N17:33.40N  61:46.90W

After six weeks of guests on board, and the last two weeks with Alia Vita at full capacity, the next few weeks were always going to quiet. We had heard that we must visit Barbuda but didn't really know what t expect. We were after a few days just chillin'. Go to Google Earth and look at the photos posted on the west coast. Amazing.

We dropped our anchor just off the south west coast in what we could only describe as paradise. The white coral sand beach, all 12 miles of it, was deserted. We went ashore to take a stroll but the sand was so soft it was really hard work. We returned the following day with the folding bikes that were generously gifted to us by John and Elaine a year earlier. Embarrassingly, this was their first proper outing. BIG mistake.

Barbuda is so off the beaten track, that the tracks haven't been fully beaten. There are so few tourists that tarmac roads are not warranted. we cycled about 8 miles to the 'capital' Codrington. The 'capital' is actually the only village and after far too much time spent cycling small wheeled bikes on a sandy, rutted track that we were sure would turn to tarmac just around the next corner, we found that there was nothing in Codrington to warrant the trek.

We had chicken and chips from a street vendor (and very good they were too) and found a taxi to take us and our folding bikes back to the beach. A night ride down an unlit, rutted and potholed track would not have been safe, even if the wild donkeys and cattle did keep off it!

A couple of days later we moved the boat to the north to visit the Frigate bird sanctuary. Frigate birds are quite amazing and there were LOTS of them. Can't remember the number, but 40,000 rings a bell. We got a taxi to give us and another couple off another yacht a quick tour of the north of the island, and as anticipated, not a lot there, but somehow Barbuda was well worth the visit. If there was too much to see there would be lots more people visiting. Can't have it both ways. Having said that, this was the first island we have visited that you always need a reservation for lunch or dinner. If they don't have a reservation they don't open!