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Country Cottage: Charm, Peace & Quiet on Anguilla

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Posted by Patty on Tuesday August 3, 2010, 11:13 pm

During my most recent trip to Anguilla, I had the pleasure of staying at a charming little guest house/apartment in Welches named “Country Cottage”.  It’s located in a wonderfully quiet and peaceful spot on the northeastern part of the island and is a very short drive (4 minutes) away from stunning Shoal Bay East.  (Apparently, there is also a path that strong hikers can take to walk to SBE in about 20 minutes from the Cottage, but I didn’t try that, myself, on this trip.)

The apartment-style unit is located on the second floor of a building that is on the same property as the owners’ home.  While the Country Cottage is not located right on the beach, it does have a nice view of the sea and an amazingly refreshing breeze that flows through the whole second story.

Country Cottage: View from outside

Country Cottage: View from outside

Country Cottage is owned and run by the very friendly Bonnie and Isaiah Fleming who, while being a pretty laid-back couple, would clearly stop at nothing to make sure that your stay with them is an enjoyable one. It’s easy to see that they’re proud of their cottage, and in my opinion, they definitely should be because the work they’ve put into making it a stylish, comfortable, clean and an extremely well-stocked place to stay is more than evident.

The unit has one bedroom with a small terrace, a nicely sized bathroom with a shower (no tub), a well-equipped kitchen, a nicely sized front terrace, a dining area and a great living area with an L-shaped couch that can serve as two twin-sized beds.

Country Cottage: Bedroom

Country Cottage: Bedroom

The bedroom is equipped with an air-conditioning unit, a ceiling fan as well as a standing fan.  During my stay, however, I simply opened all of the bedroom windows to allow the outside breeze to flow through and that kept me perfectly cool.

Country Cottage: Kitchen & Dining Area

Country Cottage: Kitchen & Dining Area

The kitchen was just about as well equipped as I could ever expect with a refrigerator, freezer, stove, oven, microwave, toaster oven, coffee machine, blender and all the cooking and dining equipment you might need.  Before my arrival, the refrigerator had even been stocked with some much-appreciated cold drinks.

Country Cottage: Stylish couch

Country Cottage: Stylish couch

The living area (which also has a ceiling fan) is bright and cheery and is a very comfortable place to relax and/or take a nap. All windows in the unit are screened in, which helps to keep pesky insects out.  The Flemings also provide a TV, DVD player, radio, wireless internet access (obviously available throughout the unit), as well as a nice selection of books and board games in this area.

Who could ask for anything more, really? Maybe some coolers and beach chairs to take to the beach? Oh yeah, they provide those too.  You can even rent a prepaid cell phone during your stay at the Country Cottage (you will have to go buy your own minutes or “top up” on your own though) for as little as $2 a day (rate current as of June 2010).

Country Cottage is perfect for those who:

  • don’t mind staying slightly off the beaten path (it’s just a few turns off of the main road just northeast of the Shoal Bay roundabout)
  • are looking for budget-conscious options on an island where lodging costs can get very high (Country Cottage rates during the time of my stay – June 2010 – were about US $125 per night with specials available for longer stays.)
  • need a well-equipped place to stay for a longer term than a standard vacation
  • would like to support local businesses during their stay on Anguilla

If you’re interested in finding out more about the Country Cottage, including current rates and availability, please contact

Isaiah and Bonnie Fleming

bonniefleming@hotmail.com

264-235-8112 or 264-235-6728.

They don’t have a website yet, but I’m told that it’s in the works! I’ll keep you posted here if I get more information on it.

I very much enjoyed my stay at the Country Cottage and I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to send any of my friends there.  I can’t say that for all the places I’ve stayed on Anguilla, including some places that cost twice as much (or more!) as this well-kept secret location.  Due to the Flemings’ great attention to detail, I had everything that I could possibly have needed during my stay. I don’t doubt that, if there had been something else I wanted, the Flemings would have helped me to get it.  I highly recommend that you stay at the Country Cottage if you get a chance!

I’ve included more photos of the Country Cottage in the slideshow below. (If an automatic slideshow doesn’t cycle below, make sure that you have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player installed.)   Use your mouse to hover over the photos to see the descriptions and, if you like, click the square icon in the bottom right corner to view the photos in a larger full-screen view (and press ESC to return to normal view). Enjoy!

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Back to Anguilla: Return. Rejoice! Relax. Re-center.

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Posted by Patty on Wednesday June 16, 2010, 11:47 am

Rendezvous Bay June 2010

Rendezvous Bay June 2010

Well, I made it back to Anguilla! I had a pretty smooth travel day yesterday and was so excited to arrive back on my favorite island once again. Ahhh, island bliss…

You may or may not have noticed that I’ve been neglecting this blog a bit in the past few months. That’s been mostly because life at home has been pretty busy and there have been just too many distractions keeping me away. Apologies to those of you who were hoping for more posts recently, but “real life” has a frustrating way of making me cast aside things that I truly care about for things that “just have to get done”.

Luckily, though, I’ve had this trip back to AXA planned for several months, so I’ve been looking forward to it for quite a while.  This vacation comes at a time when I’m in desperate need of rest and relaxation just as we could use from time to time. I’m fortunate enough to have a pretty good life at home, but as I mentioned before, my priorities tend to get a bit jumbled in the madness that is my everyday life.

So, I’m kind of looking at this Anguilla vacation as a time for me to relax and refocus myself a bit. The openness, kindness, and easygoing nature of Anguillians always inspires me to appreciate and find happiness in the most basic things in life. I hope to not only carry this energy and attitude back home again this time, but also to do a better job at not losing sight of what I always learn with every return visit to Anguilla: that simple things in life are truly the most valuable.

I hope to be tweeting throughout most of my trip, so feel free to follow me at http://www.twitter.com/cariborbust.

More updates coming soon! I promise! :)

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Jamaican Singer Connie Campbell is In Need of Help

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Posted by Patty on Monday April 19, 2010, 10:12 pm

Connie Campbell

Last night, I went to an amazing  concert featuring Jamaican reggae artists Tarrus Riley, Duane Stephenson, Dean Frasier, Shaggy, Cocoa Tea and The Blak Soil Band.  The show was held at Crossroads Nightclub in Bladensburg, MD and it was a packed house!

Despite the concert being named “The Connie Campbell Foundation Concert”, I have to admit that I really didn’t know what the purpose of the show was up until about a couple hours before the show.  So after getting more information both online and at the concert, I thought I’d pass on the information that I learned about Ms. Connie Campbell and the reason a benefit concert was held in her honor.

Last summer, in August of 2009, Tarrus Riley, Dean Fraser and Duane Stephenson were preparing to go on stage at Crossroads Nightclub in Bladensburg, MD (the same venue as last night’s show) when one of their backup singers, Connie Campbell suffered a seizure backstage.  She seemed to recover quickly, but she was sent to the hospital to get checked out anyway while the concert went on without her.  When the show was over, some of her tour companions went to go pick her up but instead of finding her on the road to recovery, they found that her condition had gotten much worse.

Instead of trying to put everything into my own words, I think it’s best if I simply copy the description of what happened and what has resulted from her Facebook Group’s page “Help Connie Campbell get therapy” below:

Connie suffered a “Brainstem Stroke” and now has “locked in syndrome“. The prognosis is guarded due to quadriplegia from brainstem cva. Favourable factors are her young age, good family and friends support and possible ability to comprehend and follow directions for rehabilitation.

She is NOT in a coma and is able to open her eyes when her name is called and many times is able to follow commands to move her eyes in tracking objects as directed by physician.

She will need extensive and prolonged therapy over 6-9 months. Therapy has not yet been started.

Because doctors believe that her current care requirements are best provided where she is, Ms. Campbell remains in a Maryland hospital.  This is very unfortunate because being so far away from her home in Jamaica limits the ability of her family (including her young daughter) and friends to visit and provide her with the support she needs.

As you can imagine, Ms. Campbell’s medical bills have gotten to be pretty high and continue to grow.  So, in order to raise funds to help pay for these and future medical costs, a group of her musician friends put on the benefit concert last night.

If you are interested in making a donation to help Connie, you can find details on how to do so on the Facebook Group page “Help Connie Campbell get therapy” that has been set up for her.  I’m sure that any amount, large or small, will be helpful.

Whether or not you’re able to help financially, please try and keep Ms. Campbell in your thoughts and prayers.  I hope that she can begin to recover very soon and that she is able to receive the therapy that she needs so that she can return to Jamaica to be with her family and friends.

Related articles:

Help Connie Campbell get therapy

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Rule of Travel #1: Respect Locals and the Way They Live

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Posted by Patty on Tuesday April 13, 2010, 11:03 pm

Whenever we travel away from home, it’s likely that we’re going to encounter people who live, think and act differently than we do. This applies not only to when we visit foreign countries, but could also be the case when we travel a just a few towns away. Recognizing that fact, it seems to automatically follow that travelers should know to keep an open mind about how other societies operate and, most importantly, to respect the people whose home we’re visiting.

I can’t tell you how frustrating it is for me to hear travelers complain about things like how they weren’t greeted “properly” at a restaurant, how their beach towel wasn’t placed just right on a specific beach chair for them, and how a local company didn’t conduct business in a manner that met their (the visitor’s) expectations. One person’s way of thinking is not everyone’s way of thinking, so we have no right to expect others to conform to what we feel is right.

For instance, in Anguilla and much of the Caribbean, the concept of “island time” is widespread. Things just don’t happen as quickly as they might in the States or other more fast-paced places. A lot of things simply don’t happen “on time” or according to a very accurate schedule. This is often true of business dealings as well as more personal interactions. If you go to a place where “island time” is the norm, and you expect things to happen quickly, you’re only going to frustrate yourself.  Your best bet  is to relax and let things happen when they happen.  This is simply the way things go in certain places, and as visitors, we have no right to expect otherwise from locals who have a different idea of what is normal.

We should also take into consideration that the way we act may be seen as impolite too, even if we don’t intend to offend anyone. As I mentioned in a previous post, in Anguilla, it is customary to greet people with a “good morning”, “good day”, or “good night” before jumping into conversation with locals.  Even saying “Hi” isn’t always seen as a sufficient greeting before asking directions, asking for help in a store or ordering food at even the most casual restaurant.   Luckily, a lot of (but not all) locals in places like Anguilla are considerate enough to recognize that visitors are not always aware of local customs and will forgive you for not abiding by them (a courtesy that we should extend to them as well). But they always appreciate it when visitors take the time to observe and learn the way they do things and when visitors respect their way of life.

It’s also important that visitors treat the people who work in the service industry (hotels, restaurants, transportation etc.) with a lot of respect.   It can’t be an easy job to cater to the whims of the most demanding customers, but they are often required to do so with a smile.  One could argue that they could always find a different job if they don’t like it, but especially on small islands where tourism pretty much IS the local economy, that isn’t always as easy as it sounds.  They can’t read your mind, and if  you throw a hissy-fit about how something wasn’t done exactly to your liking, it really reflects more poorly on you than anyone else.  You may think that because you pay “good money” for service, that everything should happen “perfectly”, but no amount of money gives you the right to disrespect another human being.

Please, when you travel, do your best to keep an open mind. Not only will your vacation be more pleasurable and relaxing, but being accepted by locals as a respectful visitor can open up more amazing opportunities for you that you never knew you were missing.

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Do you believe in signs?

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Posted by Patty on Sunday March 7, 2010, 10:19 pm

I’m aware that the name of this blog is “Island Obsessions”. I am also aware of the fact that the only island I’ve written anything of substance about, so far, is Anguilla.  Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love Anguilla, but I’ve always intended to visit other islands to experience them as well.

So, in an attempt to explore someplace new,  I’ve been trying to book a trip to the Out Islands of the Bahamas for a little over a month now, but I have been spectacularly unsuccessful. I initially wanted to go at the end of February, but the day that that finally decided to book my flight, air fares went up several hundred dollars over just the day before, blowing the budget that I had planned for that short trip.  I chalked that up to having just waited too long and decided to keep an eye on fares for a while to see if they would go down. They didn’t.

I finally decided that I wanted to go badly enough that I was willing to pay the higher fares.  Plus, I had found the perfect time at the end of April where my schedule was open enough for me to travel.  (Yes, I know I would probably have better luck if I planned trips a bit more in advance, but unfortunately, that isn’t always possible for me.) So, I went online again to book a flight.

I did a search on Travelocity, and at least 10 different American Airlines flights appeared from the DC area to and from my intended Bahamian destination, the best including only one stop in Miami both ways.  Perfect! I chose the most convenient departing and return flights, and clicked the button at the bottom of the page to continue the process of purchasing the tickets. However, I was then presented with a message on the following page saying that these flights were  “no longer available”.  Hmm. Interesting.  I tried the search again and the same flight options appeared.  Why would they be showing me flights if they weren’t actually available?  Was it just a glitch in the system? I selected the same flights again and upon clicking the “Continue” button, I was once again informed that these flights were no longer available. I went back and chose different flights. Same result.  I tried the search on Expedia. Similar results: I could choose the flights but I couldn’t actually purchase the tickets.

So I decided to go to the American Airlines website to try the search there.  The same flights showed up but no matter what combination of departing and return options I chose, I got a “This feature is not available now.” message when trying to go forward and purchase the tickets.

Perplexed,  I called American Airlines customer support to see if they could help me figure out what the problem was.  I gave the customer service representative the exact parameters that I used and she executed the same search on her computer.  When her search completed,  she said “I’m not showing any return flights from that location for those dates.”.  Whaaat?  I saw them right there on my screen! What was she talking about?  I started over at AA.com’s home page and repeated the search again… and she was right.  All of the return flights were suddenly gone!  She then put me on hold to go “check with the international desk”, and while she was away, I did the search one more time and this time, the departing flights had disappeared too!

I was completely bewildered.  I understand that flights are cancelled all the time, but it was still unbelievable for it to happen kind of real-time in front of my eyes for 20 flight options to/from my specific destination and, as I found out when the AA rep came back on the line, this was a problem only for my selected dates of travel! She told me that AA had likely cancelled those flights due to the fact that they didn’t look like they’d be “profitable” and that flights were available should I decide to travel one week before or after the dates I had initially selected! The flights hadn’t just sold out either (All 20 of them… at the same time…). As far as she could see, the flights did not exist.

What are the odds of all of this happening?  I guess it’s possible that the changes had been made a while before but just hadn’t filtered all the way through to Travelocty or Expedia yet.  But what about the changes appearing on AA’s website at exactly the same time I was trying to buy the tickets?  I accepted that that was still possible even if it was extremely unlikely. (In case you’re wondering, the flights are nowhere to be found now on any of the sites, so it doesn’t seem to have been a temporary computer problem. And for you fellow geeks out there – my cache clears every time I close my browser, so I was not looking at old search results.)

After I hung up with the American Airlines rep (who was very kind during our entire conversation, by the way) I tried searches to neighboring airports and islands which would have required me taking 4+ hour ferry rides or something similarly inconvenient.  With those, I got as far as entering my credit card number (three times!) before being told that my request could not be processed at that time.  (I bet you’re not even believing that all of this could possibly have happened, are you? I promise you that it did…and it was aggravating.) There were other convoluted itineraries that would have gotten me to my destination, but they all required things like three stops in both directions or paying over $600 for the round-trip airfare. No thanks.

So what would you take away from this kind of experience? That this trip just wasn’t meant to be?  Eventually, that’s the conclusion that I came to, but I still didn’t understand why. Defeated, I gave up and shook my fist at the sky asking why, why, whyyyyyyyyy was this happening?

You might understand why I was disappointed and a little depressed after all of this, and in that state I decided that it would just be best for me to shut down the computer and go to sleep. Just after a quick check of my e-mail of course…

After I logged into my email account, I found that, within the last 15 minutes, I had received an e-mail from a super-fabulous woman that I met during my last visit to Anguilla. She lives there with her family and was kind and generous enough to invite me to hang out with them a couple of times on my last trip.  In her email, she provided me with some information that I had asked her for a little while ago, but the truly magic words came at the very end of the message:  She and her family would be traveling soon, and if I happened to be in Anguilla at that time, she  was inviting me to stay at her house while they were away!!!

Unbelievable, right? As far as I’m concerned, my question as to why I had encountered all of those unlikely problems booking my Bahamas trip had been unequivocally answered.  If I had succeeded in booking that other trip, I most likely wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of this generous offer. So this was my answer. This was why.

In an instant, what I had seen as unbelievable bad luck had transformed into the most fortunate series of completely unlikely events. I’m just not supposed to go anywhere else yet and maybe another trip to Anguilla is just more meant-to-be right now.  Is there any other conclusion that can be taken from all of this? In my mind, no.

Now the plans for this next Anguilla trip aren’t 100% solidified yet, but I don’t really see any way for me to turn this offer down, do you?  If all works out well, I’d like to buy my plane ticket within the next week.  Please keep your fingers crossed that planning for this trip goes better than my last attempt.

So, it looks like another trip to AXA within the next few months is officially in the works! (I feel so lucky!)  Stay tuned for updates.

Well, I hope that you can forgive me for not getting to any other islands just yet.  I am absolutely not complaining about getting to go to Anguilla again, but at this rate, I may have to change the name of this site to “Anguilla Obsessions”!

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Island Vocabulary Lesson #1: Anguilla

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Posted by Patty on Wednesday January 27, 2010, 3:47 pm

It isn’t difficult to fall in love with island accents, especially if you’ve naturally begun to associate them with that mesmerizing bliss that takes over when you’re in a Caribbean paradise. (A word of advice though: Don’t get so obsessed that you borderline stalk a guy in the grocery store because you hear him talking on his cell in a lovely island accent like somebody I know. Ahem.)

Although English is the primary language spoken in Anguilla, I have to admit that there have been times there where I felt like I couldn’t understand a word of what was being said around me. (And no, it wasn’t because of the rum punches. Well ok, not most of the time.)  It wasn’t so much the Anguillian accent that gave me trouble, but that combined with fast-talkers and some unfamiliar words and phrases did sometimes put me in a state of confusion.

Thankfully, most of the locals that I’ve interacted with have been very patient with me and, when I needed it, have kindly repeated themselves or helped me to understand without the slightest hint of annoyance.

I did recognize that there were times where I was better off not interrupting, though, like during an intense political conversation  (Anguilla elections are coming up in mid February 2010, so people are talking politics pretty much everywhere on the island these days.) or during equally as heated post-boat-race-analysis discussions (boat racing is the national sport of Anguilla).  In situations like these where I had very little to contribute because of my lack of specific knowledge on the subject matter, I was happy to sit quietly on the sidelines and  just observe.

It can be a lot of fun to watch these often animated conversations because there always seems to be at least one jokester in the group who will pipe up and say something random like “When I’m Chief Minister of this island, everyone will be required to wear g-strings and thongs!” to break up the tension (Yes, I actually heard that once.).  Ehrm… or maybe that’s just the bunch of clowns that I hang out with.  Ahem again.

Anyway, once you’ve gotten a chance to chat with some locals or listen to them speak, you might hear some unfamiliar words and expressions being used. I’ve included a few examples that I’ve heard in Anguilla below. I’m sure these words/phrases are not used only on this one island, and they may very well be widely used even outside the Caribbean, but they definitely aren’t common in the east-coast English that I’m used to, so they were new to me! (Please feel free to correct me if I’ve gotten anything wrong!)

  • “Good morning”, “Good day”, and  “Good night” – These terms are all common island greetings (Yes, even “good night” is a way to say hello.) and they are all commonly used by locals at different times of the day. Amongst friends, you might find it more comfortable using more relaxed greetings like “Hey” or “What’s going on?” (which might you might sometimes hear shortened to something like “Whagwaan?”), but with others it is considered to be more polite and respectful to use one of the above three greetings.
  • “Lime” – I know this word is used throughout the Caribbean as a verb meaning to hang out and take it easy.  You might hear it used as in “I’m just limin’.” or “I’m goin’ out limin’ tonight.” From what I’ve been told, the term originated from times when people used to sit and relax in the shade underneath lime trees.
  • “Reach” – I’ve found that “reach” is sometimes used the same way I would use the word “arrive”.  So a friend might say something like  “Give me a call when you reach.”.
  • “Carry” – When someone asks you to “carry” them somewhere, they’re asking for you to drive them there.  I was once warned, by locals, to be careful about asking for “a ride” in Anguilla because it might be taken the wrong way (especially when said by a woman), but I have commonly heard locals asking to “get a ride”, so I’m not completely sure on this one.  I guess I avoid asking for “rides” just to be safe.
  • “Take-away” – This just means “take-out” or “carry-out”" as in ordering food to-go from a restaurant.  So, you might walk into a restaurant and place a take-away order.
  • “Partner” – This term is used commonly among guys (and maybe among women too, but I didn’t hear that usage myself) to indicate someone who is a buddy or good friend.  In Anguilla, though, it does not carry the same connotation of a homosexual relationship as it might if used in the states.
  • “By me” – At first, when someone said to me “You should come have lunch by me this weekend”, I assumed that she just meant that we’d eat at a restaurant close to where she lived.  What she actually meant was that she was inviting me to her house for a meal.  So when someone says something about coming “by you”, it means they’re talking about showing up at your place.
  • “Liar” – This one is not so much unfamiliar as it is something that I misunderstood more than once.  In two separate instances (on two different trips – so maybe the amount of time was why I forgot?) I was asked by locals “Are you a liar?”.  Both times, my immediate reaction was to get flustered and offended and say “I’m not a liar!” and frantically wonder what could possibly have given them that idea!  Both times my companions laughed at my misunderstanding and repeated themselves more slowly so that I understood what they were really asking: “Are you a lawyer?” (I’m not, but maybe I look like one?)  So, the island accent got me on this one.  I know that the “lawyers are liars” joke has been around forever, but the double meaning was definitely unintended on the part of my Anguillian friends.

I’m sure there is much more to learn on my future trips but for now I’m just concentrating on remembering that “lawyer” thing so I don’t embarrass myself again!

What are some local expressions that you’ve learned on your island visits? Feel free to let me know in the comments section!

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Please Help Earthquake Victims in Haiti

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Posted by Patty on Wednesday January 13, 2010, 5:10 pm

As you have no doubt heard by now, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck just outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti yesterday.  The resulting loss of life, injuries, and destruction are beyond  devastating.  If you are able, please do what you can to help the people of Haiti as they are desperately in need of aid.

If you need a suggestion as to which charity to choose, I would recommend both Save The Children and Doctors Without Borders (click the logos below to go directly to donation pages), otherwise, please visit CNN’s “Impact Your World” Page to find other ways to help.

Donate to Save The Children

Donate to Doctors Without Borders

In any case, please keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts.

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A Trip to Little Bay, Anguilla

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Posted by Patty on Sunday January 10, 2010, 1:03 pm

If you’re taking a trip to Anguilla, you should definitely make sure that a visit to Little Bay is on your list of things to do!  This not-so-secret (not anymore, at least) location is located in the middle of the northern coast of the island, just northeast of Crocus Bay.  As its name implies, Little Bay is a tiny beach and it’s known for being wonderfully secluded, for having beautiful views and for being a great snorkeling spot.

There are pretty much two different ways of getting to Little Bay: by boat or by rope.  And when I say “rope”, I don’t mean a “rope ladder”.  I mean just a rope. Down, what I would call, a mostly vertical cliff.  Apparently, there are spots along this vertical wall where you can stop and stand, and maybe even walk yourself down some of the way, but there is also likely to be some rappelling involved – just without all the saftey gear of formal mountain climbing. I don’t know exactly how high this cliff is, but here’s a picture of a brave guy, who is over 6 feet (~183cm) tall, climbing down the rope, so you do the math:

Brave soul climbing down the rope to Little Bay, Anguilla

Brave soul climbing down the rope to Little Bay, Anguilla

So, if you’re the adventurous type, the rope option is there for you.  Note that if you go down the rope to get to Little Bay, you will most likely also have to go back UP the rope when you’re ready to leave. That’s really the only choice unless you’re able to flag down a boat that happens to pass by (you shouldn’t count on that happening) or you have a cell phone to call someone who can figure out a way to send a boat out for you.  You have been warned. (Yes, I know I’m making the rope seem all scary-like, but just know that your mother would appreciate me telling you what you’re getting into.)

To get to the top of the cliff to Little Bay, you should either take a taxi or, if you’re driving yourself around the island, ask someone at your hotel for directions on how to get there.  I’ve been told that the driving route to the top of the cliff over Little Bay has changed recently, due to the closing of some roads, so it can be confusing at some points.  Just be sure to get directions before you go and you should be able to figure it out. (It’s really kind of difficult to get lost on Anguilla, so don’t worry too much.)

Now, it has already been well established in this blog that I am, how do you say… a big fat chicken.  So it should come as no surprise to anyone that I decided to take the relatively wimpy method of getting to Little Bay: by boat.  If you ask someone on Anguilla how to catch a boat to Little Bay, they’ll likely tell you to “Go find Calvin under the tree at Crocus Bay.” and that’s really all the information that you need to know.  When you get to Crocus Bay (where the DaVida Restaurant and its Beach Bar are located), there really can’t be any confusion as to which tree you’re looking for. It’s huge and it’s beautiful, and you’ll find that seats have been set up underneath to make it a nice spot for relaxing in the shade:

The tree at Crocus Bay, under which you should find Calvin.

"The tree" at Crocus Bay

I’m not sure if Calvin is there for a certain set of hours on certain days, but we got to Crocus Bay just before 9:00 am on a Tuesday in December, and Calvin showed up shortly afterwards.  You may want to find out ahead of time if your hotel concierge or office staff can find you more precise information, but if you’re already operating on laid-back island time (which I highly recommend, in general), you can always just sit around, relax and wait for him to show up. You can also try and ask someone who’s hanging out around Crocus Bay to see if they know how to contact him.

So when Calvin arrived, we waited for him to get out to his boat and bring it back to shore to get us:

Calvin coming to shore to get us at Crocus Bay

Calvin coming to shore to get us at Crocus Bay

The boat ride to Little Bay from Crocus Bay is not very long – somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes, one-way.  Round-trip, it cost us US $25 for two people (this was in December 2009, so ask for a price before you go out so you’re aware of current rates).

Calvin is a polite and friendly gentleman who, I can tell, goes out of his way to make his customers happy. I saw him bring one group of people to Little Bay and since he saw that they didn’t have any snorkeling gear, he went back to Crocus Bay, found some masks and brought the equipment back to Little Bay so the visitors could have the best experience possible.  It was clear that, by the way the group seemed surprised and thankful, they didn’t ask Calvin to do this for them – he just took it upon himself to do it.  This kind of go-out-of-your-way-to-help-others attitude is very common in Anguilla and it is probably the biggest reason I fell in love with the island and the people who live there. *swoon*

Calvin did mention that he won’t take people out to Little Bay if the water is too rough and/or if it isn’t clear enough to see anything when snorkeling.  He just doesn’t want people to waste their  money if they aren’t going to have a good experience, and he’s up-front and honest about it when the situation isn’t optimal.

Although our interaction with him didn’t last for very long, Calvin came across as just a pleasant sort of guy. He even let me take a photo of him on our ride out:

Calvin taking us out to Little Bay

Calvin taking us out to Little Bay

On the ride to Little Bay, you won’t be able to help but look at the gorgeous scenery that surrounds you.  I snapped a few pictures, but just know that photos can’t capture the sheer beauty of the environment:

On the way to Little Bay

On the way to Little Bay

On the way to Little Bay

On the way to Little Bay

And when you finally arrive at Little Bay, you’ll see that it lives up to its reputation: it’s small, serene and beautiful:

View of Little Bay from the water

View of Little Bay from the water

When he drops you off, Calvin will ask you what time he should come back to get you.  He said that he prefers to have a pick-up time set because he doesn’t want to worry about missing a cell phone call and leaving you feeling stranded.  Then he’ll leave you in this peaceful and stunningly beautiful place for you to relax and enjoy yourselves.

As previously mentioned, Little Bay is known to be one of Anguilla’s best snorkeling spots, so don’t forget your masks and fins.  (There are places on island where you can rent gear, so I would recommend doing that to be sure you’ll have it – Calvin may not necessarily be able to find what you exactly need when you need it.)

If you don’t snorkel, you can just swim or sit back and enjoy the view:

View from Little Bay

View from Little Bay

I should say that, depending on the time of day (and maybe the time of year), you may or may not find shade at Little Bay.  On this December 2009 visit, we arrived at Little Bay around 9:00 am and we left at around 11:00 am.  We pretty much had comfortable shade on the beach the entire time and the water temperature was pleasant for swimming.  As we were leaving, though, the sun began to shine down on us and it was starting to get downright hot.  In that case, unless you bring an umbrella, there is no place to go to get out of the sun.  There are also no restroom or food facilities at Little Bay, so plan ahead of time and feel free to bring a cooler with drinks and snacks. (Just be sure to take all of your trash with you when you leave.)

Another warning: Since Little Bay is so small, it can get kind of crowded if a large group shows up.  On our two-hour visit, we were lucky enough to be the only two people there for most of that time. However, a larger group arrived about 20 minutes before we were scheduled to leave and this was the scene:

Little Bay can get crowded

Little Bay can get crowded

Calvin showed up right on time to pick us up and take us back to Crocus Bay:

Calvin returning to pick us up from Little Bay

Calvin returning to pick us up from Little Bay

I very much enjoyed my trip to Little Bay, and though it takes a bit of extra effort (and bravery if you choose to access it by rope) to get there, it’s definitely worth it!  Unless you’re lucky enough to live near a unique spot like this (Lucky you! Can I come visit?), it’s not something you should pass up if you’re visiting Anguilla.  When you’re there, be sure to take the time to step back and enjoy the moment and enjoy your surroundings while you’re there.  Too many times we forget to stop, take in everything that’s around us, and truly appreciate where we are and what we’re experiencing.  That’s not something you want to do at Little Bay, Anguilla.  Trust me.

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Why Anguilla is Nicknamed “Rainbow City”

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Posted by Patty on Monday December 28, 2009, 9:40 pm

When it rains in Anguilla, most of the time the showers last less than ten minutes and then the clouds roll away quickly to make way for the sun to shine again.  As you might imagine, that kind of weather pattern provides prime conditions for the formation of rainbows.  During my last trip to Anguilla, I saw at least five different rainbows within ten days and I saw for myself why the island is nicknamed “Rainbow City”.

Below, I’ve included three of my favorite rainbow photos from my recent visit, including my absolute favorite – the one that I saw over Meads Bay.  These rainbows don’t tend to last very long, so I consider myself lucky to have caught them on [digital] “film”. (Click any photo to enlarge.)

Rainbow over Blowing Point, Anguilla

Rainbow over Blowing Point, Anguilla

Rainbow over Meads Bay, Anguilla

Rainbow over Meads Bay, Anguilla

Rainbow over Blowing Point, Anguilla

Rainbow over Blowing Point, Anguilla

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Anguilla Inspires Me

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Posted by Patty on Monday December 21, 2009, 11:23 pm

I’ve been back from my trip to Anguilla for just about a week now, and even though there’s 18 inches of snow outside my door, I’m still reveling in that sweet island bliss that AXA never fails to instill within me.  I live in the DC  metro area, and there’s no doubt that life is very different here than it would be on a Caribbean island.  There are good and bad things about living anywhere, but I feel like a lot of what I thought was missing from my life here in the “big city” is alive and well in Anguilla, and just knowing that inspires me and brings me joy.

One of the things that has bothered me about living in a large metropolitan area is how impersonal life can be here.  People avoid making eye contact with each other in public places, coworkers and neighbors seem unable or unwilling to exchange even simple greetings, and you can be completely ignored even if you’re holding a door open for someone. Many seem to have begun to favor interacting in more indirect ways such as meeting people online as opposed to in person, texting instead of talking, and doing everything from banking to buying groceries on the web so that contact with other humans is minimal.  I feel like we’re losing our social skills and our ability to interact with other people that we don’t know and, increasingly, even with those that we do know.

In Anguilla, though, I get a whole different vibe.  If you’re open to it, it isn’t unusual to be engaged into a friendly conversation just about anywhere you go on the island.  It’s a place where I feel like every new person I meet has the potential to become a life-long friend because of the warmth and genuineness that is so common among Anguillians.  I like seeing how two guys who are friends will often greet each other with fist-bumps even if no words are exchanged.  I love how guys will greet their female friends with a handshake – not the formal lets-do-business kind, but the warmer gentleman-about-to-kiss-the-back-of-a-lady’s-hand-but-not-actually-kissing-it kind. If you’re lucky enough to build strong friendships in AXA, I think you’ll find that Anguillian hugs are among the best in the world. :)

I don’t want to give the impression that things like texting and online communications don’t exist in Anguilla, but they just don’t seem to have taken over there as much as they have at home.  (Not yet, anyway…) It’s just a comfort to me to know that a place with such genuine warmth exists and it gives me hope that I can still find it even at home but it just may take a bit more effort to find it here.

Another thing about visiting Anguilla is that it always reminds me how to enjoy the simple things in life.  It’s a place where I’ve found perfect happiness sitting under a palm tree or at a beach bar, talking with friends about anything and nothing for hours at a time. It’s a place where my biggest laughs came while enjoying a delicious home-cooked meal with those that I consider to be my Anguillian family.   It’s not that I can’t enjoy these same kinds of activities at home, but with all of the distractions that surround us here and everyone’s crazy-busy schedules, it’s easy to forget that these simple pleasures are possible.

My experiences of the “simple life” in AXA also make me realize how much stuff I own and that I really don’t need most of it to be happy.  So, whenever I return from Anguilla, I’m always inspired to simplify my lifestyle more and more so that I can depend on fewer material items and superficial ideas to bring me happiness.   Just identifying and getting rid of unnecessary “junk” in my life is therapeutic and liberating in so many ways.

Anguilla is an amazing place and my love for it grows every time I visit.  I do know that I’m very lucky to live the life that I have and I don’t mean to sound unappreciative of what I’ve got.  I know that if I should ever be so lucky as to move to a place like Anguilla, I’ll miss some of the things that I have access to now so I try not to take anything for granted.  I like that Anguilla opens my mind and that it has taught me to see my life from a different perspective.  The important thing, now, is to not allow myself to forget what I’ve learned because it’s easy to fall back into old bad habits in a world where simplicity is not the rule.  If suppose that if I find myself beginning to forget, though, that’s a good reason to start planning my next trip to AXA!  :)

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