History of Antigua and Barbuda

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 →

History of La Guadeloupe, France

Some of you probably looked at the title in complete confusion. France? How could Kosmos be in France when they just crossed the Atlantic? France is in Europe and Kosmos is in the Caribbean! What the heck? Believe it or not, Guadeloupe is an official overseas department of France and an integral part of the French Republic. Guadeloupe is to France what Hawaii is to the USA. And, as an FYI, the correct pronunciation is Gwah-dah-loop, with no A sound at the end.

Guadeloupe is Continue reading →

City Under Siege, The Tower and the 100 Ton Gun

Continued from yesterday”¦ As we were leaving the Siege Tunnels, the driver suggested that we walk down the hill so we could stop at two more sites, the City Under Siege display and the Moorish Castle. The site we wanted to see most, the WWII tunnels, was also on the way down, but it just happened to be closed for the day. Here is a mamma and baby monkey hanging out near the tunnels.

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We passed the last remaining lime kiln in Gibraltar. Lime was heavily used up through the late 1800’s. It had many purposes, which were not detailed other than to mention that water cisterns were painted with it to keep the water bacteria free and it was dumped into the graves of people who died of some contamination to keep the contamination from spreading. Interesting. A secondary reason we put this photo in so you can get an idea of what the foliage is like on the rock.

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The Siege exhibit is housed in some of the first buildings the British put up in Gibraltar after taking it over, originally intended for gunpowder storage. The exhibit is small, but remarkably well done. There are signs describing the horrors the people had to suffer, with mannequins depicting the struggles described. Over 7,000 people were Continue reading →

The Rock, Monkeys, St. Michael’s Cave and the Siege Tunnels

It was high tide when we got up, and we were surprised to see that one of the fenders set high specifically for high tide had popped out and our rub rail was bumping up against the dock. Oh, what we would give for a floating dock right now. The things we used to take for granted”¦ It was yet another day of heavy wind and cold, though not as bitterly cold as yesterday. We decided to brave the cold and go sightseeing.

Our original plan was Continue reading →