First Baptist Church, San Andres

The Baptist church at La Loma, on the ridge running down the spine of San Andres, dates from the middle of the nineteenth century and was the first of its kind in the country. It was built of pine shipped in from North America, painted white, with a square tower and a plain wooden interior of pews and galleries. The congregation is Raizal, the islanders whose first language is an English-based creole, and services are held and sung in English and creole rather than Spanish. It is an ordinary working parish church, and the reason to come is Sunday morning, when the singing carries down the hill.

What you actually see

• The pine interior - plain wooden pews, galleries and painted boards.
• The tower - the square white tower on the ridge, visible across much of the island.
• Sunday singing - hymns sung in English and island creole.
• The ridge setting - views over the island from the churchyard.

When to go

Sunday morning is the point, when the church is full and singing. Visitors are welcome, but this is a service rather than a performance, so dress and behave accordingly and sit at the back. Outside service times the building is often locked and you may need to ask at the house alongside. December to April is the drier part of the island's year.

Honest expectations

It is a small parish church, and anyone expecting a monument will be done in ten minutes. It is shut for much of the week. La Loma is inland, so you need a taxi, a bus or a scooter to get there and back. Photographing a congregation at worship is intrusive, and asking first matters considerably more here than the picture does.

Nearby

San Andres town and the west coast road are 15 minutes down the hill.