I think this was the barracks...... |
A few other visitors, by that I mean one lady. I can understand that Antiguans wouldn't be remotely interested in that part of their history for obvious reasons. There is a restored sugar plantation at Betty's Hope here somewhere. Even I don't know if I want to visit it, we'll see.
After this sweltering visit, we went swimming at the fab beach here the other side of the fort and after that we went to our host's favourite restaurant where we met the owner...
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My first ever Pina Colada the other is an Old Fashioned Rum Punch. |
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Owner who's name I forgot to ask, but had spent three years living in our hometown!! |
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Partial view of the beach we swam on from the Fort |
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Very happy bunnies. |
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Oh my just look at those colours. no jiggery pokery used on this photo either. |
Rest assured Reader, that we do know how lucky we are to be here and yes we are making the most of every minute.
Beware Lisa - Pina coladas become addictive ! We visited Antigua, St. Kitts & Nevis in 2002 when all there was to see at Betty's Hope was the windmill used to power the machinery for crushing the sugar cane. I don't suppose you will be able to travel out to St K's & Nevis if you are looking after the doggies, but, in my humble opinion, they are the best islands in the Caribbean . Enjoy your time out there .
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