Away From The Tourist Track

Once the iconic scenes are captured, making interesting photos on Caribbean islands often means getting away from the “Disney-fied” port area and leaving behind the high-end chain jewelry stores and the Margaritaville clones and finding the places where the real island residents are, where they shop and where they live. Some islands are easier than others to do this.

On a recent visit to Antigua we booked a walking tour of the port city of St. John’s titled “Legends and Lores of Antigua.” As I hoped, our guide took us “behind the scenes” to see buildings and houses that at one time played a role in the island’s history. One of the places we saw had been the entry point for slaves that were transported from Africa. It now houses a store featuring locally made jewelry and crafts. Right down the street is the local headquarters for the US Polo Association, making for a kind of strange juxtaposition.

We had hoped to visit St. John’s Cathedral, but it was a Sunday and services were being held, so we walked by without visiting. Hopefully we can get back there on a future visit. From Wikipedia: “The present cathedral with its imposing white twin towers was built on a fossilized reef, in 1845, and is now in its third incarnation, as earthquakes in 1683 and in 1745 destroyed the previous structures. The iron gates on the south face of the church are flanked by pillars displaying Biblical statues of St John the Divine and St John the Baptist. They were reportedly taken in 1756 from a French ship destined for Martinique.”

Not all of the historic structures are currently in use, as the economic benefits of cruise ship tourism rarely flow beyond the main, cruise line-subsidized shopping district. This leaves a number of buildings in decay or at best boarded up, hoping for an unlikely influx of investment from somewhere. In the meantime, the streets outside the port area are often largely deserted, although there was a buzz of activity around the central market area, with a large farm market carrying local and imported produce, as well as a meat market and a seafood house. But it was a Sunday and many of the businesses were closed. Presumably things would have been busier on a weekday.

I don’t intend for my photos to overly emphasize the poor conditions on these islands, only to show that there is a part of these places that the tourists never see. Yes, they make for interesting photographs, but not ones likely to grace the pages of the local chamber of commerce or visitor center websites.