The "GG Tour" Story

It was an ordinary day. We are getting in GG's white taxi for a tour of Antigua. Antigua lies in the Lesser Antilles, 17 degrees north of the equator, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Antigua declared their independence from England in 1981. The island has about 108 square miles of land and 85,632 residents with a democratic government. And ..... GG knows every inch of every square mile every resident on the island!! I met GG the first day at our resort. I went looking for a rental place to get a car for a week and came upon a group of guys playing "Warri", an island board game. GG saw me and responded first with, "What can I do for you?" I said, "Who's in charge?" He looked at me and with a smile said, "We all look the same to you, don't we?" Wow, how do you respond to that? Then he started to laugh, came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. He looked to be close to my age and the most outspoken of the group. "Didn't mean to offend you," he said. "No offense taken," I said as I returned the smile. Then I asked him about the rental. "You don't want a car. I can take you anywhere you want for less money." And after seeing the rates for rentals on the side of the building next to us, he was right. "How about a tour of your island tomorrow? Four people," I asked. "I'll meet you in front of the resort at 8:00 AM. Make a list of what you want to see and I'll add it to what I'm going to show you. It'll cost you $120 for the four of you. Bring a towel and your swim suit and money for lunch. I'll have you back in time for supper." We shook hands and I headed back to our room. Now we're getting in the taxi for the trip. The trip was probably the best island tour we have ever had. We started with a visit to a lot where they build portable houses for residents. Saw houses in all stages of construction. All wood, bright Caribbean colors and VERY SMALL! From there we traveled to Jolly Harbor which is a premier sailing harbor in the Caribbean. Million dollar ships anchored and docked all around the harbor. Off to the beaches. Passed a few old sugar mills on our way to Ffryes Beach which is a favorite of the locals. Beautiful fine white sand. We walked the beach for a short time then headed to a resort on Coco beach. Made our resort look like a dump. As we drove I noticed new street lights going up along the road. I questioned GG and he told us that the Chinese are installing them for the island at no charge. Yeah, right! They also built a monstrous cricket stadium for the island. GG explained that China wants the Antigua's vote in the UN so they can whale hunt. Whale hunting must be profitable if they are willing to do all this for a vote. It has the island divided politically and morally on this issue. On our way to Darkwood beach we passed the black pineapple farm. Not really black, but darker than regular pineapples. Darkwood beach was beautiful so we stopped for a photo shoot. Next was Carlisle Bay resort. $1,500 a night!!! Gorgeous place. GG knew someone that worked there and he took us for a tour. Would love to stay there, but... From the beach you could see the island Montserrat in the distance which has an active volcano. Big ash cloud over the island. Time to eat. We stopped at a "local stand" for take out. Carol had the fish with rice and salad while Jerry and I had to try the goat water, baked potato and salad. Sue was brave enough to try the beef hoof stew. We headed to Shirley Heights lookout to eat our meal. Shirley Heights is located about Falmouth Harbor and has the best view of any place on the island. But, we weren't able to eat there, since we didn't buy our meal there. GG was annoyed. So we headed to Nelson's Dockyard below Shirley Heights. The dockyard was used for the British ships during operations in the 18th and 19th centuries and was named for Adm. Horatio Nelson,who was said to have hated the island. Great place for lunch and GG got a free tour for all of us. We then conitnued to Half Moon Bay which is said to be one of the best beaches in the Caribbean. Maybe years ago, but not now! On to Devil's Bridge which is known as the location where local slaves, years ago, would go to end their life. Next, on to Long Bay Beach for a relaxing swim while GG napped for half an hour in his taxi. Calmest waters on the island. Trip continued with a tour of one of the oldest churches on the island, St. Peters, and then to Betty's Hope which was a restored sugar mill. We got to watch the sunset as we headed home. It was a tremendous day with a very gracious host and driver. We look forward to using GG for our driver for the rest of vacation. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Tour pixs from top: GG with his taxi, visiting portable housing site, Ffryes beach, black pineapple plantation, Carlisle Bay resort with Montserrat erupting in background, dishing out the goat soup, Shirley Heights lookout, Nelson's Dockyard, Halfmoon Bay beach, GG posing with us at Devil's Bridge and Betty's Hope sugar plantation.