The Sugar Mill Towers of Antigua
You can't go anywhere in Antigua without spotting at least one of these old round brick structures. In Antigua's years of slavery, the island was home to numerous sugar cane farms and these towers are the remains of the old sugar windmills that were used to grind the juice out of the cane. Apparently there are about a hundred of these dotted throughout the island (in various states of decay), and they stand as a constant reminder to the sad history of the island's people. The sugar mill tower is now recognised as one of Antigua and Barbuda's official symbols.
The towers are all over the place. We've even spotted some in people's backyards, alongside restaurants, and even some in the airport grounds.
We found out that one of the island's mills had been restored to it's original condition with a small visitor centre set up to explain the history and the workings of the mill. So, last Sunday we set out to take a look at this windmill at Betty's Hope Estate. When we arrived, we discovered that it was actually closed on Sundays (grrrrrr!!!!) and the gate was locked so we couldn't go in and check it out. But, nevermind, according to all reports, there actually isn't all that much to see there (with a usual visit lasting about 10 minutes or so!). Given that the national museum is tiny, I suppose you couldn't expect a visitor centre for a windmill to be too huge. At least we were still able to take some photos of the windmill (even if the sails were missing!).
I also took comfort in the fact that we were going to also go and take a look at Harmony Hall which is a hotel/restaurant/cafe/art gallery on the eastern side of the island. Harmony Hall even has a bar built inside the base of one of the old mill towers, with a fantastic lookout at the top out on to NonSuch Bay (yes, I know, strange name for a bay, and Dave, Mack and Kerri could tell you an amusing tale of their quest to find NonSuch Bay they embarked on before my arrival. Without going into too much detail the story involves some shocking roads, some rather heavy going four-wheel-driving, many dead-ends, and a punctured tyre!).
But anyway, back to my story... I had checked out Harmony Hall on their website and it looked like a fantastic place to visit on a Sunday afternoon. We had set out on our adventure just before midday, and by the time we got there (after a couple of other stops I'll tell you about in another blog entry) it was about 3:30 or so - so we were all very much looking forward to a nice meal and a cool drink. You can probably guess where this is all leading... yes, Harmony Hall was also closed!!! Devastating! Oh well, we headed west back to Dickenson Bay and settled on a nice meal at The Beach - which, given it is our favourite place to eat, really ain't bad for a silver lining!
posted by Nelle @ 11:10 am
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