Category Archives: Culture

Information about the current culture of a location we visit.

Taking John to St. John’s, Antigua

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Yesterday, we were quite surprised by our carpet quotes. Both owners came out personally. One company was very professional. They gave us a written quote at a reasonable rate. The other company was less professional. They quoted almost double the price and didn’t put it in writing. We also got an uneasy sense that the final bill would be more than the quote. Needless to say, we hired the more professional company. They arrived first thing this morning to start work.

It was a relief to get the carpets and upholstery done. Ever since Continue reading →

Island Tour and Flipping the Dinghy

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Continued from yesterday”¦ After we were done eating, our new friends continued to roam the town while we went back to immigration. It was once again very simple. Just one form, and no fees. This agent was also causally dressed and professional, but curt. Our new friends rejoined us as soon as we were done, ice cream cones in hand. Christi thought Eric might die of jealousy.

The town is cute. It is very small, probably all of 6 or 7 blocks in total from what we can tell. Most of the buildings are low bungalows with metal roofs. Most look to be in good shape, with none appearing especially weather beaten. You definitely get a strong sense that everyone knows everyone else, and that they view themselves as a big family.

We took a dirt road east. It looked like mostly undeveloped land to us, though we did pass a few small farms. We also passed a few shacks in the middle of nowhere. They were kind off odd anomalies since pretty much everyone on the island lives in Codrington. The taxi driver explained that these are real Rastafarians, who choose to Continue reading →

History of Antigua and Barbuda

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The country of Antigua and Barbuda is made of two main islands, Antigua and Barbuda, located about 25 miles from each other. Barbuda is a low, flat island that is 62 square miles big, with a population of about 1250. Antigua is hilly, 108 square miles big, and home to 72,000 people. Antigua also has several little satellite islands surrounding it very close to the mainland.

Remains have been found on Antigua that indicate that a hunting/gathering Amerindian people group inhabited the islands prior to the Arawaks. These remains include tools made of shell and stone that are quite different than the typical Arawak tools. Once again, we get conflicting information on Continue reading →

Exploring Downtown Point a Pitre and Enjoying Guadeloupe’s Unique Cuisine

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Yesterday we woke up feeling like zombies, not doubt still recovering from the strenuous swim the day before. Eric wasn’t feeling the greatest and Christi felt downright awful. Neither of us felt like doing anything at all. If we hadn’t already made plans, we would probably have spent the whole day watching movies.

However, we had invited a family on one of the nearby boats over for a visit in the afternoon. We had no choice but to clean and tidy for our guests. We washed the exterior and cleaned the interior. It seemed to take forever because we were moving slower than normal. We also managed to squeeze a nap in before they arrived.

We had a nice visit with the family. After they left, Christi Continue reading →

Day Two of the Water Pump Saga

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This morning we got confirmation that ABT has shipped the broken part to their repair person in Mallorca. He will fly out to Gibraltar to fix the stabilizer next week after the part arrives. ABT has been great to work with.

Last night he found the number for the Shurflo manufacturer in England on the internet. He and called first thing this morning. They told him they only sell in bulk to distributors and gave him the number to their distributors in the UK and Spain. The UK distributor said to call the Spanish distributor in Barcelona. We tried, but they don’t speak English and we don’t speak enough Spanish to carry on a conversation. We went to the marina office to see if someone could call for us. No one on duty spoke Spanish, and they said to come back later.

Eric went back to the chandlery to buy different hose clamps, hoping maybe he could find ones that would fit better. He went to work on trying to beef up the connection so that the water pump we have is usable, this time using the new clamps and plumber’s tape. We are sad to report it is still leaking slightly. Here is a picture of his craftsmanship.

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While Eric worked on the pump, Christi washed the boat (using the marina’s spigot). It was a windy day to start with, and while she was out there the wind picked up dramatically. Christi only got Continue reading →