"Simonneeddy's n ..." a Antigua and Barbuda Travel Page by Simonneeddy

Simonne ( before I met her and married her) visited here on a four Island tour about the time I also visited ANTIGUA .I visited here with rwo male friends many years ago.We stayed for a couple of days at the BEACHCOMER Hotel ( Simonne had also stayed there) which was not far from the airport and owned by a Canadian couple.'We then contacted a friend who was born and raised here and who had worked in Montreal Canada for several years. He had invited my good buddy ROD to call him if he ever came to Antigua. We called.
He had us move out and into the town of St. John's in the centre of town. It was an old Hotel but cheap and clean. We had one huge room on the second floor with 3 single beds. Our friend Jamie Boy took us to all the night spots and we followed the Steel Band from Hotel to Hotel as they changed place every night. We also got to visit the Native Clubs as well.
He helped us rent a car for our stay and we did travel to the far side of the island with it. I have lost those pictures .We got mobbed by the school children who wanted to talk to us and show us their books etc. We realized then that not many tourists visited those parts at that time.
"Jamie Boy" as the natives called our friend was well known by everyone because his father owned the huge liquor store in town.He owned and operated a soft drink factory ( CANADA DRY ) His Uncles owned half the abandoned plantations and the DRUG Stores on the Island also the Distillery at that time and a construction company that was putting up prefabricated houses. They had houses in town and other Summer Residences in the country. Which we also visited.
We were invited to a huge cook out in our honor at the country residence and met all the family including Jamie Boy's sister who was an Airline Hostess and very beautiful and nice.
The next morning ( arranged by Jamie Boy's father as a gift) we were taken on a native fishing boat out through the reefs ( it was still dark). The moon was full so we could see the narrow passage througn the reef. ( WOW WHAT A THRILL ) When dawn came we could no longer see the island and wondered how we would find it to go back since there were no navigational instruments aboard. The owner ( a colored native) had no special navigation equipment but had a born in sense of direction. He came up on his traps with the explanation " NO PROBLEM". We collected the fish and also saw a huge SHARK that was trying to get at the fish in the traps. It was scary looking over the side of the boat at him.
This boat had no railings around it and only a mast and tiller to hang on to. There was also a hatch that opened into the storage part under our feet and this stunk of fish, so no way would we go down there. We had to stay on deck and either sit or stand up hanging on to the mast.BOY!! some ride. An Italian tourist who came with us (after having quite a few rums) was scared to death and sea sick. He would not let go of the mast and lay down hanging on and praying. He gave me his wallet and said see my body gets back home. He was sure he was going to die. We made it back and there were a lot of people waiting to buy the fish at the dock. ( Very few fishing boats there at that time.)One would think fish would be a staple food on an island but few people fished.

We stayed in Saint John's