I wanted to go to Barbuda the first time I went to Antigua in 2012, but the ferry was broken down and Barbuda wasn’t accessible within the 5 days I was there. Then hurricane Irma screwed things up in 2017 so badly that Barbuda was completely deserted for months. The island was in shambles, everyone had evacuated, and noone was sure if it or when it would get rebuilt.

Two Foot Bay Cave

Now in 2020 people have returned home, rebuilt their 300 roofs that blew away, and some still have the emergency shelter tents provided by the US government… I guess as it works well as a spare room. I finally got to go there on a new ferry that sails from the end of the airport, and booked a day tour to get from A to B and on a boat to the bird sanctuary without a headache.

Frigate Bird Sanctuary

We went to the Frigate bird sanctuary to see the puffy red necks, one guy got shat on, visited a pink beach at the edge of the lagoon and another guy lost his sand-coloured flip-flops. We went to some old caves and Two Foot Bay, had lobster lunch on the beach, and ended our day at Princess Diana beach, also slightly pink, beside an ocean so blue no picture could do it justice.

the perfect beaches were endless in Barbuda

Im glad I made it to Barbuda, but Im happier that everyone else that calls its a home made it back first. Its also great they’ve opened their lives to tourism again, slowly building up with the return of ferries and flights. I hope the wild donkeys and dirt roads never change, but that everyone gets to finish rebuilding their homes. I’ll certainly come back, for the peace and quiet, and wouldn’t mind keeping those beaches to myself next time either.