Walking in the Carribean: sun, sea and treks
Sun 27 Jan
Rachel Dixon
The Caribbean is not an obvious hiking destination but one company is trying to change that. Hike Caribbean launched last September to offer “holidays with hikes” to people who don’t want to just laze on a beach all day. It is not a full-on hiking trip: most walks take a maximum of half a day, so there is still plenty of time to relax with a rum punch. And there is no roughing it with a backpack and a tent – the accommodation is luxurious by the standards of most hiking holidays. Our hotel in Antigua, Sugar Ridge, had three pools, two restaurants, a spa and free shuttles to the beach.
Montserrat’s Rendezvous beach. The only white-sand beach on the island, all the others are volcanic black. Photograph: Alistair Homer/Alam
My sister and I started our trip in Antigua, where Hike Caribbean is based. We had a week-long, two-island itinerary; those with more days could fit in three islands.
Our first hike in Antigua sounded idyllic: through the rainforest in the south-west of the island, down to a string of hidden beaches. Unfortunately, the weather was against us: three weeks of freak rain had made the route too treacherous to attempt. Instead, our larger-than-life guide, Vorn, took us up Boggy Peak, aka Mount Obama, one of the aforementioned five peaks. Usually this hike starts from Sugar Ridge, but the rain forced us to reroute and set off by Jeep.
In his stride … Vorn leads a hilltop hike.
Thankfully, the next day the sun came out as we drove to Galleon Beach. From here, we followed a gorgeous coastal trail up to Shirley Heights, a former military lookout. We stopped at the Mermaid Gardens, where the sea has carved out a natural swimming pool – though the usually flat water was raging due to the recent rains, so we couldn’t take a dip. We walked through cacti and clouds of butterflies to the summit, with its views over Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour and far beyond.
Back at the hotel, we stretched out our sore muscles in a sunset yoga class – Hike Caribbean also offers trips combining hiking with yoga, swimming or birdwatching. Sugar Ridge is built into the hillside and the outdoor yoga terrace is right at the top, a stunning setting for a few sun salutations.