Sailing Jajabor

“She gone fa see him an him galfriend deh yah, so she vex an dem start a scrap“

I listened fascinated from the seat behind him, although I could not make much sense of the words.  We were in Bus number 22 in Antigua, willingly headed the wrong way up the coast from Jolly Harbour.  The bus would eventually turn around and we would be headed in our intended direction for the day.  The bus was really a large van that could seat up to 12 passengers comfortably and about 20 with a lot less comfort.

The man talking was sitting next to the Bus driver. He had been talking non-stop since we got into the bus headed in the opposite direction.  From what I could tell, the one-sided conversation with the bus driver was about his girlfriend and some other man.  Having not much else to entertain me on this long ride, I listened intently trying to fish out a tale from the string of words spilling from his mouth laced with plenty of F** bombs.  The bus stopped to pick up some passengers, and the man stopped his tirade to greet each one with a polite “Good day”  before taking off on his rant.

Sitting at the back of the bus was a man named “Gangsta”  I know this because several of the passengers greeted him with “Ow yuh deh Gangsta”. I  looked covertly in his direction trying to discern if the small short regular looking guy could be a member of some street gang. He caught me looking in his direction and I looked away quickly.

The bus careened down the winding narrow road towards West Bus Station Terminal, swerving and passing cars on blind turns.  It stopped at regular intervals to let people out and pick up more passengers before continuing on its north ward travel. Once it stopped suddenly reversed at break neck speed to an intersection it had just passed,  and waited while a young woman sauntered towards us from the side road.  Her polite “Good Morning” was reciprocated with a murmuring of “Good Morning” from the various seated passengers. She said something coyly to the bus driver who grinned back.

It was warm in the bus, but a nice breeze from the open windows kept things comfortable. Looking out, I could see people going about their lives, chickens and goats running freely, well tended island homes, and some run down ones, glimpses of the ocean, rolling hills, mango trees heavily laden with green mangoes -all adding to the island landscape.

A song burst out from someone’s cell phone  “I need ah stress reliever Two drinks in meh hand and ah gyal in d middle” but was quickly squelched when the offender received annoyed looks from all around. There was a small grumble from an older man who appeared to be wearing a chef outfit – possibly a local restaurant worker.

Once more the bus stopped and this time the man next to the bus driver, who had been talking incessantly the whole time, was asked to get out by a large older woman, who claimed the seat for her own. He boarded the back of the bus and was mercifully quiet staring out of the window.

We reached our transfer point at West Bus Station Terminal and found our way to Bus No 17 which would take us to English Harbour and Nelson Boat Yard.  Bus No 17 was a real bus with A/C and was only half full.  It would leave only after all the seats filled up.  I knew this from reading a guide on social media. About 20 minutes later when all the seats were taken, the bus left the station.  The only conversations were in low muted tones.  The bus stopped to pick and drop off passengers and we joined the locals in wishing a “Good Morning” to each passenger. Passengers requested a stop with a loud “Bus stop”. If the bus driver didn’t hear the request, it would be followed by a “Yo driva! Bus stop” The bus traveled at a safe comfortable speed and we soon reached our destination. We were the last stop as we reached Nelson’s Boat Yard, our destination for the day. I didn’t get a chance to say “Bus Stop“

(T) Fort Berkeley protecting the entrance to Nelson Dock Yard
(B) Outside the sentry station

Shirley Heights is a restored military lookout and gun battery now repurposed to include a restaurant and bar. Their Sunday and Thursday parties with live music are a big tourist draw

View of English harbor from Shirley Heights at sunset.