One of the main attractions of Caribbean islands is the beach and, of the Caribbean Islands, Antigua has arguably the best. However, by some sort of impressive lack of fortune, I had managed to not visit a beach in the 5 months I had been here. Thus, I decided to rectify this situation as soon as possible. And yet, the opportunities seemed to slip past, often with a wave and a wink. One of my friends who was taking the Falcon course had just finished his Comp Shelf, and it finally seemed to be the perfect time to go visit a beach (especially since he was the only one with a car). I wanted to go to classes in the morning, so I would be done by early afternoon, allowing time for the lengthy drive to get to Half Moon Bay – one of the most highly acclaimed beaches, and yet one of the most solitary. I decided that, for my first beach, I should go to an excellent one and the chance to include a road trip as well was one I could not pass up. [Note: I am a huge fan of road trips.]
We first went to Devil’s Bridge – known to be a place where, apparently, slave owners used to fling their slaves to their deaths. A terribly sad story, but the place itself was very beautiful. It reminded me a lot of the scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall where Mila Kunis jumps off into the ocean.
After spending half an hour on the edge and getting thoroughly soaked by the surf of the waves crashing on the rocks, we decided to head towards Half Moon Bay. On the walk back to the car, we passed a lagoon-like area, filled with rocks. I decided to try and stand on one of the rocks and have a picture taken of me. However, that proved to be a more difficult task than it seemed. A refraction of light and the slipperiness of the rock itself misled me to the depth of the water. After floundering like a gibbon without the use of its limbs, I finally managed to scramble onto the rock and have the picture taken before I fell off due to the surprising strength of one particular wave.
We then went to Half Moon Bay, but sadly the camera ran out of juice. It took us a while to get there, but we took a wrong turn and ended up at a building none of us could recognize. We beckoned a nearby security guard and she informed us that it was a rehabilitation centre. Instantly, it occurred to me that it would be Crossroads, and that was the case. With a great deal of excitement, I inquired into the presence of Eric Clapton at the facility, only to be regretfully informed that he was not present. Never mind, I thought, since apparently during either Pathology or Behavioural Science (I can’t remember which) we get a chance to go down to the rehab centre. I’m still holding out in the hope that I may get to meet Eric Clapton! It would be an awesome perk of coming to AUA.
Half Moon Bay itself was gorgeous and shaped exactly as named. The bay was enclosed by the beach in a horseshoe shape before it opened out to the sea. And while the first few feet of the ocean was extremely sandy – I call it the SandWall – beyond that the ocean was that gorgeous turquoise blue you only seem to see in movies. It was extremely salty but gorgeously blue. We then played catch with a football for a while, which was fun but difficult when in 8 feet of water.
Finally, tired but satisfied, we headed home. On the way, we again got lost and had to stop for directions several times, once going to the top of a mountain before having to come back down again. We finally managed to get back home, when we showered and then went out for dinner as it was the birthday of two people there and the last day in Antigua for my friend in Falcon. Most importantly, I finally managed to visit a beach!
by Prakash Jayanthi, Class of 2014
