[Cross posted at Peter Marina’s blog]
Montserrat must wait; it’s carnival time in Antigua. The boat leaves for Montserrat on Wednesday, the day after carnival. I found an affordable air-conditioned hotel in the middle of St. John’s in the heart of carnival festivities.
Sunday is J’ouvert, a celebration that consists primarily of loud “what did you say, huh, whaaaaaaaat?” carnival music, including soca and calypso, blaring on the streets and people grinding each other. Continue reading
(Cross posted on on Peter Marina’s blog)
Fred, the blond-haired French woman who organizes the boat ride to Barbuda, took my money in exchange for a two-hour bumpy, crazy bumpy, puke your guts out, boat ride to the flat, near-deserted island of Barbuda (cost of ticket is $150 EC). Unlike boat rides to other Caribbean islands, one can barely spot Barbuda until close to the island. It is flat with no real docking area, marina, buildings, stores, tourist hustlers hustling, taxis, and skyline of any sort. It is just a flat, sandy rock with almost nothing on it. Continue reading
(Cross posted on Peter Marina’s blog)
Back in Antigua the country gears up for Carnival, a raucous event where the town of St. John’s comes alive with revelers in colorful costumes. Continue reading
(Cross posted on Peter Marina’s blog)
After spending the weekend in the Dominican Republic it was time to get back to work, back to Antigua, my home base for all of this extensive research.
It’s a mixed feeling, going back to Antigua. Antigua is in many ways an undesirable place to live. The unrelenting sun beats down hard on an island where running water is in short supply. Apparently, the government gave away the country’s water rights to a private corporation. That’s right, they privatized their water, an act that would cause revolutions in some countries (see Bolivia). Moreover, the government failed to use tax-payer money to pay the corporation. As a result, the corporations shut off the running water, only turning on at unpredictable times and usually only for moments at a time. In fact, Continue reading
(Cross posted at petermarina.com)
The airplane roars just above Sunset Beach Bar where drinking beach dwellers photograph low-flying planes on their approach to an airstrip just feet away. St. Martin’s dual personality, Dutch on the south side and French on the north, give the island a distinct character and it’s just a few miles from the neighboring islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. I joined Reverend Nigel, or simply “Rev,” on the plane in St. Kitts that had just made its way from my adopted third home of Antigua. Continue reading
(cross posted on Peter Marina’s blog)
Interview with Bartholomew.
On Tuesday, July 8th, we were supposed to meet at 4PM but he was late. We met at the church, Christian Life Assemblies, located just outside of Basseterre city center. Continue reading
(cross posted on Peter Marina’s blog)
The plane makes its way over tall mountains and picture-perfect beaches. St. Kitts dwarfs the size of many other islands in the Caribbean at 68 square miles. The plane lands near the capital of Basseterre. Continue reading
(cross posted on Peter Marina’s blog)
Antigua: Sunday, June 29
Shirley Heights
Ocean Inn Hotel
A change of pace was needed on my return to the island that is now considered one of my homes. Continue reading
(Cross posted at on Peter Marina’s blog)
Dominica (dom-eh-NEE-ca) immediately impresses as a volcanic island that does justice to the word awe. The rolling hills and towering mountains, thick rainforest and hot sulfur springs, the stunning waterfalls and bubbling lakes, and perhaps best of all, a Caribbean culture yet to be tainted from tourism, make this island stunning and magical. The plane circles the high mountains of the island making even seasoned flight commuters squirm in their seats at the thought of their airship landing – or crashing – into the mountains. The plane descends unevenly into the mountains, somehow navigating in between them towards a tiny airstrip which looks like a thin piece of scotch tape.
Though the beauty of the island is flowing and flawless, ethnographically speaking, things fell apart immediately. Continue reading
(Cross posted on PeterMarina.com)
From New Orleans, the plane headed straight to the rolling hills of Barbados where Pastor Michael Alleng picked me up near the capital Bridgetown. Alleng heads Evening Light Pentecostal Church in Arch Hall, Barbados. He is a tall, lanky man standing at about six feet two inches and drives a green car. He travels frequently to other churches in Barbados, the Caribbean, and the United States, guest preaching at the churches of several leaders he knows through PAWI (Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies). For example, Continue reading