Do you know what that means? I didn’t until today. It means “sand lover”. Here on Barbuda the alluring thing about the beaches are its pink crystal sand. The pink grains come from mixing of a red algae that grows on the coral reefs with the white mineral deposits. I had to bring home a collection for myself.
Since we had to find a way to get to Codington town anyway to clear Customs, we decided to hire a water-taxi guide to take us to the World’s largest Frigate Bird Sanctuary. The babies were about 3 months old and can’t fly yet. The females lay only one egg per year. The males wing span can be over 6 feet long and the body weight is only a couple of pounds. They eat the fish that are near the surface of the water since they can’t dive/swim due to their long wings.
After the Bird Sanctuary we took a guide to the Indian Caves. As you can see from some of my previous photos, Barbuda is a low island and the top of the caves are its highest point at 125 feet over the Atlantic. You walk into a cave, hike a short distance up through a hole and arrive over looking the ocean side of the Island. The Island is known for the dangerous reefs surrounding it and there are over 200 shipwrecks to prove it. The original owners, the Codrington family actually used the reefs to gain their wealth. Since the island did not have sugar-cane production, they would draw ships to the Island with mis-placed lights hoping to find a ship ready to salvage in the pre-dawn light and sell the copper or gold.
After our tours we stopped at the Port Authority building near the docks and were told we had to walk to customs. It is in someone’s living-room…pretty funny. Then on to Immigration and tomorrow morning we can leave early towards St. Bart’s.
No comments:
Post a Comment