Locals on tiny Antigua — particularly the tourism folks -â are fond of saying that this special place has 365 beaches — one for every day of the year. In fact, by the time you land here, you have heard this fun fact about 365 times.
Having lots of beaches is great, however, being pressed for time, I’d love it if someone could just tell me which is the best one. Best for surfing, swimming, sunbathing, reading, picking up a hunk, taking the kids.
I’ve asked every native I have met, about twenty of them, so far, if they have witnessed / experienced the beauty of enough of these beaches to be able to give me pointers on where to go. And, have any of them been to all of the beaches?
Everyone looks at me like I am crazy and proceeds to answer in the negative. One even told me she is suspicious about the count, due to this one time where she went to a particular beach on the island and was informed that it was actually two beaches, separated by a rock.
So, right there we can assume that perhaps there are really only 364 beaches. Perhaps this whole thing is just a big made-up story. Luckily, I have my journalist’s hat on, and it’s not just to keep out the summer sun. I don’t mind investigating.
Questions I have, as I explore: Who did the counting? Was it certified by PriceWaterhouse? Were there international observers? And just how do Antiguans define a beach?
In twenty-four hours, I have seen six beaches. There was Lover’s, Rendezvous Bay, Jolly and three unnamed smaller gems. They all seemed perfectly lovely to me. I am only here for two more days, perhaps the investigation can be put on hold for a bit.
— Sandra Guzman
