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Codrington, the island's capital and only settlement, holds almost the entire
population within its grid of narrow streets. It's a well-spread-out
place, with plenty of brightly painted single-storey clapboard or
concrete buildings. There are a couple of guesthouses, a handful of
restaurants, bars and supermarkets, but, for the most part, people keep
to themselves, and there is little sign of life apart from a few curious
schoolchildren, dogs and the occasional goat. On Sundays the capital
liens up with a cricket match at the Holy Trinity School.
Codrington Lagoon
To the west of town, Codrington Lagoon is an expansive area of
green, brackish water, fringed by mangroves. The lagoon is completely
enclosed on its western side by the narrow but magnificent strip of
Palm Beach, over 13 miles long, but there is a narrow cut to the
north where fishing boats can get out to the ocean.
Lobsters breed in the lagoon and you'll probably see them at the pier
being loaded for export to Antigua - an important contribution to the
local economy. Equally significant - for this is what is starting to
bring in the tourists - a series of mangrove clumps to the northwest of
the lagoon, known as Man of War Island, is the home and breeding
ground for the largest group of frigate birds anywhere in the
Caribbean.
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The
sight as you approach them by boat is quite spectacular - the mothers
will take to the skies as you draw near, joining the multitude of birds
wheeling above you, and leaving their babies standing imperiously on the
nest but watching you closely out of the corner of their eyes. The
display gets even more dramatic during the mating season, from late
August to December, when hundreds of the males put on a grand show -
puffing up their bright-red throat pouches as they soar through the air
just a few yards above the females, watching admiringly from the bushes.
 Antigua
Antigua
Where to go
When to go
Getting there
Money and costs
Getting around
Food and drink
Phones and post
Best of Antigua
Holidays and Festivals
Tours
 diving
& snorkeling
Die operators
 Boats
&
catamarans
Boat operators
Economy, natural hazards
 Antigua brief history
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Caribbean guide
Antigua
travel Guide
Exploring Antigua
Barbuda:
Getting there
Beyond Cordrington
Great Fort George
Falmouth Harbour
river Fort
Cordrington
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Falmouth and English
Harbour
Eating, drinking, nightlife
Falmouth
Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley
Heights,
Pigeon Beach
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From Runaway Bay to Half
Moon Bay
Eating,
drinking, nightlife
Betty's Hope to Long Bay
Half Moon Bay
Runaway & Dickenson
Bay
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St John’s
Getting around
St. John's
St John’s
Getting around
Eating and
drinking
Nightlife, casino, karaoke
Airlines, embassies
Exploring St. John's
Fort Bay
Fort James
Long Street
National Museum
Redcliffe
Quay
St. John's
Cathedral |
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