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From: dthk@mhuxd.UUCP (hawkins)
Newsgroups: net.travel
Subject: Re:  Antigua
Message-ID: <1279@mhuxd.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 21-Mar-84 15:27:55 EST
Article-I.D.: mhuxd.1279
Posted: Wed Mar 21 15:27:55 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 22-Mar-84 01:34:49 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 25

Antigua is delightful!  We were there in February and thoroughly enjoyed
ourselves.  The beaches are outstanding, and they say there are 365 of them--
one for each day of the year.  That's not an exaggeration--every cove has a
beautiful beach.  Many of them are totally deserted.  The island scenery is
not spectacular, except for the southern portion where they have a restored
18th century dockyard (the only real "tourist trap" on the island).  The
views from the heights above the dockyard are outstanding.  The people are
friendly and enjoy a reasonably good standard of living for the Caribbean.
Antigua is an ex-British colony and has been independent since 1981.  There
is still a lot of British influence there, and so the government is quite
stable.  Tourism is a major industry.  The capital, St. Johns, is a typical
Caribbean town of about 30,000 people (total island population is ~70,000).
Main things to purchase are local handicrafts, duty-free liquor, perfume,
etc.  Cuisine is mainly local fish which is delicious.  (Try the Cockleshell
Restaurant for excellent fresh fish dinners.  The Sunday brunch at the Blue
Waters Hotel is expensive--U.S.$16/person--but you can stuff yourself with
as much of the delicious food as you can hold.)  Since the island is fairly
small (108 square miles), there isn't a lot of driving around possible, and
many people spend most of their time on the beach.  The roads are full of
potholes, very narrow, and clogged with vehicles, animals, and people.

In summmary, Antigua is a beautiful island and well worth a visit if you
like beaches, swimming, snorkeling, sailing, etc.

Don Hawkins     AT&T-BL   mhuxd!dthk   (201)-582-6517