Pub Crawl Tour Antigua – Peppers and Lime Friday
How do you turn a daytime beachside restaurant into Antigua’s most happening place on a FRIDAY ? Well I went along to see what the talk was about. It’s entirely all 100% every-ting true..The place to be seen and see the gorgeous amongst.
Well it may be that you are not staying close by to Dickenson Bay so then allow me to propose the Pub Crawl Tour that will get your group to Putters and Peppers and Lime – the latter being the beachside restaurant I was on about. Up to 14 people travel in fully a/c insured official taxi style minibus with Raymond. He is also a really good local music artist. Contact Raymonds No 1 Taxis (him) here:
(268) does anyone ever need that ? 7269100 /7751001
email :[email protected] or facebook GSMARTPETERS he says 24/7 and appears to be hard working and caring !
just mention you found him through BEST ANTIGUA ! As we like to let businesses know where they got the lead.
Start the tour from your resort or villa rental, travel down to putters at your preffered time. Plan bearing in mind your group needs to keep together or discuss with Raymond and extra return trip. Putters gets going from 6ish we say and that is already a lot of time to be drinking – so if you want to go long go later and get a few in putters and spend most of your time in Peppers and Lime. Great music great atmosphere and great times.
Find them Peppers N Lime on facebook if you can!
Looking wrong
iPhone in one hand about to Skype video call emily, piña collada in the other. Lying back poolside isn’t technology a wonderful thing. Well piña collada full to the brim ringing for video call and spilled drink over onto my chest in globuletts of creamy white,well piña collada actually but looked quite wrong – very wrong.
The call didn’t make it.
Day pass at halcyon rex
So I have my green card (wrist strap) which gives me entitlement to an all inclusive day here like I was a guest.
It must be good for some reason as I keep coming back up here.
I just questioned my first drink diet coke ! I guess I want to maximise my attempted windsurfing – I will let you know how it goes.
Lower Gatzby Apartment review Antigua Jolly Harbour
For the 3 months that we will have been here Lower Gatzby Apartment was simply the best place we have stayed and we stayed in it for 3 weeks. We felt comfortable very comfortable here.
[edit] It doesn’t appear to be a rental property now.
The owners go beyond the norm to make sure that your stay is a good one. For the very odd few things that I couldn’t find like a paring knife they went out and got some. Then I discovered there were some knives right at the back of the draw.
The single room suited us and we didn’t have to worry about stairs with Summer who seemed to like it as well. It is tiled throughout and the living room has a really nice comfortable sofa. The decking is charming and a great place to spend some time in the evening. I was happy to watch my daughter here but you can’t let a child on the deck without supervision as the gap in the fencing is large enough for her to get through. The owners were very clear in stating that this was not child proof themselves. We are great parents and watch Summer at all times this was not going to be an issue.
The bathroom is nice and of wet concept and the shower is brilliant (full water temperature control) – another great thing about this place is that it is so easy to control the temperature of the living areas. The ac units are big enough to cope and so long as you keep the doors and windows closed the electricity should not be overly high if you are turning it off when you leave. The tv is a great big plasma one. Security to the property is in a side door entry which leads to the deck and you walk around the back to the double locks on the doors.
I almost forgot to say that this place is well located being close to South Beach and Castaways Bar and Restaurant. You get a free lounger but have to pay for an umbrella if you would like to use one which is standard for owners and vacationers.
I could find some subjective faults if I really tried hard, but take it from a fussy guy that you can book this place in full confidence.
Edit
Best Antigua Tour Guide – Me !
I spent the day being honorary tour guide for two French Canadians Jean and Michel who were great company on the dive boat today. Oh man boy oh boy did we have some of the best diving I have done in the Caribbean this week ! You don’t hear this online about Antigua Diving as it doesn’t get rated – another inaccuracy of the internet.
Diving – yet again joined by sharks in Antigua.
Not just nurse sharks but the Caribbean Grey Reef shark graced us with his or her presence today. We dived off of Cades Reef both outside and inside and as opposed to yesterday the waves were much bigger today but under the water this posses no problem. We saw over the 2 dives maybe 10 lobsters and a bunch or other regulars. New was an eel garden which I have seen before just not in Antigua. The second dive was monks head and this is a very nice second dive site an elongated oval of maybe 70ft ‘monks scalp’ provides the interest with conch shells around and coral islands.
Donald was actively trying to rid the reef of the lionfish which represents a danger to the local fishes who are not learning to eat it so well yet since it has horrid spines with poison around its girth ‘the lions main’.
Half Moon Bay – Wrapping Up Super Sunday
It was a lot to blog in just one day and so I bring the later part which came after my hike in Nelsons Dockyard – the Jones Valley Trail.
I had been with the family previous and we found a lack of shade, but in the week this beach was almost ours alone. To the right is a development that seems little used (It is an abandoned resort). The left hand side has calmer waters and here you can find shade. Bring your own seats and you will see it more ideal if you have a two year old or younger – even maybe certainly – check your child’s ability to swim here. There can be some good waves to knock the stuffing out of your offspring older kids love waves when confident. This evening after getting a bit lost I found the beach again and found a space to park. It was busy even at 4pm.
I didn’t explore the right hand side. I walked up the left hand side to get some photos and discover a bit more. There were some Asian tourists getting an enormous amount of pictures as the waves on the end crashed in. So not only did each picture have to wait for a wave to crash into the air one would strike a new pose. ‘Ahh thats a great pose’ one would say and each and every one of them NEEDED to get that photo too! So they would then all do that pose and so it went.
I passed by them at the end and further left on the rocks that require a small amount of skill I still possess at 40. I got some footage after enjoying a seat and the waves. It would be a great place to meditate here. I took a couple of videos and some photos and left to get my well deserved dip.
I had resisted earlier a dip that day on Pigeon Beach. There was a generator to the right of me for their music and maybe cooler. They were a mix of expats and locals with all the equipment all having a great time. I was slightly envious as I am when I see large groups enjoying their thing. But hell I am one lucky guy to be here and now I can finally enjoy some surf. Body surfing can be great fun stiffen up and make yourself a board and get the timing right you will fly down the face. I think I spent a good hour there. It was the Crows Nest Pool Party so I didn’t want to be too late. I wound my way back via town not taking Fig Tree Drive and this made sense.
It was a lot of fun messing around in the Pool while being slightly intoxicated – they also had a ball that they would inflate with air you get in and set you away on the surface. Go see the video below.
Since I learned that the resort on the end was destroyed in 1995 by the Hurricane check out this link to a video to The Remains of Half Moon Bay Resort video.
Shore fishing Antigua
I have not found much online about this. Knowing about coarse fishing in England only I can impart some advice but this link is a great start.
http://www.worldseafishing.com/forums/caribbean/763470-shore-fishing-st-james-club-antigua.html
In my condo in Jolly Harbour were some rods and reels and equipment – nothing set up well spent a good hour untangling line from the spools etc. From the link above I tried the surface popping method dragging a rubber lure. I caught two silver fish even though the hook was too big for them. I need a disgorger next time. and am using my hawksbills bandana as a rag since that wont be coming home with me. I will continue with this technique the rod I have has a broken end eye and if I get anything over a pound its going to be impossible to land !
Antigua and Neighbouring Islands
If you want to go play with the google map antigua. That link is a prepared one click to the immediate island region showing for example Montserrat and Barbuda – the latter actually being further away. When Montserrat was on fire from below the journalists were all stationed with high end optics around the resorts on the south west coast like Curtain Bluff and Carlisle Bay. Anyway you can start to see some opportunities for island hopping to make your stay in Antigua quite exciting.
Christmas and New Years Holiday vacation in Antigua 2013 2014
If you are looking for a vacation over the holidays then consider Antigua. The climate is a perfect antidote to the northern USA and Canada winter. So start your search with a single click.
Antigua has enough to satisfy a week in the sun easily. Rain-forrest zip line tours, scuba diving, snorkelling and all the water sports you can find. Antigua is perhaps the best beach destination in the world with more than one for every day in the world. I just asked a local if he had visited them all – “NO !”
Hiking in Antigua
Hiking Tours in Antigua Organised Hiking Tours in Antigua
I decided yesterday to make the most of the hire car and get to some places that I had wanted to get to again, Half Moon Bay after a couple of hours on Pigeon beach. I also needed to swap keys with Titi as the Suzuki Vitara plastic key had broken and it was a real pain in the ass opening the door/starting it already (couldn’t figure out its central locking it just always eventually works). The vitara has a nicer driving position but the rio is a lot better on gas and the spec seems better as I can even plug in my shuffle! Anyways I grabbed a few photos of interest in Falmouth..Titi wasn’t in.
Photos of Falmouth Antigua
Photos of Pigeon Beach
On a Sunday its what Antiguan’s do. Hit the beach and when you do you go for a good part of the day. And to be on the beach for this length of time takes equipment ! I saw generators BBQ’s tables chairs thankfully they stop short of tv’s. But maybe not ? After pigeon beach where I didn’t enter the water to have that sticky salty feeling knowing that I wasn’t staying long I took a wrong turn and ended up going up into the Shirley Heights area. Here is one of Antiguas national parks. Its quite spacious up here with large expanses of grass and the tradewinds keep you cool. You would need an afternoon to do it properly and a car or take a guided tour. The views out to the ocean are stunning and the sound of the sea crashing against the rocks would be bettered only later that day (Half Moon Bay). I will blog a couple more photos to give you an idea.
Nelsons Dockyard National Park Photos
Also check out National Parks in Antigua while up there I came by the sign posts for two trails or hikes. I am a sucker for walks like this its adventure for me !
I deliberated in my head and thought it through – why not ? Half Moon Bay could wait – I had water and the hike was listed as being 1 mile. I parked up hid my bags and stuff so they were not visible. It was a Sunday and in the evening there would be some traffic going by the car up to the Shirley Heights Antigua Steel band stuff. I set off for the first hike the Carpenters Rock Trail . I got to this place that looked like a cemetery but I lost or didn’t see a proper trail after also the views from here are staggering just look at this selection of photos.
So then decided I would do the other one the Jones Valley Trail.
Jones Valley Trail and Photos
At a mile long there seem to be 3 sections to this trail, if you are starting at the highest point as I did you will have a very pretty and easy start. There are some tombstones and lovely examples of Cactus.
The foliage is not so thick here. Getting a bit further in the canopy covers you from the sun for the second section and you can go two ways – I went down one and came up the other, I didn’t think the difference was worth mentioning.
Sometimes the trail at this point becomes less obvious and so look for the white bands painted on the branches and trunks and sometimes stones. If you go 5 minutes without seeing one I would head back until you do. I didn’t get lost when I understood this.
You can do the trail in flip flops if you are an experienced flip flop wearer. I hadn’t planned on the hike and running shoes or proper boots would have been better. The final section is somewhat more challenging requiring the use of hands to climb over some boulders in what looks like a dried up stream. I was alerted to several hermit crabs which was quite shocking to find them here I thought they would see or hear me coming and move into their shell causing them to roll down into my path ! I estimate I was around 50ft above sea level in this final section – the dried up stream part. I was enjoying working out how to deal with some of the boulders now. Having to use all fours at times.
– This trail brings you down to Galleon beach area.
I got to a road in the end as I had no way to track time apart from get my phone from my backpack and you fellow hikers know how irritating it is to keep taking your pack off. The end of the line the road takes you to Galleon Beach and a place I had passed by car previously. Antigua does this to you constantly. You will be driving along and all of a sudden you know where you are or that you have driven here previously. It joins up the missing parts get filled in. And so I turned around knowing what I had to cover – at least it made the hike a little more exerting. I took less photos perhaps but it seemed to go quicker. Here are some more photos from the hike. This time going up I took the woodland route.
There are better hikes to be had in Antigua! I hope I get the chance to bring them to you and how to do them best. With a hike you often do need some info. After the hike I was looking forward to Half Moon Bay. I got in my car and drove the wrong way to arrive at the Shirley Heights gig Sunday afternoon til midnight. They always pursue payment quite zealously as if everyone is trying to sneak in, but they allowed me to turn back since I didn’t want to go again at least not right now. It must be stressed that I had not paid to enter the park yet as not always is someone manning the hut. So I would have been hard hit to pay on leaving. As happens in Antigua it all worked out in the end I set off for Half Moon Bay quite a bit to drive and I am not very familiar with this side of the island so much. Indeed I took a wrong turn and got to a baseball game with kids playing. Some older local folk would be able to tell me I thought this was clearly the wrong way. It seems I had asked the wrong person the old guy looked at the woman and spoke in Spanish. This raised some questions of my own in my head and I wished I had asked them how come they were in a non touristic spot not looking like tourists and speaking Spanish. Is there a Spanish speaking community in Antigua ? I eventually turned the right corner after a couple of villages further on and there is a road side railing that is brightly painted on a corner and its great sea views. Just a bit further along is Half Moon Bay down a road. I explore this in a new blog post coming soon
Best Diving in Antigua ?
A mini scuba diving story today diving in Antigua with Indigo Divers out of Jolly Harbour (back of castaways). First dive site ‘Jigsaw’ second ‘Keys’.
Castaways closing
Well Sunday is going to be castaways last night open. There are talks of a boutique hotel in the grounds which makes sense. Hope they get the right pros in to style it and it could be a real gem.
If you read our earlier mention of this bar it makes sense. It felt like they had given up. Moving on us sometimes the best course. Knowing when to call it a day is difficult especially when passion is involved.
Highest point in Antigua
It seems that you cant get into the main compound owned by cable and wirless to enjoy the views at Antigua’s highest point. You can get an idea of what it could be like from this site. I hope they can make some kind of area to get the public access to some nice views close by.
http://www.summitpost.org/mount-obama-once-boggy-peak/327589
Antigua Hawksbills needed the win.
I hadn’t realised that this was the last home game as I had assumed we would play all teams here. But this years CPL was the first and I guess they were dipping their toe. As far as Antigua games go this last game was sold out early then they reprinted more tickets and they sold out. So I guess they have their answer. I was going to go with John but on Wednesday my daughter flies home with mom and I will be sad so for now I am spending as much time with them as I can. I was also tired from some late-ish nights and my daughter doesn’t allow us to sleep in!
So I watched the game from the Crows Nest sports bar in Jolly Harbour. I can recommend this place. Arsenal in the morning had a crushing defeat first game of the season and one could write a whole topic on that. But I just wanted to set the scene for the game. Nice sports bar and rum drinks on special just 8ec.
Antigua had started with the bat and I was watching without sound as Summer was getting to sleep. Then I headed out and joined John and some locals at the Crows Nest. By this time I think we had a full 5-6 overs played and just a single wicket. There was some decent partnerships going on and indeed they climbed to a total of 166 for 6 wickets. Not quite as high as the Zooks previously on this ground. Could it be that Antigua would get to the playoffs they certainly had made the right start and their weakness seemed to be the bat earlier in the games now it was improving with each match. Their bowling had done them fine so far.
Tonight it was going well up until Cornwall and Orlando Peters (see here the twin towers and empire state buildings do still exist)
two tall orange bars show the incredibly poor economy rates and then Devon Thomas to do that in the final over again when simple bowling well would have been enough.
I think it was a couple of loose overs and a miss fielded ball by the young Orlando that allowed some belief to come in for the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
On Hafeez the guy to get the run rate high enough (strike-rate of 217.39 incredibly) at the end and see it through for the Amazonians: I could have had more respect for him as a total sportsman if he had taken all the credit himself... “First of all I would like to thank the Almighty Allah” Well also you need to thank the gifts that came in some very bad bowling in the final over, where it still should have Antigua who got the game.
Special mention to Ricky Ponting whose last professional game therefore was tonight and indeed his class shone through as he had a long throw at the stumps run out James Franklin.
Well there it is how the game was lost from 166 runs and it’s goodbye to Antigua and the Zooks.
Defeat on a wet night in North Sound
The Hawksbills really struggled with their bowling last night and for a team struggling with the bat it would have been an even longer night had rain not stopped play and the duckworth lewis run rate decide that the zooks would win. They desperately needed that win. Still the Hawksbills came with the right attitude to chase the massive total and the inevitable wickets fell. For the first part they kept in touch but as the game wore on the gap was 17 runs calculated on run rate. See the full match report here.
Antigua Classifieds
I thought it might be interesting to show some of the classifieds that catch my eye while wandering round limin..
Parham the old capital and harbour.
It was the original town because of the natural Harbour and is quite a small area to explore. There is little in the way of refreshment and if any place could hold a decent western run or Antiguan run restaurant it would be here. I found the place very charming probably due to the quiet in part or the so many small traditional houses with chickens running around and the beautiful water of course. There is no natural beach that we found and some people may think I’m mad for liking it by saying there is nothing there.
We then drove around via the Naval base area and saw the Waddadli brewery and the desalination plant and one if not the only Power Plant. So big industry is here. A small shack served me some sweet and sour chicken for 10EC – East Caribbean Dollar. Photos coming up.
On the way I maybe got a 1/3 tank of gas for just 40 EC = 10 pounds – some things at least are relatively cheap.
Its the big game tonight and I will try and wind my way across to the stadium from around 7pm.
Antigua Hawksbills first home game WIN!
The Antigua Hawksbills played their first home game against the top of the league tridents from Barbados.
Antigua started very positively and were able to take wickets with ease (see cotterel), the total to chase was just 98. That total wasn’t exactly achieved in great style and I am left to think that the top order batting has to improve should the Hawks like to progress higher up the table. However the bowling and fielding needed to be applauded which I duly did along with all the other home fans. I got lost on the way after leaving JH at 7pm for an 8 o’clock start maybe not early enough. One of the ticket sales advisors for digicel was telling me that there was no available parking at the stadium. Anyway I decided there must be some around about and indeed there was lot. I don’t know what planet you were on desi ?
After driving next to the airstrip as I couldn’t get any other meaningful fix on my location and was lost but then somewhat found by nature of seeing the airport. I decided to ask and got set on the right track and then followed a string of cars and eventually saw the lights. There was ample parking and a great vibe – I was now very happy that my efforts would pay off. The stadium was booming song between bowls and raucous when we took wickets. I decided to go for the party stand which was 5USD extra and needed to walk right round the other side of the stadium. I also had a long walk for tickets and a bit of a wait – the woman selling them in JH had left early (typical).
I was most pleased to watch the team some of whom I had met in the Halycon Rex like Ricky Ponting and Ben Rohrer and assistant coach Phil de Freitas.
Sir Richard Branson was there and cruising around doing some PR alongside was t20 cricket royalty Darren Sammy who gave me a wave as I yobbish shouted ‘Yo Sammy’ Awesome I am such a child.
It has only just occurred to me the the hawksbill is a turtle not a bird! Of course this I know as I am a big scuba diving fan!
ANYWAY WELL DONE HAWKSBILLS!