CARIBBEAN ANTIGUA DESTINATIONS W


aist deep in the bath- warm Caribbean Sea,


I’m having a cuddle with Love Sponge. Don’t stop reading – that isn’t a nauseating nickname for my husband and I’m not indulging in an unforgiveable public display of affection. I’m just getting up close and personal with a stingray. A visit to Stingray City is one of Antigua’s most popular attractions, and as I cradle the smooth weight of this friendly southern stingray in my arms, it’s easy to see why. These gentle giants aren’t forced to be here and there are no fences penning them in – they are wild creatures.


The Stingray City team has


spent years establishing a relationship of trust with the rays, and it’s a privilege to watch how comfortable they are around humans. The promise of a slap-up squid meal has its appeal too. I hold out a cuttlefish and within seconds a ray has zoomed over and hoovered it out of my hand – they don’t have teeth, so all you experience is the strong pull of suction from their mouths. Even with a little jostling for food, I never feel anything other than safe. A 10-minute boat ride from


Seaton’s Village in the northeast of the island has brought us to


a floating pontoon on a shallow sandbank.


Scuba masks are on offer so


we can snorkel with the rays, but the water is so calm and shallow that if visitors merely want to watch and hold the rays they barely need to be able to swim, just stand. A photographer is on hand to take professional photos, but the team are happy to step in and snap away if visitors have their own waterproof cameras. After about an hour, we head


back to land and are soon having a complimentary rum punch and comparing our photos. As excursions go, it’s just right – plenty of excitement but no


danger, and even accounting for hotel transfers, it’s doable in half a day, so you can still fit in some serious sunlounging if you want.


w A PERFECT BALANCE Getting things just right seems to be an Antiguan talent – this is an island that would suit Goldilocks. Nothing’s too extreme. Hotels aren’t huge or built cheek by jowl in vast resorts. Yet most properties have enough rooms to offer great choice and facilities, and they tend to be set near villages, so they’re not completely isolated. “The island has a really


comfortable feel,” says travel


1 June 2017 travelweekly.co.uk 49


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