News

Searching for Pink Sand in Barbuda

By: Caribbean Journal Staff - January 16, 2016 - 2:57 pm

Thinking pink

By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
CJ Travel Editor

The sun is putting on its most shiny show, and a cool breeze kisses my shoulders.  Wispy clouds skid silently across a turquoise sky, presiding over a stretch of tawny sand that stretches as far as the eye can see. Warm waves rhythmically rush to shore, making a frothy scallop on the sand. It’s the perfect Caribbean beach day.

But I’m disappointed.

It’s my first time setting foot on Barbuda, the 62-square-mile sister island. I’ve arrived on a Windstar Cruise, and most of my fellow passengers have set off for a tour of the Codrington Lagoon, where a marine sanctuary is home to the rare frigate bird.

barbuda

My mission, however, is to see the pink sands for which the island is famous and that I’ve been hearing about for the last 15 years. I long to sink my toes deep into their rosy depths and snap selfies with the pinkish coast as my backdrop. While I don’t have enough time to get to Low Bay (the famously pink 17-mile strand where Lighthouse Bay resort, Barbuda’s best-known hotel, sits) I’m eager to sample the sand at Dulcina Bay, the winsome beach that unfurls from the small  pier where our ship is docked.

But now, strolling the quarter-mile curve along what locals call the river stretch, I can’t help but feel disappointed. The beach, though lovely and studded with thatch-roofed palapas, is definitely not the hue I’d been expecting.

barbuda3

“The pink sand is seasonal,” the young woman from the tourism office tells me when I return to the pier. She explains that the sand is at its pinkest just after groundswells, when the crushed fragments of pink shells are churned up by the sea and deposited on the southern and western coasts. “Trust me, it’s like a pink carpet; you have to see it!” she exclaims.

Registering my disappointment, she reaches down into a bag at her feet. “This is for you,” she says, handing me a small bottle filled with the tiniest and pinkest shells I’ve ever seen. “This is what our sand looks like. And it’s even finer and pinker when it’s fresh,” she assures me. “You have to come back and see it!”

barbuda pink sand

I can’t help but gasp at the bottle in my hand, marveling at the miniscule shells it contains, each as delicate and transparently pink as baby’s fingernails. And I imagine how thrilling it must be to see them blanketing the sand. It really is something I have to see for myself.

Alas, it won’t happen today. But as I turn the bottle over in my palm, I know in an instant that, one day, it will.

Popular Posts antigua long bay

25 Perfect Caribbean Beaches to Add to Your Summer Bucket List

There’s nothing like a Caribbean beach in summer. The crowds thin out, the winds relax, and the islands start breathing in a different way. The beaches you thought you knew feel new again— stretches of sand once packed with winter […]


The 15 Best Hotels in Trinidad and Tobago, From Hidden Eco-Retreats to Luxury Towers

trinidad and tobago hotels where to stay

From Port of Spain to Tobago’s quiet coasts, these are the places to check in now No two Caribbean islands are quite like Trinidad and Tobago—and no two hotels here feel the same. This is a destination of contrast: Carnival […]


This Marriott All-Inclusive Resort Is Coming to Barbados —  And You Can Book It With Points

new brand for the caribbean

Barbados has long been a haven for adults in search of refinement — the kind of place where luxury and culture blend in quiet, confident harmony. Now, that ethos is becoming the foundation of a new resort concept that aims […]


Related Posts jan thiel beach curacao

Why Jan Thiel Beach Might Be the Most Surprisingly Stylish Spot in Curaçao

Let’s say you’re planning a beach escape. You want something easy—sun, sand, maybe a cocktail with a little umbrella in it. But you also want energy. Design. A place where you can swim all day, dress up for dinner, and […]


Marriott’s Smallest Caribbean All-Inclusive Resort Is An Adults-Only Hideaway With an “Art Crawl” and Beach Ambassadors

all-inclusive caribbean marriott smallest

A quiet road breaks away from the more familiar western coast here and winds past village shops, and salt-blown sea grape trees. There are no mega-resorts. No throngs. No day trippers on quick-shore missions. Just you, the island, and a […]


In the British Virgin Islands, Finding Christmas in July

christmas in july

In the British Virgin Islands, the holiday spirit isn’t limited to December. Every summer, the BVI brings a burst of yuletide joy to the Caribbean heat with its annual “Christmas in July” celebration—a one-of-a-kind event that blends festive cheer, music, […]