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ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
Capital | St. Johns
FLAG DESCRIPTION: red, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band; the sun symbolizes the dawn of a new era, black represents the African heritage of most of the population, blue is for hope, and red is for the dynamism of the people; the "V" stands for victory; the successive yellow, blue, and white coloring is also meant to evoke the country's tourist attractions of sun, sea, and sand
Population | 86,754 (July 2010 est.)
Area | 441 SQ KM
Official Language | English
Holidays | Independence Day, 1 November (1981)
Currency | East Caribbean dollars (XCD)
Time Zone | UMT - 4
Best Time to Visit | December to mid-April
Connecting with the Culture | Exploring colonial-era sights, including a working sugar mill at Betty’s Hope and the 18th century Nelson’s Dockyard. Relaxing on the island’s white-sand beaches. Touring the Caribbean’s largest rookery, in Barbuda. Taking the scenic route along Fig Tree Drive. Snorkelling the coral-encrusted wreck of the Andes, lying in the middle of Deep Bay. Visiting Antigua’s first church, St. Paul’s Anglican Church – on of the island’s oldest buildings, dating to 1676.
Read | Jamaica Kincaid’s novel Annie John, which recounts growing up in Antigua
Listen | to steel band, calypso and reggae music
Watch | No Seed, and Antiguan husband and wife team, director Howard Allen and producer Mitzi Allen.
Eat | duckanoo (a dessert made with cornmeal, coconut, spices and brown sugar); sweet black pineapple
Drink | the island’s locally brewed rum Cavalier
In a Word | Fire a grog (drink rum)
Characteristics | Cricket players; rum; endless white-sand beaches; dancing; calypso music; black pineapples
Surprises | Barbuda has less than 2% of the nation’s population, the black pineapple is not black, most of Barbudan’s 1100 people share half a dozen surnames and can trace their lineage to a small group of slaves brought to the island in the late 1600’s
