If you don't know, Antigua has a beach for every day. Three hundred sixty-five beaches around the island. Some are white sand and smooth, great for sunning and swimming. Some are pink coral beaches, and others have tide pools surrounding them. Lots of open island inland, easy parking, and friendly natives,(save for a few trying to sell some "island brush" or "ganja"). It is truly a beautiful paradise.
We met several very nice people from various locations around the world, from the suburbs of London, to Miami, Florida. We had some wonderful discussions about everything from someone's boyfriend getting too much sun, to various businesses and romantic ideas. It was a very pleasant time.
Now, it may be wierd, but this vacation, as absolutely romantic and exciting as it was, was a perfect example of how my wife and I vacation. She never meets a stranger, and ends up knowing everyone in the resort, as well as their families and personal histories. I go hiking.
A side story from a few years ago; We went camping with our kids and several other families one time. Apparently when these families get together to camp they do everything together, eat meals, sit around and talk, walk around, everything is done as a group. I was unaware of this and went about my business as we normally do. My wife stayed at the camp and met new friends, and I went hiking.
This time, I happened to get up early and took off, having found a nice marsh area nearby. I told my wife I was going, and the general direction I was heading. I had planned on returning for breakfast. However, I kept hearing a clapper rail call and kept trying to find where it was. I then found several other really cool birds, like a common yellowthroat, and the walk took longer than I had planned. I returned to find several people in an uproar over where I had been. My wife simply shrugged when they asked telling them I was hiking, that was good enough for her. They were flabbergasted I would spend so much time wandering around by myself. They were thinking of calling search and rescue. When I shrugged it off and began to tell them the birds I had seen and some of the shore life I had found, they looked at me like I had two heads. I spent the rest of the camping trip with the eight and nine year olds collecting crabs and finding lizards and snakes.
Back to Antigua, I took a couple hikes on the resort and off. The resort was a Sandals resort, with many different beautiful flowering plants. I took some pictures for my son, who is very into botany. Some of the tropical trees and vining plants are spectacular.
I found some life birds, including flamingos(Phoenicopterus ruber) on the fly, laughing gulls,(Larus atricilla) java sparrows (Padda oryzivora)and more. On one of my walks, someone else was having a very romantic vacation and had dined out on their small patio. They had left the dirty dishes and glasses on the table and returned to their room. In the morning I walked by and found laughing gulls on the table enjoying a very upscale repast. I imagined them "laughing" about the western gulls having to scavenge dead beasts, while they dined on champagne and escargot.
When we got up in the morning there were many tiny lizards literally falling out of the trees, and scouting the beaches. Bananaquits were visiting looking for handouts. Some little birds literally landed on our table while we were eating our breakfast. It was terrific.
Very friendly native fauna.
Our breakfast buddies every morning.
We had a one room "rondaval" or round room right next to the beach. We could easily walk out our front door, several steps to the beach, and lie down on a chaise lounge. This is exactly what my wife did, and had the butler bring her favorite beverage every two hours or so. During the day she would befriend any and all who passed by. She became friends with Alvin who had a shack on the beach where he spent his days painting. He painted a sunset on the beach we were lounging on, with two crabs on the sand, (representing my wife and I), which we have hanging in our bedroom. While she got to know all the people who worked at the resort, including their families and past boyfriends and girlfriends, I explored the island. We both had a wonderful time.
A lounge lizard that kept my wife's chaise lounge for her while she was involved in other activities. She never meets a stranger.
There we made long term plans for our future together, enjoyed each others company, and ate everything offered from the resort. It was terrific.
Now we are taking a trip to Canada to celebrate a couple milestones in our lives. Our youngest son graduated high school this year, I am retiring in two weeks, and we are launching into a new chapter called empty-nesters. So, I expect my next blog will describe our time there and hopefully will have some pictures of Bald and Golden eagles, as well as a lifer or two. My quest on most outtings is to see a Golden Eagle, and have yet to see one. (Oh yeah, there have been one or two small dots in the sky that someone said was a Golden Eagle, "probably", but I haven't counted those).
You might be a bird nerd if... you go to one of the most romantic locations in the world, surrounded by adults who are also experiencing lavish amounts of romance and you go hiking looking for life birds.
Or...You might be a bird nerd if...you pick a vacation location because there is the word 'bird' in it.
By the way, Bird Island was called that because the shape resembled a bird, not because birds were on the island. Go figure.
Hope you enjoy the pictures, my lens steamed up at one point, so some of the java sparrows seem a bit blurry.
Until next time from Canada, don't ya know!!
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