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| Perhaps the most magnificent sunset we’ve seen on this trip. It was certainly from the most beautiful spot we’ve seen so far, Low Bay, Barbuda. |
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| Looking across the water from the beach at Coco Point, Barbuda. |
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| Palapas on the beach at Coco Point, viewed from our boat. |
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| Did we mention deserted? If you look closely, you can see our boat, Journey, in the background to the left of the first palapa roof. |
We anchored, alone at Coco Point, an 8-or-so-mile stretch of powdery soft sand beach, across from a posh, completely deserted resort. We were, quite simply, mesmerized by the beauty of the beach and the water, gazing out from our boat, and walking along the beach. It was so amazing, we still felt it difficult to grasp that we were there, and able to experience and fully enjoy it. You get the idea.
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| Notice the wet portion of the sand is pink? Ground coral casts a pink glow on the sands at water from waves recede. |
We then sailed to Barbuda’s Low Bay, anchoring near the supposedly yachtee-friendly Lighthouse resort, where we’d also heard WiFi was open. The two other sailboats along that stretch also clustered in the report area. Low Beach was part of an unbroken 11-mile stretch of pink sand beach. Ground coral turned the sands pink as waved receded back into the ocean. These beaches were also composed of powdery soft sand. Out feet sunk deep in the soft sand.
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| Nice, but we’re not sure this Lighthouse dining view is worth paying $19 USD for a beer. It sure wasn’t in our budget and thus far is at least double what we’ve seen charged from even the most expensive places we’ve traveled thus far in the Caribbean |
Lighthouse’s $19 beers and $130 lamb dinners were way out of our pocketbook range. No one was there, serving (or eating or drinking) that we saw. Their internet was not working (“server down”) and the manager said when it did come up, it was locked, “for guests only” and was unwilling to share the password for it, even if we paid for it. We would not call that yachtee friendly.
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| his is Barbuda’s Codrington Lagoon; it’s the simplest cruiser access to Barbuda’s only town. We easily landed our dinghy and dragged it across the ~ 1/8 mile of sand between Low Bay and the lagoon. We’re betting this was blowing at about 30 knots. Two to three miles of that in a dinghy was more than we felt it was wise to tackle, even if we were out of bread and Codrington was the only place on the island we could buy it. It did get me started baking bread on the boat though, especially now since the weather cooled enough that using the oven was no longer an action to consider as a last resort, such as cooking a Thanksgiving turkey (and we have no BBQ). |
We were still smarting from the cost of spending $1,300 USD in Guadaloupe to replace the majority of our standing rigging (click here to learn more about that) and $3,500 for a new dinghy and motor for it (click here to learn more about that). We toyed with bucking up and paying the $100 US for a water taxi to Codrington and the guided frigate bird tour; but were too hesitant to loosen our purse strings. Outside the Galapagos Islands, Barbuda offers the best place to learn firsthand about frigate birds, aggressive muscular feathered creatures with up to a 5’ wingspan, observe their extravagant mating rituals and see their nesting grounds and newborn chicks.
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| Note the fine, powdery sand sticking to Wayne’s feet? |
We wimped out on the water taxi and Frigate Bird tour, and visiting Codrington, known for its unique and affordable native food. Instead, we enjoyed a long walk along Low Bay’s long luxurious, unbroken shore, where we did indeed see the sands turn pink. As clouds passed, we watched a gorgeous gradation of beautiful blues wash across the clear water.
