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Antigua: a whiff of Blighty in the Caribbean
Chris Carter heads to Antigua for sailing, seafood and a few glasses of wine in the sunshine.
I arrived in Antigua a few days in advance of Prince Harry's "formal but fun" tour of the Caribbean at the end of November. Whether it was my presence on the island that drew Harry to Antigua as his first port of call, I couldn't possibly say. But it was certainly the first time I had a prince walking in my sandy footsteps.
The official narrative for Harry's trip was that he was visiting the islands in the Caribbean, whose head of state is his grandmother, the Queen. Antigua was a good place to start.
The island, together with its sister to the north, Barbuda, gained independence from Britain in 1981. But there remains a distinct whiff of Blighty in the warm air. There's cricket, of course, and the great Sir Viv Richards is something of a hero in these parts.
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Then there are the place names: Half Moon Bay, with its azure waters captured in a verdant crescent; the old sugar mill of Betty's Hope; and the Unesco World Heritage site of Nelson's Dockyard, nestled in English Harbour.
Nelson's Dockyard, which dates to the late 18th century, was for around 100 years a major repairing station for the Royal Navy, with its venerable old pitch and tar house. Today, it's known as the Admiral's Inn, a boutique hotel whose atmospheric restaurant, Pillars, is situated right beside the weathered stone columns used by Lord Nelson's sailors to fix their sails from 1797. I could almost hear the snap of the canvas pulled tight all those years ago as I tucked into my grilled lobster.
But it was Nonsuch Bay Resort(above), on the east side of Antigua, that I called home during my stay on the island. I counted no less than three infinity pools, two of which are tucked into the hillside leading up from the small, yet intimate beach. The third is located just beyond the bar and restaurant, where on my first night I sat down to a plate of pork wontons and a glass of the local Wadadli beer. That was followed by a plump white fillet of the tropical Mahi Mahi, then for dessert a few slices of the famously sweet Antiguan Black Pineapple, with its naturally syrupy golden flesh pepped up with fiery flashes of fresh peppercorns.
The view out over the bay is stunning. And you get a nice surprise when you come back for breakfast. The restaurant of covered decking faces east, affording you front-row seats to the majestic tropical sunrise. After breakfast I headed down to the hotel's tiny marina next to the beach and took a sailboat out into the placid bay. As the boat bobbed in the water, my instructor, Leslie, pointed out to me the various mega-villas that lined the shoreline, belonging to rock stars and footballers lured to the bay by its privacy.
The resort also organises excursions to nearby Green Island (above) by speedboat, where you are invited to don snorkel and mask. While paddling about in the warm, shallow waters, I spotted cuttlefish, and lots of what I assumed were trumpet fish. If you're really lucky, you might even see a turtle or two.
Back on dry land, the resort was gearing up for Winestock. The fifth annual wine festival to be held at Nonsuch Bay was co-hosted by the Somerset-based master of wine, Liam Steevenson, and showcased some of the best wine to be imported into Antigua. I ducked into one of Steevenson's four master classes, which explored the sauvignon blanc grape, before tucking into a huge buffet lunch of Caribbean favourites. Then followed more tasting, before I collapsed into a chair to listen to Bajan saxophonist Arturo Tappin deliver his own master class in live jazz. Tickets cost around £100, but guests of the resort get in for free. Deluxe suites at Nonsuch Bay start at £315 per person, all-inclusive.
One of Antigua's best eateries is Papa Zouk Fish n' Rum in the capital, St John's. The "rum shop" is said to have a bottle from every island in the Caribbean where rum is produced. The other half of the equation, the fish, is equally extraordinary cooked with warming spices, the fried snapper was among the best fish dishes I've ever had. It's no wonder that when the rum joint burnt down in 2014 the locals built it right back up again. Bert Kirchner, the owner, collected all the rum bottles that had survived the flames, and poured it all together. The resulting Fire Rum, which is served in tiny thimble-sized glasses, isn't smoky, as you might expect, but has the smoothness of aged rums. A fine blend indeed.
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