Sister Vacation: Beautiful Barbuda

After I moved back to the US from Japan and the end of April 2009 my sister, Missy, and I set about planning a trip so we could see each other. Since she lives in the Caribbean we like to meet up on different islands for sister vacations. It can be a challenge to find flights that line up for both of us and arrive around the same time, but we were able to find decent flights to Antigua for a few days around Fourth of July weekend.

Antigua is one island of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda and although we were planning on staying on and spending most of our time on Antigua I had my heart set on also visiting Barbuda for a day trip. I had seen some pictures of of the gorgeous white beaches with sprinklings of pink sand and didn't want to miss a chance to see them. The only way to get to Barbuda (without private transportation) is either by a puddle jumper flight or ferry from Antigua. I convinced Missy and we booked a roundtrip flight out the next morning, returning that night.

In the morning we boarded our tiny plane and it seemed that no sooner were we in the air than we were landing in Codrington, Barbuda's only town and where most of the island's 1500 people live. The airport consisted of a small landing strip surrounded by a fence and a tiny one room cinder block building that served as a check in area. Apart from my sister and I, the rest of the flight was full of about half a dozen British bird watchers who were on the island to see the Barbudan warbler which is endemic only to the island of Barbuda. The bird watchers were on a tour so they had transportation prearranged. There wasn't any other means of transportation at the airport so Missy and I made the short trip into town on foot.

As we made our way down a road that was in the process of being paved, past the small cinder block homes in various states of repair, my sister whispered to me, "Where in the world did you take me?" Truth be told, Codrington was not so impressive and the beautiful beaches I saw in the photos were nowhere in sight.

Town was pretty desolate with everyone inside escaping the heat. We made our way to the public dock and found the bird watchers waiting for a ride across Codrington Lagoon to Lighthouse Bay Resort where they were headed for lunch. We talked to some locals and worked out hitching a ride on the bird watcher's boat for a small fee.

As much as we were disappointed when we arrived in Codrington, we were delighted arriving at Lighthouse Bay. It was a gorgeous, small resort set on a beautiful strip of beach. We sat on a lovely covered patio enjoying a delicious lunch, feeling like we were in paradise. Before the bird watchers took off in their boat to see the warblers (they were shocked we weren't planning to see them) we negotiated a time with the boatman to pick us up later in the afternoon.

After the bird watchers had gone, no one else was left on the terrace and the resort manager came by to chat. Finding out that Missy was also in the hospitality industry he offered to show us around Lighthouse Bay. With only nine suites the resort was quite intimate and the rooms were gorgeous (he showed us a vacant one). Even with it being the off season, staying there would only be a dream for my sister and I with the smallest suites costing over a thousand dollars per night.

The manager kindly let Missy and I leave our backpacks at the resort and we set off walking down the beach. I have been to many beaches in many countries but I can honestly say that this was the most beautiful, pristine beach I have ever seen. The white sand stretched for miles with scatterings of pink sand from broken shells dotting the beach. The Caribbean waves gently rolled ashore in gorgeous shades of bright turquoise. We saw a few small rays swimming in the shallow water and found a conch shell that had washed ashore, embedding itself in the sand. Missy pointed out to me the spot on the top of the shell where a sea creature had cracked a hole in it to get the conch out. We spent hours walking along the beach and didn't see another soul the whole time. It was incredible.

Tired out from the walking and being in the sun, Missy and I headed back to the resort. We spent our remaining time until the boatman was supposed to come back enjoying sipping on Carib beer while reading in lounge chairs on the beach. All too soon the boat picked us up and dropped us off back in Codrington.

We walked back to the airport and while checking in we bumped into two of the bird watchers. They had learned from their local guide that while you have to check in for your flight ridiculously early, you only had to be back at the airport just before the flight. The pair were at the airport checking in for their group and then they were going back to a nearby beach bar where the rest of the bird watchers were hanging out. There was room in their van so they invited us to join them.

We had a lovely time chatting with the bird watchers and watching the sun sink low in the sky at the beach bar. Several of them even showed us shots of the Barbudan warbler that they had taken on their camera. The bar had paddle boards suspended from the ceiling for visitors to sign so we all left little messages before we had to head back to the airport for good.

We got to the airport just before our plane landed. Within a few minutes the arriving passengers had disembarked and we were on the flight heading back to Antigua. Our time in Barbuda was short but memorable and nothing at all like what we had expected. What a fabulous day!

Postscript: I am still kicking myself in the bum that I never took a picture of the Codrington airport. If you are curious what it looks like I found a picture of in online here: Codrington Airport