So why do I include “finally” in the title? Well, this is the proverbial “third time’s the charm.” Our first attempt to this island described as having “the best beaches in the Caribbean” was in 2017. Hurricane Irma devastated the island leading to significant closures and rebuilding.
The second attempt was 2020, and we all know how travel was upended then. Thus, finally getting to see this magnificent place necessitates a big “whew” — we finally made it.
Traveling to the island of Anguilla isn’t the easiest, and it depends upon your departure point. For us, that was Aruba (click HERE for that post). I booked small island carrier Winair for the trip. Their entire fleet is just 8 planes and some are as small as 17 seats. Ours had more like 50. Your typical roller carry-on must be surrendered on the tarmac as there isn’t sufficient room inside. I’ll describe the 2 x 2 seating as “cozy.”
We left Aruba and stopped 20 minutes later in Curacao where many folks deplaned. Their carry-on items consisted largely of enormous boxes of Dunkin Donuts, as apparently they are not available in Curacao. No kidding, those boxes must have contained 4 dozen at least. Another passenger was carrying 2 dozen eggs.
After picking up more passengers, it was just under two hours to St. Maarten which island has the largest nearby airport. Our Anguilla accommodations at the boutique resort Malliouhana offered a room package that included guided transportation from St. Maarten through immigration and the 25-minute ferry ride plus the drive to the resort. It was worth every cent. Anguilla does have a small airport, but I couldn’t find any flights there from Aruba.
Below, this magnificent view welcomed us for a four-night stay.
Our days consisted of walking on Mead’s Bay from Malliouhana at one end to The Four Seasons at the opposite end. Then it was to the upper and lower infinity pools. That was it, with the exception of renting a Moke for half a day to see other parts of the island.
Below, spectacular Mead’s Bay
Above and below, two different morning views
And that is when one of those “you can’t make this stuff up” stories happened. After lunch at a quaint shack called Eloidia’s on Shoal’s Beach, we proceeded to see Crocus Bay as recommended by our hotel. There was one person walking on the beach so we asked him to take a photo of us. “Where are you from, sir?” asked the hubby. “California.” “Really, where?” “North Hollywood.” “Ha, we’re from Studio City!” which is right next door. In other words, we were former neighbors no more than 3 miles apart.
He and his wife decided to relocate upon retiring. After visiting Anguilla, they were hooked. I asked him how his family reacted. “You’re moving to Angola???” Not even close. They are living well if a bit frugally on their social security and have roughly 150 other expats on the island. He seemed quite content.
Below, have Moke will travel
Fabulous dinner at Blanchard’s seen below. We’ll just start with the legendary carrot cake, please.
And that was the Anguilla stay. I’ll close with this view seen below from the upper infinity pool. Next (and last) stop: Barbados.
2 Responses
Great column as usual. You could teach your hubby a few things.
I love you.