Anguilla was an unknown gem to us, but…..

Did you read the blog two days ago about the visa issue we had in St Martin? Well even though we could have stayed on St Martin we sailed to Anguilla 5 miles away instead. We expected to have visa issues again, but they told Melek the USA visa she had was good enough for them. So Anguilla here we come. Haha

Anguilla is a novity in the Caribbean, because it is low laying island. We chose to rent a car and tour the island and found the few historical things around are few but interesting and the beaches are spectacular. There are 33 of them and we loved each of the 7-8 we visited, but are favorite was a tiny pocket beach surrounded by cliffs called Little Bay. I will tell you all about it and how to get there on Thursday. For a more wide-open tradition beach we like Rendezvous Bay, Cove Bay (where you can go horseback riding), and the two Shoal Bays.

Driving around was fun but frustrating, because there are no names on the streets and the few we did find were not on our map. A couple of the historical highlights we saw were the Wallblake House, old courthouse, and the museum. The Wallblake House is in the capital town called The Valley. It is just north of the circle by the airport and sits next to two churches. This is one of the few original plantation houses still standing. While it was in good shape, it does not appear to be open to the public. The courthouse is a stone ruin from the 1800’s and includes jail cells. To find it take a left at the second circle in town (Coronation Rd) and follow it until it turns left onto Old Courthouse Rd (if you go forward the road is smaller and goes to Crocus Bay). Another highlight was driving through the fishing village of Island Harbour.

As great as Anguilla was there is a small problem for boats. You can stay for free, but only in Road Bay (which is excellent and fun). If you want to visit any of the outlying islands, or other bays around the island, you must get a cruising permit. It cost me $56 PER DAY. I think it was worth it for the day seeing Little Bay, Sandy Island, Prickly Pear Island, and Dog Island, but if you want one for multiple days it adds up really quick!

As I said I will tell you about Little Bay on Thursday and On Sunday I will take you on a tour of the islands. See you then!