It’s been a month since I returned to Antigua. A month of taking life at a leisurely pace that includes daily walks, swimming, exploring, shopping and regular domestic tasks.
While visiting different beaches and walking around St. John’s, I frequently chat with other tourists and snowbirds. Most are from from North America, the United Kingdom and Germany. Some are day trippers from cruise ships, others vacationing here for a week or two and a few are long-stay visitors like me.
But for the most part my regular social contacts are Antiguan residents. I am blessed to be befriended by such lovely people.
![](http://capebretonisle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_20230227_095217447-1024x768.jpg)
Our small beach draws fishermen, sea moss gatherers and bathers. I look forward to seeing the regulars: Sanjay the spear fishermen, Paget who comes for the sea moss, valued for its medicinal qualities; families with small children playing in the water, and courting couples.
It is the sea that provides the setting for a great deal of social interaction here.
Last week, I saw two women sitting and chatting in the water on our beach. An hour later, they were still there. They looked very relaxed.
One afternoon on Hawksbill Beach, a teenager scooted quickly into the surf only to be followed by an older woman. What ensued appeared to be a serious ticking off by the woman. It was lengthy but the two left the water together and headed down a nearby lane. Mother and son, I mused.
For some, the water is the only place for some privacy. I have approached our beach only to turn around when I saw couples holding hands or kissing in the water. They don’t stay too long and who’s to discourage a bit of romance now and then.
There is even a Pensioners’ Beach. I intend to check it out.
A Rastafarian friend prays on the beach every day before he sets up his kiosk. He says the sea helps heal the body and soul. I believe him. Every part of me seems to work better here.
I’ve been lucky to make the acquaintance of a very special woman, Sharon, who has taken me under her wing.
![](http://capebretonisle.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Sharon_and_Susan1-1-768x1024-1-e1677586151341.jpg)
Tough and tender, Sharon has shepherded me all over St. John’s Parish, taken me to grocery stores and picked me up at the beach. On her birthday, she cooked a feast and fed me in her Five Island Village bungalow. I see her about twice a week as she works for my landlord who lives on the premises.
This beautiful woman with a wry sense of humour was born in Guyana, one of a number of Guyanese natives we have met here. Sharon has no patience with slow cashiers and inept drivers. Pedestrians don’t get a pass either. “Get out the way, Rasta Man! Too much smoke before breakfast,” she admonished one slow-moving man. He just shrugged while she gritted her teeth.
Sanjay, my spear-fishing friend, launches his boat nearly every day from the lagoon on the other side of my building. Earlier in the week, he came to my door with a large lobster which I bought for supper. He very kindly added squash from his own garden and voila! A superb meal and lots of leftovers. Talk about local.
Sanjay has also agreed to take me out in his boat so I can snorkel on reefs further offshore. He says March will be the best month as February storms have left the oceanfront waters churned up and murky. Can’t wait!