We have a new favourite Caribbean island, yes as usual we tend to always be falling in love with wherever we happen to be at the time and Barbuda is no exception. Our plan was never to come to this far north as we've been looking forward to 'turning the corner' and heading further west in the chain. However, on the morning of leaving Jolly Harbour we noticed the wind and sea was unusually calm and instead of sailing to the island of Nevis we made a quick sail change and headed the 30 miles north to Barbuda...we're very glad we did.
With a population of around 1,500 Barbuda forms part of the state Antigua and Barbuda. Most of the inhabitants live in the town of Codrington, named after the two brothers who originally leased the island back in 1685. The family used the island to grow crops and keep slaves before sending them on to Antigua to be sold. In 1834 the slaves were freed and today the island is owned communally which means no big resorts or hotels can be built without the locals say so. For this reason Barbuda remains one of the more untouched islands in the Eastern Caribbean.
We found this abandoned hotel above and explored it's rooms and grounds that are slowly being reclaimed by nature...eerie but beautiful!
The two main attractions on the island are the famous Frigate bird colony, consisting of over 5,000 birds, and the miles and miles of untouched pink beaches. We anchored off the Western coast along 11 mile beach and spent four glorious days walking and swimming the beach...without seeing another soul!
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